Handbook of Nature-Study · Lesson CI · Topic 16: Wasps and bees
101. The little carpenter-bee
Goal: Your child can find a tiny bee's tunnel in the pith of a dead twig and explain how the cells along it hold a whole family, oldest at the bottom.
You'll need
- Dead, dry twigs of elder, raspberry or staghorn sumac (broken stems with pith)
- Garden gloves
- A sharp knife (for the adult)
- A hand lens (magnifying glass)
- A nature notebook and a pencil (colored pencils if you have them)
What's in the book
Comstock's story of the little carpenter-bee and the twig "apartment house": a tunnel in the pith of sumac or elder, divided into cells by partitions of tiny chips (a bee) or mud (a wasp), one young bee in each. Then Lesson CI's leading thought, method and six questions.
The lesson, step by step
When and where
Comstock's method: "This lesson may be given in June or in October." In June the family is at home; in autumn you find empty tunnels with bits of partition still inside, and sometimes a whole family stowed away for the winter.
Safety first
Comstock's sumac is the harmless staghorn or smooth sumac of dry, sunny places. Poison sumac grows in wet places and has whitish, drooping berries: learn it first and don't touch it. Before you go, learn to recognize poison ivy ("leaves of three, let it be"), and poison oak or poison sumac where they grow. We never eat any wild berry, leaf or plant.
Wear gloves for raspberry canes. An adult splits the twigs with the knife, on a board, cutting away from the hands.
Keep the big idea in mind
Comstock's "leading thought" is the one idea the lesson is meant to lead to. Read it to yourself now, and save it to share at the end, after your child has looked and answered:
Not all bees live in colonies like the honey-bees and bumblebees. One tiny bee rears her brood within a tunnel which she makes in the pith of sumac, elder or raspberry.
Split the twigs
Collect dead twigs of sumac or elder and cut them in half, lengthwise. Do you find any with the pith tunneled out?
Look for broken-off stems with a small hole in the cut end. Split a dozen; one or two may have tunnels.
Read the tunnel
How long is the tunnel? Are its sides smooth? Can you see the partitions which divide the long narrow tunnel into cells?
Look at the partitions with a lens, if necessary, to determine whether they are made of tiny bits of wood or of mud. If made of mud, what insect made them?
Are there any insects in the cells? If so, describe them. Is there bee-bread in the cells?
The family story
Write the story of the oldest of the bee family which lived in this tunnel. Why did it hatch first? On what did it feed? When it became a full fledged bee, what did it do? How did it finally get out?
Hint: the mother filled the deepest cell first. Then read the leading thought aloud.
Nature notebook
Draw the split twig with the tunnel and its cells numbered from the oldest to the youngest. Add the story from step 6.
Afterwards
Comstock suggests hanging glass tubes wrapped in black paper among bushes in May and checking them each week. Paper drinking straws or a bundle of hollow stems tied together work just as well and are safer than glass.