His Feet are shod with Gauze－1
His Helmet, is of Gold,
His Breast, a Single Onyx
With Chrysophrase, inlaid.
His Labor is a Chant－5
His Idleness－a Tune－
Oh, for a Bee's experience
Of Clovers, and of Noon!
His Helmet, is of Gold,
His Breast, a Single Onyx
With Chrysophrase, inlaid.
His Labor is a Chant－5
His Idleness－a Tune－
Oh, for a Bee's experience
Of Clovers, and of Noon!
(F.979/J.916)
[1–4] Gauze, Gold, Onyx:: a description of cuckoo-bee, similar to a bee.
[5, 6] Labor, Idleness:: cuckoo-bee doesn't work for honey.
[7] Bee's experience:: it mimics bee's behavior.
Nomada is not hirsute, and in its slender form and gay colors resembles wasps. It enters te nests of Andrena and feeds on its food, hence it is called the Cuckoo-bee. ─ Agriculture of Maine (1862)
Nomada, or Cuckoo-bee . . . they are found in the cells of the working bees in their perfect condition: it is most probable that they deposit their eggs on the provision laid up by the working bee, that they close up the cell, and that the working bee, finding an egg deposited, commences a fresh cell for her own progeny. ─ The American Naturalist (1868)