The Mason-Bees [Paperback]

J Henri Fabre (Author), 1stWorld Library (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 20, 2005

Purchase one of 1st World Library's Classic Books and help support our free internet library of downloadable eBooks. Visit us online at www.1stWorldLibrary.ORG - - Reaumur (Rene Antoine Ferchault de Reaumur (1683-1757), inventor of the Reaumur thermometer and author of "Memoires pour servir a l'histoire naturelle des insectes." - Translator's Note.) devoted one of his papers to the story of the Chalicodoma of the Walls, whom he calls the Mason-bee. I propose to go on with the story, to complete it and especially to consider it from a point of view wholly neglected by that eminent observer. And, first of all, I am tempted to tell how I made this Bee's acquaintance. It was when I first began to teach, about 1843. I had left the normal school at Vaucluse some months before, with my diploma and all the simple enthusiasm of my eighteen years, and had been sent to Carpentras, there to manage the primary school attached to the college.

Product Details

• Paperback: 228 pages
• Publisher: 1st World Library - Literary Society (May 20, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1421804573
• ISBN-13: 978-1421804576
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,492,978 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Old-fashion Bee-havior, March 14, 2007

By 

C. La (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Mason-Bees (Dodo Press) (Paperback)

The Mason-Bees written by J. Henri Fabre. The book was published in 1925 by Garden City Publishing Company in Garden City, New York. It was translated by Alexander Teixeira De Mattos, who was a fellow of the zoological society of London. The book contains a total of 315 pages not including the introduction. J. Henri Fabre was a teacher of chemistry and physics. He devoted his life to the study of insects. He wrote many other books including: The life of the caterpillar, The life of the Spider, Animal life in field and Garden, Life of the fly and The Insect world J. Henri Fabre.
The Mason-Bees starts out as a story about a teacher, who as part of his teachings brings his students out into the field for field experiments. The curiosity of his students on bees inspires his own mind into the workings of the bees in his area. This spark inspires him to start the study of his bee subjects. He begins to tell the reader of his observations, experiments, and study into other insects and animals that relate to his study of bees.
The author starts by telling the readers of his daily and general observations of bees. He goes into great detail of the complexity and strength of the nests that are built by the bees in his hometown. He describes to us the process they go through in the reproduction process. The building of the nest, the gathering of food, the laying of the eggs and defense were written in detailed. The classification of the different bees observed was also given by the author.
In order to learn more about the bees, the author begins his experiments with the removal of the bees from their nest. He wanted to see if the bees would be able to find their way back from a distance of about two and a half miles. He does this by marking the bees and letting them go to see if they would find there way back. These experiments showed that most of the bees were able to find their way back. He did many more different types of experiments on the bees in order to supplement his theory on their behavior. Most of his experiments were centered on finding out how they are able to find their way back to their nest.
The author also relates his studies through the study of other insects like ants and parasites of the bees and even cats. His main aim was to find out more about the instinct of the bees being able to find its home from great distance. He takes suggestion from general people (non- scientist) and from the great Charles Darwin himself as part of his process. He goes on to show how the suggestions from all these people didn't work and how he learned from them.
The book was very well written and easy to understand for a reader, who does not have a lot of knowledge on bees. It was interesting to see the perspective of a scientist studying insects in the late 1800's. The author was a reliable scientist because he did not jump to conclusions quickly but did more experiments to prove a lot of his statements. He shows this by getting help and opinions from other people in his study. The book does provide knowledge but it is a little outdated due to all the information that we have now on bees and insects in general. The author does however impose his own opinion on mimicry and parasites to the readers in this book. Overall, the book was great because it provided a lot of information but also has entertainments value. It was not straight through about bees but also was about other insects and even cats out of all things.