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diff --git a/old/56201-0.txt b/old/56201-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 8f217eb..0000000 --- a/old/56201-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,13721 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's British Bees, by William Edward (W. E.) Shuckard - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: British Bees - An Introduction into the Studies of the Natural History - and Economy of the Bees Indigenous to the British Isles - -Author: William Edward (W. E.) Shuckard - -Release Date: December 18, 2017 [EBook #56201] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BRITISH BEES *** - - - - -Produced by Rachael Schultz, Barry Abrahamsen, Bryan Ness -and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive/American -Libraries.) - - - - - - - - - - BRITISH BEES. - - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - BRITISH BEES: - - - AN INTRODUCTION - - TO THE STUDY OF THE - - NATURAL HISTORY AND ECONOMY OF THE BEES - - _Indigenous to the British Isles_. - - - BY - - W. E. SHUCKARD, - - AUTHOR OF ‘ESSAY ON THE FOSSORIAL HYMENOPTERA,’ ‘COLEOPTERA - DELINEATED,’ ‘ELEMENTS OF BRITISH ENTOMOLOGY,’ MONOGRAPHS OF THE - ‘DORYLIDÆ,’ ‘AULACIDÆ,’ ETC. ETC.; AND TRANSLATOR OF BURMEISTER’S - ‘MANUAL OF ENTOMOLOGY.’ - - [Illustration: Decoration] - - LONDON: - LOVELL REEVE & CO., 5, HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN. - 1866. - - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - J. E. TAYLOR AND CO., PRINTERS, - LITTLE QUEEN STREET, LINCOLN’S INN FIELDS. - - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - TO - - WILLIAM WILSON SAUNDERS, ESQ., - - F.R.S., TREAS. & V.P.L.S., F.Z.S., - - TREASURER OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, - - ETC. ETC. ETC., - - - IN TESTIMONY OF THE ABILITY, ZEAL, AND LIBERALITY - - WITH WHICH HE CULTIVATES AND PROMOTES - - THE SCIENCE OF ENTOMOLOGY; - - AND - - AS AN ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF MUCH KINDNESS, - - EXTENDING OVER MANY YEARS, - - _This Volume_ - - IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED, - - BY HIS FAITHFUL SERVANT, - - W. E. SHUCKARD. - - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - PREFACE. - - ------- - - -A FEW words are necessary explanatory of the course pursued in the -following work, as regards the citation of authorities. - -All the facts recorded without reference to authorities, are the result -either of personal observation or of diligent study, which, from the -length of time that has intervened, have become so blended in my mind -that I can no longer separate their sources. I may, however, state that -observation has, certainly, as often anticipated the perusal of the -discoveries of others, as their record has stimulated direct observation -to confirm them. - -The habits of animals, in which instinct is the sole prompter, are so -uniform, that these, once well observed, may be considered as -permanently established. The slight deviations that have been -occasionally noticed, although temporarily infringing, do not abrogate -the inflexibility of the law which regulates this faculty; and the -descendants inevitably resume the economy of the ancestor. - -The merit that attaches to the discovery of such facts is due merely to -patience and diligence, very common attributes; and the repeated mention -of the supposed first observer must, necessarily, in a work of this -kind, which is far from being of a strictly scientific character, -diminish the interest of the narrative by interrupting its connection, -and thus making it an incongruous mosaic. The omission to cite -authorities may also take place without any wish to detract from the -merit of the discoverer, which is patent to all by his own record in the -archives of science. - -Before concluding, I wish to express my best thanks to Thomas Desvignes, -Esq., for the kindness and willingness with which he lent me, for the -purposes of this work, my own selection from the Bees of his choice -collection of British insects. - -I now dismiss the book—truly a labour of love—with the hope that it will -fall into the possession of many, who may be sufficiently interested in -the subject to induce them to become ardent entomologists, by showing -them within how small a compass much agreeable instruction lies. - -_June, 1866._ - - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CONTENTS. - - ------- - - CHAPTER I. - - PAGE - - PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS, 1 - COMPRISING GENERAL REMARKS - UPON THE USES OF BEES IN THE - ECONOMY OF NATURE, THEIR - DIVISION INTO SOCIAL AND - SOLITARY, AND A NOTICE OF - THEIR FAVOURITE PLANTS - - - CHAPTER II. - - GENERAL HISTORY OF BEES 17 - THE EGG 18 - THE LARVA 19 - THE PUPA 22 - THE IMAGO 23 - - - CHAPTER III. - - SKETCH OF THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE 61 - GENERA OF BRITISH BEES - - - CHAPTER IV. - - NOTICE OF THE MORE CONSPICUOUS 101 - FOREIGN GENERA - - - CHAPTER V. - - PARASITES OF BEES AND THEIR 109 - ENEMIES - - - CHAPTER VI. - - GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF 118 - SCIENTIFIC ARRANGEMENT - - - CHAPTER VII. - - BRIEF NOTICE OF THE SCIENTIFIC 142 - CULTIVATION OF BRITISH BEES - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - A NEW ARRANGEMENT OF BRITISH 153 - BEES, WITH ITS RATIONALE, - AND AN INTRODUCTION TO THE - FAMILY, SUBFAMILIES, - SECTIONS, AND SUBSECTIONS - - - CHAPTER IX. - - A TABLE, EXHIBITING A METHOD 170 - OF DETERMINING THE GENERA OF - BRITISH BEES WITH FACILITY - - EASY DISTRIBUTION OF THE BEES 176 - - - CHAPTER X. - - THE SCIENTIFIC ARRANGEMENT AND 184 - DESCRIPTION OF THE GENERA, - WITH LISTS OF OUR NATIVE - SPECIES, AND AN ACCOUNT OF - THE HABITS AND ECONOMY OF - THE INSECTS, WITH INCIDENTAL - OBSERVATIONS SUGGESTED BY - THE SUBJECT - - =ANDRENIDÆ (SUBNORMAL BEES)= 185 - - GEN. 1. COLLETES 185 - - GEN. 2. PROSOPIS 191 - - GEN. 3. SPHECODES 196 - - GEN. 4. ANDRENA 200 - - GEN. 5. CILISSA 211 - - GEN. 6. HALICTUS 214 - - GEN. 7. MACROPIS 220 - - GEN. 8. DASYPODA 224 - - =APIDÆ (NORMAL BEES)= 227 - - SCOPULIPEDES (BRUSH-LEGGED 227 - BEES) - - GEN. 9. PANURGUS 227 - - GEN. 10. EUCERA 231 - - GEN. 11. ANTHOPHORA 236 - - GEN. 12. SAROPODA 242 - - GEN. 13. CERATINA 245 - - =NUDIPEDES (CUCKOO-BEES)= 249 - - GEN. 14. NOMADA 249 - - GEN. 15. MELECTA 255 - - GEN. 16. EPEOLUS 258 - - GEN 17. STELIS 262 - - GEN. 18. CŒLIOXYS 265 - - =DASYGASTERS (ARTISAN BEES)= 269 - - GEN. 19. MEGACHILE 269 - - GEN. 20. ANTHIDIUM 279 - - GEN. 21. CHELOSTOMA 283 - - GEN. 22. HERIADES 288 - - GEN. 23. ANTHOCOPA 290 - - GEN. 24. OSMIA 294 - - =CENOBITES (SOCIAL BEES)= 302 - - GEN. 25. APATHUS 302 - - GEN. 26. BOMBUS 307 - - GEN. 27. APIS 318 - - - =INDEX= 363 - - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - LIST OF PLATES. - - ------- - - NOTE.—♂ signifies male; ♀, female; ⚲, neuter. - - - PLATE I. - - 1. Colletes Daviesiana, ♂ ♀. - 2 ♂. Prosopis dilatata. - 2 ♀. Prosopis signata. - 3. Sphecodes gibbus, ♂ ♀. - - PLATE II. - - 1. Andrena fulva, ♂ ♀. - 2. Andrena cineraria, ♂ ♀. - 3. Andrena nitida, ♂ ♀. - - PLATE III. - - 1. Andrena Rosæ, ♂ ♀. - 2. Andrena longipes, ♂ ♀. - 3. Andrena cingulata, ♂ ♀. - - PLATE IV. - - 1. Halictus xanthopus, ♂ ♀. - 2. Halictus flavipes, ♂ ♀. - 3. Halictus minutissimus, ♂ ♀. - - PLATE V. - - 1. Cilissa tricincta, ♂ ♀. - 2. Macropis labiata, ♂ ♀. - 3. Dasypoda hirtipes, ♂ ♀. - - PLATE VI. - - 1. Panurgus Banksianus, ♂ ♀. - 2. Eucera longicornis, ♂ ♀. - 3. Anthophora retusa, ♂ ♀. - - PLATE VII. - - 1. Anthophora furcata, ♂ ♀. - 2. Saropoda bimaculata, ♂ ♀. - 3. Ceratina cærulea, ♂ ♀. - - PLATE VIII. - - 1. Nomada Goodeniana, ♂ ♀. - 2. Nomada Lathburiana, ♂ ♀. - 3. Nomada sexfasciata, ♂ ♀. - - PLATE IX. - - 1. Nomada signata, ♂ ♀. - 2. Nomada Fabriciana, ♂ ♀. - 3. Nomada flavoguttata, ♂ ♀. - - PLATE X. - - 1. Nomada Jacobææ, ♂ ♀. - 2. Nomada Solidaginis, ♂ ♀ (that marked ♂* should be ♀). - 3. Nomada lateralis, ♂ ♀. - - PLATE XI. - - 1. Melecta punctata, ♂ ♀. - 2. Epeolus variegatus, ♂ ♀. - 3. Stelis phæoptera, ♂ ♀. - - PLATE XII. - - 1. Cœlioxys Vectis, ♂ ♀. - 2. Megachile maritima, ♂ ♀. - 3. Megachile argentata, ♂ ♀. - - PLATE XIII. - - 1. Anthidium manicatum, ♂ ♀. - 2. Chelostoma florisomne, ♂ ♀. - 3. Heriades truncorum, ♂ ♀. - - PLATE XIV. - - 1. Osmia bicolor, ♂ ♀. - 2. Anthocopa Papaveris, ♂ ♀. - 3. Osmia leucomelana, ♂ ♀. - - PLATE XV. - - 1. Apathus rupestris, ♂ ♀. - 2 ♂. Apathus campestris (the sexual sign to this should be ♀). - 2 ♀. Apathus vestalis. - 3. Bombus fragrans, ♀. - 4. Bombus Soroensis, ♂ (var. Burrellanus). - - PLATE XVI. - - 1. Bombus Harrisellus, ♀. - 2. Bombus Lapponicus, ♀. - 3. Bombus sylvarum, ♀. - 4. Apis mellifica, ♂ ♀ ⚲. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - BRITISH BEES. - - (_HYMENOPTERA._) - - ---------- - - - - - CHAPTER I - - PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS, - - COMPRISING GENERAL REMARKS UPON THE USES OF BEES IN THE - ECONOMY OF NATURE; THEIR DIVISION INTO SOCIAL AND SOLITARY; - AND A NOTICE OF THEIR FAVOURITE PLANTS. - - - IT is very natural that the “Bee” should interest the majority of us, - so many agreeable and attractive associations being connected with the - name. It is immediately suggestive of spring, sunshine, and - flowers,—meadows gaily enamelled, green lanes, thymy downs, and - fragrant heaths. It speaks of industry, forethought, and competence,—of - well-ordered government, and of due but not degrading subordination. - The economy of the hive has been compared by our great poet to the - polity of a populous kingdom under monarchical government. He says:— - - “Therefore doth Heaven divide - The state of man in divers functions, - Setting endeavour in continual motion; - To which is fixed, as an aim or butt, - Obedience: for so work the honey-bees; - Creatures, that, by a rule in nature, teach - The act of order to a peopled kingdom. - They have a king, and officers of sorts: - Where some, like magistrates, correct at home; - Others, like merchants, venture trade abroad; - Others, like soldiers, armed in their stings, - Make boot upon the summer’s velvet buds; - Which pillage they, with merry march, bring home - To the tent-royal of their emperor: - Who, busied in his majesty, surveys - The singing masons building roofs of gold; - The civil citizens kneading up the honey; - The poor mechanick porters crowding in - Their heavy burdens at his narrow gate; - The sad-ey’d justice, with his surly hum, - Delivering o’er to éxecutors pale - The lazy yawning drone.”—_Henry V._, 1, 2. - - Nothing escaped the wonderful vision of this “myriad-minded” man, and - its pertinent application. - - This description, although certainly not technically accurate, is a - superb broad sketch, and shows how well he was acquainted with the - natural history and habits of the domestic bee. - - The curiosity bees have attracted from time immemorial, and the wonders - of their economy elicited by the observation and study of modern - investigators, is but a grateful return for the benefits derived to man - from their persevering assiduity and skill. It is the just homage of - reason to perfect instinct running closely parallel to its own - wonderful attributes. Indeed, so complex are many of the operations of - this instinct, as to have induced the surmise of a positive affinity to - reason, instead of its being a mere analogy, working blindly and - without reflection. The felicity of the adaptation of the hexagonal - waxen cells, and the skill of the construction of the comb to their - purposes, has occupied the abstruse calculations of profound - mathematicians; and since human ingenuity has devised modes of - investigating, unobserved, the various proceedings of the interior of - the hive, wonder has grown still greater, and admiration has reached - its climax. - - The intimate connection of “Bees” with nature’s elegancies, the - Flowers, is an association which links them agreeably to our regard, - for each suggests the other; their vivacity and music giving animation - and variety to what might otherwise pall by beautiful but inanimate - attractions. When we combine with this the services bees perform in - their eager pursuits, our admiration extends beyond them to their Great - Originator, who, by such apparently small means, accomplishes so simply - yet completely, a most important object of creation. - - That bees were cultivated by man in the earliest conditions of his - existence, possibly whilst his yet limited family was still occupying - the primitive cradle of the race at Hindoo Koosh, or on the fertile - slopes of the Himalayas, or upon the more distant table-land or plateau - of Thibet, or in the delicious vales of Cashmere, or wherever it might - have been, somewhere widely away to the east of the Caspian Sea,—is a - very probable supposition. Accident, furthered by curiosity, would have - early led to the discovery of the stores of honey which the assiduity - of bees had hoarded;—its agreeable savour would have induced further - search, which would have strengthened the possession by keener - observation, and have led in due course to the fixing them in his - immediate vicinity. - - To this remote period, possibly not so early as the discovery of the - treasures of the bee, may be assigned also the first domestication of - the animals useful to man, many of which are still found in those - districts in all their primitive wildness. The discovery and - cultivation of the cereal plants will also date from this early age. - The domestication of animals has never been satisfactorily explained, - but all inquiry seems to point to those regions as the native land, - both of them, and of the _gramineæ_, which produce our grain; for - Heinzelmann, Linnæus’s enthusiastic disciple, found there those grasses - still growing wild, which have not been found elsewhere in a natural - state. - - Thus, long before the three great branches of the human race, the - Aryan, Shemitic, and Turonian, took their divergent courses from the - procreative nest which was to populate the earth, and which Max Müller - proposes to call the Rhematic period, they were already endowed from - their patrimony with the best gifts nature could present to them; and - they were thus fitted, in their estrangement from their home, with the - requirements, which the vicissitudes they might have to contend with in - their migrations, most needed. They would eventually have settled into - varying conditions, differently modified by time acting conjunctively - with climate and position, until, in the lapse of years, and the - changes the earth has since undergone, the stamp impressed by these - causes, which would have been originally evanescent, became indelible. - That but one language was originally theirs, the researches of - philology distinctly prove, by finding a language still more ancient - than its Aryan, Shemitic, and Turonian derivatives. From this elder - language these all spring, their common origin being deduced from the - analogies extant in each. These investigations are confirmed by the - Scriptural account that “The whole earth was of one language and of one - speech,” previous to the Flood, and it describes the first migration as - coincident with the subsidence of the waters. - - That violent cataclysms have since altered the face of the then - existing earth, the records of geological science amply show; and that - some of mankind, in every portion of the then inhabited world, survived - these catastrophes, and subsequently perpetuated the varieties of race, - may be inferred from those differences in moral and physical features - which now exist, and which have sometimes suggested the impossibility - of a collective derivation from one stock. The philological thread, - although generally a mere filament of extreme tenuity, holds all firmly - together. - - That animals had been domesticated in a very early stage of man’s - existence, we have distinct proof in many recent geological - discoveries, and all these discoveries show the same animals to have - been in every instance subjugated; thus pointing to a primitive and - earlier domestication in the regions where both were originally - produced. That pasture land was provided for the sustenance of these - animals, they being chiefly herbivorous, is a necessary conclusion. - Thence ensues the fair deduction that _phanerogamous_, or - flower-bearing plants coexisted, and bees, consequently, necessarily - too,—thus participating reciprocal advantages, they receiving from - these plants sustenance, and giving them fertility. - - These islands, under certain modifications, were, previous to the - glacial period, one land with the continent of Europe; and it was when - thus connected that those many tropical forms of animal life, whose - fossil remains are found embedded in our soil, passed hither. By the - comparatively rapid intervention of geological changes, some of the - lower forms of life went no further than the first land they reached, - and are, consequently, not even now to be found so far west as Ireland: - the migration appears clearly to have come from the East. Thus, - although we have no direct evidence of the presence of “bees,” yet as - insects must have existed here, from the certainty that the remains of - insect-feeding reptiles are found, as well as those of herbivorous - animals, it may be concluded that “bees” also abounded. - - Claiming thus this very high antiquity for man’s nutritive “bee,” which - was of far earlier utility to him than the silkworm, whose labours - demanded a very advanced condition of skill and civilization to be made - available; it is perfectly consistent, and indeed needful, to claim the - simultaneous existence of all the bee’s allies. The earliest Shemitic - and Aryan records, the Book of Job, the Vedas, Egyptian sculptures and - papyri, as well as the poems of Homer, confirm the early cultivation of - bees by man for domestic uses; and their frequent representation in - Egyptian hieroglyphics, wherein the bee occurs as the symbol of - royalty, clearly shows that their economy, with a monarch at its head, - was known; a hive, too, being figured, as Sir Gardner Wilkinson tells - us, upon a very ancient tomb at Thebes, is early evidence of its - domestication there, and how early, even historically, it was brought - under the special dominion of mankind. To these particulars I shall - have occasion to refer more fully when the course of my narrative - brings me to treat of the geographical distribution of the “honey-bee;” - I adduce it now merely to intimate how very early, even in the present - condition of the earth, bees were beneficial to mankind, and that, - therefore, the connection may have subsisted, as I have previously - urged, in the remotest and very primitive ages of the existence of man; - and that imperatively with them, the entire family of which they form a - unit only, was also created. - - In America, where _Apis mellifica_ is of European introduction, swarms - of this bee, escaping domestication, resume their natural condition, - and have pressed forward far into the uncleared wild; and widely in - advance of the conquering colonist, they have taken their abode in the - primitive, unreclaimed forest. Nor do they remain stationary, but on, - still on, with every successive year, spreading in every direction; and - thus surely indicating to the aboriginal red-man the certain, if even - slow, approach of civilization, and the consequent necessity of his own - protective retreat:—a strong instance of the distributive processes of - nature. It clearly shows how the wild bees may have similarly migrated - in all directions from the centre of their origin. That they are now - found at the very _ultima Thule_, so far away from their assumed - incunabula, and with such apparent existing obstructions to their - distributive progress, is a proof, had we no other, that the condition - of the earth must have been geographically very different at the period - of their beginning, and that vast geological changes have, since then, - altered its physical features. Where islands now exist, these must then - have formed portions of widely sweeping continents; and seas have been - dry land, which have since swept over the same area, insulating - irregular portions by the submergence of irregular intervals, and thus - have left them in their present condition, with their then existing - inhabitants restricted to the circuit they now occupy. That long - periods of time must necessarily have elapsed to have effected this by - the methods we still see in operation, is no proof that it has not - been. Nature, in her large operations, has no regard for the duration - of time. Her courses are so sure that they are ever eventually - successful; for, as to her, whose permanency is not computable, it - matters not what period the process takes; and she is as indifferent to - the seconds of time whereby man’s brevity is spanned, as she is to the - wastefulness of her own exuberant resources, knowing that neither is - lost to the result at which she reaches. Consuming the one, and - scattering broadcast the other, but in unnoticeable infinitesimals, she - does it irrespective of the origin, the needs, or the duration of man, - who can only watch her irrepressible advances by transmitting from - generation to generation the record of his observations; marking thus - by imaginary stations the course of the incessant stream which carries - him upon its surface. - - That other bees are found besides the social bees, may be new to some - of my readers, who will perhaps now learn, for the first time, that - collective similarities of organization and habits associate other - insects with “the bee” as bees. Although the names “domestic bee,” - “honey-bee,” or “social bee,” imply a contradistinction to some other - “bee,” yet it must have been very long before even the most acute - observers could have noticed the peculiarities of structure which - constitute other insects “bees,” and ally the “wild bees” to the - “domestic bee,” from the deficiency of artificial means to examine - minutely the organization whereby the affinity is clearly proved. This - is also further shown in the poverty of our language in vernacular - terms to express them distinctively; for even the name of “wild bees,” - in as far as it has been applied to any except the “honey-bee” in a - wildered state, is a usage of modern introduction, and of date - subsequent to their examination and appreciation. Our native tongue, in - the words “bee,” “wasp,” “fly,” and “ant,” compasses all those - thousands of different winged and unwinged insects, which modern - science comprises in the two very extensive Orders in entomology of the - _Hymenoptera_ and the _Diptera_;—thus exhibiting how very poor common - language is in words to note distinctive differences in creatures, even - where the differences are so marked, and the habits so dissimilar, as - in the several groups constituting these Orders. But progressively - extending knowledge, and a more familiar intimacy with insects and - their habits, will doubtless, in the course of time, supervene, as old - aversions, prejudices, and superstitions wear out, when by the light of - instruction we shall gradually arouse to perceive that “His breath has - passed that way too;” and that, therefore, they all put forth strong - claims to the notice and admiration of man. - - It is highly improbable that ordinary language will ever find - distinctive names to indicate _genera_, and far less _species_: and - although we have some few words which combine large groups, such as - “gnats,” “flesh-flies,” “gad-flies,” “gall-flies,” “dragon-flies,” - “sand wasps,” “humble-bees,” etc. etc.; and, although the small group, - it is my purpose in the following pages to show in all their attractive - peculiarities, has had several vernacular denominations applied to them - to indicate their most distinctive characteristics, such as - “cuckoo-bees,” “carpenter bees,” “mason bees,” “carding bees,” etc., - yet many which are not thus to be distinguished, will have to wait long - for their special appellation. - - The first breathings of spring bring forth the bees. Before the - hedge-rows and the trees have burst their buds, and expanded their yet - delicate green leaves to the strengthening influence of the air, and - whilst only here and there the white blossoms of the blackthorn sparkle - around, and patches of chickweed spread their bloom in attractive - humility on waste bits of ground in corners of fields,—they are abroad. - Their hum will be heard in some very favoured sunny nook, where the - precocious primrose spreads forth its delicate pale blossom, in the - modest confidence of conscious beauty, to catch the eye of the sun, as - well as— - - “Daffodils, that come before the swallow dares, - And take the winds of March with beauty.”—_Shakspeare._ - - The yellow catkins of the sallow, too, are already swarmed around by - bees, the latter being our northern representative of the palm which - heralded “peace to earth and goodwill to man.” The bees thus announce - that the business of the year has begun, and that the lethargy of - winter is superseded by energetic activity. - - The instinctive impulse of the cares of maternity prompt the wild bees - to their early assiduity, urging them to their eager quest of these - foremost indicators of the renewed year. The firstling bees are - forthwith at their earnest work of collecting honey and pollen, which, - kneaded into a paste, are to become both the cradle and the sustenance - of their future progeny. - - Wherever we investigate wonderful Nature, we observe the most beautiful - adaptations and arrangements,—everywhere the correlations of structure - with function; in confirmation of which I may here briefly notice in - anticipation, that the bees are divided into two large groups,—the - short-tongued and the long-tongued,—and it is the short-tongued,—some - of the _Andrenidæ_,—which are the first abroad; the corollæ of the - first flowers being shallow and the nectar depositories obvious, an - arrangement which facilitates their obtaining with facility the honey - already at hand. These bees are also amply furnished,—as will be - afterwards explained,—in the clothing of their posterior legs, or - otherwise, with the means to convey home the pollen which they - vigorously collect, finding it already in superfluous abundance, and - which, being borne from flower to flower, impregnates and makes - fruitful those plants which require external agents to accomplish their - fertility. Thus nature duly provides, by an interchange of offices, for - the general good, and by simple, although sometimes obscure means, - gives motion and persistency to the wheel within wheel which so - exquisitely fulfil her designs, and roll forward, unremittingly, her - stupendous fabric. - - The way in which the bees execute this object and design of nature, and - to which they, more evidently than any other insects, are called to the - performance, is shown in the implanted instinct which prompts them to - seek flowers, knowing, by means of that instinct, that flowers will - furnish them with what is needful both for their own sustenance, and - for that of their descendants. Flowers, to this end, are furnished with - the requisite attractive qualifications to allure the bees. Whether - their odour or their colour be the tempting vehicle, or both - conjunctively, it is scarcely possible to say, but that they should - hold out special invitation is requisite to the maintenance of their - own perpetuity. This, it is supposed, the colour of flowers chiefly - effects by being visible from a distance. Flowers, within themselves, - indicate to the bees visiting them the presence of nectaria by spots - coloured differently from their petals. This nectar, converted by bees - into honey, is secreted by glands or glandulous surfaces, seated upon - the organs of fructification; and nature has also furnished means to - protect these depositories of honey for the bees, from the intrusive - action of the rain, which might wash the sweet secretion away. To this - end it has clothed the corollæ with a surface of minute hairs, which - effectually secures them from its obtrusive action, and thus displays - the importance it attaches to the co-operation of the bees. That bees - should vary considerably in size, is a further accommodation of nature - to promote the fertilization of flowers, which, in some cases, small - insects could not accomplish. Many plants could not be perpetuated, but - for the agency of insects, and especially of bees; and it is remarkable - that it is chiefly those which require the aid of this intervention - that have a nectarium, and secrete honey. By thus seeking the honey, - and obtaining it in a variety of ways, bees accomplish this great - object of nature. It often, also, happens that flowers which even - contain within themselves the means of ready fructification cannot - derive it from the pollen of their own anthers, but require that the - pollen should be conveyed to them from the anthers of younger flowers; - in some cases the reverse takes place, as for instance, in the - _Euphorbia Cyparissias_, wherein it is the pollen of the older flower - which, through the same agency, fertilizes the younger. Although many - flowers are night-flowers, yet the very large majority expand during - the day; but to meet the requirements of those which bloom merely at - night, nature has provided means by the many moths which fly only at - that time, and thus accomplish what the bees perform under the eye of - the sun. Here insects are again subservient to the accomplishment of - this great act; for the petals of even the flowers which open in the - night only are usually highly coloured, or where this not the case, - they then emit a powerful odour, both being means to attract the - required co-operation. But of course our clients have nothing to do - with these night-blooming flowers, as I am not aware of a single - instance of a night-flying bee; nor are they on the wing very late in - the evening, being before sunset, already in their nidus. In those - occasional cases where the nectarium of the flower is not perceptible, - if the spur of such a flower which usually becomes the depository of - the nectar that has oozed from the capsules secreting it, be too narrow - for the entrance of the bee, and even beyond the reach of its long - tongue, it contrives to attain its object by biting a hole on the - outside, through which it taps the store. The skill of bees in finding - the honey, even when it is much withdrawn from notice, is a manifest - indication of the prompting instinct which tells them where to seek it, - and is a matter of extreme interest to the observer, for the - honey-marks—the _maculæ indicantes_—surely guide them; and where these, - as in some flowers, are placed in a circle upon its bosom, as the mark - upon that of Imogen, who had— - - “On her left breast - A mole cinque-spotted, like the crimson drops - I’ the bottom of a cowslip.”—_Shakspeare._ - - they work their way around, lapping the nectar as they go. To - facilitate this fecundation of plants, which is Nature’s prime object, - bees are usually more or less hairy; so that if even they limit - themselves to imbibing nectar, they involuntarily fulfil the greater - design by conveying the pollen from flower to flower. To many insects, - especially flies, some flowers are a fatal attraction, for their - viscous secretions often make these insects prisoners, and thus destroy - them. To the bees this rarely or never happens, either by reason of - their superior strength, or possibly from the instinct which repels - them from visiting flowers which exude so clammy a substance. It is - probably only to the end of promoting fertilization by the attraction - of insects that the structure of those flowers which secrete nectar is - exclusively conducive, and which fully and satisfactorily explains the - final cause of this organization. - - To detect these things, it is requisite to observe nature out of - doors,—an occupation which has its own rich reward in the health and - cheerfulness it promotes,—and there to watch patiently and attentively. - It is only by unremitting perseverance, diligence, and assiduity that - we can hope to explore the interesting habits and peculiar industries - of these, although small, yet very attractive insects. - - Amongst the early blossoming flowers most in request with the bees, and - which therefore seem to be great favourites, we find the chickweed - (_Alsine media_), the primrose, and the catkins of the sallow; and - these in succession are followed by all the flowers of the spring, - summer, and autumn. Their greatest favourites would appear to be the - _Amentaceæ_, or catkin-bearing shrubs and trees, the willow, hazel, - osier, etc., from the male flowers of which they obtain the pollen, and - from the female the honey; all the _Rosaceæ_, especially the dog-rose, - and _Primulaceæ_, the _Orchideæ_, _Caryophyllaceæ_, _Polygoneæ_, and - the balsamic lilies; clover is very attractive to them, as are also - tares; and the spots on those leaves of the bean which appear before - the flower, and exude a sweet secretion; also the flowers of all the - cabbage tribe. Beneath the shade of the lime, when in flower, may be - heard above one intense hum of thrifty industry. The blossoms of all - the fruit-trees and shrubs, standard or wall, and all aromatic plants - are highly agreeable to them, such as lavender, lemon-thyme, - mignonette, indeed all the _resedas_; also sage, borage, etc. etc.; but - the especial favourites of particular genera and species I shall have - occasion subsequently to notice in their series; but to mention - separately all the flowers they frequent would be to compile almost a - complete flora. Bees are also endowed with an instinct that teaches - them to avoid certain plants that might be dangerous to them. Thus, - they neither frequent the oleander (_Nerium Oleander_) nor the crown - imperial (_Fritillaria imperialis_), and they also avoid the - _Ranunculaceæ_, on account of some poisonous property; and although the - _Melianthus major_ drops with honey, it is not sought. It is a native - of the Cape of Good Hope, and may be attractive only to the bees - indigenous to the country, which is also the case with other greenhouse - plants equally rich in honey, but which not being natives, possibly - from that cause the instincts of native insects have no affinity with - them. - - Bees may be further consorted with flowers by the analogy and - parallelism of their stages of existence. Thus, the egg is the - equivalent to the seed; the _larva_ to the germination and growth; the - _pupa_ to the bud; and the _imago_ to the flower. The flower dies as - soon as the seed is fully formed, which is then disseminated by many - wonderful contrivances to a propitious soil; and the wild bees die as - soon as the store of eggs is as wonderfully deposited, according to - their several instincts, in fitting receptacles, and provision - furnished to sustain the development of the progeny. Thus, each secures - perpetuity to its species, but individually ceases; whereas the - unfecundated plant and the celibate insect may, severally, prolong for - a short but indefinite period, a brief existence, to terminate in total - extinction. Nature thus vindicates her rights, for nothing remains - sterile with impunity. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER II - - GENERAL HISTORY OF BEES. - - - THE EGG.—THE LARVA.—THE PUPA.—THE IMAGO. - - - ALTHOUGH the preceding pages have been written upon the assumption that - the reader knows what a bee is, now that we are gradually approaching - the more special and technical portion of the subject it will be - desirable to conform a little to the ordinary usages of scientific - treatment. - - The bees constitute a family of the order _Hymenoptera_, viz. insects - ordinarily, but in the case of bees always, with four transparent - wings, which are variously but partially traversed longitudinally and - transversely with threads, called nervures, supposed to be tubular, the - relative position of which, together with the areas they enclose, - called cells, help to give characters to the genera. - - Most of the _Hymenoptera_ further possess some kind of an - ovipositor,—of course restricted to the females,—varying considerably - in the different families. This is sometimes external, but is often - seated within the apex of the abdomen, whence it can be protruded for - the purpose of depositing the egg in its right nidus. In our insect - this organ is converted into a weapon of defence and offence, and forms - a sting, supplied by glands with a very virulent poison, which the bee - can inject into the wound it inflicts. It is not certain that this - organ is used by the bee as an ovipositor, although it is evident it is - its analogue. This brief description of the essential peculiarities of - the family will, for the present, suffice. In the notice of the imago, - I shall enlarge upon the general structure, and then particularize - those portions of it which may facilitate further progress. - - _The Egg._—Although the egg of the parent is the source of the origin - of the bee, we cannot abruptly commence from this point, for the - preliminary labours of the mother are indispensable to the evolution of - its offspring. This egg has to be placed in a suitable depository, - together with the requisite food for the sustenance of the vermicule - that will be disclosed from it. - - Instinct instructs the parent where and how to form the nidus for its - egg. These depositories differ considerably in the several genera, but, - as a general rule, they are tubes burrowed by the mother either in - earth, sand, decaying or soft wood, branches of plants having a pith, - the halm of grain, cavities already existing in many substances, and - even within the shells of dead snails. These perforations are sometimes - simple, and sometimes they have divergent and ramifying channels. - Sometimes they are carefully lined with a silky membrane secreted by - the insect, and sometimes they are hung with a tapestry of pieces of - leaves, cut methodically from plants, but some leave their walls - entirely bare. All these particulars I shall have ample opportunity to - note in the special descriptions of the genera. I merely indicate them - to show how various are the receptacles for the offspring of our bees. - - [Illustration: Fig. 1. The Egg.] - -Before the egg is placed within its nidus, this is supplied with the -requisite quantity of food needful for the support of the young to the -full period of its maturity. The receptacle is then closed, and the same -process is repeated again and again until the parent has laid her whole -store of eggs. In other cases one tube, or its ramification, contains -but one egg. These eggs are usually oblong, slightly curved, and -tapering at one extremity; they vary in size according to the species, -but are never, however, above a line in length, and sometimes they are -very minute. When the stock of the mother bee is exhausted she leaves -them to the careful nursing of nature, and the young is speedily -evolved. She then wanders forth; time has brought senility; her -occupation has gone; and she passes away; but her progeny survive to -perpetuate the continual chain of existence. - -_The Larva._—The temperature of the perforated tube wherein the egg is -deposited must necessarily be higher and more equal than that of the -external atmosphere, being secluded from its vicissitudes. The egg is -soon hatched, and the larva emerges from its shell to feed ravenously -upon the sustenance stored up for its supply. This consists of an -admixture of pollen and honey formed into a paste, the quantities -varying according to the size of the species. By some species it is -formed into little balls; by others, it is heaped irregularly at the -bottom of the cell. In the case of _Andrena_ the quantity stored is of -about the size of a pea. That it must be exceeding nutritious may be -inferred from its very nature, consisting, as it does, of the virile, -energetic, and fertilizing powder of plants,—the concentration of their -living principle. It is strictly analogous to the fecundating property -of the semen in animals, and, like them, produces spermatozoa, a fact -corroborated by the researches of Robert Brown, Mirbel, and other -distinguished vegetable physiologists.[1] - -Footnote 1: - - Might not, by parity of inference, the milt of fishes, such as the - herring, mackerel, etc., be a useful food in cases of consumption, - both from the iodine necessarily existing in it, and also from its - doubtless nutritive nature? - -We are told that the cells of _Hylæus_, or _Prosopis_, and of _Ceratina_ -are supplied with a semifluid honey. It is very doubtful if _Hylæus_ -collects its own store, but that _Ceratina_ does, I have the authority -of an exact observer (Mr. Thwaites) to verify it, for he has caught this -insect with pollen on its posterior legs, which the long hair covering -the tibia is intended for. What may be the nature of this semifluid -honey? It is questionable if the larva could be nurtured upon honey -alone without the admixture of pollen, thus contradicting analogies -presumable from ample verification in nature’s processes. How, too, does -it become semifluid? It is the property of honey, at a certain -temperature, to be very fluid, and this is doubtless the temperature -that prevails within the receptacle of the larva during the time of the -operations of the bees. - -Its semifluid consistency could then apparently be produced only by some -more solid admixture, which, if not of pollen, of what can it be? This, -even in small quantities, might, upon the bursting of its vesicles, have -the power of thickening the fluent honey to the necessary consistency. - -But a bee without polliniferous organs cannot collect pollen, and the -instance of the hive bee, which collects honey in superabundance, -feeding its larva with the bee-bread, must inevitably lead to the -conclusion that the larvæ of bees require more than honey for their -sustenance. Nature is not usually wantonly wasteful of its resources, -and if honey sufficed for the nurture of the grub, so much pollen would -not be abstracted from its legitimate purpose, nor would bees have this -double trouble given to them. By the admixture of pollen the honey has -energetic power infused into it by the spermatozoa which that contains. -But it must necessarily be collected, for I never observed, nor have I -seen recorded, any instance of the pollen being eaten on the flower and -regurgitated into the cell in combination with the imbibed honey. - -Pollen is eaten by the domestic bee and humble-bee to form wax for the -structure of their cells, but the solitary bees do not themselves -consume it. - - [Illustration: Fig. 2.—_a_, the Larva, when growing; - _b_, when preparing to change; - _c_, the head, viewed in front.] - -The larva, when excluded from the egg, is a fleshy grub, slightly -curved, and a little pointed at each extremity. Its body is transversely -constricted, the constrictions corresponding with its fifteen segments, -each of which, excepting the head and four terminal ones, is supplied -with a spiracle placed at the sides, whereby it breathes; and it has no -feet. These segments have on each side a series of small tubercles, -which facilitate the restricted motions of the grub, confined to the -boundaries of its cell. Its small head, which is smooth above, has a -little projecting horn on each side representing the future antennæ. The -small lateral jaws articulate beneath a narrow labrum or lip, which -folds down over them. To prove that the food provided requires still -further comminution, these jaws are incessantly masticating it. The form -of these jaws approximates to that of the insect which it will produce, -being toothed and broad at the apex in the artisan and wood-boring bees, -and simple in those which burrow in softer substances. On each side -beneath these jaws there is an appendage, rather plump, having a -setiform process at its extremity, and beneath these, in the centre, we -observe a fleshy protuberance which, at its tip, has a smaller -perforated process that emits the viscid liquid with which the grub -spins its cocoon, and which immediately hardens to the consistency of -silk. - - [Illustration: Fig. 3.—_a_, the pupa, seen beneath; - _b_, seen above; - _c_, seen laterally.] - -Having constructed its cocoon, where the species does so,—for it is not -incidental to all the genera,—and shrunk to its most compact dimensions, -the larva becomes transformed into - -_The Pupa._—This is semi-transparent at first, and there may be seen -through the thin pellicle, which invariably clothes every portion -separately of the body, the ripening bee, which lies, like a mummy, with -its wings and legs folded lengthwise along its breast. The parts -gradually assume consistency, and the natural colours and clothing of -the perfect insect display themselves through its pellucid envelope. -When arrived at perfect maturity, and ready to commence the part it has -to perform in the economy of nature, it bursts its cerements, making its -way through the dorsal covering of its silken skin, and, leaving the -exuviæ behind, it crawls forth from its dormitory, when, becoming -invigorated by the bracing air and the genial sunshine, it stretches its -legs and expands its wings, and flies forth jubilant, rejoicing in its -awakened faculties. - -_The Imago._—The bee having attained its majority, loses no time in -quitting the confined abode wherein it has been hitherto secluded. It -comes forth prepared to undertake the cares, and meet the vicissitudes -of existence. The new life that now opens to it is one apparently -teeming exuberantly with every delight. It dwells in sunshine and amidst -flowers; it revels in their sweets, attracted by their beautiful colours -and their delightful odours; and the consummation of its bliss is to -find a congenial partner. With him it enjoys a brief connubial -transport, but which is speedily succeeded by life-long labour, for the -cares of maternity immediately supervene. - -I believe the wild bees are not polyandrous, and therefore many males, -if there be any preponderating discrepancy in favour of that sex, must -die celibate. But the fact of finding the males associated together in -great numbers upon the same flowers or hedges, is certainly not -conclusive of this being the case. To provide a fitting receptacle, -furnished with suitable provision, for its future progeny, occupies all -the subsequent solicitude of the female. - -As frequent reference will hereafter be made to peculiarities of -structure, it will be desirable to take a rapid survey of the external -anatomy of the bee, for it will enable me to introduce in due order the -requisite technicalities with their local explanations. This course will -be found most subservient to preciseness and accuracy, and when -mastered, which will be found to be a very simple affair, it will -greatly facilitate exact comprehension. No circumlocution can convey -what a few technicalities, thoroughly understood, will immediately -explain, and no special scientific work can be read with any profit -until they are acquired. - -Diagrams are introduced to aid the imagination in its conception of what -is meant to be conveyed. - -This necessary detail I shall endeavour to make as entertaining as I -possibly can, by introducing, with the description of the organ, the -uses it serves in the economy of the insect. I hope thus to add an -interest to it which a merely dry technical and scientific definition -would not possess. - -Structure is always expressive of the habits of the bees, and is as sure -a line of separation, or means of combination, as instinct could be were -it tangible. Hence the conclusion always follows with a certainty that -such-and-such a form is identical with such-and-such habits, and that, -in the broad and most distinguishing features of its economy, the genus -is essentially the same in every climate. Climate does not act upon -these lower forms of animal life, with the modifying influences it -exercises upon the mammalia and man. A _Megachile_ is as essentially a -_Megachile_ in all its characteristics in Arctic America, the Brazils, -tropical Africa, Northern China, and Van Diemen’s Land, as in these -islands, and _Apis_ is, wherever it occurs, as truly an _Apis_. -Therefore the habits, in whatever country the genus may be found, can -thus be as surely affirmed of all its species, from the knowledge we -have of those at home, as if observation had industriously tracked them. -Therefore, the technicalities of structure once learnt, they become -permanently and widely useful. - -The body of the bee consists of a head, thorax, and abdomen, which, -although to the casual observer, seemingly not separated from each -other, are, upon closer inspection, more or less distinctly -disconnected. The three parts are merely united by a very short and -slight tubular cylinder. This is sometimes so much reduced as to be only -a perforation of the parts combined by a ligament, and through which -aperture a requisite channel is formed for the passage of the ganglion -or nervous chord, which extends from one portion of the body to the -other, giving off laterally, in its progress from the sensorium in the -head onwards, the filaments required by the organs of sensation and -motion, as well as all which control the other functions of the body of -the insect. - - [Illustration: Fig. 4.—Body of the bee. - _a_, head and antennæ; - _b_, vertex and ocelli; - _c_, genæ, or cheeks; - _d_, prothorax; - _e_, mesothorax; - _f_, squamulæ; - _g_, insertion of the wings; - _h_, scutellum; - _i_, post-scutellum; - _k_, metathorax; - _l_, abdomen.] - -These apertures form also the necessary medium of connection between the -several viscera, whereby the food and other sustaining juices are -conveyed from the mouth through the œsophagus to the various parts of -the body. - -As this work will impinge but very incidentally upon the internal -organization of the bee, it is unnecessary to be more explanatory. All -that I shall have to notice here are those portions of the external -structure which have any special bearing upon the economy and habits, or -upon the generic and specific determination of the insects, and to which -therefore I shall specially limit myself. - - [Illustration: Fig. 5.—Front of the head of the bee. - _a_, vertex; - _b_, face; - _c_, ocelli or stemmata; - _d_, compound eyes; - _e_, clypeus; - _f_, mandibles; - _g_, labrum; - _h_, lingual apparatus folding for repose.] - -The _head_ is the most important segment of the insect’s body, if we may -elevate to such distinction any portion, when all conduce to the same -end, and either would be imperfect without the other, yet we may perhaps -thus distinguish it from the rest as it exclusively contains that higher -class of organs, those of sense, which are most essential to the -functions of the creature. The head consists of the _vertex_, or crown; -the _genæ_, or cheeks; the face; the _clypeus_, or nose; the compound -eyes; the _stemmata_, or simple eyes; the _antennæ_, or feelers, and the -_trophi_, or organs of the mouth collectively. - -The _thorax_, the second segment, carries all the organs of locomotion. -It consists of the _prothorax_ or collar, which carries beneath the -anterior pair of legs; the _mesothorax_, or central division, with which -articulate laterally above the four wings, the anterior of which have -their base protected by the _squamulæ_, or epaulettes, or wing-scales, -and beneath it carries the intermediate pair of legs; the _metathorax_, -or hinder portion, which has in the centre above, behind the -_scutellum_, the _post-scutellum_, and at the extremity of this division -just above the articulation of the posterior legs is attached the last -segment of the insect,—the _Abdomen_. - -The _vertex_, or crown of the head, is that portion which lies between -the upper extremities of the compound eyes. Upon the vertex are placed -the _stemmata_, or _ocelli_ (the simple eyes), in a curve or triangle; -they are three in number, and are small, hyaline, circular -protuberances, each containing within it a lens; sometimes they occur -very far forward upon the face, especially when the compound lateral -eyes meet above, as in the male domestic bee or drone. The uses of these -simple eyes, from the experiments which have been made, seem to be for -long and distant vision. To test their function, Réaumur covered them -with a very adhesive varnish, which the bee could not remove, and he -then let it escape. He found upon several repeated trials, that the -insect always flew perpendicularly upwards, and was lost. Although this -was anything but conclusive as to the uses of these eyes, it would seem -that by losing the vision of this organ, the insect lost with it all -sense of distance. - -The _compound eyes_, seated on each side of the head, extend from the -vertex generally to the articulation of the mandibles or jaws, their -longitudinal axis being perpendicular to the station of the insect. They -vary in external shape and convexity in the several species and genera, -although not greatly, and consist of a congeries of minute, hexagonal, -crystalline facets, each slightly convex externally, and their -interstices are sometimes clothed with a short and delicate pubescence. -Each separate hexagon has its own apparatus of lens and filament of -optic nerve, each having its own distinct vision, but all converge to -convey one object to the sensorium. The function of the compound eyes is -concluded to be the microscopic sight of near objects. - -The _face_, which sometimes has a longitudinal _carina_, or prominent -ridge, down its centre, lies between these eyes, descending from the -vertex to the base of the clypeus, or nose, but which is without the -function of that organ. This clypeus is sometimes protuberant, and from -shape or armature, characteristic. This part, however, is not always -distinctly apparent, although a line or suture usually separates it -above, from the face. At its lower extremity the _labrum_, or upper lip, -articulates, over which it is sometimes produced; and it extends at each -lateral apex to the base of the insertion of the mandibles. The _genæ_, -or cheeks, descend from the vertex laterally, behind the compound eyes, -to the cavity of the head which contains the lingual apparatus, when -folded in repose. These cheeks, at their lower extremity, sometimes -embrace the articulation of the mandibles. - - [Illustration: Fig. 6.—1, Clavate antennæ; - 2, filiform ditto; - _a_, scape; - _b_, flagellum.] - -The _antennæ_, or feelers, are two filamentary organs articulating on -each side of the face and above the clypeus. They comprise the _scape_ -(_a_), or basal joint, and (_b_) the _flagellum_ or terminal apparatus; -the latter consists of closely attached conterminal joints, and usually -forms an elbow with the scape; collectively these joints number twelve -in the female and thirteen in the male. They are all of various relative -lengths, which sometimes aid specific determination. The scape, however, -is usually much longer than any of the rest, and in some males has a -very robust and even angulated shape. A description of the antennæ -always enters into the generic character; they usually differ very -materially both in length and form in the sexes. They are often filiform -(2), but more generally subclavate (1), and sometimes distinctly so, and -where they have the latter structure it is found in both sexes. They -constantly differ in the species of a long genus (_Andrena_, _Normada_, -_Halictus_). In the male of the genus _Eucera_, they have a remarkable -extension, being as long as the body, whereas folded back they are -rarely so long, or not longer than the thorax in other males, speaking -in reference only to our native kinds. In the females they are not often -longer than the head. It is in the males of the genus _Halictus_ that -they take the greatest extension. In the male of the genus _Eucera_, we -also find the remarkable peculiarity of the integument of some of the -joints being distinctly of an hexagonal structure,—a peculiarity often -observable in natural structures. In this case it may refer to the -sensiferous function of the organ, and to which I shall have occasion to -revert when I speak of the senses of our insects. We sometimes find the -joints of the antennæ moniliform, something like a string of beads, or -with each separate joint forming a curve, or with their terminal one, as -in _Megachile_, greatly compressed. - -The relative lengths of the joints often yield conclusive separative -specific characters, and which may be very advantageously made -available, especially where other distinctive differences are obscure, -and in cases where the practised eye observes a distinction of habit, -evidently specific, although it is difficult to seize tangible -characteristics. - -The _trophi_ are the organs of the mouth of the bee collectively. When -complete in all the parts, as exemplified in the genus _Anthoptera_, -they consist of the _labrum_, or upper lip; the _epipharynx_, or valve, -falling over and closing the aperture of the gullet; the _pharynx_, or -gullet, which forms the true mouth and entrance to the œsophagus; the -_hypopharynx_ which lies immediately below the gullet and assists -deglutition; the _labium_, or lower lip, and the true tongue. These -parts are all single; the parts in pairs are the _mandibles_, the -_maxillæ_, the _maxillary palpi_, the _labial palpi_, and the -_paraglossæ_. - - [Illustration: Fig. 7.—Trophi and their unfolding. - _a_, labrum; - _b_, epipharynx; - _c_, pharynx; - _d_, hypopharynx; - _e_, mandible; - _f_, maxillæ; - _g_, maxillary palpi; - _h_, mandible; - _i_, cardium; - _k_, labium; - _l_, labial palpi; - _m_, paraglossæ; - _n_, tongue.] - -The _labrum_, or upper lip, is attached by joint to the apex of the -_clypeus_; it has a vertical motion, and falls over the organs beneath -it, in repose, when it is itself covered by the mandibles. It is usually -transverse in form, but is sometimes perpendicular, especially in the -artisan bees. It takes many forms, sometimes semilunar or linear, -emarginate or entire, convex, concave, or flat, and is occasionally -armed with one or two processes, like minute teeth projecting from its -surface, but of what use these may be we do not know. In the female of -_Halictus_, it has a slightly longitudinal appendage in the centre. It -is usually horny, but is sometimes coriaceous or leathery. This labrum -often yields good specific characters. - -The _pharynx_, or gullet, is a cavity immediately beneath the -_epipharynx_, which articulates directly under the base of the labrum, -and which closes the pharynx from above, and immediately beneath this -cavity is another small appendage, almost triangular, which receives the -food or honey from the canal conveying it from the tongue, or directly -from the mandibles, when it is masticated, and helps it forward to the -pharynx to be swallowed. The _epipharynx_ closes this orifice from -above, the _labrum_ then laps over it and the articulation of the -lingual apparatus, both which are further protected in repose by the -mandibles closing over the labrum. This triple protection shows the -importance nature attaches to these organs. The more direct portions of -the lingual apparatus are the _labium_, or lower lip, which forms the -main stem of the rest, and articulates beneath the hypopharynx, and is -beneath of a horny texture; it forms a knee or articulating bend at -about half its length, and has a second flexure at its apex, where the -true tongue is inserted. This _labium_ is extensible and retractile at -the will of the insect, and lies inserted within the under cavity of the -head when in complete repose, and the insect can withdraw or extend a -portion or the whole at its pleasure. Attached on each side, at its -first bend or elbow, lie the _maxillæ_, which, for want of a better -term, are called the lower jaws, and perhaps properly so from the -function they perform; for at the point of their downward flexure, which -occurs at the apex of the labium, and where the true tongue commences, -they each extend forward in a broad, longitudinal membrane, partly -coriaceous throughout its whole length, and these, folded together and -beneath, form the under sheath of the whole of the rest of the lingual -apparatus in repose, and often lap over its immediate base when even it -is extended. Externally continuous, the line of these _maxillæ_ is -broken at the point of flexure at the apex of the _labium_, by a deep -sinus or curve, and within this is inserted the first joint of the -maxillary palpi. The portion of the maxillæ extending forwards, hence -takes several forms, usually tapering to an acute point, but sometimes -rounded or hastate, according to the structure of the tongue, to which -they form a protection. - -The _maxillary palpi_ are small, longitudinal joints, never exceeding -six in number, and generally in the normal or true bees not so numerous. -They vary in relative length to the organ to which they are attached, -and usually progressively decrease in length and size from the basal -ones to the apical, but each joint, excepting the terminal one, is -generally more robust at its apex than at its own special base. The -function of these maxillary palpi is unknown. They are always present in -full number in the _Andrenidæ_, and in some few genera of the true bees, -but they vary from their normal number of six to five, four, three, two, -and one in the latter; and it is curious that they are most deficient in -those bees having the most complicated economy, as in the artisan bees -and the cenobite bees; they thus evidently show that it is not a very -paramount function that they perform. On each side, at the apical summit -of the _labium_, are inserted the _labial palpi_. These are invariably -four in number, but vary considerably in length and substance. In the -_Andrenidæ_ they have always the form of subclavate, robust joints, and -are usually as long as the tongue, but not always; they are only half -the length of that organ in the subsection of the acute-tongued -_Andrenidæ_. In the normal bees, even in the genus _Panurgus_, which is -the most closely allied to the _Andrenidæ_, the labial palpi immediately -take excessive development, especially in their two basal joints, and -the structure of these two joints, excepting in this genus and in -_Nomada_, partakes of a flattened form and membranous substance. All -these four joints are either conterminal, or the two apical ones, or one -of them is articulated laterally, towards the apex of the preceding -joint. These two are always very short joints, and are comparatively -robust. - -The _labial palpi_ are, in the majority of cases, about half or -two-thirds the length of the tongue, but in _Apathus_ and _Apis_ they -are of its full length. At the immediate base of the tongue, and -attached to it laterally, rather than to the apex of the _labium_, are -the _paraglossæ_, or lingual appendages, which are membranous and acute, -except in the _Andrenidæ_, where, in some, their apex is lacerated and -fringed with short hairs. These organs are always present in the -_Andrenidæ_ and generally in the _Apidæ_, where they usually obtain -extensive relative development; but in the artisan bees they are all but -obsolete, and in _Ceratina_, _Cælioxys_, _Apathus_, and _Apis_, they are -not even apparent. Their use also has hitherto eluded discovery, but -that they are not essential to the honey-gathering instinct of the bee -is especially proved by the latter instance. - -The true tongue is attached to the centre of the apex of the labium, -having the paraglossæ, when extant, and the labial palpi at its sides. -In the _Andrenidæ_ it is a flat short organ of varying form, either -lobated, emarginate, acute, or lanceolate; but in the _Apidæ_, with -_Panurgus_ it immediately becomes very much elongated, and with this -genus the apparatus whereby the tongue folds beneath obtains its -immediate development; but this development exhibits itself most fully -in the genus _Anthophora_. The tongue is usually linear, tapering -slightly to its extremity, and terminating in some genera with a small -knob. It is clothed throughout with a very delicate pubescence, which -enables the bee to gather up the nectar it laps. That it should be -called the lip seems an absurdity, for it exercises all the functions of -a tongue, and it would seem almost that the fine hairs, with which it is -covered, are the papillæ of taste. Its structure in some genera seems to -be a spiral thread twining closely round and round, but in others it -appears throughout identical. - - [Illustration: Fig. 8.—Extremes of structure of tongues: - 1, in subnormal bees (_Colletes_); - 2, in normal bees (_Anthophora_). - _a_, tongue; - _b_, paraglossæ; - _c_, labial palpi; - _d_, maxillæ; - _e_, maxillary palpi; - _f_, labium.] - -This tongue was formerly thought to be tubular, and that the bee sucked -the honey through an aperture at its apex. The knowledge of the flat -form of the tongues of other bees should have dissipated the illusion, -for we could have been perfectly sure of the analogical structure and -function of an organ in creatures so nearly alike. Réaumur’s patient -observations have totally dissipated the mistake, and through him we -exactly know how the bee conveys the honey into its stomach As it -exhibits an agreeable instance of the persevering industry and -unblenching patience with which he made his researches, I will give a -summary of what he says, for his bulky volumes, although teeming with -delightful instruction, pleasantly narrated, will necessarily not be in -every entomologist’s hand, and where not, not even always readily -accessible. His observations were made upon the honey-bee, but we may -attribute the same mode of collecting to all the rest. He says:—When -this tongue is not lapping the nectar of flowers but in a state of -perfect repose it is flattened. It is then at least three times broader -than thick, but its edges are rounded. It gradually narrows from its -base to its extremity. It terminates in a slight inflation, almost -cylindrical, at the end of which there is a little knob, which appears -perforated in the centre. From the circumference of this knob tolerably -long hairs radiate, and the upper side of the tongue is also entirely -covered with hairs. The basal and widest portion above seems striated -transversely with minute lines closely approaching each other. - -The upper side of the anterior portion of the tongue seems of a -cartilaginous substance, but the under side of the same part appears -cartilaginous only over a portion of its width. The centre is throughout -its whole course more transparent than the rest, and seems membranous -and folded. It is only necessary to press the posterior portion of this -trunk, whilst holding its anterior part closely to a light, towards -which its upper surface must be turned, and then upon examining its -inner surface with a lens of high power, a drop of liquid may be soon -observed at its foremost portion. By continuing to press it this drop is -urged forward, and as it passes every portion swells considerably, and -the two edges separate more widely from each other. The under side of -the tongue, which was before flat, rises and swells considerably, and -all that thus rises up is evidently membranous. It looks like a long -vessel of the most transparent material. But whilst this great increase -of bulk is made upon the lower surface, the upper surface swells only a -little, which seems to prove that its immediate envelope is not capable -of much distension. - -If a bee be observed whilst sipping any sweet liquor, the anterior -portion of its trunk will be sometimes seen more swollen than when in -action, and alternations will be observed in it of varying expansion. - -The posterior portion of the trunk is a great deal larger than the -anterior, and it is only in repose that the former nearly equals the -latter in length. This posterior portion (this is the portion treated -above as the _labium_, or under lip) is joined to the anterior by a very -short ligature, wholly fleshy, and very flexible, which permits the -folding of the trunk, and then its under side is quite scaly, very -shiny, and rounded (the maxillæ). This portion is apparently more -substantial than the rest. Its diameter gradually increases as it -recedes from about the middle to about two-thirds of its length; there -it is a little constricted, and the first of the two pieces of which it -is composed there terminates. The first piece is rounded, for the -purpose, it would appear, of fitting itself upon another, which serves -as its base and pivot. This base is conical and of a scaly texture, and -terminates in rather an acute point. It is this point which is -articulated at the junction of the two small elongate portions of which -we spoke at the commencement, and which carry the trunk forward. - -In repose, the posterior part of the trunk lies along the lower part of -the mouth, and the anterior part is folded back upon it, when it is -covered by the maxillæ, which then seem to form a portion of it. It has -further another interior envelope; these are the two first joints of the -labial palpi (in the _Apidæ_), which are entirely membranous, and these -in repose cling closely to the tongue laterally. - -The bee would certainly not collect its honey differently from a flower -than it would from a glass wherein it might be placed to observe the -process; and here it never appeared to obtain the honey by suction. The -bee was never observed to place the end of its tongue in the drop of -syrup, as it would necessarily do if it were requisite to imbibe it -through what seems the small aperture at the extremity of the knob, at -the end of the tongue, previously described. As soon as the bee finds -itself near the spot spread with honey or syrup, it extends its tongue a -line or so beyond the end of the palpi, which continue to envelope it -throughout the rest of its length. If the honey be spread over the -glass, the anterior portion of the tongue, which is exposed, is turned -round that its superior surface may be applied to the glass. There this -portion does precisely what the tongue of any animal would do in lapping -a liquid. This tongue repeatedly rubs the glass, and, moving about with -astonishing rapidity, it makes hundreds of different inflexions. - -If the drop of syrup presented to the bee be thicker, or if it meet with -a drop of honey, it then thrusts the anterior portion of its tongue into -the liquid, but apparently only to use it as a dog might do its tongue -in lapping milk or water. Even in the drop of honey the bee bends the -end of its tongue about, and lengthens and shortens it successively, -and, indeed, withdraws it from moment to moment. We then observe it not -merely lengthen and shorten this end, but it is also seen to curve it -about, causing from time to time the superior surface to become -concave,—to give, as it were, to the liquid with which it is loaded a -downward inclination towards the head. In fact, this portion of the -trunk appears to act as a tongue, and not as a pump. Indeed its -extremity, where the aperture for receiving the liquid is assumed to be, -is repeatedly above the surface of the liquid which the insect is -lapping. - -By these continuous motions this anterior extremity of the tongue -charges itself with the nectareous fluid, and conveys it to the mouth. -It is along the upper surface of this pilose tongue that the liquid -passes. The bee strives especially to load and cover it with honey. In -shortening the tongue to the extent, sometimes, of withdrawing it -entirely beneath its sheaths, it conveys and deposits the liquid with -which it is charged within a sort of channel, formed by the upper -surface of the tongue and the sheaths which fold over it. Thus, these -sheaths are, perhaps, less for the purpose of covering the tongue than -to form and cover the channel by which the liquid is conveyed to the -mouth. I have previously remarked that the trunk can swell and contract; -these swellings and constrictions are observed to succeed each other, -and may be for the purpose of urging the liquid, already in transit -beneath the sheaths, forward towards the true mouth. Further, I moved -the sheaths aside from their position above the tongue of a bee which I -held in my fingers, and I succeeded, by means of the point of a pin, in -placing an extremely small drop of honey upon the tongue of this bee at -a spot where it could be covered by the extremities of the external -sheath. I then let these sheaths loose. Sometimes they spontaneously -resumed their previous position, and sometimes I assisted them to resume -it. The drop of honey which they then covered has in no instance -returned to the extremity of the tongue; it has always passed towards -the mouth, and doubtless entered that orifice itself. It is therefore -very certain that the bee imbibes its honey by lapping, and that it -never passes through the aperture which has been supposed to have been -seen at the extreme apex of the tongue. Did this aperture really exist, -it would be of extreme minuteness, and it did not appear to me possible -that a large drop of honey, which I have seen imbibed in a very few -instants, could in so short a time have passed by so minute an opening. -A further confirmation of the non-existence of this orifice has been -given me when, by pressing a tongue towards its origin to compel it to -swell, I have detected the liquid which gave it its extension, but all -my pressing would never make the liquid pass through the extremity, -although the pressure has sometimes made it almost rend the membranes, -to give it an opening to escape by. Having thus passed through the -œsophagus into the stomach, it is then regurgitated into its requisite -repository upon arriving at home. - - Andrenidæ - - [Illustration: Apidæ. - Fig. 9.—Mode of folding the tongue in repose. 1. In abnormal - bee. - 2. In normal bee. - _a_, point of articulation beneath the hypopharynx: - _b_, apex of the tongue.] - -The entire proboscis, with all its appendages attached, has in the -_Apidæ_ three distinct hinges or articulations, including that which -attaches it by its extreme base to the under surface of the mouth and -lower portion of the head, the cavity of which, when folded, it fills, -and even then the apex of the tongue protrudes in some genera beyond the -sheathing maxillæ. In the _Andrenidæ_ it has but two articulations, and -the maxillæ always cover them entirely in repose. The first -articulation, forming the fulcrum of the whole, is always elbowed in the -_Apidæ_, and consequently not capable, like the rest of the joints, of -full linear extension. The attached diagram will give a clearer -conception of the mode of folding: _a_ is the labium, and _b_ the -tongue. - -As we have no complete description of the mode by which the tongue of -the bee is worked, and how it gathers up its honey, I thought it -desirable to be fuller upon the subject than was originally my -intention. - - [Illustration: Fig. 10.—Mandibles: - 1, of leaf-cutter bee (_Megachile_); - 2, of burrower (_Andrena_); - 3, of parasite (_Nomada_).] - -The last portion of the _trophi_, also double, are the mandibles; they -articulate on each side with the cheeks; they act laterally, and are -variously formed, according to the economy of the insect. In the females -they are usually more or less toothed, and are especially broad, curved, -and toothed in the artisan bees. In _Apis_ and _Bombus_ they are -subdentate. In males they are frequently simply acute, but in some -species, especially in _Andrena_, they have a long spine at the base, -which points downwards when they are closed. To this sex they appear to -be of no use beyond aiding them to stay the wayward caprice or flight of -their mistresses; and, although they have an analogical structure in the -males of those genera wherein they are much dilated and toothed, yet -they do not seem to be at all used by that sex for any purpose but -sexual. In the females they are used for the construction of their -burrows and nests, and for the purpose of nipping the narrow spurs and -tubes of flowers to get at the nectar; and they often nip, whilst -seeking pollen, the anthers of the flowers which have not yet burst -their receptacles of pollen. - -These insects must necessarily nicely appreciate the quantity of pollen -requisite to the full development of the young insect, and, although we -often observe a remarkable difference of size in the individuals of a -species, this may rather arise from some defect in the quality of the -nutritive purveyance than in its quantity, for instinct would as -efficiently provide for this purpose as it unquestionably guides to the -collection and storing of the nutritive supplies. - -Having thus completed the description of the head and of all its -attachments, I proceed to— - -The THORAX, which is divided by sutures into three parts already -mentioned above, viz. the _prothorax_, the _mesothorax_, and the -_metathorax_. - -The collar, or upper part of the prothorax, is often very distinct, and -even angulated laterally in front, and frequently presents, both in -colouring and form, a specific character. At its under portion on each -side the anterior legs are articulated. - - [Illustration: Fig. 11.—Anterior leg. - _a_, coxa; - _b_, trochanter; - _c_, femur, or thigh; - _d_, tibia, or shank; - _e_, spur and velum; - _f_, planta and strigilis; - _g_, digitus; - _h_, claw; - _i_, pulvillus, or cushion.] - -All the legs comprise the _coxa_, or hip-joint; the _trochanter_, which -is a small joint forming the connection between this and the next joint -the _femur_, or thigh; the _tibia_, or shank; and the _tarsus_, or foot. -The latter consists of five joints, declining in length from the first, -which is generally as long as all the rest united together; the first, -in the anterior pair, being called the _palmæ_, or palms; and in the -four posterior _plantæ_, or soles; the other joints are called the -_digiti_, or fingers, or tarsus collectively; at the extremity of the -terminal one are the two claws, which are sometimes simple hooks, but -usually have a smaller hooklet within; they have both lateral and -perpendicular motion, and between their insertion is affixed the -_pulvillus_, or cushion. The _coxæ_ in their occasional processes -exhibit very useful specific characters, as do the markings and form of -the remaining joints of the leg and foot, which in several genera -furnish generic peculiarities. The four anterior tarsi have each a -moveable spine, or spur, at their apex within, which can be expanded to -the angle at which the insect wishes to place the limb, and to which it -forms a collateral support; the posterior tibiæ have two each of these -spurs, excepting in the genus _Apis_, which has none to this leg. -Attached to this spur on the anterior tibiæ of all the bees, there is, -within, a small _velum_, or sail, as it has been called; this is a small -angular appendage affixed within the spur by its base. At the base of -the palmæ of the same legs, and opposite the play of this velum, there -is a deep _sinus_, or curved incision, the _strigilis_, called thus or -the curry-comb, from the pecten, or comb of short stiff hair which -fringes its edge. Upon this aperture the _velum_ can act at the will of -the insect, and combined they form a circular orifice. The object of -this apparatus is to keep the antennæ clean, for the insect, when it -wishes to cleanse one or the other of them, lays it within this sinus of -the palma, and then, pressing the velum of the spur upon it, removes, by -the combined action of the comb and the velum, all excrescences or -soilure from it, and this process it repeats until satisfied with the -cleanliness of the organ: and this it may be frequently seen doing. This -arrangement proves how essential to the well-being of the insect is the -condition of its antennæ, the sinus, or strigilis, or curry-comb, as it -may be called, being always adapted in size to the thickness of the -antennæ, for insects being always both right- and left-handed, they -therefore use the limb on each side to brush the antenna of that side. -The palmæ and other joints of the tarsus of the fore legs are greatly -dilated in many males, or fringed externally with stiff setæ, which give -it as efficient a dilatation as if it were the expansion of its corneous -substance. The anterior tarsi of the females are likewise fringed with -hair, to enable them to sweep off and collect the pollen, and to assist -also in the construction and furnishing of their burrows. The -intermediate tarsi are as well often very much extended in the males, -being considerably longer than those of the other legs. The use of the -claws at the apex of the tarsi is evidently to enable the insect to -cling to surfaces. - -The manner in which the bee conveys either the pollen, or other material -it purposes carrying home, to the posterior legs, or venter, which is to -bear it, is very curious. The rapidity of the motions of its legs is -then very great; so great, indeed, as to make it very difficult to -follow them; but it seems first to collect its material gradually with -its mandibles, from which the anterior tarsi gather it, and that on each -side passes successively the grains of which it consists to the -intermediate legs by multiplicated scrapings and twistings of the limbs; -this then passes it on by similar manœuvres, and deposits it, according -to the nature of the bee, upon the posterior _tibiæ_ and _plantæ_, or -upon the _venter_. The evidence of this process is speedily manifested -by the posterior legs gradually exhibiting an increasing pellet of -pollen. Thus, for this purpose, all the legs of the bees are more or -less covered with hair. It is the mandibles which are chiefly used in -their boring or excavating operations, applying their hands, or anterior -tarsi, only to clear their way; but by the constructive or artisan bees -they are used both in their building and mining operations, and are -worked like trowels to collect moist clay, and to apply it to the -masonry of their habitations. - -The _mesothorax_, or central division of the thorax, has inserted on -each side near the centre the four wings, the anterior pair articulating -beneath the _squamulæ_, or wing-scales, which cover their base like an -epaulette, and this wing scale often yields a specific character. In -repose the four wings lie, horizontally, along the body, over the -abdomen, the superior above, the inferior beneath. The wings themselves -are transparent membranes, intersected by threads darker than their own -substance, called their nervures, which are supposed to be tubular. -These nervures and the spaces they enclose, called cells, are used in -the superior wing only, and only occasionally, as subsidiary generic -characters, and their terminology it will be desirable to describe, as -use will be made subsequently of it. At the same time, to facilitate the -comprehension of the terms, an illustrative diagram is appended; but -those parts only will be described which have positive generic -application. I may, however, first observe that upon the expansion of -the wings in flight, the insect has the voluntary power of making the -inferior cling to the superior wing by a series of hooklets with which -its anterior edge is furnished at about half the length of that wing, -which gives to the thus consolidated combination of the two a greater -force in beating the air to accelerate its progress. That the insect has -a control over the operation of these hooklets is very evident, for, -upon settling, it usually unlocks them, and the anterior are often seen -separated and raised perpendicularly over the insect; but that this can -be mechanically effected also is shown sometimes in pinning a bee for -setting, when by a lucky accident the pin catches the muscles which act -upon the wings, and they become distended, as in flight, closely linked -together. Both the diagram and the description of this superior wing I -borrow from an elaborate paper of my own in the first volume of the -‘Transactions of the Entomological Society of London,’ wherein I gave a -tabulated view, in chronological order, of the nomenclature introduced -by successive entomologists in the use they made of the anterior wing of -the _Hymenoptera_ for generic subdivision, and which I subsequently -applied to my own work upon the ‘Fossorial Hymenoptera of Great -Britain.’ - - [Illustration: Fig. 12.—Superior wing. - _a_, marginal cell; - _b_, first cubital or submarginal cell; - _c_, second ditto; - _d_, third ditto; - _e_ and _f_, first and second recurrent nervures.] - -Attached to the mesothorax in the centre, above and behind, are the -scutellum and post-scutellum, which in colouring or form often yield -subsidiary generic or specific characters. On each side of the -mesothorax in front, above the pectus, or breast, and just below and -before the articulation of the anterior wings, there is a small -tubercle, or boss, separated from the surrounding integument by a -suture, the colouring of which frequently yields a specific character, -but its uses are not known. - - [Illustration: Fig. 13.—Posterior legs: - 1, of abnormal bee (_Andrena_); - 2, scopuliped normal bee (_Eucera_); - 3, parasitic bee (_Nomada_). - _a_, coxa; - _b_, trochanter, with flocculus; - _c_, femur; - _d_, tibia; - _e_, planta; - _f_, spinulæ; - _g_, tarsus, with its claws.] - -The _metathorax_ carries the posterior legs laterally beneath, and in -the centre, behind, the abdomen. The posterior legs are the chief organs -used by the majority of bees for the conveyance of pollen to store in -their cells, or, as in the case of humble-bees or the hive bee, the bee -bread for the food for the young, or the requisite materials, in the -majority of other bees, for nidification. To this end they are either -densely clothed with hair throughout their whole extent,—usually -externally only,—or this is limited to the external surface of the -posterior shank. In the social bees this shank is edged externally with -stiff bristles. In these, as in most of the bees, this limb greatly and -gradually expands towards its articulation with the _planta_, or first -joint of the tarsus; and this surface, which is perfectly smooth, serves -to the social bee as a sort of basket to hold and convey the collected -materials. The first joint of the tarsus, or planta, of this leg is also -used in the domestic economy of the insect to assist in the same object. -In the domestic bee the under side of the posterior plantæ have a very -peculiar structure, consisting of a series of ten transverse broad -parallel lines of minute dense but short brushes, which are used in the -manipulations within the hive. Neither the Queen-bee nor the drone have -this structure, and in the humble-bee and scopuliped bees the same joint -is uniformly covered with this brush without its being separated into -lines. - -The ABDOMEN of bees has many shapes, its form being elliptical, -cylindrical, subcylindrical, clavate, conical or subconical, and -sometimes semicircular, or concavo-convex. It consists of six imbricated -plates, called segments, in the female, and of seven in the male; in the -latter sex, in several genera, it takes beneath at its base and at its -apex, as well as at the extremity of the latter, remarkable forms and -armature. It is very variously clothed and coloured, and sometimes -extremely gaily and elegantly so; these various markings often giving -the insects their specific characteristics; the clothing of the under -side of this segment of the body, likewise, furnishes subsidiary generic -characters, especially in the artisan bees, in whom it takes the place -of the posterior legs as a polliniferous organ. This is possibly because -were the supply conveyed _upon_ their posterior legs it would be rubbed -away as they entered the narrow apertures of their nests. Nature does -nothing in vain, and there is evidently a purpose in this arrangement. - -If we can trace peculiarities of structure to efficient reasons, -differences of form may be rationally concluded as having their cause -too, even if it elude our explanatory research. Although the reason of -peculiar structure is not always obvious, it must exist, though -undetected; as, for instance, why in some bees, as in _Megachile_, -_Osmia_, _Chelostoma_, _Anthidium_, etc., the under side of the abdomen -should be furnished densely with hairs to carry their provision of -pollen home to their nest, when in other bees, as in _Dasypoda_, -_Panurgus_, _Eucera_, _Anthophora_, etc. etc., it is conveyed upon the -posterior legs, we do not know; we can only surmise that it is either to -save the insect, in the former case, the labour of constructing a larger -cylinder for nidification, so to prevent the possibility of its being -rubbed off from the external surface of the legs, did these carry it, in -entering the burrow, it being protected from this abrasion by being -placed beneath the venter. In such insects the abdomen is usually -truncated at its origin, or even hollowed within its base, thus to meet -the projection of the metathorax, enabling it to draw itself closely up -together, making the abdomen and metathorax, as it were, cohere. A -different form of abdomen occurs in those bees which carry the pollen on -their posterior legs. It is then more or less elliptical or lanceolate, -which form permits the legs to be drawn up towards the metathorax within -the space that kind of form furnishes, which, by this different but -equivalent arrangement, meets the same object. The similarity of the -adjustment of the abdomen to the metathorax to that of _Megachile_, etc. -in _Apis_ and _Bombus_, by which insects the provision is also carried -on the posterior legs, results from the totally different economy and -habitation of the social bees, to which this structure is necessary for -many purposes. - -If we observe this same peculiarity of structure in the cuckoo, or -parasitical bees, it is because we find resemblances where there are -alliances. Thus, the male artisan bees, although not assisting in the -labour of constructing the apartments, have similarly dilated mandibles -to those of their females. So also, in the form of the abdomen, the -_Nomadæ_ are like the _Andrenæ_ and _Halicti_, upon which they are -chiefly parasitical. _Melecta_ resembles _Anthophora_; _Cælioxys_ has -the form of _Megachile_, both in the hollowed base of the abdomen and -the peculiar manner the latter has of raising its extremity,—something -like a _Staphylinus_. Many other peculiarities of resemblance might be -enumerated. - -Having thus completed the description of the external anatomy of the bee -desirable to be known for facilitating the comprehension of what I may -have subsequently to say. I shall now refer to a few peculiarities of -their manners, which could not be conveniently introduced elsewhere. - -In their modes of flight bees vary considerably; some dart along in a -direct line, with almost the velocity of lightning, visit a flower for -an instant, and then dart off again with the same fleetness and -vivacity, like _Saropoda_ and _Anthophora_; others leisurely visit every -blossom, even upon a crowded plant, with patient assiduity, like -_Bombus_; and some, either from fatigue, or heat, or intoxication, -repose, like luxurious Sybarites, within the corolla of the flower. The -males seem to flutter about in idle vagrancy, and may be often observed -enjoying themselves upon some fragrant hedge-row. But the domestic bee -and the humble-bee are the most sedulous in their avocation, and both -cheering their labour with their seemingly self-satisfied and monotonous -hum. - -Bees, too, have a voice; but this voice does not proceed from their -mouth, nor is it the result of air passed from the lungs through the -larynx, and modulated by the tongue, teeth, and lips; for bees breathe -through spiracles placed laterally along the several segments of the -body, and their interior is aerified by tracheæ, which ramify variously -through it; but their voice is produced by the vibration of the wings -beating the air during flight. Even as Linnæus constructed a floral -clock to indicate the succession of hours by the expansion of the -blossoms of flowers, so might a Beethoven or a Mendelssohn—the latter in -the spirit of his philosophical ancestor—note down the several sounds of -the hum of the many kinds of bees to the construction of a scale of -harmonic proportions, whose Æolian tones, heard in the fitfulness of -accidental reverberation amidst the solitudes of nature, repeatedly -awaken in the mind of the entomologist the soothing sensation of a soft, -voluptuous, but melancholy languor, or exhilarate him with the pleasing -feeling of brisk liveliness and impatient energy. - -It is rarely that a bee is seen to walk, although a humble-bee or hive -bee may be seen crawling sometimes from flower to flower on the same -footstalk, but they are never good pedestrians. They convey themselves -upon the wing from blossom to blossom, and even on proceeding home they -alight close to the aperture of their excavated nidus, to which an -unerring instinct seems to guide them. There occasionally they will meet -with the intrusive parasite, to whom some genera (_Anthophora_, -_Colletes_) give immediate battle, and usually succeed in repulsing the -interloper, who patiently awaits a more favourable opportunity to effect -her object. - -Bees are exceedingly susceptible of atmospheric changes; even the -passage of a heavy cloud over the sun will drive them home; and if an -easterly wind prevail, however fine the weather may otherwise be, they -have a sort of rheumatic abhorrence of its influences, and abide at -home, of which I have had sometimes woful experience in long unfruitful -journeys. - -The cause would seem to be the deficiency of electricity in the air, for -if the air be charged, and a westerly wind blow, or there be a still -sultriness with even an occasionally overcast sky, they are actively on -the alert, and extremely vivacious. They are made so possibly by the -operation of the influence upon their own system conjunctively with the -intensity of its action upon the vegetable kingdom, and the secretions -of the flowers both odorous and nectarian. - -Bees do not seem to be very early risers, the influence of the sun being -their great prompter, and until that grows with the progress of the -morning they are not numerously abroad. Early sometimes in the afternoon -some species wend homewards, but during the greatest heat of the day -they are most actively on the alert. The numbers of individuals that are -on the wing at the same time must be astounding, for the inhabitants of -a single colony, where they may, perhaps, be called semi-gregarious, -from nidificating collectively within a circumscribed space, can be -computed by myriads. And then the multitude of such colonies within even -a limited area! When we add to this the many species with the same -productiveness! Yet who, in walking abroad, sees them but the -experienced entomologist? When we consider the important function they -exercise in the economy of nature, and that but for them, in the -majority of instances, flowers would expand their beautiful blossoms in -abortive sterility, we can but wonder at the wise and exuberant -provision which forecasts the necessity and provides accordingly. But -that even these should not superabound, there is a counterbalance in the -numerous _Enemies_ to which they are exposed. The insectivorous animals, -birds, among which there is one especially their arch-enemy—the -bee-eater; those reptiles which can reach them; many insects in a -variety of ways, as the cuckoo-bees, whose foster-young starve the -legitimate offspring by consuming its sustenance; and personal -parasites, whose abnormal and eccentric structure required an Order to -be established for their admission. Strange creatures! more like -microscopic repetitions of antediluvian enormities than anything within -the visible creation, and to whose remarkable peculiarities I shall have -occasion to return. Amongst the _Diptera_ and _Lepidoptera_ also they -have their enemies. - -Bees are sometimes exceedingly pleasant to capture, for many of them -emit the most agreeable scents; some a pungent and refreshing fragrance -of lemons; others the rich odour of the sweetest-scented rose; and some -a powerful perfume of balsamic fragrance and vigorous intensity. These -have their set-off in others which yield a most offensive smell, to -which that of garlic is pleasant, and assafœtida a nosegay. These odours -must have some purpose in their economy, but what it may be has not been -ascertained. - -They present very frequently remarkable disparities of structure and -appearance in the sexes, so much so that its infrequency is rather the -exception than the rule, and nothing in many cases but practical -experience can associate together the legitimate sexes. Differences of -size are the simplest conditions of these distinctions, for they occur -also in individuals of the same sex. Differences of colour, consisting -in increased intensity in the males, are also usually easily recognized; -but the relative length and structure of the antennæ is a more marked -disparity, and the development is always in favour of the male. The -differences in the compound eyes are conspicuous in our native genera -only in the drone, where they converge on the vertex, and throw the -stemmata down upon the face. I have before alluded to special -peculiarities in the legs when treating of those limbs. In the wings -there are occasional differences, but so slight as not to require, in a -general survey, special notice; but wherever they occur it is always in -the male that the greatest extension of those limbs is found. The -differences in the termination of the abdomen I have noticed above, and -these sexual peculiarities in some genera are very marked. The spines -which arm it in _Anthidium_ and _Osmia_, and its peculiar structure in -_Chelostoma_ we can account for; but we have not the same clue to their -uses in _Cælioxys_, in which the action of the abdomen is upward, and -not downward, as in the others. - -The association of the legitimate partners of our native species has -been to a great extent already accomplished and recorded; therefore, in -this case, with the requisite guides to further instruction at hand, the -commencing entomologist will find no obstruction, but may register the -observations of his own experience to verify the discoveries of his -predecessors. - -It would seem from the facts that have been recorded, and the close -investigations made, that in some instances the next year’s bee is -already disclosed and in the imago state, in the autumn of the existing -year, so that it is ready, upon the first genial weather in the spring, -to work its way out of its nidus, and take its part in the duties it has -to perform. Whether this be for the economy of the food to the larva, or -the saving of labour to the parent in gathering it, or that it would be -prejudicial for it to lie dormant in the pupa state during the winter is -not known, but thus in many instances it is. Sometimes a late autumnal -impregnation takes place, for the males of some _Andrenæ_, _Halicti_, -and _Bombi_ are found abroad only late in the autumn, and then in fine -and recently disclosed condition. - -It is a singular circumstance in the history of some species, that where -they abound one season, nidificating on a certain spot in profusion, the -following year, perhaps, and the year succeeding that, they will not be -seen at all, but yet again a further year, and there they are as -innumerable as ever. - -What may control this intermittent appearance it is impossible to -conceive, all the conditions of the spot and its surroundings being the -same. This I have found to be a peculiarity incidental to many of the -aculeate _Hymenoptera_. It occurs also in the flowering of many plants -which blossom irregularly from season to season. It is a fact scarcely -concordant with the observed rapidity of the disclosure of the larva -from the egg, and the speedy growth, development, and transformation of -the latter into the pupa and imago. - -The wild bees appear to be of annual, or of even more restricted -duration merely. Of this, however, we have no certainty. The conclusion -is derived chiefly from the circumstance that, as they progressively -come forth with the growth of the year, they, when first appearing, are -in fine and unsoiled condition. There are evidently in some species two -broods in the year; the one in the spring and the other autumnal. In -bees without pubescence we have not the same guide. But humble-bees are -reputed to have a longer life than of one year, and hive bees are said -to survive several years, a duration of existence inconsistent with -analogy, and which has been repeatedly and strongly denied. - -In speaking of the _antennæ_ and _palpi_, I have called them sensiferous -organs. The organ necessarily implies the perception, or whatever it may -be, conveyed to the sensorium through its means, this being the -receptacle of the sensation or idea, the external organ communicates. It -is thus that activity is given to a power of discrimination, and -consequently of election or rejection by the creature. This sensorium, -in the higher animals, is the brain; and in the lower, where the nervous -system is very differently constituted, a ganglion, or knot of nervous -substance. That this brain, or ganglion, is the power exercising the -control, may not be admitted, although it is there that our research -compulsively terminates. The power itself is essentially spiritual, -acting through a material agent, and may be an efflux of this nervous -mass. Whether it cease with the death of the organ, we have no means of -knowing. That it may be in some way analogous in nature to the human -mind, but to a limited extent, there is reason to surmise. This power, -in its collective capacity, is called INSTINCT. This instinct is a -faculty whose clear comprehension and lucid definition seem impossible -to our understanding. Its attributes are very various, and its -operations are always all but perfect. It is an almost unerring guide to -the creature exercising it, and is as fully developed on its awakening -as is, and with it, the imago upon its transformation. - -Although observation has thought to have detected that experience -sometimes uses a selection of means, and thus occasionally modifies the -rigid exercise of the faculty, by adapting itself to the force of -circumstances, it, when so, evidently assumes a higher character than -has been willingly accorded to it. This instinct teaches the just -disclosed bee, without other teaching than that of the intuitive -faculty, where to find its food, and how to build its abode. It directs -it to the satisfying its material needs, and instructs it to provide for -its offspring, and to protect them whilst in their nidus; the impulse to -which follows immediately upon the satisfaction of the sexual desire, to -which it is the seal. - -If it be _memory_ that guides the bee from its wide wanderings back to -its home, this then becomes an attribute to the faculty. Instinct -indicates to them their enemies, and the wrongs these may intend, and -shows them how they may be repulsed or evaded. In some of its operations -it seems to be of a more perfect capacity than the operative faculty of -human intelligence. - -The senses evidently possessed by our insects are sight, feeling, taste, -and smell, but whether they hear we cannot know, although the antennæ -have been supposed to be its organ, for the apparent responsiveness of -these to loud and sudden sounds, may equally result from the agitations -of the air these produce. Their possession of touch, taste, and smell, -are implied from what has been observed. - -They certainly exercise a will, evinced by their power of -discrimination, which decides what is salutary and what is noxious; and -the passions are exemplified in their revenge, their sexual love, and -their affection for their offspring, the latter being exhibited in their -unremitting labour and careful provision for them, although they are -never to see them. If there be any precedence in the order of the -relative quality and distinction of the bees, it will be shown in the -degree of superiority with which this function is accomplished. The -perfection of this function we see progressively maturing as it passes -onwards from the merely burrowing-bee to the more complicated processes -of the masons, carpenters, and upholsterers,—all solitary insects, and -working each individually and separately to the accomplishment of its -object. But we may certainly inquire where we shall intercalate the -sagacity of the cuckoo-bees. A vast bound is immediately made from the -artisan bees to the social bees with three sexes, which, as first shown -in the humble-bee, works in small and rude communities, with dwellings -of irregular construction. The next and most perfect grade is the -metropolitan polity, accomplished architecture, laborious parsimony, -indomitable perseverance, and well-organized subordination of the -involuntary friend of man, the domestic bee. This insect has furnished -Scriptural figures of exquisite sweetness, poetry with pleasing -metaphors, morality with aphorisms, and the most elegant of the Latin -poets with the subject of the supremest of his perfect Georgics. - -That bees feel pain may be assumed from the evidence we have of their -feeling pleasure, although instances are on record of insects surviving -for months impaled; and they lose a limb, or even an antenna, without -evincing much suffering, and I have seen a humble-bee crawling along on -the ground with its abdomen entirely torn away. - -In speaking of the antennæ above, as possibly the organs of hearing, I -would wish to add, that they evidently possess some complex function, of -which, not possessing any analogy, we cannot certainly conceive any -notion. They are observed to be used as instruments of touch, and that -too of the nicest discrimination. They seem to be extremely sensitive to -the vibrations of sound and the undulations of air, and keenly -appreciative of atmospheric influences, of heat, of cold, and of -electrical agitations. That they are important media in sexual -communication must be assumed from their great differences of structure -and size in the sexes, probably both as organs of scent and stimulation. -I have often observed bees thrust their antennæ into flowers, one at the -time, before they have entered the flower themselves, and in some -insects, as in the Ichneumons, they are constantly in a state of -vibration,—a tribe which, although of the same order, are remote in -position from the bees, yet they may be instructively referred to by way -of analogy in the discussion of the uses of an organ, whose functions so -clearly follow its structure and position in the organization of the -entire class of insects, that the analogy might be safely assumed in -application to every family of the class, if observation could only -correctly ascertain its uses in any one of them. - -That it is of primary signification to the bees, is sufficiently shown -by nature having furnished these insects with an apparatus designed -solely to keep the antennæ clean, and which I have described above, when -speaking of the structure of the anterior leg. - -In the social tribes the antennæ are used as means of communication. The -social ants, bees, and wasps may be often seen striking each other’s -antennæ, and then they will each be observed to go off in directions -different from that which they were pursuing. An extraordinary instance -of this mode of communication once came under my own notice, having been -called to observe it. There was a dead cricket in my kitchen, another -issued from its hole, and in its ramblings came across this dead one; -after walking round, and examining it with its antennæ and fore legs a -short time, it started off. Shortly, either attracted by sound, or -meeting it by accident, it came across a fellow; they plied their -antennæ together, and the result was that both returned to their dead -companion, and dragged him away to their burrowing-place,—an -extraordinary instance of intercommunication which I can vouch for. - -It would be curious to know if the means of communication thus evidently -possessed by animals, extends beyond the social and gregarious tribes, -and whether the faculty undergoes any change through differences of -climate and locality, as man has done in the lapse of time. For man, -notwithstanding the vastly divergent differences of race, may be -obscurely tracked through the dim trail of the affiliation of languages -to one common origin. But the complete identity of habit throughout the -world of those genera which are native with us, would seem to affirm -that they are as closely allied in every other particular, were we in a -condition to make the investigation, and whence we may conclusively -assume that they all had one central commencement. - -That this mode of communication, and this exercise of the organ in the -solitary tribes is limited to the season of their amours is very -probable, and I apprehend that it is not exercised between individuals -of distinct species. But that, at that period, their action is -intensified may be presumed from the then greater activity of the males, -who seem to have been called into existence only to fulfil that great -object of nature, and which she associates invariably with gratification -and pleasure. Even in plants it may be observed to be attended with -something very analogous to animal enjoyment in the peculiar development -at that period of an excessively energetic propulsion, which is the -nearest approach the vegetable kingdom makes to the higher phase of -sensiferous life. - -The clothing and colouring of bees are very various, but the gayest are -the parasites, red and yellow, with their various tints, and white and -cream-colour decorate them. The ordinary colour is deep brown, or -chestnut, or black. Where the pubescence is not dense, they are often -deeply punctured, and exhibit many metallic tinges. Many are thickly -clothed with long hair, and this, especially in the _Bombi_ and -_Apathi_, is sometimes of bright gay colour, yellow, red, white, of a -rich brown, or an intense black, sometimes in bands of different tints -upon the same insect, and sometimes of one uniform hue. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER III - - SKETCH OF THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GENERA OF BRITISH BEES. - - -IN giving a broad sketch of the geography of the genera of bees which -are native to our islands, but whose local distribution I shall reserve -for notice in the account of the genera themselves, I must regret at the -outset the lack of materials for its satisfactory treatment. - -There are but very few exceptions to the dearth of assiduity in this -direction; a very favourable one is that of the son of the late -venerable hymenopterologist, the Count le Pelletier de St. Fargeau, who, -at his military post as an officer of the French army in Algeria, -stationed at Oran, collected energetically for his father in that -district, and where, in one of his collecting excursions, he was -severely wounded by a musket-ball. Another equally favourable exception -is that of Sydney Smith Saunders, Esq., residing at Prevesa, in Albania, -who has strenuously and perseveringly collected in that country. Here -and there we can point to something having been done in Upper India, in -the vicinity of Poonah, at Pondicherry, in Java, in some limited -localities of China, and to some extent in Australia, Tasmania, and New -Zealand, but nothing of any magnitude. There is much hope that a great -deal has been done in Ceylon by Mr. Thwaites, who, when resident at -Bristol, was a most ardent and successful hymenopterologist. - -The Egyptian _Hymenoptera_ have been extensively and admirably figured -by Savigny, in the Imperial superb work published under the auspices of -Napoleon I., but to these, unfortunately, no descriptive text was -published, and they are therefore as useless to science as if they had -not been figured. But those collected by Ehrenberg, and figured by Klug, -in the ‘Symbolæ Physicæ,’ exhibit how rich in variety is that remarkable -region. These figures may be called the _ne plus ultra_ of entomological -artistic skill. - -Unfortunately, this Order has been sadly neglected for the sake of the -less troublesome _Coleoptera_, and the more conspicuous _Lepidoptera_. -This is plainly perceptible from the paucity of species recorded as -having been once in the Count Dejean’s collection, where we might have -expected to have obtained a rich view of the _Hymenoptera_ of Spain; as -also in those of other French collectors, who have had rare but -neglected opportunities for the purpose. It is true M. Brullé has done a -good deal in Greece. We are, as yet, in comparative ignorance, from the -same cause of neglect, of the _Hymenoptera_ of Italy, excepting -something that has been done by the Marquis Spinola, in Liguria, and by -Rossi, in Tuscany. A little has been contributed towards that of -Carniola, but we are almost ignorant of the _Hymenoptera_ of Sicily, -which, from various causes, are likely to be very peculiar. Mr. -Swainson’s collection of them, although not numerous, were neglected -until they became unintelligible. The only European countries that have -been tolerably gleaned are Germany, Sweden, a part of Russia, and even -Finland. It is impossible for any entomologist to examine every locality -for himself, he must, in great measure, depend on the labours of others; -and, of course, I can only speak of the collections which are accessible -to me, or which are described in monographs, or have been named in lists -that have been published. Doubtless the Museum of Berlin, so long under -the administration of a lover of the Order, Dr. Klug, would present a -large contribution to our knowledge of the distribution of the forms, -did a list of its riches exist. Such a list of the _menoptera_ of -Portugal, contained in Count Hoffmansegg’s collection, was published -many years ago in Illiger’s ‘Magazin der Insectenkunde.’ - -It has been a fatality incidental to this entomological branch of the -study of natural history that some of its most energetic cultivators -have been taken early away. There was formerly Illiger, then our own -Leach, and then Erichsen. Leach, but for his afflicting malady, would -have done much for the science; still, let us hope that the -_Hymenoptera_, and especially the bees, are gaining ground in the -estimation of entomologists generally, and that not many years will pass -before collectors will possess them in abundance. For the present, I can -but give a slight summary of the knowledge we possess on this subject. - -Thus science has sustained great loss by reason of the unfortunate -neglect which the family of bees, and, indeed, the Order of -_Hymenoptera_ generally, has met with from collectors in distant -localities whose tastes have led so directly to the collection of other -more favoured Orders, and the opportunities for repairing the -consequences of such neglect being in some cases extremely rare. The -present slight attempt to trace the geography and cosmopolitan range of -our native genera of bees will necessarily be affected to some -considerable extent by this neglect. - -Although the materials in our possession will yield some fruit, yet -their collection will be but the gleaner’s handful, instead of a loaded -wain from a rich and abundant harvest. As what I have gathered may still -have an interest for some of my readers, I will lay it before them, and -in doing so I shall take the genera in their methodical series. - -The genus COLLETES comes first, a position the more remarkable from the -peculiarities of its economy and form, which bring it closely to the -true bees, as do also its aptitude, by reason of its structure, for -collecting pollen, and its energy in gathering it. The divergence in the -form of the tongue brings it, however, to the extreme commencement of -the series, it being the closest structural link we find for connecting -the bees with the preceding family of wasps. This genus, in our own -species, ranges through northern Europe to the high latitude of Finland, -passing through Sweden; and it occurs also in Russia and in the Polish -Ukraine. In other species than ours, and differing among themselves, it -occurs at both extremities of Africa, in Egypt, and Algeria, and at the -Cape of Good Hope; but whether throughout the wide interval collections -do not inform us. It has been sent from Turkey, but whence?—for this is -as vague a designation as Russia, both being empires which spread over -vast areas,—and, if found in their Asiatic divisions, are the only -instances we know of its Asiatic occurrence. It is so easy for -collectors to add to their specimens a defined and precise locality, -that its omission in any instance is to be regretted, as in many ways, -and in all kinds of collections, it might be very serviceable to -science. To our present purpose it has but a collateral interest as an -object of curiosity, yet curiosity has led to many discoveries which -have proved valuable to mankind. All the divisions of natural science -have a mutual and convertible bearing, and closely interlink in their -relations. Thus, insects denote the botany, which further indicates the -climate or elevation and soil; and the superficial soil will point -geological conclusions to subsoil and substructure. One natural science -well mastered gives a key to the great storehouse of nature’s riches, -and yields a harvest of many different crops. This episode may be -excused for the hint it is intended to give of the paramount importance -of the correct registration of special localities. - -The genus _Colletes_ also occurs in the Canary Islands, which shows a -trending tendency to its southern habitat at the Cape of Good Hope. It -occurs on the western edge of South America, in Chili; it is found on -its northern boundary in Columbia, and has been discovered in the -southern States of North America, in Florida and Georgia; but there is -no record of its further northern occurrence upon that continent. About -thirty species are known. - -The genus PROSOPIS, or as it is more familiarly known by the name of -HYLÆUS, is found in some of our native species throughout France and -Germany, and, like the preceding, as high up as Finland, through Denmark -and Sweden, to the adjacent parts of Russia. It is remarkable that it is -caught in Algeria, although not recorded as occurring in several of the -southern European States. But the apparent restriction of some of our -species to our own islands possibly arises from the fact of special -attention having been paid to them in this country only. - -The genus itself, in other and more variegated forms than ours, presents -itself in some portions of southern and south-western Europe, where the -highly ornamented species would point almost to the certainty of its -being a parasitical genus, great decoration being in our native genera -of bees the badge of parasitism, and may be indicative of those habits, -combined as they are conjunctively with their destitution of -polliniferous organs. Some of our native entomologists have, however, -assumed, upon what appears to me very inconclusive grounds, that the -genus is not parasitical. The observations, however, of the most -distinguished French hymenopterologists confirm the notion of their -being parasites, which appears strengthened by the argument above -suggested with regard to colour. - -This genus is apparently fond of hot climates. In eastern Europe, it -occurs in Albania and the Morea, its extreme western domicile is -Portugal, and its southern European habitat is Sicily. It is found in -Algeria and Egypt, and at the Cape of Good Hope. We discover it in -India, in the southern tropics at the Brazils, and in the northern -tropics at the Sandwich Islands; and it ranges along the southern edge -of Australia, from Swan River through Adelaide and Port Phillip to -Tasmania. The United States of North America furnish it, and on that -continent it seems to contradict its ordinary tropical inclination by -being exceptionally found upon the confines of the arctic circle at -Hudson’s Bay. Nearly sixty well-distinguished species are recorded. - -The genus SPHECODES has also a wide distribution. Our native species are -found throughout France and Germany, Greece and Spain, still one or two -seem limited to our islands. The genus is recorded as in Albania, -Algeria, and Egypt; it is found on the western edge of Africa at the -Canaries; it occurs also in northern India, in the United States, on the -western side of South America at Chili, and then we have a wide gap, for -its next appearance is at Sydney, New South Wales. About twenty species -are known. - -The genus ANDRENA, although infinitely more numerous in species than the -genus _Halictus_, which is also abundant, does not appear to have so -wide a distribution as the latter. Peculiarities of habits possibly -limit its diffusion, although nothing has occurred to naturalists to -explain the circumstance, unless it be the adventitious fact of no -specimens having fallen into the hands of the collector. Our own -species, represented by one or several members, are found (although some -seem restricted to England) throughout Europe, north and south, east and -west, as also in its islands. In Africa it is seen in Algeria and Egypt, -and it occurs in the Canaries; and in Asia it is found in Siberia, and -in northern India; but we have no connecting chain to link those Asiatic -and African localities,—although we may well suppose that it might be -discovered amongst the steppes of Thibet and Tartary, revelling amidst -the flowers of their luxuriant pastures, and even amongst the Persian -sands. It passes through the United States from Florida up and to our -own colony of Nova Scotia, and extends its range to Hudson’s Bay. We do -not trace it further. Nearly two hundred species occur. - -The genus CILISSA, too, has a limited distribution, and occurs in the -same countries, but ranges as high as Lapland; it also crosses the -Atlantic, being found in the United States. About six are known. - -Our solitary species of the genus MACROPIS, which is isolated possibly -only from having been overlooked, appears to have but a European -existence, and is found in France, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and -Finland. - -The genus HALICTUS is very cosmopolitan. Some of our own species occur -throughout Europe, excepting only Italy and Sicily, although they are to -be found in Portugal and Dalmatia, thus traversing its entire breadth; -but from the latter country they do not seem to range down to Albania -and Greece, yet are they discovered in Malta, and even in southern -Africa, but they have not been recorded as extant in northern portions -of that continent. Other species have been sent from the western coast -of Africa and the adjacent Canaries, with their adjunct, Madeira, and -the genus ranges from Barbary through Senegal and Sierra Leone; some -species also are found at the Cape of Good Hope. - -On the other side of Africa the genus has been discovered at the Isle of -Bourbon; it then takes a wide sweep, occurring first in northern India; -it then springs up at Foo-chow-foo, and it is found in northern China. -In western Asia it occurs in Syria. Across the Pacific it is found in -Chili. Its next appearance on the rich and diversified continent of -America is across its southern bulk, presenting itself in the Brazils, -and on its northern boundary at Cayenne, and in Columbia; and it then -appears again in Jamaica. In North America it occurs throughout the -United States from Florida upwards, where the genus in its species has a -very English aspect, and if they be dissimilar, as may be fairly -surmised, they are so very like our own that one is said to be -absolutely identical throughout Europe and in Ohio. It passes still -forward and occurs in Nova Scotia, Hudson’s Bay, and elsewhere in arctic -America, where the botanist might almost herbalize through the agency of -our insects, for the pollen they carry and still retain in cabinets -would often indicate the plants which they there frequent. Thus those -stern regions are not barren in fragrant and attractive beauties. We -find it, too, in common with _Sphecodes_ at Sydney, New South Wales, -whence, doubtless, it passed to New Zealand, where it has been -collected. About one hundred and fifty are registered. - -With the next genus, DASYPODA, I terminate the geography of the -_Andrenidæ_. Our own single species of these very elegant bees occurs -throughout France and Germany, and abounds in Sweden. Other species, all -elegant, occur in the Isles of Greece, in Albania, and the Morea; -profusely at Malaga in Spain, and at the further extremity of northern -Africa in Tunis, and in Egypt. Twenty are known. - -The genus PANURGUS is the advanced guard of the true bees, for, although -it still retains much of the appearance and structure of the terminal -genus of the preceding subfamily of _Andrenidæ_, it is strictly -distinct, and well links the two subfamilies together. This very -peculiar form is limited in number of species and in distribution, for -five only have been recorded. - -Our own species occur throughout France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, -Denmark, Sweden, and Finland, and one of them has also been sent from -Oran. The genus is small, and may have been overlooked in other -countries, although its appearance is sufficiently distinct and marked -to have caught the eye. It is as lithe and active as a Malay, as black -as a negro, and as hairy as a gorilla, looking like a little ursine -sweep. - -The genus EUCERA, of which we have but one representative, although -considerably more than fifty species are known, has not so wide a range -as might be expected from their numbers. Our own is found throughout -Europe and in Algeria. Other species occur in Russia, the Morea, -Albania, Dalmatia, and Egypt. In Asia some are found in Syria, and at -Bagdad; and from the New World they have been sent from Cayenne and the -United States. - -The genus ANTHOPHORA, to which the genus _Saropoda_ is very closely -allied,—so closely, indeed, that by the celebrated hymenopterologist Le -Pelletier de St. Fargeau the species of both are incorporated -together,—has, even as now restricted, a world-wide dissemination, and -numbers nearly a hundred and fifty species. Several of our own occur -throughout France and Italy and the whole of northern Europe, and even -among the Esquimaux in the arctic regions, showing that a bridal bouquet -may be gathered even there; for where bees are flowers must abound. - -The genus in other species shows itself in the south of Europe, viz. in -Spain, Sicily, the Morea, and Dalmatia; by way of Syria and Arabia Felix -it passes down to Egypt and occurs in Nubia and also in Algeria. It dots -the western coast of Africa at Senegal and Guinea, and has been -discovered in the Canaries, and again makes its appearance at the Cape -of Good Hope, rounding it to Natal. It travels round the peninsula of -India, being found at Bombay, in Bengal, and in the island of Ceylon, -and passes onward by way of Hongkong to northern China, where, dipping -to the Philippines, it next occurs in Australia. In the New World it is -found on its western side at Chili, and traverses that continent to -Paraguay and Pará, and has been sent from the West India Islands of -Cuba, St. Domingo, and Guadaloupe. From Mexico, where we next find it, -it passes to Indiana, and occurs throughout the United States, and thus -completes its progress round the world. About one hundred and thirty are -known. - -The genus SAROPODA is closely allied to _Anthophora_, as closely as -_Heriades_ is to _Chelostoma_, and is very limited in numbers, ten only -being known, and but one of which is native with us. The genus occurs -throughout France and Germany, and has been sent from Russia, Egypt, -South Africa, and Australia, thus having a very wide range -notwithstanding the paucity of its species. - -The very pretty genus CERATINA, although numbering but few -species,—fewer than thirty,—and although not found in Australasia, is -widely scattered throughout the Old and the New Worlds. Our own species -inhabits as far north as Russia. Other species occur throughout France, -and in the south of Europe, and show themselves in the Morea, and in -Albania. North, South, and Western Africa possess the genus, it being -found in Algeria and at the Cape of Good Hope, and in the intervening -district of Senegal. It has been brought from Ceylon and Bengal, and -also from the north of India. It reaches China by way of Java and -Hongkong: and in the New World has been found in the Brazils and -Cayenne, in the Southern, and throughout the United States in the -Northern continent. - -The genus NOMADA is the first of the genuine parasitical bees, and about -the habits of which no doubt can be entertained; certainly not the same -as attaches both to _Hylæus_ and _Sphecodes_, among the _Andrenidæ_. The -parasitical habits of Nomada are evident and unmistakable. This is the -handsomest genus, in variety of colour and elegance of form, of all our -native bees, but the species are never conspicuous for size. They have -much of the appearance of wasps, and are often mistaken for them even by -entomologists, who have not paid attention to bees. Many of our native -species seem limited to our own islands: others of our species occur in -France and Germany, and through Denmark in direct line to Lapland, -turning down into Russia, and have been caught as far south as Albania. -One of our species, or so like as to want distinguishing -characteristics, is found in Canada. Did ours migrate there? and how? -The genus is of wide distribution, but occurs only north of the Equator, -where it spreads from Portugal to the Philippine Islands. It is found in -Siberia and Northern China, whence through the Philippines it passes to -Tranquebar, then up to Northern India, and thence by Bagdad to the Morea -and Albania, and dips down to Northern Africa at Tunis, and on to Oran -and Tangiers, and completes its circuit in Portugal. It is doubtless -parasitical upon many more genera and species than we find it infest in -this country, although all that the several species pair off with here -are not fully designated, especially among the _Andrenæ_, and smaller -_Halicti_. The number of species, British and foreign, known to -collectors approximate to a hundred. - -The genus MELECTA is another handsome parasitical insect. This is always -a dark beauty, and is very limited in species, for, as far as they may -be estimated from the contents of collections, its numbers do not reach -twenty. Our own species occur throughout the whole of Europe, north and -south. Others are found in Sicily, Albania, the Morea, and show -themselves at Bagdad. The genus has been sent from the Canaries, and -crosses the tropics into Chili, but does not seem to have occurred -elsewhere in either North or South America, although one of the genera -(_Eucera_) on which, with us, it is parasitical, is found in the latter -country, and the other genus (_Anthophora_), which it also infests, is -found throughout the world, excepting in Australasia. In all those -countries, the closely-allied exotic genus _Crocisa_, which is very -numerous in species, may supply its place. - -The elegant genus EPEOLUS occurs in our own species throughout northern -Europe, as high as Lapland, and is found also at the southern extremity -of the continent of the Old World, at the Cape of Good Hope. It has been -brought from Sicily, and other species come from Siberia. The genus in -America passes down from the United States, by way of Mexico, to the -Brazils, where it crosses the southern continent, having been -transmitted from Chili. It is very limited in the number of its species, -considering its wide diffusion, for not more than twenty are registered. -It is almost identical in distribution with the genus _Colletes_, upon -which it is with us parasitical. The species are never so large as those -of the preceding genus, _Melecta_. - -The genus STELIS is limited both in number of species and distribution, -although the spots whence it has come are wide apart. Our own species -are found throughout France and northern Europe, as far as Finland. -Other species occur in North America, and the Brazils, but the whole -number yet described is under ten. - -The remarkable form in both sexes of the genus CÆLIOXYS occurs in -identity with our own species throughout France and Austria, and spreads -north to Finland and Russia, and through all the intervening countries. -It is singular that it should not be recorded from southern or -south-western Europe, as it is found in Oran. Other species of the genus -have been found in northern Africa, Egypt, and Algeria. On the western -coast of Africa it has been caught on the Gambia, at Sierra Leone, and -on the coast of Guinea. It doubles the Cape of Good Hope, where it is -found extending its range to Port Natal. From Asia we have it from -Turkey, and again from India. It has been sent from the hither side of -South America, from the Brazils, and separately from Pará, and occurs at -Cayenne, and in the West India Islands, Cuba, and St. Thomas’s, and -extends as high in North America, through the United States, as Canada. -It is quite probable that it has as wide a range as the bees upon which -it is parasitical (_Megachile_), although it has not yet come from such -extensively-spread localities. More than fifty species are known, but -some of our own have not yet been enumerated amongst those found -elsewhere. - -The genus MEGACHILE, which embraces the most renowned of the mechanical -bees, is extremely cosmopolitan, spreading north and south, east and -west; and is also very abundant in the numbers of its species, the -census extending to not far short of two hundred. Some one, or several -of our species, although other species are limited to our own -country,—spread through Italy and France, and all the countries of -northern Europe to the high latitude of Lapland, which is higher than -where even one of ours (viz. the _M. centuncularis_) is again found, -which occurs in Canada and at Hudson’s Bay. The genus also frequents -southern Europe, in Spain, Sicily, and Albania, and in the East, in the -Caucasus and Dalmatia. It traverses Turkey by Bagdad to India, having -been captured in Nepaul, and it descends southward in the Indian -peninsula, where it has been found at Bombay. From India it stretches to -the Mauritius, thence across the Indian Ocean to Java, and thence to -Hongkong and northern China. It then dips to the Philippines, and -doubtless through the islands of the Indian Archipelago to Australasia, -from which continent none are registered from its northern and eastern -settlements, but species abound along its southern edge from Western -Australia, through Adelaide to Tasmania. The genus has been brought from -the West India islands, St. Thomas’s, St. Croix, and Cuba: it is found -upon the main from Mexico, descending to the Brazils. It skirts all the -coasts of Africa, being discovered in Egypt and Algeria, along the -western coast by the Gambia, Senegal and Sierra Leone to Guinea, and the -island of Fernando Po, and then again occurs at the Cape of Good Hope. -Ascending the eastern coast by Natal, it stretches to Abyssinia. The -species are very abundant in India, Africa, and Australasia. - -The genus ANTHIDIUM, although very numerous in species, and differing -more remarkably in form amongst themselves than most other genera, has a -far less extensive range, no species having been found in Australasia or -India, although it occurs in Arabia, Syria, and Mesopotamia. Our own -solitary species occurs in France, Italy, and the whole of northern -Europe, extending to Finland. In southern Europe the genus inhabits -Sicily, Spain, the Morea, Albania, and Dalmatia, and is also very -abundant in Southern Russia. In Africa it is found in Nubia and Algeria, -and on its north-western edge in Barbary, whence it descends by the -Gambia and Sierra Leone to the Cape of Good Hope, and thence reaches to -Natal. It is then found in Chili, and crossing the South American -continent occurs in the Brazils, whence it ascends to Cayenne, and, by -way of Mexico, to the United States. The number of species recorded -exceed a hundred. - -The remarkable genus CHELOSTOMA is very limited in the numbers of its -species, of which less than a dozen are known; as also in the extent of -their distribution. Our own are found throughout northern Europe, as far -as Lapland, and in Russia. In southern Europe they occur in the Morea, -and the genus has been discovered in Georgia in North America. - -The closely-allied genus HERIADES seems limited to a European -habitation, and occurs only in our own solitary species, but it ranges, -like the preceding, to the high latitudes of Lapland. - -ANTHOCOPA seems limited to our own country and France, possibly only -from its having been associated from similarity of general habit with -the genus _Osmia_. Only one species appears to be known, but this has a -world-wide celebrity, from the interesting account given by Réaumur, of -its hanging its abode with symmetrical cuttings from the petals of the -poppy. - -The genus OSMIA, although not including such able artisans as -_Megachile_, still has in its species very constructive propensities. -Indeed, all the bees which convey the pollen on the under side of the -abdomen, are more or less builders or upholsterers. The genus has a wide -range, and is tolerably numerous, numbering more than fifty species. -Some of our own occur throughout Europe, and, like the two preceding -genera, are found in the highest continental latitudes. Some of ours -also occur in Algeria and the Canaries, other species in Albania and -Moravia. In Africa they are found in Egypt, Barbary, and Port Natal, and -in the New World from Florida, in the United States, through Nova Scotia -to Hudson’s Bay. - -The genus APATHUS, which is parasitical upon _Bombus_, and to the -uninitiated has all the appearance of this genus, seems to be the only -instance of a parasitical genus of bees so closely resembling the -_οἶτος_, (as we may, perhaps, for the sake of avoiding a periphrasis, be -allowed to call the bee upon which the parasite is found,) as to be so -easily liable to be mistaken for it, and which was indeed the case by -even such a sagacious entomologist as the distinguished Latreille; but -Kirby had already noticed the difference, suggesting its separation from -_Bombus_, until about the time that St. Fargeau was induced to propose a -distribution of the Hymenoptera, based generally upon economy and -habits, to which he had been led by a refining investigation of -structure, that the distinguishing difference was appreciated, and used -generically, by Mr. Newman. This difference, like many other simple -facts, now that it has been found, is very obvious. It consists in the -genus having no neuters, and the female of the species no polliniferous -organs, but the determination of the legitimate males, by means other -than empirical, is still difficult. In our own species this genus ranges -throughout northern Europe, as high as Lapland; a cause for which we -shall discover when we trace the geography of the next genus, _Bombus_. -One species different from any of ours occurs in the Brazils, and others -are found in the Polish Ukraine, and in the United States of North -America. The genus appears extremely limited in numbers, for although -nearly a hundred of the genus _Bombus_ are known, _Apathus_, in -collections, seems limited to ten. This may perhaps arise from want of -due observation or from the neglect of their careful separation from -that genus, but our own species are far from co-extensive with our -native species of _Bombus_. - -The genus BOMBUS, although with some southern irrepressible -propensities, it being found within the tropics in a few instances, is -essentially a northern form, which is strongly indicated in its downy -habiliments, for it is clothed in fur like the Czar in his costly -blue-fox mantle. In the Old World its range extends to Lapland, whither -it is followed, as previously noticed, by its parasite _Apathus_, and in -the New World to Greenland, where one species seems an autochthon, -perhaps originating there when the land was still verdant, and grew -grapes, long before the age of Madoc. Other species occur far away to -the north of east, booming through the desolate wilds of Kamtchatka, -having been found at Sitka; and their cheerful hum is heard within the -Arctic circle, as high as Boothia Felix, thus more northerly than the -seventieth parallel. They may, perhaps, with their music often convey to -the broken-hearted and lonely exile in Siberia, the momentarily cheering -reminiscence of joyful youth, and by this bright and brief interruption -break the monotonous and painful dullness of his existence, recalling -the happier days of yore: but the flowers of humanity, here typified by -the natural flowers which attract these stray comforters, will one day -spring where the salt of tears now desolates, and thus the merry bees -have sweetness for even these poor outcasts, and froth their bitter cup -with bubbling hope. - -In the south of Europe the genus occurs in Austria, the island of Zante, -and the Pyrenees. It is found in Syria, the island of Java, in China at -Chusan and Silhet, and also in northern India; and, although crossing -the tropics to fix itself at Monte Video, at the mouth of Rio de la -Plata, in Africa it appears to be found at Oran only; nor does it occur -in Australasia. In South America it is also found at Pará and Cayenne, -and on the opposite side at Columbia, Quito, and Chili, and passes up -the isthmus to California, and thence to Mexico, whence it extends to -the island of Antigua. - - ------- - -The genus APIS, or the HIVE BEE,—which perhaps in its past and present -utility to man, may successfully compete in the aggregate with the -silkworm,—with true regal dignity comes the last of the series of -genera. The whole array of her precursors, who marshal her way, and -derive their significance and importance from the more or less direct -resemblance in structure and function to her, deduce their common name -of “Bees” from this relationship, and consequently from her. Long before -their existence had been traced by the observer of nature or by the -naturalist, the comb of the BEE had dropped in exuberant luxuriance its -golden stores for the gratification of mankind. This little creature had -garnered, from sources inaccessible to man, the luscious nectar -concealed within the bosom of the flower, whose exquisitely beautiful -varieties, in form, colour, and fragrance, had delighted his sight and -his smell long before he had been led by accident to discover that these -industrious little workers collected into their treasury, from those -same flowers, as exquisite a luxury for his taste, as they themselves -had yielded to his other senses. Thus the earliest records speak of -honey, and of bees, and of wax; and the land of promise to the restored -Israelites, was to be a land flowing with milk and honey. - -Réaumur, whose observations upon bees had been pursued with such patient -and indefatigable perseverance, combined with such minute accuracy, and -then recorded so agreeably, and who conceived the possibility of -establishing a standard of length, for the common use of all nations, to -be derived from the length of a certain number of the honey-cells of the -comb, to which notion he was doubtless led by their mathematical -precision and uniform exactitude, appears to have been unaware of the -existence of other species of the genus, and hence he assumed, in his -ignorance of this fact, that in all countries they were alike. - -Travellers had, even for more than a century before, mentioned different -kinds of honey, derived from different kinds of bees, which, however, -Réaumur does not, from this circumstance, seem to have known. Had he -been acquainted with it, his philosophical accuracy of observation and -habit of reflection would certainly have assumed the possibility of -differences of size in the cells of the different bees, and he would -have waited until opportunity had given him the power of determining -whether this mode of admeasurement could be safely adopted as certainly -being of universal prevalence. It is to be wondered at also, that he did -not weigh the possibility that climatic differences in the distribution -of even the _Apis_ _mellifica_ might have involved discrepancies, by the -effects constantly seen to be produced by climate, and which would have -shown that the standard which he sought to establish could not be relied -on. - -Collections exhibit about sixteen species of the genus _Apis_, whose -natural occurrence is restricted to the Old World, for although the -genus, especially in the species _A. mellifica_, has been naturalized in -America, and also in Australasia, and in some of the Islands of the -Pacific, these were originally conveyed thither by Europeans. Those -countries possess representatives of the genus with analogous attributes -and functions, in two other genera, which fulfil the same uses. It is -remarkable that the Red Indians used to note the gradual absorption of -their territory by the White Man, through the forward advance of his -herald _Apis mellifica_. This species has also been carried to India, to -the Isle of Timor, and to northern, western, and southern Africa, in all -which countries it is thoroughly naturalized, although they all possess -indigenous species, which are quite as, or perhaps more largely, -tributary to their inhabitants. Observation has not hitherto confirmed -the identity of the manners of these exotic species with our own, owing -to the deficiency of observers with the enthusiasm requisite to follow -their peculiarities with the patience of a Réaumur, a Bonnet, or a -Huber. That they are quite or all but similar, exclusively of -differences of size, both in their habits and their nests, may be -inferred from their identity of structure. We know that they consist of -three kinds of individuals—neuters, females, and males,—and that their -combs are made in cakes built vertically, formed of hexagonal contiguous -cells, which are placed bottom to bottom, and overlap each other in the -same strengthening position as do ours; and also that the cells wherein -the males are developed are oval, larger than the honey-cells, and less -uniform. With all these similitudes it is fair to suppose that their -economy may be the same; but their honey-cells, from their smaller size, -(the bee which produces them being smaller,) have a more elegant -appearance; and it is concluded from the largeness of the nest, taken -conjunctively with the smallness of the cells, and of the bees -constructing it, that the communities thus associated must in their -collective number be considerably larger than those of our hives. - -Instinct, as expressed in the habits, is as sure a line of separation, -or means of combination, as structure, and is corroborative in tending -to preserve generic conjunction in its inviolability. And, conversely, -with certainty, is indicated that such-and-such a form, in the broad and -most distinguishing features of its economy, is essentially the same in -every climate. The habits, therefore, in whatever country the genus may -occur, may be as surely affirmed of the species, from the knowledge we -have of those at home, as if observation had industriously tracked them. -This is especially the case in a genus, the species of which present -such a peculiar identity of _structure_ as does _Apis_, whose specific -differences are derived only from colour and size, and this identity is -a peculiarity, so far as I have observed, rarely found in other genera, -numbering even no more species, but wherein slight differences of -structure often yield a subsidiary specific character, complete -structural identity being almost solely incidental to the genus _Apis_. - -The importance of honey and wax throughout the world, as well for the -ceremonies of religion, as for the service of the arts, and for medical -or domestic purposes, is attested by the vigilance, care, and assiduity -with which bees are tended in every country. Although sugar, since its -introduction to those northern countries which have not been favoured by -nature with the cane that yields it, has superseded for ordinary uses -the produce of the hive, this still continues serviceable for many -purposes to which sugar cannot be applied. It is used in many ways in -pharmacy, and still retains in the interior of some continents, owing to -the deficiency of sugar, arising from the difficulties and expenses of -transit, all its primitive uses. In the East, even in countries -producing sugar in abundance, honey is extensively employed for the -preservation of fruits, which in their ripe state in those hot climates -would rapidly lose their fulness of flavour were they not thus -protected,—honey here being esteemed superior to sugar in the -circumstance of its not crystallizing by reason of the heat, and also -from its applicability to this use in its natural state. - -This is especially the case in China, where a conserve of green ginger, -and of a fragrant orange (the _Cum Quat_), are in high repute, and which -are peculiarly grateful to Europeans on the spot. These, however, are so -delicately susceptible of change of climate, that they lose some of the -aroma that constitutes much of their attraction, upon transportation, -and, indeed, like many kinds of Southern wines, can be appreciated only -within their own country, from their extreme delicacy and tendency to -spoil. - -Honey is a very favourite food and medicine with the Bedouins in -Northern Arabia. Bees make their hives in all the crevices of rocks in -Hedscha, finding everywhere aromatic plants and flowers. At Taif, bees -yield most excellent honey, and the honey at Mecca is exquisite. At -Veit-el-Fakeh, wax from the mountainous country of Yemen is exchanged -for European goods and for spices from the further Indies. In Syria and -Palestine we find bees abound. At Ladakiah there are large exports both -of honey and wax; and the honey of Ainnete, on the declivities of the -Lebanon, is considered the finest of the whole of that mountain-range. -Antonine the Martyr, in the seventh century, speaks of the honey of -Nazareth being most excellent, and in the present day bees are -extensively cultivated at Bethlehem, for the sake of the profit derived -from the wax tapers supplied to the pilgrims. Some of the members of the -German colony at Wadi Urtas speak of the purchase of eleven beehives at -this place, and express themselves as very sanguine of an abundant -harvest from the luxuriance and profusion of flowers, although they say -the bees are smaller than those of Westphalia, and are of a -yellowish-brown colour. The eastern side of this peninsula, especially -the district of Oman, is wholly destitute of bees, contrasting thus -unfavourably with its western fertility. - -The enormous quantities of honey produced may be comparatively estimated -by the collateral production of beeswax, which it exceeds by at least -ten to one. When we reflect upon what masses of the latter are consumed -in the rites of the Roman Catholic and Greek churches throughout the -many and large countries where those religions prevail, we shall be able -to form a general estimate of the extensiveness and universality of the -cultivation of bees. Nor are those the only uses to which wax is -applied, and the collective computation of its consumption will show -that bees abound in numbers almost transcending belief. - -The name of _bougie_ for wax-candle or taper, is used by all the -languages of the south of Europe, and is derived from the name of Bugia, -a town of Northern Africa, whence, even as long back as the time of the -Roman Empire, wax was obtained to make candles for lighting. The -inhabitants of Trebizonde paid their tribute to the Roman Empire in wax. -Both honey and wax are largely employed in pharmacy, and were also, in -ancient times, both extensively used in embalming. The honey of Mount -Hymetta in Attica, and of Hybla in Sicily, were each in as high repute -in classical countries as is that of Narbonne in Languedoc, by reason of -its choice delicacy, with us, and throughout France. Distributed over -the wide pastures of the Ukraine, every peasant has his store of hives, -which frequently, in their harvests, realize more largely than their -crops of grain,—multitudes of that peasantry computing as important -items in the estimate of their wealth the number of their beehives, -which often exceed five hundred to the individual possessor. In Spain -and Italy bees are largely cultivated; and in the former country many a -poor parish priest, the religious monitor of an obscure hamlet, can -count his five thousand. - -In countries so rich in the productions of Flora, whose seasons there -are perennial, and which fluctuate only in special locality, bees are -removed to and fro to meet these peculiarities. Thus in the south of -France, where large tracts are cultivated with aromatic shrubs and -flowers, for the distillation of essential oils and fragrant waters, the -hives of bees are moved up and down the adjacent rivers upon rafts, as -the flowering of the crops succeed each other. In Italy, Spain, and -Southern Russia, the same practices are pursued, although we have no -detailed accounts of the precise spots; but we know from Niebuhr, -Savigny, and Sir Gardiner Wilkinson, that upon the Nile it is customary -thus to transport the bees from flower-region to flower-region upon -rafts containing about four thousand hives, each numbered by the -proprietors of the hives for identification, who thus double the seasons -by continually shifting their bees from Lower Egypt to the Upper Nile -and back again. - -In ancient Greece also, they were conveyed for this purpose from Achaia -to Attica; in the former of these provinces, owing to its higher -temperature, flowers had passed their bloom before spring had opened in -the latter. All these circumstances tend to show that the experience of -bee-masters, both ancient and modern, has ascertained that their insects -have not a very extensive range of flight. - -Of the fact that the honey of bees is not always salutary to man, there -is a remarkable instance recorded in Xenophon, in his narrative of the -retreat of “The Ten Thousand,” who reports that upon falling in with -quantities of it, in Asia Minor, those who indulged in its enjoyment -were seized with vertigo, or headache, and violent diarrhœa, attended -with sickness, but which had no fatal consequences, although they did -not recover from its injurious effects for a couple of days, and were -left then in a very prostrated condition. The celebrated physician and -botanist Tournefort, when travelling in the East, towards the end of the -seventeenth century, found, in the neighbourhood of Trebizonde, an -excessive luxuriance of the flowers of the _Rhododendron ponticum_ and -of the _Azalea pontica_, which, although sumptuous in their blossoms, -were held in bad repute by the inhabitants, who ascribed to their odour -the deleterious effect of causing headache and vertigo. He was thence -induced to surmise that these had possibly been the flowers the bees had -extracted the honey from which had been so baneful to the troops of -Xenophon. - -But it seems that bees themselves cannot collect with impunity the honey -of noxious flowers, for they are occasionally subject to a disease -resembling vertigo, from which they do not recover, and which is -attributed to the poisonous nature of the flowers they have been -recently visiting. - -Several different kinds of honey and wax have been described, but some -degree of uncertainty exists as to whether they are all the produce of -genuine species of the genus _Apis_; for it will be found, in a rapid -notice I purpose giving of the more conspicuous genera of foreign bees, -that there are two exotic genera of this section of the family, both -social in their habits, and which both produce the same materials; there -is a wasp also that makes honey. But of all the many kinds of honey -noticed, the green kind furnished to Western India by the island of -Réunion, the produce of an _Apis_ indigenous to Madagascar, but which -has been naturalized in the French island, and also in the Mauritius, is -perhaps the most remarkable. It is of a thick syrupy consistency, and -has a peculiar aroma. It is much esteemed upon the most proximate coasts -of the peninsula of India, where it bears a high price. Whether its -greenness of colour is derived from the flowers which this species -frequents, or whether it be incidental to the nature of the bee, has not -been ascertained, but the honey of the South American wasp, the sole -species producing the material, has also a green tinge. - -Nature has assigned the task of thus catering for man, by collecting and -garnering from the recondite crypts within the blossoms of flowers, to -about sixteen species congenerical with our honey-bee, but sufficiently -differing. As I have before noticed, the species of this genus greatly -more resemble each other in structure than perhaps do the species -collocated within any other genus of insects, and whence may be inferred -an exact similitude of habits, although as yet unconfirmed by direct -observation. - -The second European species, the _Apis Ligustica_, or Ligurian bee, is -rather larger, but very like ours, and inhabits the whole of the north -of Italy, its occupation of that country extending from Genoa to the -vicinity of Trieste; its progress further north being impeded by the -Alps of Switzerland and the Tyrol. It is also found in Naples, and may -likewise spread to the Morea, Turkey, and the Archipelago of Greece, and -is perhaps the bee noticed by Virgil. Either this species, or possibly -one distinct from ours, is that which is so extensively cultivated in -Spain, although ours is found in Barbary. - -Another smaller kind, the _Apis fasciata_, has been cultivated in Egypt -from time immemorial, and which yielded its abundant harvests for the -gratification of the ancient Romans. Only five other distinct species, -so far as is yet known to us, appear to occupy the vast continent of -Africa,—two on its western coast at Senegal and Congo, the _A. -Adansonii_ and the _A. Nigritarium_; two in Caffraria, the _A. -scutellata_ and the _Apis Caffra_. That at Madagascar, and doubtless on -the adjacent mainland, which has also been naturalized in the Mauritius -and at Réunion, is the _Apis unicolor_, which produces the green honey -mentioned above. - -India, however, at present appears to be the true metropolis of the -genus. Further discoveries in Africa may hereafter give that vastly -larger continent the predominancy; but there is no doubt that, so far as -present information extends, India has the superiority. Thus _Apis -dorsata_, _Apis nigripennis_, and _Apis socialis_, are cultivated in -Bengal, the latter being also found along the Malabar coast and at Java. -It is singular that the only instance of the occurrence of the very -distinct genera of _Apis_ and _Mellipona_, both honey-storing genera, -yet known to exist indigenously in the same locality, is found in this -island. At Pondicherry and its vicinity are found _Apis Delessertii_ and -_Apis Indica_. This latter bee is extensively cultivated, and its hives -are perhaps the most largely inhabited of any of the species; the -numbers occupying a single nest being estimated at above eighty -thousand. - -From India also, but to which no special locality is assigned, come -_Apis Perrottetii_, _Apis lobata_, as likewise _Apis Peronii_, which is -equally native to the Isle of Timor. The honey produced by this last bee -is yellow, more liquid than ours, and of a very agreeable flavour. - -Thus science dissipates the popular supposition, that a multiplicity of -the individuals of one species of this insect produces the tons of wax -and the myriads of gallons of honey that are annually consumed. - -Which of these bees first benefited the human race, in its primitive -seat, and before the multiplication of mankind forced them to take -divergent courses from the cradle of their birthrace, “to people the -whole earth,” it is impossible to say. And it is equally impossible to -conjecture whether, like man, they by this course of migration have -assumed the features they now exhibit of distinctly different species; -yet they do not vary so considerably among themselves as do many other -creatures that have come under the direct influence of man,—the chief -differences consisting in the comparatively slight distinctions of -colour and of size, but which are sufficiently marked to constitute them -good species. - -The earliest manuscript extant, which is the Medical papyrus, now in the -Royal Collection at Berlin, and of which Brugsch[2] has given a -facsimile and a translation, dates from the nineteenth or twentieth -Egyptian dynasty, accordingly from the reign of Ramses II., and thus -goes back to the fourteenth century before our era. But a portion of -this papyrus indicates a much higher antiquity, extending as far back as -the period of the sovereigns who built the Pyramids, consequently to the -very earliest period of the history of the world. - -Footnote 2: - - ‘Recueil de Monuments Égyptiens dessinés sur les lieux.’ In Three - Parts. 4to. Leipzig, 1862. - -It was one of the medical treatises contained within the Temple of Ptah, -at Memphis, and which the Egyptian physicians were required to use in -the practice of their profession, and if they neglected such use, they -became responsible for the death of such patients who succumbed under -their treatment, it being attributed to their contravening the sacred -prescriptions. This pharmacopœia enumerates amongst its many -ingredients, honey, wine, and milk; we have thus extremely early -positive evidence of the cultivation of bees. That they had been -domesticated for use in those remote times, is further shown by the fact -mentioned by Sir Gardiner Wilkinson of a hive being represented upon an -ancient tomb at Thebes. - -It may have been in consequence of some traditional knowledge of the -ancient medical practice of the Egyptians, that Mahomet, in his Koran, -prescribes honey as a medicine. One of the Suras, or chapters, of that -work, is entitled ‘The Bee,’ and in which Mahomet says:—“The Lord spake -by inspiration unto the Bee, saying, ‘Provide thee houses in the -mountains and in the trees [clearly signifying the cavities in rocks and -hollows of trees, wherein the bees construct their combs], and of those -materials wherewith men build hives for thee; then eat of every kind of -fruit, and walk in the beaten paths of thy Lord.’ There proceedeth from -their bellies a liquor of various colours, wherein is a medicine for -men. Verily herein is a sign unto people who consider.” - -It is remarkable that the bee is the only creature that Mahomet assumes -the Almighty to have directly addressed. Al-Beidawi, the Arabic -commentator upon the Koran, whose authority ranks very high, in notes -upon passages of the preceding extract, says, “The houses alluded to are -the combs, whose beautiful workmanship and admirable contrivance no -geometrician can excel.” The “beaten paths of thy Lord,” he says, “are -the ways through which, by God’s power, the bitter flowers, passing the -bee’s stomach, become honey; or, the methods of making honey he has -taught her by instinct; or else the ready way home from the distant -places to which that insect flies.” The liquor proceeding from their -bellies, Al-Beidawi says, “is the honey, the colour of which is very -different, occasioned by the different plants on which the bees feed; -some being white, some yellow, some red, and some black.” He appends a -note to where Mahomet says, “therein is a medicine for man,” which -contains a curious anecdote. The note says, “The same being not only -good food, but a useful remedy in several distempers. There is a story -that a man once came to Mahomet, and told him his brother was afflicted -with a violent pain in his belly; upon which the Prophet bade him give -him some honey. The fellow took his advice; but soon after, coming -again, told him that the medicine had done his brother no manner of -service. Mahomet answered: ‘_Go and give him more honey_, for God speaks -truth, and thy brother’s belly lies.’ And the dose being repeated, the -man, by God’s mercy, was immediately cured.” - -That the primitive Egyptians were familiar with the peculiar economy of -the bee in its monarchical institution is proved by the figure of the -bee being adopted as the symbolical character expressive of the idea of -a people governed by a sovereign. This figure is frequently met with -upon Egyptian sculptures and tablets, dating as far back as the twelfth -dynasty; but upon these the bee is very rudely represented, being -figured with only four legs and two wings; but upon a tablet of the -twentieth dynasty the bee is correctly represented with four wings and -six legs. - -All these facts take us far back in the history of the bee. But the -indication of a higher antiquity of its domestication may be traced in -the Sanskrit, wherein _ma_ signifies honey, _madhupa_, honey-drinker, -and _madhukara_, honey-maker, the root of the latter signifying “to -build.” _Madhu_ has clearly the signification of our _mead_, thence we -may thus trace an affinity, pointing to those early times, for the -origin of a drink still in use amongst us. In Chinese _mih_, or _mat_ -(in different dialects) signifies honey, thus clearly showing a second -derivation, in this Turonian term, from a more primitive language whence -both flowed. In the Shemitic branch nothing analogous is to be traced. -But this double convergence to a more distant point veiled in the -obscurity of time, necessarily takes the domestication of the bee back -also to that anterior period now only dimly traceable. - -There can be but little doubt that the majority of the creatures now -domesticated by man were in those ancient days subjected to his sway, -and to which later times have not added any, or but few fresh ones. A -natural instinct possibly prompted him originally in the selection; and -if the reindeer of the Laplander seem an aberration, this has happened -through the contingency of climate, for in the high latitudes it -inhabits, it, in its uses to man, supplies the double function performed -in more southern regions by the equine and bovine tribes. - -In the Greek and in the Teutonic languages, two branches of the Aryan -stem, the names of the bee, _melissa_ and _biene_, are clearly derived -from the constructive faculty of the insect, and to which the root of -the Sanskrit word _madhukara_, above noticed, also points. It would -seem, therefore, that an earlier notice of its skill than of its honey, -had suggested its name. Thus everything points to a very early -acquaintance with the bee, its economy, and its properties, and this -familiarity might be easily traced down in regular succession to the -present times, were it desirable to recapitulate what has been so often -repeated in the history of the “Honey-bee.” The facts I have gathered -together above, do not seem to have been hitherto strung together, and -may be suggestive of reflection, as well as affording some amusement. - - ------- - -The study of the geographical distribution of natural objects has a more -universal bearing, and yields collectively more definite instruction and -information than its partial treatment, when restricted to small groups, -may at first seem to promise. This, however, is very useful, for it is -but by the combination of such special details that the enlarged views -are to be obtained, from which theories of the general laws of -distribution can be deduced. Of course, small creatures with locomotive -capacities will not supply the positive conclusions that may be framed -from such objects as are fixed to their abode, and have not the same -power of diffusion, although they certainly appear to be generally -restrained within particular limits by physical conditions of the -earth’s surface subservient to the maintenance of special forms of -organic life; and these, once determined, would yield and derive -reciprocal illustration. They may be merely climatic, but climate thus -indicated cannot be estimated by zones, or belts, or regions; for they -seem to traverse all these, and follow undulations not specially -appreciable except in the results they exhibit. - -Unfortunately the bees have been too imperfectly collected, and too -irregularly registered, to admit of arriving at any precise conclusions -with respect to them. All that can as yet be done will be to combine the -scanty notices afforded by the contents of our collections, in the hope -that their promulgation may induce collectors, who happen to have the -often extremely rare opportunity of examining distant countries, to -avail themselves of the happy chance, which may never recur, or only at -long intervals. - -Nor can I too impressively reiterate the importance of noting both -special localities, altitude, temperature, season, flora, etc., as being -all conducive to the widest instruction upon the subject. Indulging in -the hope that travellers will act upon these suggestions, and thus -considerably add to the value of what they may industriously collect, we -must patiently await until time brings it about. - -Encouraging this expectation, I have summarily collected, under their -topical arrangement, the notices which precede, but which are there -arranged in the generic order of the bees. - -From the information we thus possess, we learn that some of our genera -have an extremely wide diffusion, and occur in countries where we might -have expected that other forms would have superseded them in the offices -they are ordained to fulfil. None of the schemes for the geographical -distribution of insects yet propounded, seem to curb the eccentricities -of their range. The regions proposed by Fabricius in his ‘Philosophia -Entomologica,’ they break through as readily as through the concentric -circles of the cobweb when this opposes them: and all I can do is to -present them as they offer themselves, with the remark that the -occurrence of solitary forms in certain localities are almost sure -indications that allied genera would be found at hand were they -heedfully sought. It will also be observed, that in some places a -parasitical genus, and its known sitos, only, have been captured there. - -The following list will strongly show how totally our genera of bees are -unaffected by isothermal, isotheral, or isocheimal lines drawn over the -earth’s surface. Nor do botanical conditions seem to influence them -beyond, the probability of their dissemination being restricted to the -special diffusion of the families of such plants whose genera and -species they frequent with us. - - -Thus, inhabiting Northern Europe we find in— - - _Lapland._ Cilissa; Anthophora; Epeolus; Megachile; Chelostoma; - Heriades; Osmia; Apathus; Bombus; Apis. - - _Finland._ Colletes; Prosopis; Cilissa; Anthophora; Nomada; Epeolus; - Stelis; Cœlioxys; Megachile; Anthidium; Chelostoma; Heriades; - Osmia; Apathus; Bombus; Apis. - - _Sweden._ All our genera except Sphecodes; Halictus; Macropis; - Anthocopa. - - _Denmark._ All our genera except Macropis and Anthocopa. - - _Russia._ All our genera except Macropis and Anthocopa. - - _The other Northern European Countries._ All our genera, with the same - exceptions. - - - Western, Southern, and Eastern Europe present us with, in— - - - _France._ All our genera. - - _Portugal._ Prosopis; Sphecodes; Andrena; Halictus; Eucera; Nomada; - Anthidium; Apathus; Bombus; Apis. - - _Spain._ Prosopis; Sphecodes; Andrena; Halictus; Dasypoda; Eucera; - Anthophora; Nomada; Megachile; Anthidium; Apathus; Bombus; Apis. - - _Italy._ Andrena; Halictus; Panurgus; Eucera; Anthophora; Nomada; - Melecta; Epeolus; Cœlioxys; Megachile; Anthidium; Osmia; Apathus; - Bombus; Apis. - - _Sicily._ Prosopis; Sphecodes; Eucera; Anthophora; Melecta; Epeolus; - Megachile; Anthidium; Osmia; Apathus; Bombus; Apis. - - _Malta._ Halictus; Apis. - - _Isles of Greece._ Dasypoda; Apis. - - _The Morea._ Prosopis; Sphecodes; Halictus; Dasypoda; Eucera; - Anthophora; Ceratina; Nomada; Melecta; Anthidium; Chelostoma; - Osmia; Bombus; Apis. - - _Albania._ Prosopis; Sphecodes; Dasypoda; Eucera; Ceratina; Nomada; - Melecta; Megachile; Anthidium; Osmia; Bombus; Apis. - - _Dalmatia._ Halictus; Eucera; Anthophora; Megachile; Anthidium; Apis. - - - Asia exhibits to us, in— - - _Siberia._ Andrena; Nomada; Epeolus; Bombus; Apis. - - _Kamchatka._ Bombus. - - _China._ Halictus; Nomada; Anthophora; Megachile; Bombus; Apis. - - _Northern India._ Prosopis; Sphecodes; Andrena; Halictus; Ceratina; - Nomada; Cœlioxys; Megachile; Bombus; Apis. - - _Bengal._ Anthophora; Ceratina; Apis. - - _Tranquebar._ Nomada; Apis. - - _Ceylon._ Anthophora; Ceratina; Apis. - - _Bombay._ Anthophora; Megachile; Apis. - - _Arabia Felix._ Anthophora; Anthidium; Apis. NOTE.—The genus _Apis_ - does not occur in _Oman_. - - _Mesopotamia._ Eucera; Nomada; Melecta; Megachile; Anthidium. - - _Syria._ Halictus; Eucera; Anthophora; Cœlioxys; Anthidium; Bombus; - Apis. - - - In Africa we find, in— - - _Egypt._ Colletes; Sphecodes; Andrena; Dasypoda; Eucera; Anthophora; - Saropoda; Cœlioxys; Anthidium; Osmia; Apis. - - _Nubia._ Anthidium; Anthophora; Apis. - - _Abyssinia._ Megachile; Apis. - - _Tunis._ Dasypoda; Nomada; Apis. - - _Algeria._ Colletes; Prosopis; Sphecodes; Andrena; Panurgus; Eucera; - Anthophora; Ceratina; Nomada; Cœlioxys; Megachile; Anthidium; - Osmia; Bombus; Apis. - - _Barbary._ Halictus; Nomada; Anthidium; Osmia; Apis. - - _Madeira._ Halictus; Apis. - - _Canaries._ Colletes; Sphecodes; Andrena; Halictus; Anthophora; - Melecta; Osmia; Apis. - - _Senegal._ Halictus; Anthophora; Ceratina; Megachile; Apis. - - _Gambia._ Cœlioxys; Megachile; Anthidium; Apis. - - _Sierra Leone._ Halictus; Cœlioxys; Megachile; Anthidium; Apis. - - _Coast of Guinea._ Anthophora; Cœlioxys; Megachile; Anthidium; Apis. - - _Fernando Po._ Megachile. - - _Western Africa._ Halictus; Apis. - - _Cape of Good Hope._ Halictus; Anthophora; Ceratina; Epeolus; - Cœlioxys; Megachile; Anthidium; Apis. - - _South Africa_ [no distinct locality]. Halictus; Saropoda; Apis. - - _Natal._ Anthophora; Cœlioxys; Megachile; Anthidium; Osmia; Apis. - - _Madagascar._ Apis. - - _Réunion._ Halictus; Apis. - - _Mauritius._ Megachile; Apis. - - - In America we find, in— - - _Arctic America and Hudson’s Bay._ Prosopis; Andrena; Halictus; - Megachile; Osmia; Bombus. - - _Canada and Nova Scotia._ Andrena; Halictus; Nomada; Cœlioxys; - Megachile; Osmia; Bombus. - - _United States._ Colletes; Sphecodes; Andrena; Cilissa; Halictus; - Eucera; Anthophora; Ceratina; Epeolus; Stelis; Cœlioxys; - Anthidium; Chelostoma; Heriades; Osmia; Apathus; Bombus. - - _Mexico._ Anthophora; Epeolus; Megachile; Anthidium; Bombus. - - _California._ Bombus. - - _Columbia._ Colletes; Bombus. - - _Quito._ Bombus. - - _Chili._ Sphecodes; Halictus; Anthophora; Melecta; Epeolus; Anthidium; - Bombus. - - _Jamaica._ Halictus. - - _Cuba._ Anthophora; Cœlioxys; Megachile. - - _St. Domingo._ Anthophora. - - _Antigua._ Bombus. - - _Guadeloupe._ Anthophora. - - _St. Thomas’s._ Cœlioxys; Megachile. - - _St. Croix._ Megachile. - - _Cayenne._ Halictus; Eucera; Ceratina; Cœlioxys; Anthidium; Bombus. - - _Pará._ Anthophora; Cœlioxys; Bombus. - - _Brazils._ Prosopis; Halictus; Ceratina; Epeolus; Stelis; Cœlioxys; - Megachile; Anthidium; Apathus; Bombus. - - _Paraguay._ Anthophora. - - _Monte Video._ Bombus. - - - In Polynesia there occur— - - _Sandwich Islands._ Prosopis. - - _Philippines._ Anthophora; Nomada; Megachile. - - - In Australia are found— - - _Swan River._ Prosopis; Megachile. - - _Adelaide._ Prosopis; Megachile. - - _Port Phillip._ Prosopis. - - _Tasmania._ Prosopis; Megachile. - - _Sydney._ Sphecodes; Halictus. - - _New Zealand._ Halictus. - - _Australia_ [but no distinct locality]. Anthophora; Saropoda. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER IV - - NOTICE OF THE MORE CONSPICUOUS FOREIGN GENERA OF BEES. - - -SEEING thus the wide and almost universal distribution of many of our -own genera, we might be induced to ask whether this could not suffice, -by the impetus which more genial climates give to the multiplication of -individuals, to meet all the exigencies of the most favoured regions of -the vegetable kingdom. This is not so. There seems scarcely a limit to -the exuberance wherein nature revels in the production of variations of -form. The splendour, elegance, and infinite variety which she displays -in her floral beauties in the most luxuriant climates, find rivalry as -well in the multitude as in the magnificence of the insects which she -has allied with them as the indispensable promoters of their -perpetuation. How otherwise than through some of the insects we shall -mention could tropical _Labiatæ_ and the tubulated flowers of the -_Rubiaceæ_, etc. be fertilized? The reader will therefore, I trust, -welcome an acquaintance with some of the most conspicuous of the group -of bees produced by tropical countries, although the main object of this -treatise is to exhibit the attractions of “our native bees.” - -I will but superficially and rapidly glance at the more distinguished -exotic genera and species, as supplementary to the preceding notice of -the geographical range of those which are indigenous with us. - -How our own species reached us is a subject which has at present eluded -all satisfactory determination. For its solution we must await the -further discoveries of geology; at present we can only attribute their -advent here to the same causes which are common to the production of all -our groups of both the animal and the vegetable kingdoms. - -Knowing how affluent tropical and sub-tropical countries are in the -variety, size, and number of the forms, as well as in the splendour of -their plants and vertebrated animals, we may fairly expect as gorgeous a -richness in the insects they produce. Nor shall we be disappointed, for -the imperial magnificence of their _Lepidoptera_ and _Coleoptera_ -guarantees an equivalent brilliancy in the other orders of insects, and -which is fully confirmed by the harmonious splendour of their bees. - -They thus put forward claims to attention and must excite curiosity by -their beauty and size, which the comparative smallness of our own, and -the usual dulness of their colours do not possess. The latter only repay -notice upon close investigation, but they then as amply reward all -labour bestowed upon them by the mental recreation they yield, as their -more gaudy exotic rivals. The former present themselves obtrusively and -exact notice, whereas ours meekly solicit it by their humble but solid -allurements. Here, as well as there, we behold the works of a mighty -hand and of an immeasurable intelligence. - -The bees throughout the world, as known collectively to the richest -cabinets, number about two thousand species. This host, in itself -numerically so large, solicits attention, for it is opposed to the -economy of nature that there should exist any without functions of -essential usefulness, making them important elements in her harmonious -order and necessary to her due course, irrespective of the instruction -to be derived from the study of the manifold varieties of structure, -which unquestionably point to distinguishing peculiarities of habits. - -In the true bees the division of the _Dasygasters_ presents the fewest -differing generic forms: the _Nudipedes_ and _Scopulipedes_ exhibit more -numerous varieties, the preponderance being in favour of the -pollen-collecting bees (the latter), although the cuckoo-bees (the -_Nudipedes_) are very abundant, and taken _en masse_, are certainly the -handsomest. If it be absolutely the case that there are no parasites -amongst the _Andrenidæ_, this subfamily will add very largely to the -exotic pollinigerous majority, which thereby becomes extensively -subservient to the fruition of the vegetable kingdom. - -Those bees which are exclusively inter- or sub-tropical, seem furnished -with larger capacities for fulfilling the special mission to which the -family is appointed. Their pollinigerous and honey-collecting organs are -peculiarly adapted both to the structure and luxuriance of the superb -vegetation of those regions, and to which they seem distinctly limited. -But that they are not considered equivalent to the entire demand of the -profuse bloom everywhere abounding, may be concluded from the tropical -range and distribution of many of our northern forms. Thus, whilst the -flora of those climates is strictly circumscribed in its diffusion, its -fauna, distinctly in the class of insects, and especially in the family -of bees, is very considerably less limited, in extension. - -The exotic genera of bees which are peculiarly noticeable, either from -splendour, size, or remarkable eccentricities of structure, are -numerous. Tropical and sub-tropical regions of course abound with them, -in individuals, in species, and in genera; and when we reflect upon the -riches of the flora of those countries, which is perpetuated mainly by -the agency of insects, amongst which, in fulfilling this indispensable -demand, bees, as I have reiterated, are pre-eminently conspicuous, we -shall not even wonder that their number, although excessive in the -extreme, is considerably aided, in many cases, in the performance of -this task, by peculiarities of structure. Thus, the splendid Brazilian -genus _Euglossa_, although not conspicuous for size, is remarkably so -for the enormous development of its posterior tibiæ, which form very -large triangles, compared with the size of the insect, deeply hollowed -for the conveyance of pollen. Its tongue also, from the length of which -the genus derives its name, is, when extended, more than twice the -length of the body, and with which it is enabled to reach the nectarium, -seated within the depths of the longest tubes of flowers. Other exotic -bees, further to aid them in collecting pollen, in addition to the dense -brushes with which their posterior legs are variously covered, have each -individual hair of these thick brushes considerably thickened by hairs -given off laterally, and in some cases these again ramify. Sometimes, in -variation, the simple, single hairs have a spiral curve, which almost -equally enlarges the activity of their operation. This is also the case -with two very hairy-legged genera of our native bees, proximately allied -to each other in the methodical arrangement, _Dasypoda_ and _Panurgus_, -the hair of whose posterior legs have this spiral twist. The most -hairy-legged exotic bees are essentially the genera _Centris_ and -_Xylocopa_. Of the habits of the former we know nothing, but those of -the latter we are intimately acquainted with, through the elaborate -descriptions given by Réaumur and the Rev. L. Guilding, the latter of -whom made his observations upon a species found in the island of St. -Vincent’s, in the West Indies. This last genus exhibits in some of its -species the giants among the bees, and one is especially so, a native of -India, the _Xylocopa latipes_, which is an inch and a quarter long, and -more than three inches in the expansion of its black, acute wings; and -it is also noticeable from the anterior tarsus in the male being greatly -dilated and white, the bee itself being intensely black, and which in -this same sex has enormous eyes united at the vertex, as in the male -_Apis_, or drone. In this genus, as in many other genera of bees, there -is often a great discrepancy in the appearance of the sexes, they being -so totally dissimilar that no scientific skill has hitherto been able to -discover a clue for uniting together correctly, by scientific process -merely, the sexes of a species; thence the numbers of the species in -such genera are unduly augmented beyond their natural limits, from the -fact of observation having neglected to associate the legitimate -partners. - -In some of our native genera this same difficulty existed, which, -however, is gradually diminishing as the authentic sexes are slowly -discovered. - -Exotic bees exhibit also a peculiarity I had occasion to observe before, -in reference to our own bees, amounting perhaps to a law, viz the more -highly-coloured condition of the parasite, for we find all the -parasitical bees of those latitudes, usually gorgeously arrayed in -metallic splendour, as instanced in _Aglaë_, _Mesonychia_, _Mesocheira_, -etc., and _Melissoda_ (my _Ischnocera_, in Lardner), is remarkably -conspicuous for its long and delicately slender antennæ in the male, -each joint of which is nodose at its extremity. - -The widely-distributed _Nomia_ seems to abound chiefly in India. It, -although neither gay nor large, has, in its males, a distinguishing form -of the posterior tibiæ, which is greatly incrassated or thickened; a -peculiarity of structure found also in some other genera of -_Hymenoptera_, and in several genera of the _Diptera_, giving the -insects which have it a remarkable gait. - -The singularly anomalous distortion of these posterior legs is -conspicuous also in the genus _Ancylosceles_, which is named in allusion -to it. - -Another remarkable peculiarity is to be observed in the above genus, -_Mesocheira_, as likewise in the superb _Acanthopus_, both of which -genera have the spur of the intermediate leg palmated at the extremity, -and the latter genus is further distinguished by its large size and -splendid development, and by having the fifth joint of the tarsus of the -posterior legs longer than the three preceding united, and covered with -a pollinigerous brush as dense as that of the elongate first joint of -the same limb. - -But the foreign genera which will be most interesting to the reader -will, I expect, be those of _Trigona_ and _Mellipona_, which, in many -peculiarities, seem abortive _Apes_. They seem nature’s first endeavour -to construct _Apis_, for they have an apparently imperfect neuration of -the wing, in which the external submarginal cell is unfinished. Their -only separating distinction from each other is the difference in their -mandibles, which in _Mellipona_ are broad and edentate, whereas in -_Trigona_ they are also broad but denticulated. In _Apis_ these organs -are merely irregularly enlarged at the extremity, and hollowed within, -rather like a spoon, which structure would of course imply a difference -of economy. - -A further characteristic of these genera, and in which they participate -with _Apis_, is the deficiency of spurs to the posterior tibiæ, which -separates them from all other genera of bees, as also from _Bombus_, -which has two, yet with which, in point of their economy, they more -closely assimilate than with _Apis_. They are the South American and -Australian indigenous representatives of the genus _Apis_, and are found -likewise in Java and Sumatra, and in some of the larger and extreme -islands of the Indian Archipelago, thus also similarly in countries -where marsupial animals occur. Like _Apis_, they are social in their -habits; but their neuters only are as yet known, neither males nor -females having been described. They are reputed to be stingless, and to -make honey and wax in enormous quantities. The combs in _Mellipona_ are -attached either to the branches of trees or are suspended from them, but -how they are enveloped for security is not reported, but sometimes, like -_Apis_, they construct them within hollow trees and in the cavities of -rocks, as in _Trigona_, in like manner as _Apis_ does in its natural -state. Their communities are not so large as those of the hive bee, and -the cells of their combs are less perfectly hexagonal, the wax being -expended upon them in denser quantities, whereas the hive bee is -exceedingly parsimonious in the use of this material, a circumstance -arising possibly from the different and more difficult mode the latter -have of obtaining it. In the latter it is a secretion; but these exotic -genera possibly collect their wax ready-made by the exudation of plants, -and, thus, having more readily obtained it, they are more lavish in its -use. - -Early travellers and historians describe many kinds of honey made by -these bees, native to the South American continent, but they report -nothing of the peculiarities of the social economy of these insects, nor -whether they are as closely allied in this respect to _Apis_, as they -are in the collection of honey and wax. - -To enter into further detail relative to them would be beyond the -province of this work, and I have only given this extremely superficial -and brief notice of foreign genera, to show what multitudes of others of -this interesting family await admiration and study, when some -proficiency has been acquired in the knowledge of our own. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER V - - PARASITES OF BEES AND THEIR ENEMIES. - - -NATURE seems to have imposed a restraint upon the undue increase of all -its creatures, by creating, to check it, others that prey upon them. It -thus enlarges the sphere of its activity by making life accessory to -life, and promoting thereby a more extended enjoyment of all its -pleasures. Other forms are brought into existence, and other terms given -to duration than those which the laws of life attach to specific -organization. No abatement is thereby made upon the quantity of -contemporaneous vitality, for what subsides in one rises in another, and -the undulation of the waves is perpetual. - -Does the quantity of life, extant upon the earth, vary? Perhaps -mortality ever comes in some shape to prevent it, when excess threatens -to render its energy effete. Yet under every circumstance the wise -arrangements of Providence suffice, for everything has its enemies or -its parasites, which are also enemies, but frequently in disguise. For -defence there is an implanted instinctive fear, or abhorrence; and the -creature is then left to its skill, prudence, or strength, either to -evade or to mitigate, to the extent of its capability, the danger of the -attack. - -We find the bees are not at all exempted from this prevailing condition. -They have many enemies and parasites of remarkably differing -organization. They are attacked by many kinds of birds, among which the -_Merops Apiaster_ (or bee-eater) is conspicuous. All the swallow tribe -prey upon them, as do the shrikes and some of the soft-billed small -birds, and also many small quadrupeds when they can find the -opportunity. Wasps also attack them, but they do not often get entangled -in spiders’ nets, being generally too strong for the retention of its -meshes, but I have seen a _Bombus_ enveloped in a tangle of its -wonderful filament. - -The wild bees’ parasites are of two kinds, personal, and such which, -like the young of cuckoos, live at the expense of the offspring. The -personal parasites are again of two kinds, for bees are infested with -several kinds of _Acari_, and once I found a _Bombus_ upon the ground in -Coombe Wood so swarming with the _Acarus_ that it lay hopelessly -helpless until I threw it into a pool of water, when its _attachés_ were -washed away. But the poor bee seemed so prostrated by their attack, that -even when freed from them it had not energy to fly, and having landed it -I left it to the kindly nursing of nature. - -A little yellow hexapod larva sometimes also infests the wild bees in -great numbers, running over and about them with great activity. I have -never followed these to their development, but they are said to be the -larvæ of _Meloe proscarabæus_, a conspicuously large coleopterous -insect. The assertion has produced much discussion; and I believe the -larva has been bred to the imago, and consequently it has been proved -that it is the larva of that insect. But that it should be parasitical -upon so small a creature, and that numbers should infest it for their -nutriment, is extremely improbable. It is far more likely that instinct -has taught them to be conveyed elsewhere through the medium of the bee, -as they might also be by attaching themselves to any other volatile -insect, and that upon arriving at a suitable locality they descend from -their temporary hippogriff. We see seeds thus conveyed by the agency of -animals and birds to suitable places, where they fall and germinate. - -Another little hexapod is occasionally found upon them: this is -intensely black, and like the former, very active: these I never could -rear, nor did they ever seem to enlarge, and they speedily died. I have -found them in profusion also within the flowers of _syngenesious_ or -composite plants, especially of the dandelion in the spring. - -But their most remarkable personal parasites consist of some very -extraordinary insects, so anomalous in their structure as to have -required the construction of an order for their reception,—the Order -_Strepsiptera_, or “twisted-winged,” thus named from the twist taken by -their anterior wings or wing-cases. Their natural history is but -imperfectly known, and I believe the males have not yet been discovered. -Their larva lives within the bee, and feeds on its viscera by -absorption, being attached within by a sort of umbilical cord. It -presently consumes the viscera, and renders the bee abortive, by -destroying its ovaries, for it is usually upon female bees that it is -found. When full fed it forms a case within which it changes into the -pupa and imago, the head of which case protrudes between the scales of -one of the dorsal segments of the abdomen. How it becomes deposited -within the bee or the bee’s larva remains a mystery, although many -hypotheses have been hazarded to account for it, but all are -unsatisfactory. The Order consists of three genera (_Stylops_, -_Elenchus_, and _Halictophagus_) found in England, and other parts of -Europe; indeed, the genus _Elenchus_ has been also discovered in the -Mauritius. The Continent possesses the genus _Xenos_, of the same order, -and parasitical upon a wasp, neither of which occur with us. - -Mr. Kirby, in studying the bees for his invaluable ‘Monographia Apum -Angliæ,’ first came across this extraordinary creature. His description -of his discovery is highly interesting. He says, at page 111 of volume -ii. of the above work, that having observed a protuberance upon the body -of the bee, he was anxious to ascertain whether it might be an _Acarus_, -and goes on: “What was my astonishment when, upon attempting to -disengage it with a pin, I drew forth from the body of the bee, a white -fleshy larva, a quarter of an inch long, the head of which I had -mistaken for an _Acarus_. How this animal receives its nutriment seems a -mystery. Upon examining the head under a strong magnifier, I could not -discover any mouth or proboscis with which it might perforate the -corneous covering of the abdomen, and so support itself by suction; on -the under side of the head, at its junction with the body there was a -concavity, but I could observe nothing in this but a uniform unbroken -surface. As the body of the animal is inserted in the body of the bee, -does that part receive its nutriment from it by absorption? After I had -examined one specimen, I attempted to extract a second, and the reader -may imagine how greatly my astonishment was increased, when, after I had -drawn it out but a little way, I saw its skin burst, and a head as black -as ink, with large staring eyes, and antennæ consisting of two branches, -break forth, and move itself briskly from side to side. It looked like a -little imp of darkness just emerging from the infernal regions. I was -impatient to become better acquainted with so singular a creature. When -it was completely disengaged, and I had secured it from making its -escape, I set myself to examine it as carefully as possible; and I -found, after a careful inquiry, that I had not only got a nondescript, -but also an insect of a new genus whose very class seemed dubious.” - -As everything connected with so strange a creature is very attractive, I -will cite what other observers also have seen. Mr. Dale, from whom -Curtis received _Elenchus_ to figure in his ‘British Entomology,’ vol. -v. pl. 226, says: “These parasites look milk-white on the wing, with a -jet-black body, and are totally unlike anything else. It flew with an -undulating or vacillating motion amongst the young shoots of a quickset -hedge, and I could not catch it until it settled upon one, when it ran -up and down, its wings in motion, and making a considerable buzz or hum, -as loud as a _Sesia_; it twisted about its rather long tail, and turned -it up like a _Staphylinus_. I put it under a glass and placed it in the -sun; it became quite furious in its confinement, and never ceased -running about for two hours. The elytra or processes were kept in quick -vibration, as well as the wings; it buzzed against the sides of the -glass with its head touching it, and tumbling about on its back. By -putting two bees (_Andrena labialis_) under a glass in the sun, two -_Stylops_ were produced: the bees seemed uneasy, and went up towards -them, but evidently with caution, as if to fight; and moving their -antennæ towards them, retreated. I once thought the bee attempted to -seize it; but the oddest thing was to see the _Stylops_ get on the body -of the bee and ride about, the latter using every effort to throw his -rider. - -“As the _Stylops_ emerges from the body of the bee, the latter seems to -suffer from much irritating excitement.” - -Mr. Thwaites writes to me, on the 12th May, thus: “I had the good -fortune to capture a _Stylops_ flying, and on the Tuesday following saw -at least twenty flying about in the garden, but so high from the ground -that I could capture only about half-a-dozen; since that time they have -become gradually more scarce. - -“The little animals are exceedingly graceful in their flight, taking -long sweeps as if carried along by a gentle breeze, and occasionally -hovering at a few inches distance from the ground. Their expanse of wing -and mode of flight give them a very different appearance to any other -insect on the wing. When captured they are exceedingly active, running -up and down the sides of the bottle in which they are confined, moving -their wings and antennæ very rapidly. Their term of life seems to be -very short, none of those I have captured living beyond five hours, and -one I extracted from a bee in the afternoon was dead the next morning. - -“All the bees stylopized, both male and female, I have taken, have -manifested it by having underneath the fourth (invariably) upper segment -of the abdomen a protuberance which is scale-like when the _Stylops_ is -in the larva state; but which is much larger and more rounded when the -_Stylops_ is ready to emerge. A bee gives nourishment generally to but -one _Stylops_; but I have occasionally found two, and once three larvæ -in one bee.” - -The structure of these insects is very remarkable: the typical genus -_Stylops_ is named from its compound eyes, which consist of a very few -(about fifteen) hexagonal facets, seated upon a sort of footstalk. The -mandibles are lancet-shaped and very acute, and the head, by reason of -the protuberant eyes, has very much the shape of a dumb-bell. The -antennæ are branched, but in _Halictophagus_, they are flabellate. The -thorax is greatly developed; the superior wing is like a rudimentary -wing-case, and is twisted, the inferior wings are very large, and fold -along the abdomen in repose like a fan; the legs are slender, and the -tarsi with four joints in _Stylops_, with three in _Halictophagus_, and -with two in _Elenchus_; the abdomen is long, very flexible, and consists -of eight segments. The insects themselves do not exceed a quarter of an -inch in length in the largest, but they are generally very much smaller. -The perfect insect is very short-lived, not surviving many hours, as -just stated. They are usually found in the months of May and June, and -they have been discovered to infest several species of _Andrena_ and -_Halictus_, for instance the _A. nigro-ænea_, upon which Mr. Kirby first -found it; _A. labialis_, which I have frequently caught stylopized; _A. -rufitarsis_, _fulvicrus_, _Mouffetella_, _tibialis_, _Collinsonana_, -_varians_, _picicornis_, _nana_, _parvula_, _xanthura_, _convexiuscula_, -_Afzeliella_, _Gwynana_, etc., and upon _Halictus æratus_, etc. - -The other mode of parasitism destructive to the bees is where the -parasite deposits its own egg upon the provender stored by the bee for -the sustenance of its own young. The young of the parasite, either by -being more speedily hatched or more rapacious than the larva of the -sitos, starves the latter by consuming its food. This kind of parasites -consists of several _Diptera_, but they are mostly bees which form a -distinctive subsection of the family of true bees (_Apidæ_), the -subsection being called the _Nudipedes_ or naked-legged, from their not -having the necessary apparatus of hair upon the posterior thighs or -shanks, for the conveyance of pollen wherewith to store their nests. -Thus nature, having rendered them unable to perform this duty to their -offspring, has imposed upon them the necessity of resorting to strangers -to support them, and they are not led to it by idleness or indifference. -These insects consist, with us, of six genera, the species of which are -individually attached to some particular bee, who thus nurtures their -young. They are, as a rule, gayer insects than those which they infest, -and the genus most abundant in species is _Nomada_, which attaches -itself chiefly to _Andrena_, although some of its species, especially -the smaller ones, infest the species of _Halictus_, and one frequents -_Eucera_. _Melecta_ appears confined to _Anthophora_; _Epeolus_ to -_Colletes_; _Stelis_ perhaps to _Osmia_, judging from the great -similarity of habit; and _Cœlioxys_ to the constructive _Megachile_. -None of these parasites resemble their sitos, but _Nomada_ is -exceedingly different, being in its gay array more like a wasp than a -bee. The only close approach in the appearance of a parasite to the -insect upon which it is parasitical is in the resemblance between -_Apathus_ and _Bombus_, which are so alike that they were long continued -to be united in the same genus, until the peculiar characteristic of the -parasitical bees was detected, when they were readily separated. -Although, cuckoo-bees as they are familiarly called, they could not be -associated with the _Nudipedes_, because their posterior legs, though -not pollen-conveying organs, are hairy; but the _Cenobites_, to which -section they belong, have a peculiar and distinguishing structure of -that limb. They are further separated from the _Nudipedes_ by several -frequenting the same nest, thus habitually associating with their sitos. -Some of the _Chrysididæ_ are likewise, as I shall have occasion to -notice in the description of the habits of the genera, similarly -parasitical upon some of the species of the family of bees. The genus -_Mutilla_ is also probably entirely parasitical upon bees, for _Mutilla -Europæa_ is a parasite upon _Bombus lapidarius_, from whose nests it has -been dug in winter, by my friend the late Mr. Pickering, whose activity -and accurate observation once promised to be very beneficial to the -science, but he, like many others of my entomological friends, is now no -more! - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER VI - - GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF SCIENTIFIC ARRANGEMENT. - - -THE following rapid observations are addressed to those whom it is the -desire that this series of volumes may induce to take up the study of -Nature in a methodical manner. With this view, the merest summary of the -principles upon which scientific arrangement is based, is here -exhibited. The study requires method as a lodestar to guide through its -intricacies, but it is one which, pursued simply as a recreation, yields -both much amusement and gratifying instruction. It shows us that when we -unclasp the book of nature, and wherever we may turn its leaves, every -word, the syllables of which we strive to spell, is pregnant with the -fruitfulness of wonderful wisdom, whose profound expression the human -intellect is too limited thoroughly to comprehend. - -Is there an arrangement that human skill could mend? Is there an -organization that man can fully solve, or a combination that his mind -can wholly compass? Do we not behold limitless perfection everywhere, -but all so deeply mysterious. So exquisite are the feelings which the -contemplation commands, that they imbue us deeply with the sense of the -high privilege conferred upon the intellect by its being permitted to -embrace a study, which, even pursued merely as a relaxation, inculcates -in so serene and pleasing a manner such profound veneration and -reverence. - -To acquire the prospect of a possibility to unravel the exuberant -profusion of the natural objects surrounding us, successive students of -nature have endeavoured to systematize the seeming confusion in which -her riches are spread about. Like has been brought to like, and -gradation made to succeed gradation. Resemblances have been combined and -disparities disjoined, until the labour of centuries has constructed of -all the natural objects within the ken of man a vast and towering -edifice, whose basis is seated at the lowest substructure of the earth -which research has yet reached, but whose head ascends high into the -empyrean. - -All things have been collected, and arranged, and classed. Method has -endeavoured to give them succession according to an assumed -subordination. The labour of the great minds which framed the large -theories of this vast branch of human knowledge, has permitted men of -lesser powers of combination to abstract parts for special examination -and investigation. - -The study of natural science has progressively reached an extraordinary -development, spreading in every direction its innumerable tentacula; to -which the perfection of the telescope and of the microscope have still -further added by the discovery of new worlds of wonder. - -Just as language is systematized and made easier by grammar methodizing -its co-ordinates and their relations, so natural science arranges its -subjects into subdivisions of which genera and species are the lowest -terms. The higher and more complicated are of many denominations, which, -notwithstanding, have for their chief purpose the simplification of the -survey by assisting accurately to determine accurately natural objects -individually. Once the clue of the labyrinth caught, the seeming -intricacy of its involution vanishes; for when a clear conception of the -general scheme is obtained, the solution of the parts is comparatively -easy. The same principle rules throughout, however variously treated. - -The large divisions of nature appear simple and distinct enough in their -great frame, but when we approach their confines, close investigation -discovers analogies and affinities, which, where the separation seems -most apparent, create insuperable difficulties, and render linear -succession, or distinct division, nearly an impossibility. _Here_ we -find parallelism, and _there_ radiation, and elsewhere a complicated -reticulation without subordination; and this is one of the great -problems, which it is the office of the mature naturalist to endeavour -to solve. The present work has to do, however, with but one small -portion of the whole. - -Thus we see that, in order to arrive at a knowledge of natural objects, -a method must be pursued to avoid being overwhelmed by their -multiplicity, whereby confusion would be produced in the mind which -their methodical investigation tends to dissipate. Their abundance -precludes the possibility of their being all equally well known, -although it is very desirable to have a general, if even superficial -acquaintance with them, that is to say, in the broad and distinguishing -features of their large groups, for as to an accurate knowledge of all -their species, it would be futile to attempt it. Possessing this general -knowledge, the attention may be turned with greater advantage in any -special direction, and that pursued to its entire acquisition. - -Natural objects have been arranged in KINGDOMS, ORDERS, CLASSES, -FAMILIES, and GENERA, all deduced in their successive and collateral -groups from characters exclusively derived from SPECIES; therefore to -the accurate knowledge of _species_ all endeavours must be directed, -they comprising within themselves all the rest, although the characters -upon which they themselves depend for separation from their congeners -are the most trivial of any. Each combination, in its analytical -descent, contains characters of wider compass than those which succeed -it, and consequently embraces in that descent more species than the -successive divisions; just as in the ascent, or synthetical method, the -characters of every successive group gradually expand. Species being -thus the only real objects in nature from which all knowledge springs, -and in which exclusively all uses lie, other combinations being perhaps -as merely imaginary as are the many lines which are drawn over the -surface of the globes, it would imply that subdivisions merely lend aid -to acquire more rapidly the details upon which they depend. We will, -therefore, first turn our attention to species. - -Both combination and subdivision are intended to facilitate -identification, by aiding us to arrive at this knowledge of species; for -each species represents a distinct idea, whose correct definition is -important to the progress of accurate science. This alone permits -observation to be attributed to its right object, and when properly -recorded, the information is secured for ever from error or obscurity. -It is not, however, the gift of every mind to discern accurately even -specific differences, or to form skilfully generic combinations. The -very best favoured by nature,—for it is a natural gift, although under -high cultivation,—have sometimes a bias towards seeing more than -actually exists. Hence varieties are often elevated into species, and -species thus overwhelmingly multiplied; and genera are frequently framed -upon vague distinctions. - -Species are the basis of all natural science. - -A species in zoology is a combination of creatures which unites the -sexes, and these being two, the assumed existence of neuters in some -instances does not invalidate this, it comprises two individuals having -independent existence, but whose co-existence is indispensable to -perpetuation, but which often, from their great differences, no single -set of scientific characters will bind together, yet which must exist in -some undiscovered peculiarity, that individuals may be able to -distinguish their legitimate partners. The species, therefore, is a -complete unit in its entirety, although consisting of two distinct -beings, for in the large majority of cases in zoology these sexes are -distinct, although their conjunction is, in the higher forms of life, -indispensable for their continuance. In some of the lower forms of -animal life they exist in union, and in the vegetable kingdom we -perceive every possible combination and modification of this -conjunction, and in both of these life may be perpetuated also by -simpler processes. - -The species may consist of any indefinite number of individuals, and no -law has hitherto been discovered which regulates the relative -proportions of the sexes, although it is very apparent that some -recondite influence operates to control it. It is also extremely -remarkable to observe how eccentric nature is in some species, and the -extent to which she sometimes carries the variation of some particular -specific type, and to which some species are singularly prone, and yet -how rigidly in other cases she adheres to the particular specific form -in the succession of generations, that even the shadow of a deviation -from the typical distinction is scarcely to be discovered: a reason for -this it is hard to surmise. We may, nevertheless, conclude it to be -certain that true species are ever distinct, and can no more coalesce, -however closely they may approach together, than can asymptotes. - -Specific differences result from many characteristics,—from colour, -clothing, size, and sometimes from peculiarities of structure; but these -last are usually of a higher order, tending to indicate an aberration, -slight though it be, from the normal generic character which holds the -group together, thus implying a distinctive economy. This is sometimes -called a subgeneric attribute, and there might be a reason, certainly, -for not elevating such species to the full rank of genera, were genera -equivalents, which they are not, and it merely remains an evasive -admission of the doubt that attaches, except for the sake of -convenience, to any subdivision, but the specific. - -The species is thus the very last term of subdivision, the very -elemental principle itself, which unites together as one, solely for the -purposes of perpetuation, the two sexes of similar individuals, and -without whose intercourse the kind or species would die out. - -That some species greatly abound in individuals, as before observed, -whilst others appear to be extremely limited, is an absolute fact, and -not merely suggested by a defective observation of their occurrence, -resulting from their rapid dispersion. It is verified by being noticed -to occur where we know they would resort, as is exemplified in the case -of some of the parasitical species of the insects herein treated of, and -which are sometimes rare, even in the vicinity of the metropolis of -their sitos, and where this also greatly abounds. In other cases, other -species absolutely swarm where the similar attraction lies. - -Even supposing species to be the sole natural division, we may accept -the superior combinations as means to aid us to a gradually extending -survey of the whole. Perhaps did we possess all the links of the vast -chain of beings we should find genera, and every other superior -combination, melt away through the intimate alliance of the succession -of species that would obliterate the lines of separation, by making the -sutures imperceptible; but what mind could compass the detail of such a -limitless unbroken series? Their subdivision may therefore be accepted -as a positive necessity, to enable us to compass their investigation. As -it at present stands, with our imperfect knowledge of the entire series -of species, these higher groups are indispensably requisite. - -The specific diagnosis being the only sure basis upon which all our -knowledge can rest, its accuracy is all-important, and requires a few -observations. It comprises two parts—the specific _character_, and the -specific _description_. The difference between these is, that the first -is constructed with the extremest brevity consistent with its utility, -is fluctuating and not permanent. The latter permits all the diffuseness -needful to embrace a full description of the creature. - -The object of the first is to establish the _present_ identity of the -species amongst all its known congeners—those associated in the same -genus;—and that of the second to secure it in its perpetual identity, -and segregate it from all future and contingent discoveries. The -specific character admits, consequently, modifications to suit any -extension of the genus, and in fact exacts it at the hands of all who -describe new species. This many naturalists undertake without any -apparent consciousness of the scientific responsibilities that attach to -it, and whence results the confusion so much to be deplored, of the -synonymy that prevails, constituting, as it does, such a Dædalian -labyrinth. The describer of a new species is bound to cast around, and -endeavour to know all that has been previously done upon the subject of -the genus. He has to revise all the specific characters within the -genus, and mould them to those he introduces, and he must insert these -closest to their evident affinities. Thus, therefore, the describer’s -labour is not light, if to be of any value. The specific character, -although thus varying, becomes a permanent utility, and only so fulfils -its object,—that of rapidly showing, at a glance, the known species of a -genus, and thereby permitting the speedy determination of the identity -or distinctness of a compared object. If doubt should exist from this -brevity, the specific description is at hand to solve it, by the -amplitude and completeness of its details. Of course this mode of -treatment is only suitable to monographs, or portions of the science -discussed separately, and not to a general or universal survey. - -The amount of toil thus saved to the describing naturalist, and to those -who wish to name their specimen, the experienced only can estimate. This -brevity of specific character is one of Linnæus’s terse and valuable -axioms, who limits its length to twelve words. The best examples, I -think, that I can adduce in entomology, of valuable and exemplary -specific descriptions, is Gyllenhal’s ‘Insecta Suecica’ which contains -exclusively a description of Swedish Coleoptera; Gravenhorst’s large -monograph of European Ichneumons; Erichson’s elaborate work upon the -Staphylinidæ; and our own Kirby’s ‘Monographia Apum Angliæ.’ Their -perfection consists in fulfilling thoroughly all the above conditions, -for if any doubt exist upon comparing your insect with their -descriptions, you may be fully assured yours is not identical. The only -drawback to the utility of Mr. Kirby’s book is that he had to deal with -insects variable in condition from many causes, and the variable state -of the insect that may have to be compared; his description has -evidently been made sometimes from a worn specimen, one that had been -exposed to wind and weather, and sometimes from an insect in fine -condition. Thus it is important that compared insects should be in an -identical state to substantiate the comparison,—a difficulty which this -family has specially to contend with, as these insects are more liable -than almost any others to vary, owing to their specific character -depending much upon pubescence, which is extremely subjected to many -modifying influences, for the tinges and positive colour of the hair -will much vary by exposure, as it is not possible always to capture a -bright individual. - -Taking specific description thus practically in its full and wide sense, -it is requisite, for the purpose of avoiding repetition, that all the -characters of the superior combinations should be eliminated, leaving it -with those only which have not been thus absorbed, which now constitute -its sole remaining distinctive specific peculiarities. Every species -necessarily contains within itself, every character of every combination -in direct line above it, although these have been gradually abstracted -to form those several combinations which are arrived at successively in -the synthetical ascent. Analytically, species are the last but combining -element of all, although their most remote members. The whole system is -an ingenious contrivance for breaking down a complex multiplicity of -characters, to simplify the means of reaching all the collateral or -adjacent species, that we may be able to determine identity or -difference. - -Entomology, and indeed natural history generally, uses three words, very -much alike, but very different in signification and application. These -are, _habit_, _habits_, and _habitat_. The habit is that peculiar -character of identity, that _je ne sais quoi_, which marks all the -species of a genus collectively, and which, in some cases, only the -trained eye can detect. It is then seen instantaneously, and forcibly -illustrates the extreme precision the study of the natural sciences -tends to cultivate. Their utility, also, as a discipline to the mind, -conjunctively with the keen accuracy which practice gives the sight, are -qualifications not lightly to be esteemed. - -It is from such absolute control of detail that the most efficient power -of generalizing emanates, which, when it has once become habitual, -gives, from its rapidity, an almost instinctive facility, as its -inevitable concomitant, for both synthetical and analytical survey. The -mind thus becomes strengthened by vigorous exercise, and has always, for -every purpose, a powerful instrument at command, often used -unconsciously, but always effectively. Thus is _habit_, once correctly -perceived, ever retained. - -The _habits_ are the peculiar manners and economy of a species; and the -_habitat_ is the kind of locality the creatures affect, such as hill or -plain, wood or meadow, forest or fell, hedgebank or decaying timber, -sand or chalk or clay, and ground vertical or horizontal; and the -_metropolis_ of a species—another term in use—is the centralization of -the general habitat where the insect either nidificates collectively -with its fellows, or, where, from any other cause, it may be found in -its season, usually in profusion. But good fortune does not always -attend the discovery of this locality. - -It is by the acquired skill of perceiving habit, that a large and -confused collection may be sorted rapidly, or fresh captures immediately -placed with their congeners, without the necessity of going tediously -through all the descriptive characteristics. Incidental errors are -afterwards speedily corrected. It is then that the specific character -exhibits its utility by enabling us at once to distinguish the new from -the old. - -The concentration and summary of the specific character is the name of -the species, or trivial name as it is sometimes called, which is, as it -were, the baptismal designation that attaches to it always afterwards, -and is contemporaneous with the introduction of the creature into the -series of recognized beings. - -Upon the revival of the study of natural history, when learning dawned -after the night of the Middle Ages, much difficulty attached to the -imposition of discriminative names. The works of the ancients were -ransacked, and endeavours made to verify and apply the names they had -used. Ray published a vocabulary of such names. But the ancients never -studied natural history in the systematic way pursued by the moderns; -they did not want the skill, but they wanted the facilities. Anatomy and -physiology had not made the progress necessary to aid them in the -pursuit, and the assistance all these sciences obtain from optical -instruments was barred from them. The names they gave to natural objects -were vernacular names, which, like our own vernacular names, applied -rather to groups than to species, and have in consequence ultimately -become the names of genera. But this was the work of time, with which -discovery progressed. As these discoveries were made by the new -cultivators of natural history, they added them to those which they -resembled, by some brief distinctive character adapted to the momentary -exigency, such as _major_, or _minor_, etc.; and these additions were -constantly treated as varieties of the species, whose name headed the -list by the designation first adopted. Discoveries still continued, -which were compulsively arranged with the predecessors they most nearly -resembled, until resemblances vanished, and the boundaries fixed by the -assumed correct application of the names thus derived from the ancients -were passed, and there was an overflow on all sides. - -To meet this difficulty, the new discriminative name had to be moulded -into a phrase to correct its exceptive peculiarities, and specific names -became descriptive phrases, the bulk of which no memory could retain, -and which usually were neither clear nor expressive. Thus genera were -continually treated as species, and species as numbered varieties, with -long distinguishing descriptive phrases. - -So it remained till day dawned, and the great luminary of systematic -natural history rose with a bound to irradiate the obscurity of science -with his subtile and vivifying beams. - -This was LINNÆUS, to whom we owe the binomial system, wherein, by means -of two words only (the generic or surname, and the specific or baptismal -name), the recognition of a species is perpetuated; for Linnæus truly -says, “_Nomina si nescis, perit et cognitio rerum_.” - -By a law tacitly admitted, but universally recognized, for the sake of -securing to a name its intangibility, no two genera in the same kingdom -of nature may be named alike. There is, therefore, if this rule be -observed, no fear of similar names coming into collision in the same -province, and thus producing confusion. A ready means to prevent the -possibility of such mischance is the admirable work which has been -published by Agassiz, with the assistance of very able coadjutors, in -the ‘Nomenclator Zoologicus,’ which is a list of all the generic names -extant in zoology, exhibiting what names are already in use either -appropriately or synonymously in this great branch of the natural world, -and if this work receive periodically its necessary supplements and -additions, no excuse will remain for the repetition of a name already -applied. The most defective character in this laborious work, is the -frequent incorrectness of its etymology of the names of genera. It would -be, perhaps, without such aid, too great a labour to require of the -describing naturalist, or it might not be otherwise even practicable for -him, to ascertain whether the generic name he purposes to impose be, or -not, anticipated. The penalty of its being superseded is understood to -attach to the imposition of such a name, for the alteration may be made -with impunity, and thereby it becomes degraded to the rank of a mere -synonym. - -Nomenclature has thus, by the happy invention of Linnæus, been made a -matter of the greatest simplicity, conciseness, and lucidity, and to -him, therefore, our gratitude is due. - -An indispensable branch of nomenclature is _Synonymy_, which, briefly, -is the chronological list of the several names under which species or -genera may have been known. This diversity of names has originated in -several ways,—from indolence, or ignorance, or excessive refinement. The -views of systematists will differ in the collocation of creatures; -hence, sometimes what had been previously divided will be recombined, or -divisions into further groups be made of what had been before united. -Both processes will necessarily produce synonyms; the recombination of -what had been separated reduces the names of such groups to the rank of -synonyms of the old one from which they have been disjoined. In the -latter case the old name will be retained to the typical species merely, -and be also made a partial synonym of the names of the new generic -groups: or, indeed, it may happen that the same creature has been -described generically, unknowingly, by two different persons, about the -same time. By another recognized rule in nomenclature, the ‘law of -priority,’ the name given by the first describer is accepted, and the -other consequently falls to the condition of a synonym. - -With respect to specific synonymy, many causes conduce to it; namely, an -imperfect description which cannot be clearly recognized, reducing it to -that category, with a mark of interrogation appended; subsequent -description when want of tact has not discerned the identity of the old -one; indolence in looking about for works upon the same subject; -inability to obtain access to books wherein they may be described, owing -either to their costliness or to their obscurity, or by lying buried in -some collapsed journal, or the poverty of our public libraries, etc. -etc. But however thus lost sight of, or wilfully ignored, the name still -retains vital elasticity, for the describer has not thereby lost his -rights, but revives to them with all due justice upon the cessation of -this coma. The really culpable among such describers are those who -neglect to look around them to ascertain what has been done, and this -course is sometimes illicitly adopted to obtain a fleeting and -meretricious fame, by the description of ostensibly new species, which -critical investigators soon detect to have been long since known and -very ably described. - -Thus, a complete synonymy, which can almost only come within the -province of a monograph, would give, chronologically, the entire history -of a species under all the names it has been known by in the several -works in which it has been published. Nature is so uniform and stable -that Aristotle’s descriptions can be clearly recognized, therefore there -is no fear that whatever may have been synonymously, but yet correctly -recorded of the economy of a species, can possibly be lost when once -registered in the archives of science. - -The working out of a correct synonymy is an ungrateful task of much -labour, for few appreciate it, and not many use it, although when -thoroughly elaborated it is so extremely valuable. - -A further rule in nomenclature is, that the generic name must always be -a substantive; and it is always desirable that the specific name should -be an adjective. In the event of the imposition of a proper name, which -is sometimes done to record a private friendship, but improperly so, for -it is a distinction due only to promoters of the science, the genitive -form must be adopted. - -The next grade in ascent from the species is invariably the GENUS, for -subgenera, like varieties in species, are not uniformly present, but are -mere contingencies, even if they do properly exist. - -Why some genera abound in species and others are so limited is as -difficult to determine as the differing numerical abundance of -individuals in species. That long genera (genera numerous in species) -may be the result of natural selection, as Mr. Darwin surmises, and the -offspring of a common parentage, is contradicted, not merely by peculiar -although sometimes slight dissimilarities of habit, combined with size -and colour, but also if any lines of demarcation are to be admitted, it -is possible, were their generic similitude to be subjected to severe -test, they might present characteristics normally discrepant and -suggestive of further division, although the habit may be very like. - -The generic grouping is effected by structural peculiarities, which are -essentially of a higher class than the characters of specific -separation, these being determined by colour, pubescence, sculpture, -etc. etc.; specific characters combining only individuals with such -peculiar inferior resemblances. The generic characters thus establish -groups of species allied only by such more general character and -similarity, but conjunctively of one permanent habit, although the -members of the genus may differ somewhat in habits, and so on of the -higher groups into which insects are collected, each group in its ascent -upwards presenting characteristics of a wider range than those of the -descending series. And so, by degrees, we rise until we reach the -characters which combine the whole order. The process is necessarily and -imperatively synthetical, for the whole foundation is based upon -species, and thence emanates the supposition that only species exist. - -The _type_ of a genus is that species upon the characters of which the -genus was originally framed and named, and theoretically, however -generic groups may be subsequently divided to suit views or to meet -systems, the primitive generic type is assumed to retain the primitive -generic name. It is much to be doubted whether, in every case, the type -is the true pattern, or leader, or centre of the group called the genus; -nor is it likely if genera be natural groups. It has usually been -accident which has dropped upon the favoured species, and not a -well-calculated and thoroughly digested selection, and which, although -accepted, will require emendation or change if the whole collective -series should ever be obtained. - -It is the necessary result of the imperfection of our intellect, and one -of the dominant conditions of overruling time, that one thing must -follow the other. It is, therefore, neither an expressed nor even an -implied inferiority that puts one species before the other in a generic -group; or one genus before the other in their successive order. -Affinities may lead both species and genera in varying directions, -although treated descriptively as of linear succession, in which order -they are usually arranged, but this is unavoidable and therefore not -derogatory. It is for the mind to conceive their radiation from a type, -or their parallelism with other forms, even in the connection of -affinity, and not merely of analogy, for the latter can be expressed -even in arrangement. - -Thus encouragement attends the beginner at the very outset of his study, -and the prospect of a wide field for discoveries, in all directions, -lies open to him. - -The FAMILY, after the GENUS, is the next natural group at which we -arrive, proceeding synthetically. Its characters, succeeding to those of -the ORDER, group together collectively the largest numbers of forms that -in their several combinations are the most nearly equivalents, and may -be almost paralleled in that quality to the alliance of species. -Ascending from species, the naturalist scarcely hopes to find in the -groups formed above them strict parallelism, although, to be logical, it -should be so, and, where the combinations are most natural, it is most -nearly so. Thus we do not again distinctly reach equivalents until we -arrive at these families, which from linking together associations -usually combined by an identity of instinct and functions, attach to -themselves greater interest, and form alliances pointed out by the -finger of nature itself, which are therefore exempted from the arbitrary -caprice of the constructive systematist. - -It does not follow that families should be even nearly numerically -equivalent, for a family may contain a few or a multitude of genera and -species, or a multitude of genera and few species, or also a multitude -of species and few genera. Families comprise groups of forms to which -nature delegates the execution of certain duties and offices, and -whether specifically numerous or few, we may assume they are sufficient -for the object intended. If we can reach the motive that controls the -peculiarities of the group, it is a golden key to the explanation of the -structure of its constituents, and, perhaps might furnish us, if not -with a positive clue, yet with a surmise as to the functions of the -collateral groups of which it forms a member, and which diligent -observation may accurately determine. - -Families, to be natural divisions, should stand in the same relationship -to genera as species do, but from the opposite side, whatever the -subdivisions are into which they may be separated, for the sake of -convenience, and as descending grades whereby to arrive with greater -facility at their genera, just as the species of the latter are also -sometimes grouped, that they may be reached with greater ease. These -subdivisions of families have no analogy with the varieties which -species occasionally throw off, although they may be as irregular in -their occurrence; that is to say, in the association of a group of -families arranged in their series of most proximate affinities, the -first may present subdivisions, others, in irregular occurrence, may not -require them,—just as in the species of a genus, arranged also in the -series of their closest resemblances, one will present a stringent -adherence to the specific type, or all may do so, or all or some may -have a tendency to vary. Groupings of species are, however, of a less -natural character usually than are those of families, and generally are -artificial, being capriciously made to break down long genera, that the -required species may be more readily arrived at. - -The characters which group families differ _inter se_. Thus in the Order -_Hymenoptera_, the family of the bees is essentially framed upon their -most distinguishing peculiarity—the tongue,—which in other families -becomes of secondary importance. In some the neuration of the wings, -their mode of folding, the form of the eyes, conjunctively with other -peculiarities of general structure, etc. etc., which point to the -differences in the economy that accompany all these, have successively -the same prominent position which the trophi take in the family of the -bees. - -I have already recently alluded to the relations of affinity and -analogy, and it is desirable that some notion of the meaning and bearing -of these terms should be given, as, in the majority of modern works on -natural history, use is frequently made of them. - -On carefully surveying any class or order of creatures, the mind -speedily becomes impressed by observing certain similitudes out of the -direct line of continuous connection, and therefore remote from the -strongest connecting links of positive relationship in the methodical -series. Induced thence to inspect them more closely, we presently -ascertain that what we at first conceived might be an error in their -collocation, arises from very strong resemblances in certain particular -features, but which are less important than those which directly unite -them, and may not be permitted to interrupt the order established. It -is, however, equally evident that they indicate relations which may not -be neglected. - -Thus, although the succession be direct in the evolution of its primary -characteristics, the prominent features which so present themselves -establish the conviction of the existence of connections oblique to the -straight line, but all embraced within the normal conditions which bind -the group together. These are called relations of affinity. Pursuing -them, it is sometimes observed that nature, as it were, returns upon -itself, reproducing similar notes in another key. - -These indications have led philosophical naturalists to surmise that the -true arrangement of natural objects is in groups, and not in a straight -and continuous line. - -Several schemes have been suggested for the purpose of giving uniformity -to these groups, making them equivalents by associating together the -same numbers of allied forms, which again return in a circular series -upon themselves, and impinge upon other circles at the parallel points -of their circumference by affinities less direct than those which unite -them within their own circle. - -Many novel views and interesting combinations have been thus elicited, -showing that very strong affinities lie in very divergent directions, -but no system has been hitherto devised which overrules the conflicting -difficulties that attend these arrangements. Whatever number may have -been adopted to bring nature within this circular system, it has always -been found that some, or several members, both in the circles -themselves, or in their series, is as yet deficient, and awaits either -discovery or creation. - -The pursuit of such views stimulates profound investigation, and may -lead to valuable discoveries that will eventually give a loftier and -more philosophical character to the study of natural history than it has -hitherto possessed, and make it an attraction to the highest class of -mental powers. The key to the universe hangs at the girdle of the veiled -goddess; and happy the student who shall achieve possession of it, and -unlock the mysteries to the reverential gaze of mankind. - -The _relation of analogy_ is different in _kind_, although the general -affinities which bind a class together are necessarily affinities in the -widest construction of the term; but the class being resolved into its -elements, those affinities, thus dissevered, no longer retain the -uniting links whereby the mass coheres. They, more correctly, stream -from their origin in parallelisms rather than in a continuous and -uninterrupted current; and these parallelisms present resemblances often -of a merely superficial character. As strong an instance as I can adduce -is possibly the analogical parallelism of the _Pentamera_ and the -_Heteromera_ in the _Coleoptera_, which are, however, bound by the -common affinity of being all beetles. - -It is, nevertheless, often difficult to determine between the -relationships of affinity and analogy, for groups even in close -contiguity may also possess both. Thus, the normal _Ichneumones_ have -their analogues in the _Ichneumones adsciti_, if the comparison be -restricted to themselves, but these revert into the relationship of -affinity when a comparison is instituted between them and the adjacent -groups on the one side of the _Tenthredines_, or on the other of the -_Aculeata_, with which, when a relationship presents itself, it is -merely one of analogy. So, also, within the pentamerous _Coleoptera_ we -have a relationship of analogy between the _Staphylinidæ_ and the -_Histeridæ_, but it becomes one of affinity when it unites them within -this section of the class. - -Innumerable other instances might be given readily, but these will -suffice to convey a notion of the relative meanings of the terms, -‘relation of affinity’ and ‘relation of analogy,’ which is all here -aimed at. - -The problem naturalists have to solve is, “What is the natural system?” -We can clearly see that the systems adopted are not Nature’s, that they -are essentially imperfect, and that the science, even with all the force -of the intelligence that has been applied to it, is far from having -attained perfection. It still awaits the master mind that shall cope -with its difficulties, determine its intricacies, and, threading the -labyrinth, guide his enthusiastic disciples into the adytum of the -temple. - -The subjects here brought under view admit of very considerable -development, and of strictly didactic and methodical treatment. It has -been my object only to gossip upon them, that I might stimulate -curiosity to undertake systematic study, by showing how interesting it -may become if earnestly pursued, being so fraught with instruction of -large compass. - -Works on natural history have divers objects in view, and may be -intended either for popular and general distribution, or for special -scientific purposes, and in each case the mode of treatment will -materially differ. Many purposes may also be intended to be severally -met in the strictly and rigidly scientific treatment. They may be either -general methodical arrangements treated superficially, having no other -design than to give a sort of bird’s-eye view of the subject in its -wider distributions and broader landmarks, or they may treat of portions -of the large subject more specially; again, they may constitute -monographs of varying extent from a family to a genus; or they may -comprise loose descriptions of new species of old and well-established -genera; and some such, conjunctively with new species, establish -likewise new genera, indicating, at the same time, their proximate -position in the general series. The two latter classes are usually the -appendages to voyages and travels in distant unexplored countries, or -are the result of a careful collection of neglected tribes at home. -Each, thus, with its special application has its special construction; -but in the case of new species, I would strenuously counsel a full and -complete description, and urge as imperative the construction of a -specific character, formally framed to meet the condition of the -science, based upon the precise antecedents and existing state of the -genus to which such species belong. - -Even assuming that the knowledge of species is the essential foundation -of the science, the preceding observations show that there is a higher -knowledge connected with the pursuit than this mere knowledge of -species, and yet from which it emanates. There is a higher object to be -achieved than the accumulation of a store of them, arranged in seemly -order, set with manifest taste, and named in accordance with the -accepted nomenclature. These are extremely pleasing to the eye, but the -intellect languishes over them in unsatisfied desire, craving more solid -aliment. There is besides room for observation on every side, either -confirmatory or original, and both are much needed, and must be -considerably augmented before it is accumulated in satisfactory -abundance; and until this be procured, existing systems can be viewed -merely as temporarily useful, for until all that nature can teach shall -be exhausted, perfection cannot be attained. - -The many kinds of knowledge which the study subserves, and the -recreation and pleasure each affords, are a sufficient reply to the -sneering _Cui bono?_ of its detractors, who, when they urge that it -occupies time which might be more profitably employed, present -themselves but as the priests of the Fetish of the age, and may be told -that we use it only as a relaxation to necessary worldly toils. When -pursued, in cases where it can be so, in unmolested security, is there a -more salutary pursuit than that which inculcates the high veneration and -love which the study of nature should inspire towards the Great Parent -of all? What can compete with it in other studies? The investigation of -the works of the Almighty lead directly to the steps of the altar of -religion, and there we find the study of the Works confirmed by the -precepts of the Word, both inculcating humble reverence and fervent -love. Thus pursued, is it not a reply to every cavil? - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER VII - - BRIEF NOTICE OF THE SCIENTIFIC CULTIVATION OF BRITISH BEES. - - -WITH the great JOHN RAY dawns the scientific cultivation of British -bees. Before his time, the only entomological work which had been -published in England was Dr. Mouffett’s ‘Theatrum Insectorum.’ In this -work there is an ample account of the domestic bee, with gleanings from -many sources of some of its habits and economy, but there is no notice -of any insects, excepting some species of the genus _Bombus_, which may -be at all consorted with the social bee by affinities of structure or -identity of function. - -In Ray’s correspondence with his disciples and friends, we have -straggling observations upon the habits of a few wild bees, especially -some jotted down by his diligent pupil, the distinguished Francis -Willughby. It is in Ray’s posthumous ‘Historia Insectorum,’ published in -1710, at the instance of the Royal Society, that we first find collected -together all that had been previously known of ‘British Bees.’ In that -work he describes them systematically. He there arranges the bees into -_Apis_ and _Bombylius_, which may be regarded almost as genera. - -He divides _Apis_ into what may be considered as two sections, _Apis -domestica_ forming the first, and the second containing his _Apes -silvestres_, or wild bees. Nine of these are described and numbered -consecutively, which are followed by eleven descriptions unnumbered, -some of the latter having been supplied to him by Francis Willughby, -whose initials are attached to these, and amongst which we find the -description of the willow bee, subsequently, from this cause, named by -Kirby, from its original describer, and now universally known as -_Megachile Willughbiella_. - -Ray’s second genus is _Bombylius_, identical, as far as it goes, with -the modern genus _Bombus_, excepting that it includes an _Anthophora_. -He here describes nineteen, all numbered. Ray’s names are phrases, the -mode of describing then prevalent in all the natural sciences, until the -happy introduction of the binomial system by the great genius of natural -history—LINNÆUS. These phrases are almost tantamount to the modern -specific character; but Ray unfortunately attaches no size, yet size -might have lent some aid to their modern determination. - -Mr. Kirby was able to identify and introduce into his synonymy only a -few of Ray’s insects, from the defectiveness of the descriptions; the -following embrace all that could be verified:— - -No. 1 of the _Apes silvestres_ is our _Anthidium mancatum_; No. 3, the -male of _Anthophora retusa_, the female of which being No. 4 of his -_Bombylii_; No. 4 of the _Apes_ is _Andrena nitida_: these comprise all -of those numbered which could be recognized. The first of the unnumbered -is the male of _Eucera longicornis_; the fourth is _Melecta punctata_; -the sixth is _Colletes fodiens_; the seventh is the male of _Osmia -bicornis_; and the ninth the celebrated _Megachile Willughbiella_. - -In _Bombylius_ No. 1 is _Bombus lapidarius_; No. 2, _B. Raiellus_, named -by Mr. Kirby in honour of its great describer; No. 3 is _B. muscorum_; -No. 4 is the female of _Anthophora retusa_, as noticed above; No. 5 is -_Bombus terrestris_, as is also No. 6; No. 7 is the male of _B. -lapidarius_; No. 8 is _B. pratorum_; No. 9 is _B. sylvarum_; No. 10 is -_B. subinterruptus_; No. 11 is _B. hortorum_; No. 13 is _B. -Francillonellus_, and No. 17 is _Apathus Barbutellus_. Thus ten of the -_Apes silvestres_, and six of the _Bombylii_ are unidentified, and those -recognized may be placed correctly, by the aid I give in attaching Mr. -Kirby’s synonymy to the list of species added to each genus below. - -Nothing of any moment thence intervened, until the Rev. W. Kirby, of -Barham, in Suffolk, made a careful and earnest collection of the -‘British Bees,’ with a view to their scientific description and -distribution. Stragglers were to be found in many entomological -cabinets, and some of their habits had been observed and recorded by -patient and attentive naturalists; but these collections were small, -very imperfect, and widely dispersed, until Mr. Kirby’s energy and -activity nurtured the idea, and carried it into execution, of bringing -into one focus the scattered notices and vagrant specimens he had seen -about. - -The diligence he himself exercised in procuring all the individuals he -possibly could, by continued collecting during a succession of years, -enabled him, in the course of time, to add considerably to those he was -already acquainted with, either in collections, or through dispersed -notices. The growing bulk of his store suggested his looking around for -guides to their methodical arrangement, as a clue to what might have -been observed of their habits. Finding no such assistance, and nothing -to meet his wants, for Linnæus’s notices were too few, and Fabricius’s -labours too inconsequential, he determined to aid himself by elaborating -their distribution upon the basis of the principles established by -Fabricius himself, but which this celebrated entomologist had worked out -so inconclusively as to make his system an indigested mass heaped -together in the greatest disorder. - -Mr. Kirby’s patience and diligence, although working only upon the same -principle, speedily brought into lucidity and order the obscurity and -confusion that had prevailed. By one of those strange coincidences which -have been remarkably recurrent in scientific invention and discovery, -Latreille, in France, was at the same time arranging all the bees known -to him, by a process precisely similar to that adopted by Mr. Kirby. He -consequently arrived at exactly the same results, with this difference -only, that what Mr. Kirby calls genera are to Latreille subfamilies, and -the sections which Mr. Kirby was induced to form in his genera, from -their structural differences, and which sections he called families, -inconveniently indicating them merely by letters, asterisks, and -numbers, were formed by Latreille into genera, and to which the latter -either applied or adopted names, or framed new ones, when deficient; -these however are essentially genera, with all their discriminative -characteristics, for they bring together the very same species in both -cases. This clearly exhibits the beauty and certainty of the principle -upon which each had worked out his distribution, both being based -chiefly upon the structure of the trophi, or the organs of the mouth, -but which Fabricius, its projector, had, singularly enough, failed to -accomplish successfully. - -Both works were published in the same year, 1802 (An X. of Latreille’s -book), unknown to each other, but Mr. Kirby’s sprang into life in -matured perfection, like the imago of the bee itself, whereas -Latreille’s labours were progressively nursed to maturity in successive -publications, until they received their final elaboration in 1809, in -the fourth volume of his ‘Genera Crustaceorum et Insectorum,’ whose -successive stages were, first, the notice appended at the end of his -‘Histoire des Fourmis’ in Paris in 1801, and then in the thirteenth -volume of his ‘Histoire Naturelle des Insectes,’ in 1805, a supplement -to Sonnini’s edition of Buffon, and then in the ‘Nouveau Dictionnaire -d’Histoire Naturelle.’ Even thus the subject was not so amply discussed, -although applied more extensively, and made to embrace all the bees, -exotic as well as European, at that time known, as it had been done in -Mr. Kirby’s model work, which leaves nothing to be desired but the -naming of his anonymous subdivisions, and a little more artistical skill -in the execution of his plates. The terminology used by him also differs -from that subsequently adopted through foreign influences, but which is -readily reduced to his standard. - -The merits of the work greatly transcend these trivial deficiencies, for -it is a “canon” as invaluable to the entomologist as the celebrated -canon of Polycletus was, and the Phidian marbles still are to sculptors. -Of course observation has greatly reduced the number of his species by -their due association with legitimate partners, which, from their -dissimilarity, he was compelled to separate, as only successive -observation could prove their identity. More extensive collecting has -also shown that some of his species are merely varieties of others, -which have thus been brought to their authentic type. This also could -only be proved by experience, for it is remarkable how very Protean some -species are, whilst others are almost rigidly unchangeable. Evidently -there does exist a line of demarcation between distinct species, which -only requires to be diligently sought to be found, obscure as it may -appear to be, but which the insects themselves obey, for however closely -species may sometimes approximate, yet I do not believe, as I have -before expressed, that they ever permanently coalesce, and that they are -always as distinctly separate as are asymptotes. - -As Mr. Kirby’s work is in few hands, or perhaps not readily accessible, -I will give here a summary outline of it, with the names of the genera -with which his families coincide. - -In this work he established only two named genera—_Melitta_ and _Apis_. - -His genus _Melitta_, which is equivalent to the subsequent subfamily -_Andrenidæ_, he divides into two sections, * and * *, the first -containing two families, _a_ and _b_, (these we call genera, and they -are now named _Colletes_ and _Prosopis_); the second section * * -contains three families, _a_, _b_, _c_, (_a_, is _Sphecodes_, _b_, -_Halictus_, and _c_ comprises our three genera, _Andrena_, _Cilissa_, -and _Dasypoda_.) - -His genus _Apis_ he also divides into two sections, * and * *; the first -is subdivided into two families, _a_ and _b_ (our genera _Panurgus_ and -_Nomada_); and the second is divided into five subsections, _a_, _b_, -_c_, _d_, _e_; _a_ and _b_ constitute families (our genera _Melecta_ and -_Epeolus_). The subsection _c_ is divided into two parts, 1 and 2, the -first containing the two divisions _α_ and _β_, each comprising a family -(our genera _Cœlioxys_ and _Stelis_); and the second is divided into the -four families, _α_, _β_, _γ_, _δ_, (_α_ being the modern _Megachile_; -_β_, _Anthidium_; _γ_, _Chelostoma_ and _Heriades_ conjunctively, and -_δ_ is our _Osmia_). The subsection _d_ has two subdivisions, 1 and 2, -the first being a family (our _Eucera_); and the second is divided into -the two families _α_ and _β_ (_α_ comprising our _Saropoda_, -_Anthophora_, and _Ceratina_), and the family _β_, consisting of the -genus _Xylocopa_, then supposed to be indigenous, but whose native -occurrence has not been substantiated. - -The fifth subsection, _e_, is split into two divisions, 1 and 2, each -containing a family (1 is our _Apis_, and 2, our _Bombus_). - -In this last of his families Mr. Kirby had already noticed, with the -same sagacity with which he had previously conjectured the cuckoo-like -habits of some of the solitary bees, the distinctive structure of some -of the species, which incapacitated them from providing the sustenance -of their own young, and which thus reduced them to the same category; -but he left the idea in its supposititious condition, being too modest -to use it as a mark of separation, but which Newman, on our side of the -Channel, and St. Fargeau on the other side, subsequently, and both -nearly about the same time, but with the advantage in favour of Newman, -distinguished, and separated generically, respectively by the names of -_Apathus_ and _Psithyrus_; the former, having the priority, is adopted, -according to the rights of precedence in nomenclature. - -The above description of Mr. Kirby’s system will perhaps be difficult to -understand, unless I append the naked scheme itself, which is as -follows:— - - - MELITTA. - - [Table: Melitta Hierarchy] - -Mr. Kirby could scarcely have considered that there were more than two -series of equivalents in this scheme, the first being the great division -into the two genera; and the second, the final division, where his -analysis terminated in his families, which, with some further slight -subdivision, as shown above, constitute our present genera. The -synthetical combinations which the arrangement presents, as we ascend -from his families, result from an almost arbitrary selection of -characters and certainly are not equivalents. The whole method is very -perplexing; for, to cite an insect for the purpose of making a -communication, it would have to be preceded by its whole array of -subdivisions. Thus _Megachile Willughbiella_, which is now so -compendiously noticed by the binomial system, would have to be quoted as -_Apis_ * * _c_, 2, _a_, _Willughbiella_, and so with the rest. - -Although I have strongly applauded the ‘Monographia Apum Angliæ,’ as an -excellent treatise wherever I have had an opportunity, the praise is to -be applied to the correct care with which both the family descriptions -and the specific descriptions are elaborated; whilst Mr. Kirby’s -timidity in fearing to depart from the course of his masters, Linnæus -and Fabricius, by establishing a multitude of genera unrecognized by -their authority, although every one of his families is pertinently a -well-constituted genus, is much to be deplored. He has thus lost the -fame of naming the offspring, of which, although legitimately the -parent, he was not the sponsor. But he has won the higher renown, as I -have elsewhere remarked, of his work being a canon of entomological -perfection. - -Notwithstanding that this very elaborate, and, to some extent, -artificial method is based upon a plurality of characters, and -apparently upon such as most readily presented themselves to -substantiate the feasibility of subdivision indicated by habit, it is -very remarkable in having brought the series into more satisfactory -sequence than that presented by Latreille and his modifiers. _Panurgus_ -here holds its permanent post as the connecting link between the _Apidæ_ -and _Andrenidæ_, pointed out by nature in its close resemblance to -_Dasypoda_. But this genus, however, establishes for itself a stronger -affinity to the _Apidæ_, exclusively of that presented by the folding of -the tongue in repose, in its presenting immediately the large -development of the labial palpi which is peculiarly characteristic of -this subfamily. - -All the cuckoo-bees then follow in order; these are succeeded by the -true _Dasygasters_; after which come Latreille’s _Scopulipedes_; and the -series is wound up by _Apis_ and _Bombus_. - -Mr. Kirby, I suppose, was induced to associate in the same section -_Panurgus_ and _Nomada_, from their resemblance in general habit, which -in both conforms to the type predominant in the _Andrenidæ_, although -they are thence dislocated by the differences in the important organs of -the mouth, which verify in this case the seeming paradox of a part being -greater than the whole; for these are certainly of greater relative -importance to the economy of the creature than mere general habit, and -to which all the peculiarities of structure finally converge, for the -purpose of giving it what it thence acquires, its own proper and -distinctive place in the series of created beings. - -The most extensive work since published upon bees generally, is that -treating of the _Hymenoptera_ universally, written by Le Pelletier de -St. Fargeau, and comprised in four thick octavo volumes, contained in -the ‘Suites à Buffon.’ In this work both the genera and species of our -bees occur, of course conjunctively with the rest, but its utility, -especially to the beginner, is materially diminished by the peculiar -systematic views of the author. The distribution of the Order is framed -chiefly upon the economy of the insects, which is not so tangible as -structure, and blends very heterogeneous forms,—widely separating, in -some cases, structural affinities, and sometimes uniting discordant -habits. Wasps and bees we here find intermingled, and to commence study -with this work would much perplex the student. It can be used -beneficially only when some progress has been made in the pursuit. - -The only British entomologists who have treated of the bees since the -time of Mr. Kirby, are Stephens, Curtis, Westwood, and Smith,—the first -in his elaborate ‘Catalogue of British Insects,’ published in 1829; and -the second in his ‘Guide to the Arrangement of British Insects,’ -published in 1837. The arrangement of the family of bees in both these -works is exceedingly arbitrary and without any obvious reason, either as -regards the consecutive order of the genera or species. This originated -possibly in their personal rivalry, which led them to make their systems -as dissimilar as they could, and as unlike the true order as they could -well dispose them. Both arrangements are certainly far beneath -criticism. - -In the Synopsis of Westwood, at the end of his ‘Guide to the -Classification of Insects,’ published in 1840, and in Smith’s ‘Catalogue -of the British Bees, contained in the Collections of the British -Museum,’ published in 1855, we have Latreille’s distribution, with -slight modifications, to which I shall not advert at present, but which -I shall discuss in my next chapter, where I shall introduce the -arrangement I myself propose for the combination of the genera of -British bees. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - A NEW ARRANGEMENT OF BRITISH BEES, WITH ITS RATIONALE, AND AN - INTRODUCTION TO THE FAMILY, SUBFAMILIES, SECTIONS, AND SUBSECTIONS. - - -IF perfection of instinct, and an organization exquisitely moulded to a -complete adaptation to the many delicate and varied functions of that -instinct, as well as to the exercise of every faculty incidental to the -class, be certainly a proof of pre-eminence, we may justly claim this -position for the Order Hymenoptera. There is no characteristic in which -they are deficient, nor any in which some of the members of the Order do -not transcend in aptitude the insects of all the others. - -If they have not been placed at the head of the class Insecta, it has -been because systematic convenience did not permit the transposition, on -account of the interruption it would have caused to the convenient -linking of the rest in a consecutive arrangement. Yet are they the most -volatile fliers, the most agile runners, the most skilful burrowers, and -consummate architects. - -The beauty resulting from the combinations of symmetry of form, elegance -of motion, brilliancy of colour, and vivacity of expression, is to be -found exclusively amongst them. Either in the velocity of their flight, -or in its playful evolutions and graceful undulations, they are -unsurpassed, and they hover in the execution of their designs with -pertinacious perseverance. No insect structure can more thoroughly -exemplify the most appropriate adaptation to its uses, and the most -admirable elegance in the formation of the means of execution. - -I thus claim for them, and which I think I may without infraction of -dispute, the distinctive rank amongst insects. - -Having fixed the station of the Hymenoptera generally, we have next to -seek the relative rank of the natural divisions into which they readily -separate. - -Taking structure and instinct conjunctively, there can be no doubt that -the first position will be conceded to that division of the Order which -comprises the aculeated tribes—those armed with stings,—some of whose -members, in each of the three large divisions into which they fall, -being social, that is, living in communities, organized by a peculiar -polity or administration. - -These aculeates divide into, first, the _fossorial Hymenoptera_, or -burrowers; and the equivalent branch the _Diploptera_, or wasps, -distinguished and named from their folding the superior wings -longitudinally in repose; secondly, the _heterogeneous Hymenoptera_, or -ants, named from the dissimilarity either in size or structure of their -females, a peculiarity incidental to all the social Hymenoptera, but -living in community is more peculiarly characteristic of this division, -it being in the other divisions restricted to a few genera only, whereas -here the solitary habit is the exceptional. In all cases of socialism -there are three classes of individuals,—males, females, and abortive -females. In the other social kinds of Hymenoptera, these abortive -females, called neuters, perform the labours of the community, and they -are always winged; whereas amongst the ants they are never winged, and -they constitute civil and military departments, the former attending to -domestic matters, and the latter making predatory excursions to enslave -the inhabitants of other communities, to aid their civilians in their -many duties. - -The third and last division of the aculeate Hymenoptera contains the -_Mellicolligeræ_, the bees, or honey-gatherers. - -Thus each division of the aculeated Hymenoptera is closely linked to the -others by the strong affinity of the social habits of some of the genera -of their several families. - -The food of these three divisions of the aculeated Hymenoptera differs -considerably, the Fossores being raptorial flesh-feeders, which hunt -down and destroy their prey, and supply it as food to their young; the -_Heterogynæ_ are omnivorous,—grain, fruits, or carrion being equally -welcome to them; but in these climates I am not aware that they destroy -life, although their wide migrations within the tropics are undertaken -in the very spirit of the Huns and Vandals, for they devastate -everything they come across; but the whole family of bees are -exclusively honey-feeders without any carnivorous propensities, and use -their stings merely as weapons of defence. - -Although all the social aculeates are edifiers, and although the wasp in -its _papier mâché_ domicile may vie with the honey-bee in capacity and -skill in the structure of the hexagons of the habitation it erects or -suspends, which are as perfect, and almost as delicate, although -fabricated of a coarser material than those within the hive, and wherein -also the several compartments form a more homogeneous unity, and the -uniformity of the several layers or floors is more in accordance with -architectural symmetry,—yet must the palm of precedence be accorded to -the bee, from the more elaborate and perfect development of the social -instinctive faculty. - -We may be the more excused for this preference when we weigh the -interest of the genus _Apis_ to man. The wasp boots us nothing, but is -the pilferer of our fruits, and a marauder upon the hive, whose -inhabitants it destroys and consumes their produce, it being indifferent -to them which they obtain—the bee or the honey,—either furnishing them -with sustenance. The ant is obtrusive and incommodious, making -incursions upon the pantry, the store-room, the green-house, and the -hothouse; disfiguring our flower-beds, and often disgusting us with our -aliment by the impertinent intrusion of its appearance. But the bee -stores up for us honey, whose cruses are as inexhaustible as the oil -cruse of the good widow of Zarephath, and whose waxen shards furnish us -with a beautifully soft light, which in Catholic worship adds solemnity -to the rites of religion. In doing this the bee fulfils a sovereign -function in the economy of nature, by the fertilization of the flowering -plants, with which she reciprocates benefits; the preponderance, -however, is importantly in favour of the flower. - -If captious objectors should dispute the position we thus claim for the -bees, we will willingly leave them the wasp with its sting, whilst we -sedulously cultivate the active and industrious bee, whose associations -range through all the fields of poetry, but nowhere more lusciously than -in the beautiful compositions of the Sanskrit poets Kalidasa and -Yayadeva. - -The position of the family, whose English constituents I shall -subsequently treat of, being thus fixed, I have next to explain the -several subdivisions into which it is divided in the following -arrangement. - -I am prompted to propose this new distribution of the British bees, by -the manifest imperfection of the several arrangements of them already -extant. The defects of these systems I shall have occasion to exhibit in -reference to the course I have been induced to take. - -Mr. Kirby’s keenness of observation led him to surmise, from the absence -of polliniferous brushes upon the posterior legs, or other parts of the -body of some, that there might be a class of bees analogous to the -cuckoo, amongst the birds, who did not rear their own young, or -undertake any of the cares of maternity; but that led by a peculiar -instinct they deposited their eggs in the nests of more laborious kinds, -for their young to be nurtured upon the provision laid up in store by -the latter for the supply of their own progeny. This being merely a -supposition, Mr. Kirby made no use of it in the distribution of his -families. - -Observation has since confirmed the conjecture, and the fact lends -material aid to the combination of the bees into detached groups, and -which has been partially applied since by all systematizers. - -Conjunctively with the assistance derived from this circumstance, the -various modes whereby pollen is collected and conveyed, either on the -legs or on the belly, further facilitates the grouping of the family. -Other structural or economical peculiarities lend their aid, and -although the arrangement primarily emanates from the differences in the -formation of the tongue, these are corroborated by differences in other -organs, and the general distribution, as well as the special -combinations, all result from natural characteristics. - -The simplicity of the arrangement thus effected is very striking; and we -thus find all the bees having similar habits, and with a similar -structure united together by it in distinct groups. - -I will here insert my scheme, and exhibit why and in what it differs -from those of my predecessors; and, where necessary, I shall append such -observations upon the several methods extant, as will sufficiently show -the necessity, and vindicate the introduction of a new one. - - FAMILY MELLICOLLIGERÆ (Honey collectors). - - Subfamily 1. ANDRENIDÆ (Subnormal Bees). - - Section 1. _With lacerate paraglossæ._ - - Subsection _a_. WITH EMARGINATE TONGUES. - - Genus 1. COLLETES. - - 2. PROSOPIS. - - Subsection _b_. WITH LANCEOLATE TONGUES. - - Genus 3. SPHECODES. - - 4. ANDRENA. - - 5. CILISSA. - - Section 2. _With entire paraglossæ._ - - Subsection _c_. WITH ACUTE TONGUES. - - Genus 6. HALICTUS. - - 7. MACROPIS. - - 8. DASYPODA. - - Subfamily 2. APIDÆ (Normal Bees). - - Section 1. _Solitary._ - - Subsection 1. SCOPULIPEDES (brush-legged). - - a. _Femoriferæ_ (collectors on the entire leg). - - † _With two submarginal cells._ - - Genus 9. PANURGUS. - - b. _Cruriferæ_ (collectors on the shank only). - - † _With two submarginal cells._ - - Genus 10. EUCERA. - - †† _With three submarginal cells._ - - Genus 11. ANTHOPHORA. - - 12. SAROPODA. - - 13. CERATINA. - - Subsection 2. NUDIPEDES (naked-legged). - - a. _With three submarginal cells._ - - Genus 14. NOMADA. - - 15. MELECTA. - - 16. EPEOLUS. - - b. _With two submarginal cells._ - - Genus 17. STELIS - - 18. CŒLIOXYS. - - Subsection 3. DASYGASTERS (hairy-bellied). - - _All with two submarginal cells._ - - Genus 19. MEGACHILE. - - 20. ANTHIDIUM. - - 21. CHELOSTOMA. - - 22. HERIADES. - - 23. ANTHOCOPA. - - 24. OSMIA. - - Section 2. _Cenobites_ (Dwellers in Community). - - Subsection 1. SPURRED. - - † _Parasitical._ - - Genus 25. APATHUS. - - †† _Collectors._ - - _Temporarily social._ - - Genus 26. BOMBUS. - - Subsection 2. UNSPURRED. - - _Permanently social._ - - Genus 27. APIS. - -The primary division of the bees into two large branches, viz. into the -_Andrenidæ_, or abnormal bees, and the _Apidæ_, or normal bees, is -effected by the mode in which they fold the cibarial apparatus in -repose. In the description of the structure of the imago, I have -enlarged upon these organs, and for their explanation I must refer to -that chapter where diagrams exhibit the structure of the different kinds -of trophi of the bees, as well as their mode of folding. Here it is only -necessary to notice that in the _Andrenidæ_, the joint at the base draws -back the basal portion when protruded, and this basal portion is further -jointed at the point of the insertion of the paraglossæ and labial -palpi, and parallel with which joint the maxillæ are likewise jointed -close to the sinus where the maxillary palpi are inserted laterally upon -it. The basal portion thus throws the anterior part forward or retracts -it, at the will of the insect, and in the latter case, being then in -repose, it lies in contiguous parallelism to the basal half, but beneath -it. When thus withdrawn, the short tongue itself, with its paraglossæ -and labial palpi are sheltered beneath the coping of the labrum and the -lateral protection of the mandibles, whilst the horny sheathing of the -maxillæ protect the softer parts folding underneath. - -In the _Apidæ_, or normal bees, the basal joint has the same action in -withdrawing the entire organ into its place of rest; but the joint which -gives it this power is not in an analogous situation to that in the -_Andrenidæ_, for it is seated short of the joint which lies at the base -of the several organs of the cibarial apparatus. By bending these -downwards, it carries their apex backwards towards the basal fulcrum -through the action of these two joints, and, when there, the more -delicate ones are protected from abrasion or injury, by the lateral -overlapping of the horny skin of the maxillæ. All being thus withdrawn -within this covering, upon the joint which folds them back, seated at -the base of the tongue, the labrum falls, and further to strengthen this -protection, the mandibles close over it like forceps. - -That this difference in the arrangement of the cibarial apparatus points -to any distinctive peculiarities of economy has not been ascertained, -for the habits of the _Scopulipedes_ greatly resemble those of the -_Andrenidæ_; although the habits of one of them, _Anthophora furcata_, -are remarkably like those of the foreign genus _Xylocopa_, in its mode -of drilling wood. But the _Apidæ_ have cross affinities amongst -themselves, thus _Ceratina_ resembles _Heriades_, and some of the -_Osmiæ_, in the way in which it nidificates. - -The tongues of the _Andrenidæ_ are always shorter, broader, and flatter -than those of the _Apidæ_, in which they are always long, cylindrical, -and tapering. In the first section of the _Andrenidæ_, the paraglossæ -are obtusely terminated at the apex, thence called lacerated, and where -they are fringed with brief bristles. The peculiar form of the tongue in -this section suggests its being separated into two subsections, that -organ being in the first subsection very broad and bilobated, which -gives those insects their position in the series by approximating them -to the preceding family of the _Diploptera_, or wasps, whose tongues -have the same bilobate form, but each lobe in them is furnished with a -gland. These tongues, in both cases of the wasps and these bees, may -conduce to the building or plastering habits of the insects. The form -may aid the wasp and the _Colletes_, the first in the moulding of its -hexagonal _papier-mâché_ cells, as it may the second in shaping and -embroidering the silk-lined abode of its embryonic progeny. Why -_Prosopis_ should have this organization is difficult to conceive, -unless it be from an analogy of structure incidentally previously -referred to, beyond which any special object has hitherto escaped -detection. - -In the second section of the _Andrenidæ_, which have the paraglossæ -entire and terminating in a point, the tongues all also terminate -acutely with a lateral inclination inwards. In the lanceolate-tongued -tribe they bulge outwards laterally, although pointed at the apex. - -All this subfamily of _Andrenidæ_, excepting only the two genera reputed -parasites, viz. _Prosopis_ and _Sphecodes_, are essentially -_Scopulipedes_, densely brush-legged, for the conveyance of pollen which -they vigorously collect; but from the brevity of their tongues they are -restricted to flowers with shallow petals and apparent nectaria, their -favourite plants being the abounding _Compositæ_ and _Umbelliferæ_, as -well as the _Rosaceæ_, whence they derive the agreeable odours which -many of them emit upon being captured. - -Their peculiar mode of collecting is a further reason for bringing the -brush-legged _Apidæ_ collectively to the top of the normal bees, in -juxtaposition to the _Andrenidæ_, where the transition is made very -naturally from _Dasypoda_ to _Panurgus_. - -The whole of the cibarial apparatus, or trophi, is always complete in -all its constituent parts throughout the _Andrenidæ_; and it is only -with _Ceratina_, in the group of _scopuliped Apidæ_, that it begins to -show the tendency it has to abnormal deficiencies, by the paraglossæ, in -that genus, being obsolete. This characteristic, then, exhibits itself -in the _Nudipedes_ with two submarginal cells who are parasitical upon -the _Dasygasters_, in whom also the maxillary palpi participate in a -deficiency in the authentic number of their joints, whilst in _Apis_ -both maxillary palpi and paraglossæ are unapparent. This shows that the -numerical completion of the organs of the mouth have nothing to do with -the qualifications of the creature, the best endowed in other respects -being thus curtailed, the final cause of which is not yet understood. - -The shape of the tongue itself thus separates the _Andrenidæ_ into three -well-defined divisions readily perceptible. These, as I have just -observed with respect to the differences in the mode of closing the oral -apparatus in both cases, yield no clue to economy and habits, for which -observation must supervene to illustrate it. This, patiently carried -out, is very desirable, as it is still in discussion whether, -notwithstanding the elucidation structure affords, _Prosopis_ and -_Sphecodes_ are or are not parasitical. Structure says they are, for, -like the cuckoo-bees forming the group _Nudipedes_ in the _Apidæ_, they -are destitute of the requisite apparatus for collecting pollen. Mr. -Kirby, however, gives direct testimony in favour of _Sphecodes_ being a -burrower, in the case of which bee it ought not to be a matter of much -difficulty to determine, for on sandy plateaus I have occasionally found -it very abundant, especially where there was ragwort (_Senecio_) in -flower in the vicinity, to which the males resorted; but being at the -time more intent on other matters, I neglected the opportunity. Other -observers concur with Mr. Kirby as regards _Sphecodes_, and also say as -much for _Prosopis_ (better known as _Hylæus_). I strongly incline to -the opinion enunciated by Latreille and Le Pelletier de St. Fargeau, -that they are parasites. My opinion is based upon peculiarities in them -other than, although strengthened by, the negative characteristic of -absence of polliniferous organs. A negative cannot be proved, it is -true, yet what has been positively asserted may as certainly result -either from defective observation, or from too strong a desire to find -no parasites among the _Andrenidæ_. My reasons occur elsewhere in this -work, and I need not repeat them. It is still an open question, and the -young entomologist, if entering the arena unprepossessed, might win his -spurs in determining it. It would be well worth the trouble of attending -to for those who have leisure, and if decided in favour of the -independency of these genera, which must be corroborated by a plurality -of observations, and not confined to one locality, they would form -strong and remarkable instances of a defective analogy in nature’s -workmanship, and suggest looking further for the causes of so -extraordinary an anomaly, and urge us to endeavour to trace the -equivalent which supersedes it. - -The main subdivision of the _Apidæ_ results from the habits of the -insects, which divides them into SOCIAL and SOLITARY. The only tangible -characters the social tribes present to distinguish them from the -solitary is the glabrous surface of the posterior tibiæ, with their -lateral edges fringed with bristles slightly curved inwards, and which -form, with the slightly indented surface of the limb, a sort of natural -basket for the conveyance of pollen or other stores to the nest. This, -however, has not been made use of as a main feature for scientific -distribution, although they might follow the _Dasygasters_, as -_corbiculated bees_, or little basket bearers, in which case they would -form as pertinent a group as any of the rest, and the whole distribution -of the bees, _Apidæ_, would then rest upon the absence of, or the mode -in which the polliniferous organs were present. But the wonderful -attribute of their extraordinary instinct prohibits their being treated -with the rest in a consecutive line, and renders it rationally -imperative that all the _Cenobites_ should group together in a section -by themselves, and separate from the rest. Therefore in my arrangement I -have not availed myself of this very natural character, and here -indicate it, to show that I have not passed it from not noticing it. - -Although the division into social and solitary yields in itself no -tangible character whereby the insects may be separated, it being wholly -empirical, yet is it so natural and necessary that it is impossible to -gainsay it. We find the solitary section readily resolve itself into -groups or subsections, determined by positive structural characters, -indicative of certain habits, and having a conforming economy, besides -which they are equivalents. - -Thus the first subsection presents us with the brush-legged _Apidæ_ -(_Scopulipedes_), which collect pollen upon their posterior legs. These -are further subdivided into those which collect it upon the whole limb, -viz. the coxa, the femur, the tibia, and first joint of the tarsus, (the -_femoriferæ_), and those which gather it merely upon the shank and basal -joint of the foot (the _cruriferæ_). These collectively form a -well-defined group, and why _Panurgus_ should be separated from the -brush-legged bees, when it is a most conspicuous instance of the -faculty, even more so than any other of the _Scopulipedes_, I have yet -to learn. It is true its mode of collecting closely resembles that -practised by the _Andrenidæ_, as does also the furniture for the purpose -of its posterior legs, but being essentially collocated with the _Apidæ_ -or normal bees by its tongue, it fittingly links itself to the other -brush-legged _Apidæ_ (which have hitherto been placed between the -_Dasygasters_ and the Social Bees), by means of the genus _Eucera_, by -reason of its two submarginal cells, the structure of its maxillary -palpi, its mode of burrowing, and by each being infested by a similar -parasite—a _Nomada_, which in accommodation to the size of the sitos is -the largest of the genus. _Nomada_ does not occur as a parasite upon any -other of the brush-legged bees, or indeed upon any other of the true -bees at all, which peculiarity brings these two genera into close -contiguity to all non-parasitical _Andrenidæ_, all of which have their -legs furnished with polliniferous brushes, and upon which subfamily, -exclusively of these two instances of _Panurgus_ and _Eucera_, _Nomada_ -is solely parasitical. - -With respect to the two submarginal cells to the wings, nature must have -some reason for the limitation, for we find it prevalent also throughout -the _Dasygasters_, or hairy-bellied bees. - -The next very natural group is consistently central. It comprises the -cuckoo-bees, which are naked-legged (_Nudipedes_), by reason of their -parasitism, they not requiring organs to collect what they have no -occasion to use. Their parasitism extends both upwards and downwards, -those with three submarginal cells being parasitical upon all the -brush-legged bees, whether subnormal _Andrenidæ_ or the _Scopulipedes_, -those with two submarginal cells being restricted in their parasitism to -the _Dasygasters_. - -These _Dasygasters_, or hairy-bellied bees, form the next very natural -group. Their general peculiarity of structure I have had occasion to -advert to, in treating, in a former section of the work, upon the -structure of the imago, and to which I now refer to avoid repetition. -This group contains the majority of the artisan bees, whose habits I -shall particularize when I speak of the genera specially; but we find -carpenters amongst the _Scopulipedes_, and essentially builders amongst -the _Cenobites_, which form a further and the last of our natural -groups. A true cuckoo-bee (_Apathus_) consorts amongst these -_Cenobites_, and properly so, from many causes. The anomaly would have -been too great to have removed it to a place amongst the _Nudipedes_, -for although in obsolete paraglossæ, and in a deficiency in the normal -number of the joints of the maxillary palpi, it resembles some of these, -its general habit and general structure, bating that controlled by its -parasitical habits, are so like _Bombus_, that it cannot well be -separated far from the latter,—especially as we know too little of its -habits to say that it does not regularly dwell in the nest of its sitos, -which may well mistake it for one of its own community, it resembling -the species it infests so closely; it therefore consistently associates -systematically with the temporarily social societies. - -Having thus cursorily skimmed the surface of the method I suggest, I -have next to give my reasons for proposing it in lieu of adopting any -yet extant. - -My exhibition of Kirby’s grouping, in the preceding section, where I -treat of the scientific cultivation of British bees, will fully explain -why I could not adopt that arrangement. - -Why I cannot follow Latreille’s, is, that in his last elaboration, in -his ‘Families Naturelles,’ published in 1825, which must be considered -as his final view, he does not satisfactorily divide the _Andrenidæ_, of -the genera of which he has made a complete jumble. With the _Apidæ_ in -his group of _Dasygasters_, he intermixes _Ceratina_, separating it from -the group of _Scopulipedes_, where it truly belongs by every -characteristic, and he mingles also with them the two cuckoo genera -_Stelis_ and _Cœlioxys_, which are merely parasites upon these -_Dasygasters_, and can only be associated by the structural conformity -of the two submarginal cells to the superior wings, and the length of -the labrum, the latter being a character of very secondary importance; -and further, he dissevers the _Scopulipedes_ in placing _Panurgus_ at -the commencement of the _Apidæ_, and the rest proximate to the social -bees. - -Westwood, in his modification of Latreille’s system, certainly divides -the _Andrenidæ_ better than his master had done, but he does not go far -enough. Besides, he interposes _Halictus_ and _Lasioglossum_, (the -latter admitted as a genus merely out of courtesy to Curtis, who had -elevated it to that rank in his ‘British Entomology,’ although it is -nothing more than a male _Halictus_), between _Sphecodes_ and _Andrena_ -with _Cilissa_, these having lanceolate tongues with lacerate -paraglossæ, whereas _Halictus_ has a very acute tongue, and its -paraglossæ are entire, as is also the case with _Dasypoda_, from which -_Halictus_ is thus divided. In the _Apidæ_, he does not separate the -cuckoo-bees, but with Latreille intermixes _Cœlioxys_ and _Stelis_ with -the artisan bees, although without retaining Latreille’s convenient and -suitable name of _Dasygasters_, for this group of mechanics. The same -objection I take to his _Scopulipedes_ as that expressed above, relative -to Latreille’s. - -Precisely the same fault I find with the _Andrenidæ_ of Smith, as that -urged above with respect to Westwood’s. He is more careful with his -_Apidæ_, his _Cuculinæ_ being all genuine parasites, but he includes -_Ceratina_ with the _Dasygasters_, with which it has no affinity of -structure, and only a slight analogy in the _form_ merely of its abdomen -without its hairiness beneath, to that of _Osmia_, from whose proximity -he takes it to place it near _Heriades_, when it is certainly intimately -allied in every respect with the _Scopulipedes_, and by reason of its -subclavate antennæ might suitably be brought into juxtaposition with -_Panurgus_, did not its obsolete paraglossæ and three submarginal cells -interfere with its occupying this position. To his _Scopulipedes_ the -same objection is valid as that taken to Latreille’s and Westwood’s -disposition of them. Amongst the social bees he separates _Bombus_ from -_Apis_, by the intervention of _Apathus_, which is scarcely consistent. - -It is in no spirit of captiousness that these objections are made; they -are deduced from collocations whose conspicuous incoherence is patent to -the most superficial observation. The distribution I have here -introduced has been made merely to ameliorate, and make more cogent, -what was so palpably defective and feeble. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER IX. - - A TABLE, EXHIBITING A METHOD OF DETERMINING THE GENERA OF BRITISH BEES - WITH FACILITY. - - -THE following table is constructed exclusively to facilitate, by the -most obvious characters, the recognition of the several genera into -which the family is divided; it will, however, be incumbent upon the -learner to use some diligence in order to acquire an accurate perception -of their distinguishing characteristics. - -By the present extremely artificial plan the systematic sequence is -disturbed; but the numbers, which will be found appended to the names in -the table, will show their orderly succession. - -The natural generic character which precedes the account of each genus -in the next division of the work will give the reason, by comparison, of -the order in which “system” arranges them, and which being based mainly -upon the differences of the trophi,—although, conjunctively with other -characters, the trophi must necessarily be studied for its -explanation,—their description in the description of the part of the -imago is consequently referred to. - -Did we know exactly the uses of the component parts of the trophi -severally, we should be better able to determine the legitimacy of -applying them to the purpose of indicating the natural generic -character, but being compelled, by reason of our ignorance of their -several special functions, to avail ourselves of their form, relative -proportions, and number only, uncertainty of having caught the clue of -nature’s scheme must of necessity attend this distribution. - -But as what we do know of their uses in this family clearly indicates -them to be an essential instrument indispensable to the economy of the -insect, and which gives these organs an almost paramount importance, -their comparative construction in the several genera would yield clear -notions of the true order of succession, were we acquainted with the -relative significancy of the various portions of the entire organ. Thus -we see it numerically most complete in what we are pleased to suppose -the least genuine bees—the _Andrenidæ_. - -In my series of the genera proposed in the preceding section, with the -_Nudiped_ true bee _Melecta_ commences a deficiency of either some of -the joints of the maxillary palpi, or of the paraglossæ;—throughout the -artisan bees this abridgment is conspicuous both in number and -proportion; and it culminates in what we consider the _facile princeps_, -that most wonderfully organized of all insects—the genus _Apis_, which -in its neuters has neither paraglossæ nor maxillary palpi, the latter -being equally deficient in the male or drone, and in the queen; and in -both the male and the queen the paraglossæ are but rudimentary. - -Nature appears too mysterious in her operations to permit us to solve -these remarkable anomalies, for no combination of the genera founded -exclusively upon them supplies us with Ariadne’s thread. Every such -combination breaks up more harmonious groups, and we then retrace our -steps, satisfied that we are on the wrong road. - -In some other orders of insects the cibarial apparatus has but little -bearing upon the insect’s mode of life, for in many it is not used -either for nutrition or in their economy, or so slightly so as to admit -of its being considered of very inferior importance, although -systematists—to enhance the value of their own labours, by the frequent -difficulty, from excessive minuteness, of its examination—have usually -made it a prominent feature in their arrangements. - -That science has not widely strayed away from the true succession and -natural affinities by the main selection of the trophi for the -arrangement of the bees, seems partially confirmed by the gradations of -form or habit that this method of treatment in general exhibits. A -higher method doubtless exists, which would give form, number, and -proportion very inferior rank in ordering the arrangement, but at -present the clue to it has not been discovered. - -These questions are indeed beyond the scope of a work of this character, -which is merely a ladder to the fruits of learning, and the bearing of -them is only hinted at to indicate that there is much exercise for the -intelligence in the study of even this small family. The mind that would -stop in the study of nature at the knowledge of genera and species, can -be very speedily satisfied, and one bright spring day’s successful -collecting will furnish the materials for much patient and industrious -occupation. - -In nature we find all things apparently blended in the grandest -confusion; but they all have mutual and reciprocal bearings which give a -definite purpose to the seeming disorder, and which make each separate -unit the centre of all. But we, from our inability to grasp in its -fulness the order of this disorder, are obliged to seize fragments and, -separating them into what we conceive to be their coherent elements, use -them as exponents of the entirety. They could not so exist in nature, -but would speedily die out, and it is only by the way in which we find -them intermingled, that they can be maintained. Thus, as all conduce to -the conservation of each, each conduces to the conservation of all. - -A large collection of natural history, composed of every available item -that can be gathered from every kingdom of nature’s vast domain, may -perhaps be compared (_magnis componere parva_) with the constituent -parts of a most elaborately-constructed and complicated clock, which its -skilful artificer has designed and made to record and chime the -divisions of time, and to register the days, weeks, months, and seasons, -and which a virtuoso having taken to pieces, has sorted into its details -of wheels and springs, levers and balances, chains, bells, and hands, -which told the time when its music would peal; and arranging like to -like, thinks he will thus understand more clearly the complexity of the -varied movements. But, sadly disappointed, he finds he cannot comprehend -the combination of the intricate machinery, although he singly admires -the minute perfection of each delicate and ingenious piece lying before -him which composed the structure, but which has now lost all expression, -his curiosity having deprived the organism of its vitality, which is its -most wonderful element. - -And this is our process, for if we stop here we have but an assortment -of vapid machinery, no click of whose wheels gives note of the vital -hilarity of their relative and combined effects. The final cause of -creation escapes us thus frittering it into details, which if we merely -abide by, we but loiter at the foot of Pisgah, instead of ascending its -summits to survey thence the sunny and varied landscape, the glorious -sea, and, arching over all, the blue cope of heaven. The manifold -relations of animate and inanimate nature, which, although they must be -studied in detail, are to be appreciated in their entirety, should -stimulate the efforts of the naturalist to conquer all impending -difficulties, and he should not permit himself to be satisfied with this -preliminary knowledge. - -Although the above be the inevitable effect of distributing nature into -its component parts, it is the indispensable precursor to the study, for -the scientific treatment is the only mode whereby, through special -study, we can arrive at the comprehension of the great generality. We -thus strive to trace the mode in which each emanates from each; and even -when this is not absolutely tangible we may discover affinities or -analogies by structural resemblances which implicitly lead to -physiological inferences, and thence on, higher and higher, all lending -us aid to make the larger survey, wherein we behold the concatenation of -the many links which harmonize the spiritual with the material. But the -study must be thorough, and its details are not to be spread out before -us merely as a beautiful picture-book. They all have their place in the -great ordinance of nature, which it is for us to find. At first we can -only spell the syllables, which the study of species puts together for -us, but by degrees we shall trace the words, and read the sentences: a -study more abstruse but far more pregnant than that of the Egyptian -hieroglyphics, and whose attainment is rewarded with a supremer -knowledge than is accorded by these, which exhibit merely the legends of -dead despots; but here we have a display of the vitality of the wisdom -inscribed in gleaming characters upon the leaves of the wonderful book -of life, God’s glorious works, made manifest to man. - -Thus we should aim at the knowledge of final causes, the apparent wisdom -of whose adaptations points clearly to the source of all—the first great -Cause. A naturalist with such large views has a wide field before him, -which with every step expands, and which alone is worthy of engrossing -the earnest attention of his intelligence, and is in itself sufficient -to absorb the profoundest contemplation. His mind becomes thus filled -with great objects, which charm it with their beauty and feed it with -the complexity of their intricate combinations, whose earnest -development is an affluent stream of perpetual instructive occupation. -With Newton we may say: “We everywhere behold simplicity in the means, -but an inexhaustible variety in the effects,” resulting all from the -luminous wisdom of prearranged design. - -The humiliation which attends the sentiment of the utter inability and -incompetency of the mind to grasp the intricacy and vastness of nature, -is consoled by the redundant proofs the contemplation yields of a -supreme and benevolent Providence presiding over all things, and thence -we derive the comfortable and supporting assurance, in the fickle -waywardness and vicissitudes of a harassed and anxious life, that a -benevolent eye is ever watchfully awake; for the naturalist everywhere -beholds that omnipotently wise and loving Providence in active operation -throughout nature. - -No study like natural history, pursued in a humble and docile spirit, so -harmoniously elicits the religion of the soul, or than which so fitly -prepares it to enter, by the pathway of the works of God, the august -temple of His revealed Word. - -But to return: what we call science is the mere accidence of nature, -which in fact aggravates our infirmity by permitting our intelligence to -attempt to grasp, through the various details, their intricate -combinations. But as truth sooner arises out of error if methodically -pursued, and its results recorded, than out of confusion and guesswork, -theories based upon observation, however inaccurate at first, ultimately -lead up to the certain acquisition of the truth itself. - - -------------- - - AN EASY DISTRIBUTION OF THE BEES, - THE NUMBERS REFERRING TO THE SCIENTIFIC SERIES. - - ANDRENIDÆ (Subnormal Bees). - - TONGUE SHORTER THAN THE MAXILLÆ, PORRECT. - - _Posterior tibiæ clothed with hair to convey pollen._ - - Two submarginal cells. - Posterior legs very robust, polliniferous - hair on tibiæ and plantæ - dense but short - =MACROPIS (7).= - Posterior legs slender; polliniferous - hair on femora, tibiæ, and plantæ - dense and very long - =DASYPODA (8).= - - Three submarginal cells to the wings. - Abdomen truncated at base - =COLLETES (1).= - Abdomen ovate. - Abdomen entire at apex; maxillary - palpi as long or longer than - the maxillæ - =ANDRENA (4).= - - Abdomen entire at apex; maxillary - palpi half the length of the - maxillæ - =CILISSA (5).= - Abdomen with a vertical incision - at the apex - =HALICTUS (7).= - - _Posterior tibiæ without hair to convey pollen._ - - Two submarginal cells to the wings. - =PROSOPIS (2).= - Three submarginal cells to the wings. - =SPHECODES (3).= - - APIDÆ (Normal Bees). - - TONGUE AS LONG OR LONGER THAN THE MAXILLÆ, INFLECTED BENEATH, AND - COVERED BY THE MAXILLÆ IN REPOSE. - - _Without polliniferous organs._ - - Two submarginal cells to the wings. - Abdomen at apex rounded - =STELIS (17).= - Abdomen at apex conical - =CŒLIOXYS (18).= - Three submarginal cells to the wings. - Abdomen lanceolate - =NOMADA (14),= - Abdomen subtruncate at base. - Abdomen obovate, thorax glabrous - =EPEOLUS (16).= - Abdomen subconical, thorax hirsute - =MELECTA (15).= - Entire body densely hairy - =APATHUS (25).= - - _With polliniferous organs._ - - Pollen conveyed on the venter. - Two submarginal cells to the wings of all. - Abdomen subclavate. - First three joints of labial palpi - continuous, terminal joint inserted - before apex of third - =CHELOSTOMA (21).= - First two joints of labial palpi - continuous, two last inserted - before the apex of the second - =HERIADES (22).= - Abdomen obovate, rounded at apex - =OSMIA (24).= - Abdomen truncated at base. - Segments slightly constricted, - and not spotted with colour - =MEGACHILE (19).= - Segments not constricted, - spotted with yellow - =ANTHIDIUM (20).= - Pollen conveyed on the posterior legs. - Two submarginal cells to the wings. - Abdomen lanceolate; antennæ - clavate; posterior legs covered - with long hair - =PANURGUS (9).= - Abdomen obovate; antennæ filiform; - posterior legs covered - densely with short hair - =EUCERA (10).= - Three submarginal cells to the wings. - Short dense hair on the whole posterior - tibiæ externally. - Abdomen obovate; first joint of - labial palpi twice as long as - second - =ANTHOPHORA (11).= - Abdomen subrotund; first joint - of labial palpi six times as - long as the rest - =SAROPODA (12).= - Long hair, but loose, on the entire - posterior tibiæ, externally - and internally. - Abdomen subclavate - =CERATINA (13)= - Curved hair fringing the edge only - of the posterior tibiæ, the - centre glabrous. - Body densely hirsute, spurs to - all the tibiæ - =BOMBUS (26).= - Body subpubescent, no spurs - to the posterior tibiæ - =APIS (27).= - - -------------- - -It will be desirable to add a few observations to the preceding table to -facilitate its use, and because, as many of the characters upon which it -is framed are exclusively those of the female, it is necessary to point -out the differences of their males, that the sexes of the genera may be -duly recognized and associated. - -It may be first noticed generally that the antennæ, in the males, are -not usually geniculated at the scape, which is nearly always the case in -the opposite sex, and they are also, with rare exceptions, always longer -than those of their females. In _Colletes_, _Prosopis_, _Dasypoda_, -_Panurgus_, _Ceratina_, _Nomada_, _Melecta_, _Epeolus_, _Stelis_, and -_Anthidium_, the habit or colouring of the males is so similar to that -of the females, that their genus may be thus at once determined, and, in -fact, the brief characters in the table will embrace them. - -The male Eucera can be distinguished from those of _Anthophora_ and -_Saropoda_, both by the differences in the number of the submarginal -cells of the wing, and by the extreme length of its antennæ, whence the -genus derives its name. In _Andrena_ and _Cilissa_, the males have -usually lanceolate bodies. In the latter genus there will be no -difficulty in associating the legitimate partners; but in _Andrena_, -although general habit will usually bring the male within the boundary -of the genus, nothing but experience, or specific description will -associate the sexes correctly, there being in many cases an -extraordinary discrepancy between them. These two genera themselves also -can scarcely be distinguished apart, excepting by means of their trophi; -_Cilissa_, however, in general habit greatly resembles the genus -_Colletes_, especially the _Cilissa tricincta_, which might, upon a -superficial glance, be almost mistaken for one of them. - -The male _Halicti_ have long cylindrical bodies and long antennæ, but -from the male _Chelostoma_, which has a very similarly shaped body also -and long antennæ, they may be distinguished by the differences in the -number of the submarginal cells; and from those of _Sphecodes_, by the -antennæ, which, in the latter are not relatively so long, and are -usually moniliform. The thorax of these is also less pubescent, and the -tinge of the red colour of their abdomen is different from that of the -red male _Halicti_. - -The males of _Cœlioxys_ can be readily distinguished from those of -_Megachile_, by the spinose apex of their abdomen. In _Megachile_, -general habit will bring the males within the precincts of their genus, -as well as their largely dilated anterior tarsi in some of the species. - -A difficulty similar to what is found in the distinction between -_Andrena_ and _Cilissa_, arises in the separation of _Chelostoma_ from -_Heriades_, and which we shall again meet with in drawing the line -between _Anthophora_ and _Saropoda_. The difference can only be detected -by examining the trophi, but a pin and a little patience will elucidate -the separation. The males in all but two species of _Anthophora_ may be -readily associated with their partners; but in these two the females are -entirely black, and so hirsute as to have led Ray (wanting the knowledge -of the use of the trophi and posterior shanks) to unite the one he knew -with his _Bombylii_; their males are fulvous, and the latter have a -remarkable elongation of the intermediate tarsi, from one of the joints -of which also a tuft of hair or a loose lateral fringe projects, giving -them thus a wider expansion, and the use of which is prehensile, the -same as that for which the anterior tarsi in some of the _Megachiles_ -and in our single _Anthidium_ receive their dilatation. This structure -has also the effect of adding very considerably to the elegance of their -appearance when they are in fine condition. - -The male _Apathi_ can only be distinguished from the male _Bombi_ by -familiarity with specific characteristics, or by the examination of the -trophi. But the former is the more certain mode of separation, as the -trophi in _Bombus_ vary in some species, but not sufficiently to -authorize generic subdivison. General appearance will mark where they -approximately belong. The length of their antennæ sufficiently -distinguishes them as males, and they may be taken with impunity in the -fingers from flowers for examination, being, like all the male aculeate -_Hymenoptera_, unarmed with stings. The female _Apathi_ may be -superficially distinguished from the female _Bombi_, which they most -resemble, exclusively of the generic characters of the convex and -subpubescent external surface of the posterior tibiæ and the trophi, -also by their abdomen being considerably less hirsute than that of the -genuine _Bombi_, in which it is entirely covered with dense shaggy hair, -whereas in _Apathus_ there is a broad disk upon its surface nearly -glabrous. If I remember rightly, it is the male _Apathi_ only, and not -the male _Bombi_, which emit on capture a pleasantly fragrant odour of -attar of roses. - -The table will suffice for distinguishing the male _Apis_ from all other -male _Apidæ_, and which has a further peculiarity exhibited by no other -of our native bees, in the conjunction upon the vertex of the compound -eyes, in front of which, upon the frons, the simple eyes or ocelli are -placed in a very slightly-curved line. - -These indications are enough to enable the beginner to work his way -smoothly, and a little practice will soon render these observations -superfluous. - -The economy of nature is so perfect that wherever we can trace a -difference, we may assume that a reason and a purpose exist for the -variation. Thus we do not know why some bees have three submarginal -cells to their wings, and others only two. Nor do we know what governs -their variety of shape. The deficiency we might think implied -inferiority; but this cannot be, for those with most frequently the -smaller number, viz. the artisan bees, are, in the majority of cases, -the most highly endowed, and have the most special habits. - -In the relative numbers of the maxillary and labial palpi, there are -remarkable differences, the reason for which we cannot trace, for, as -before observed, we do not know even their function, which would perhaps -guide us to other views. Their normal numbers are six maxillary, and -four labial palpi. The latter take remarkable relative development and -peculiarity of insertion and form, especially in the _Apidæ_; but -throughout the whole series of our bees, they are never reduced to fewer -than their normal number, whereas the maxillary palpi never have -similarly large development of structure, and are variously modified in -number and consistency from the typical or normal condition. - -Thus in _Eucera_ and _Melecta_ there are but five joints; in _Osmia_ and -_Saropoda_, four; in _Chelostoma_ and _Cœlioxys_, three; in _Anthidium_ -and _Megachile_, etc., two; and in _Epeolus_ and _Apis_ but one. - -In this collocation no incidental peculiarity beyond diversity is -apparent, for in the first instance a parasite and a bee not parasitical -are associated; and in the last, a parasite is associated with the bee -which has the most elaborate economy, and the most largely developed -instinct of all known insects. Nor are, in any case, those parasites -associated by these means with their own sitos, or insect upon which -they are parasitical. - -Thus encouragement attends the beginner at the very outset of his study; -and the prospect of a wide field for discoveries, in many directions, -lies open to him, to excite his curiosity and to stimulate his industry -to the pursuit of higher aims than the mere accumulation of species. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER X. - -THE SCIENTIFIC ARRANGEMENT AND DESCRIPTION OF THE GENERA, WITH LISTS OF - OUR NATIVE SPECIES AND AN ACCOUNT OF THE HABITS AND ECONOMY OF THE - INSECTS, WITH INCIDENTAL OBSERVATIONS SUGGESTED BY THE SUBJECT. - - -I NOW proceed to the treatment and description of the genera severally, -and the enumeration of the species in due scientific consecutive order. - -The generic names adopted are those of the first describers of the -genera; but the generic characters given by them could not be employed, -they having been usually framed to suit special purposes. - -All the generic characters introduced into this work are therefore quite -original, and have been made from a very careful autoptical examination -of the insects themselves. - -The synonymy added to the lists of species is limited to the species -described in Mr. Kirby’s work, where he is not the first describer, or -to those of such other English works wherein the species may have been -described in ignorance of its previous registration. - -The observations appended, wherein the habits of the insects are -described, will be found to embrace discursive subjects suggested by the -matter in hand, and here a dry didactic style has been purposely -avoided, as in the majority of cases they record the personal -experiences or notions of and hints from an old practical entomologist. - - - CLASS INSECTA METABOLIA, _Leach_. - - Order =HYMENOPTERA=, _Linnæus_. - - DIVISION _ACULEATA_, Leach. - - Antennæ in male with 13 joints, in female with 12. Abdomen in male with - 7 segments, in female with 6. - - FAMILY MELLICOLLIGERÆ (Honey collectors), _Shuck_. - - Subfamily 1. ANDRENIDES (Subnormal Bees), _Leach_. - - _Syn._ Genus MELITTA, _Kirby_. - - _The maxillary palpi always six-jointed._ - - Section 1. _With lacerate paraglossæ._ - - Subsection _a_. LINGUÆ EMARGINATÆ (with emarginate tongues). - - _Syn._ OBTUSILINGUES, _Westw._ - - _Three submarginal cells to the wings._ - - Genus 1. COLLETES, _Latreille_. - - (Plate I. fig. 1. ♂ ♀.) - - MELITTA * _a_, Kirby. - - -_Gen. Char._: HEAD transverse, flattish; _ocelli_ in an open triangle on -the vertex; _antennæ_ not geniculated, but slightly curved, filiform, -short; joints, excepting the basal or scape, which is as long as five of -the rest and slightly curved, nearly equal; _face_ beneath and within -the insertion of the antennæ, slightly protuberant, laterally flat or -concave; _clypeus_ convex, margined anteriorly, entire; _labrum_ -transverse, slightly produced in the centre in front, and the process -rounded; _mandibles_ obtuse, subbidentate; _cibarial apparatus_ short; -_tongue_ deeply emarginate and bilobate, the lobes fringed with short -setæ; _paraglossæ_ half the length of the tongue, abruptly terminating -and lacerate, and setose at the apex; _labial palpi_ much shorter than -the paraglossæ, four-jointed, the joints equal and each subclavate; -_labium_ about the same length as the tongue, its inosculation acutely -angulated; _maxillæ_ broad, lanceolate, the length of the tongue; -_maxillary palpi_ six-jointed, not so long as the maxillæ, the two basal -joints the longest, the rest equal, short, and subclavate, the apical -one rounded. THORAX subquadrate, very pubescent, the prothorax -inconspicuous; _scutellum_ transversely triangular or semilunate, -_postscutellum_ lunulate; _metathorax_ abruptly truncated, and densely -pubescent, especially laterally, for the conveyance of pollen; _wings_ -with three submarginal cells and a fourth slightly commenced, the second -and third each receiving about their centre a recurrent nervure; _legs_ -all pubescent, the anterior and intermediate on their external surface -chiefly, their _plantæ_ also setose; the posterior _coxæ_, -_trochanters_, _femora_, and _tibiæ_ very hirsute, especially beneath, -their _tarsi_ entirely setose; _claws_ bifid. ABDOMEN truncated at the -base, subconical with a downward bias, the _segments_ with bands of -closely decumbent nap, and the surface of all more or less deeply or -delicately punctured; the basal segment in the centre, beneath, with a -longitudinal tuft of long hair. - -The MALE differs in having the _mandibles_ more distinctly bidentate, -and in being less densely pubescent, especially upon the legs. In -general aspect it is very like its female. - -_Note._ The genus _Cilissa_ has, superficially observed, much of the -habit of _Colletes_, particularly in the male of _Cilissa tricincta_. - - - NATIVE SPECIES. - - 1. _succincta_, Linnæus, ♂ ♀. 3½-5½ lines. - _succincta_, Kirby. - _fodiens_, Curtis. - 2. _fodiens_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 3½-4½ lines. - _pallicincta_, Kirby, ♀. - 3. _marginata_, Linn., ♂ ♀. 3-4 lines. - 4. _Daviesiana_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 3½-4½ lines. - (Plate I. fig. 1 ♂ ♀.) - - - GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. - -This genus is named from _κολλήτης_, _one that plasters_, in allusion to -the habits of the insects, which will be described below. The female -insects themselves have, at the first glance, very much the appearance -of the working honey-bee, but they are considerably smaller, and, upon a -very slight inspection, they are found to be exceedingly distinct. The -respective males of the species are conspicuously smaller than their -females, but their specific characteristics are very much alike, and -there is some difficulty in separating and determining the species. One -strong peculiarity, marking all of them, is that the segments of the -abdomen are banded with decumbent, hoary or whitish down, in both sexes, -and the determination of the species lies chiefly in the variations of -these bands, and in the almost entire absence or conspicuous presence of -minute punctures covering the segments. The females are very active -collectors of pollen, and return from their excursions to obtain it, -very heavily laden to their nests. I am not sure that all the species -are not gregarious, to use this term in an acceptation somewhat -different from its usual application, for here, and whenever used in -entomology, it is meant to signify that they burrow collectively in -large communities, forming what is called their metropolis, although -each bores its independent and separate tube, wherein to deposit its -store of eggs. The males, neither in these insects nor throughout the -whole family of the bees, participate at all in the labours required for -the preservation and nurture of the progeny, a duty that wholly devolves -upon the maternal solicitude of the female,—these males having fulfilled -their mission, which is not perhaps restricted to their sexual instinct, -but may also be conducive to the grand operation of the family in the -economy of nature, viz. the fertilization of the flowering plants, flit -from blossom to blossom, and thus convey about the impregnating dust. -They may also be often seen basking in the sunshine upon the leaves of -shrubs, and thence they become lost or dispersed or the prey of their -many enemies,—birds or insects, which are always on the alert in search -of ravin. - -The aspect selected by the females for their burrows, varies according -to the species. Some choose a northern, and others a southern aspect; -thus, the _C. succincta_ seems to prefer the former, and the _C. -fodiens_ the latter, as does also the _C. Daviesana_; and where they -burrow they congregate in enormous multitudes. The mortar interstices of -an old wall, or a vertical sand-rock, which, from exposure, is -sufficiently softened for their purpose, are equally agreeable to them; -nor have they any objection to clay banks. - -In these localities each individual perforates a cylindrical cavity, -slightly larger than itself, and which it excavates to a depth of from -eight to ten inches, or even sometimes less. Now comes into operation -the use of the peculiarly-formed tongue with which nature has furnished -them, and described above in the generic character. These cells are -occupied by a succession of six, or eight, or even sometimes no more -than two, three, or four cartridge- or thimble-like cases, in each of -which is deposited a single egg with a sufficiency, taught the creature -by its instinct, of a mingled paste of honey and pollen, for the full -nurture and development of the vermicle that will proceed from the egg -upon its being hatched, and wherein this larva, having consumed its -provender, becomes transformed into the pupa, and by the continuance of -nature’s mysterious operations, it speedily changes into the perfect -insect. But the beauty with which these little cells are formed -transcends conception. Each consists of a succession of layers of a -membrane more delicate than the thinnest goldbeater’s skin, and more -lustrous than the most beautiful satin. In glitter it most resembles the -trail left by the snail, and is evidently, from all experiments made, a -secretion of the insect elaborated from some special food it consumes, -and by means of its bilobated tongue, which it uses as a trowel, it -plasters with it the sides and the bottom of the tube it has excavated -to the extent necessary for one division. As this secretion dries -rapidly to a membrane it is succeeded by others, to the number of three -or four, which may be separated from each other by careful manipulation. -It then stores this cell, deposits the egg, and proceeds to close it -with a covercle of double the number of membranes with which the sides -are furnished, and continues with another in a similar manner, until it -has completed sufficient to fill the tubular cavity, which, after -closing the last case similarly to the rest, it stops up the orifice -with grains of sand or earth. The food stored up is subject to -fermentation, but this does not appear to be prejudicial to the larva, -which first consumes the liquid portion of the store and then drills -into the centre of the more solid part, and continues enlarging this -little cylinder until increasing in growth by its consumption, it itself -fills the cavity, and thus supplies the lateral stay or prop which, by -means of the stored provender, was previously prevented from falling in. -It has not been ascertained what number of eggs each insect lays, or -whether it bores more than one tube, but it is presumable that it may do -so, and possibly thus, from the numbers annually produced, for there are -two broods in the year, colonies are thrown off which gradually form -another metropolis somewhere in the vicinity, although the majority -continue to occupy the old habitat from year to year. But the number of -these insects is kept within due limits by the individual abundance of -the parasites that infest them, and by the unsparing and unflinching -attacks of earwigs, which consume all before them,—perfect insect, -larva, and provender. The two most conspicuous parasites they have, are -the beautiful little bee, _Epeolus variegatus_, the young of which is -sustained, as in all bee-parasitism, by consuming the food stored for -the sustenance of the young of the _Colletes_; and the other is the -little dipterous _Miltogramma punctata_, whose larva, evolved from the -egg deposited in the cell, feeds upon the larva of the _Colletes_, or -possibly upon that of the _Epeolus_, which otherwise would seem to have -no check to its fertility, excepting that it may be subdued by the -_Forficulæ_. - -These insects are to be found during the spring and summer months, and -throughout the southern counties, although some species are extremely -local. Some occur also in the north of England and in Ireland. I am not -prepared to say what flowers they prefer, for I have never captured them -on flowers, but they have been found frequenting the Ragwort, and Curtis -took a species at Parley Heath, in Hampshire, on the Bluebell -(_Campanula glomerata_). They form a remarkable instance of an artisan -bee, but so only in its habits, amongst the _Andrenides_. - - ------- - - _Two submarginal cells to the wings._ - Genus 2. PROSOPIS, _Fabricius_. - (Plate I. fig. 2 ♂ ♀.) - MELITTA * _b_, Kirby.—HYLÆUS, Latreille. - -_Gen. Char._: HEAD transverse, flattish; _ocelli_ in an open triangle on -the vertex; _antennæ_ geniculated, the basal joint of the flagellum as -long as the second, and both subclavate, the rest of the joints short -and equal; _face_ flat, slightly protuberant between the insertion of -the antennæ, and distinguished from the clypeus by a suture; _clypeus_ -transversely quadrate, slightly widening gradually to the apex, -marginate; _labrum_ transverse, obovate, fringed with setæ; _mandibles_ -broad at apex, tridentate; _cibarial apparatus_ short; _tongue_ broad, -subemarginate and fringed with short hair; _paraglossæ_ very slightly -longer than the tongue, their apex broadly rounded and fringed with -hair; _labial palpi_ as long as the tongue, joints subequal, gradating -in substance, subclavate; _labium_ about as long as the tongue, -pyramidal at its apical inosculation; _maxillæ_ about as long as the -tongue, slightly lanceolate, fringed with short hair; _maxillary palpi_ -rather longer than the maxillæ, with six joints, the basal joint robust -and slightly constricted in the middle, the third joint linear and the -longest, the remainder gradually decreasing in length and substance. - -THORAX subquadrate; _prothorax_ transverse, linear, angulated at the -sides; _mesothorax_ with its _bosses_ protuberant; _scutellum_ and -_post-scutellum_ semilunulate; _metathorax_ abruptly truncate, and -longitudinally carinated in the centre; _wings_ with two submarginal -cells, a third slightly indicated, the first recurrent nervure springing -from the extreme apex of the first submarginal cell, closely to the -first transverso-cubital nervure, and the second closely before the -termination of the second submarginal cell; _stigma_ of the wing large -and distinct; _legs_ wholly destitute of polliniferous hair, the -terminal joint of the tarsus as long as the two preceding; _claws_ -bifid; ABDOMEN subtruncate at the base, subconical with a downward bias. - -The MALE differs in having the _mandibles_ distinctly bidentate, the -external tooth acute; the _antennæ_ are very slightly longer and more -curved, and their colouring is more intense and more widely distributed. -These insects are glabrous, generally intensely black, dull on the head -and thorax, but shining on the abdomen, and are more or less thickly -punctured, and they are usually gaily marked with yellow, citron, or -red, especially on the face, thorax, and legs. - - - NATIVE SPECIES. - - 1. _annulatus_, Fab., ♂ ♀. 2½-3 lines. - _annulatus_, Kirby. - 2. _dilatata_, Kirby, ♂. 3 lines. (Plate I. fig. 2 ♂.) - _Hylæus dilatatus_, Curtis. - 3. _annularis_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 2½-3 lines. - 4. _hyalinata_, Smith, ♂ ♀. 2-3 lines. - 5. _signata_, Panzer, ♂ ♀. 3-3½ lines. (Plate I. fig. 2 ♀.) - _signata_, Kirby. - 6. _cornuta_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 3-3¼ lines. - 7. _varipes_, Sm., ♂ ♀. 1½ lines. - 8. _variegata_, Fab., ♂ ♀. 2-3 lines. - - - GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. - -This genus is named from _προσωπὶς_, apparently in allusion to its -seemingly masked face, most of the species having yellow markings more -or less conspicuous upon the face. - -It is the least pubescent of any of the bees, even less so than those -confirmed parasites, the genera _Nomada_ and _Stelis_, thus further -tending to corroborate its apparently parasitical habits, for none of -the truly pollinigerous bees are so destitute of hair. The ground-colour -of the species is intensely black, variously decorated on the face, -thorax, and legs, with markings of different intensities of yellow; but -one of our species, the _P. variegata_, is also gaily marked with red. -Indeed exotic species, and especially those of warm climates, are often -very gay insects. - -They have usually been considered as parasitical insects, from their -being unfurnished with the customary apparatus of hair upon the -posterior legs, with which pollinigerous insects are generally so amply -provided. In contradiction to their parasitism, it is asserted that they -have been repeatedly bred from bramble sticks; this circumstance is no -proof of the fact of their not being parasitical, for many bees, for -instance _Ceratina_, _Heriades_, etc., nidificate in bramble sticks, and -they may have superseded the nidificating bee by depositing their ova in -the nests of the latter; although it certainly is a remarkable -circumstance that some one of these bees has never escaped destruction -in the several instances in which these have been thus bred. It is also -said that their nests contain a semi-liquid honey. The fact of the larva -of a wild bee being nurtured upon any other provender than a mixture of -pollen and honey, does not elsewhere occur, and it would seem to -contradict the function this family is ordained to exercise, by -conveying pollen from flower to flower, and which besides, in every -other case, constitutes the nutritive aliment of the larva. But then, -again, the structure of its tongue, which resembles somewhat that of -_Colletes_ in lateral expansion, and with which it would be provided for -some analogous purpose, seems to contradict parasitical habits, although -St. Fargeau asserts that it is parasitical upon this genus, and if so, -although it has not been observed in this country, the analogous -structure of the tongue might be perhaps explained. - -But notwithstanding this deficiency of positive characters, from the -absence of pollinigerous organs, nature is not to be controlled by laws -framed by us upon the imperfect induction of incomplete facts, for if it -be incontestable that this genus is constructive and not parasitical, -the riddle presented by this structure of its tongue is at once solved, -for without any affinity beyond that single peculiarity with _Colletes_, -it presents an anomaly of organization which cannot be accounted for but -by its application to a use similar to what we find it applied in that -extraordinary genus,—a use that could not be extant in a parasite. In -_Colletes_ it is the concomitant of as ample a power of collecting -pollen as any that we find exhibited throughout the whole range of our -native bees, but in _Prosopis_ it is concurrent with a total deficiency -of the ordinary apparatus employed for that purpose. - -One of the species of this genus has been found near Bristol, with the -indication of a _Stylops_ having escaped from it, which is a further -extension of the parasitism of that most extraordinary genus, but the -_Stylops_ frequenting it has not yet been discovered, which would -doubtless present a new species, therefore an interesting addition to -the series already known. - -These insects are not at all uncommon in some of the species during the -latter spring and summer months, and they frequent the several -_Resedas_, being very fond of Mignonette. They are also found upon the -_Dracocephalum Moldavica_, and occur not unfrequently upon the Onion, -which in blossom is the resort of many interesting insects. The majority -of them emit when captured, and if held within the fingers, a very -pungent citron odour, exceedingly refreshing on a hot day, in intense -sunshine. Some of the species are rare, especially those very highly -coloured, as is also the _P. dilatata_, so named from the peculiar -triangular expansion of the basal joint of the antennæ, the female of -which is not known or possibly has only been overlooked or not -identified. The _P. varipes_ and _P. variegata_, which are the most -richly coloured, occur in the west of England, and in one, the _P. -cornuta_, the clypeus is furnished with a tubercle. - - ------- - - Subsection _b_. LINGUÆ LANCEOLATÆ (with lancet-shaped tongues). - Genus 3. SPHECODES, _Latreille_. - (Plate I. fig. 3 ♂♀.) - MELITTA ** _a_, Kirby. - -_Gen. Char._: HEAD transverse, linear, fully as wide as the thorax, -flat, with a slightly convex tendency; _ocelli_ in a triangle; _antennæ_ -short, scarcely geniculated; _face_ beneath the insertion of the -antennæ, protuberant; _clypeus_ transverse, margined, convex; _labrum_ -transversely ovate, deeply emarginate, in the centre in front; -_mandibles_ bidentate, obtuse, the external tooth projecting much -further than the second; _tongue_ short, lanceolate, fringed with setæ; -_paraglossæ_ not so long as the tongue, abruptly terminated, and setose -at the extremity; _labial palpi_ not so long as the paraglossæ; the -joints comparatively elongate and slender, and decreasing towards the -apex in length and substance; _labium_ rather longer than the tongue, -its inosculation straightly transverse; _maxillæ_ about the length of -the tongue, broad and lanceolate; _maxillary palpi_ six-jointed, the -first joint shorter and less robust than the second, which is also -shorter and less robust than the third, which is the longest and most -robust of all, the terminal joints more slender, and declining gradually -in length. THORAX ovate; _prothorax_ linear, produced into a sharp tooth -on each side; _mesothorax_ with longitudinal lateral impressed lines; -_bosses_ acutely protuberant; _scutellum_ quadrate; _postscutellum_ -inconspicuous; _metathorax_ slightly gibbous; _wings_ with three -submarginal cells, and a fourth slightly commenced, the second narrow, -forming a truncated triangle, and receiving the first recurrent nervure -in its centre, the second recurrent nervure springing from just beyond -the centre of the third submarginal cell; _legs_ slightly but rigidly -spinose and setose; _claws_ bifid. ABDOMEN ovate. - -The MALES differ, in having the antennæ longer and sometimes moniliform, -the lower part of the _face_ and _clypeus_ usually covered with a dense -short silvery decumbent pubescence, and they have the _metathorax_ -truncated at its base; in other respects they greatly resemble their -females. - -The insects of this genus may be called glabrous, their pubescence being -so slight and scattered, they usually shine brightly, and are more or -less deeply punctured; and the abdomen is always partially or entirely -of a bright ferruginous red, sometimes verging into fuscous or pitchy. - - - NATIVE SPECIES. - - 1. _gibbus_, Linnæus, ♂♀. 3-4½ lines. (Plate I. fig. 3 ♂♀). - _sphecoides_, Kirby, ♀. - _monilicornis_, Kirby, ♂. - _picea_, Kirby, ♂. - 2. _Geoffroyella_, Kirby, ♂♀. 1-3 lines. - _divisa_, Kirby, ♂. - 3. _fuscipennis_, Germar, ♂♀. 4½-6 lines. - - - GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. - -This genus is named from _σφὴξ_, a wasp, from its apparent resemblance -to some of the sand wasps. - -They are not uncommon insects, and I have found them abundant in sandy -spots sporting in the sunshine upon the bare ground, where they run -about with great activity, the females chiefly, the males the while -disporting themselves upon any flowers that may be adjacent, and they -are especially fond of Ragwort. Their prevalent colours are black and -red, the latter occurring only on the abdomen in different degrees of -intensity and extension, sometimes occupying the whole of that division -of the body, and sometimes limited to a band across it. Much difficulty -attaches to the determination of the species from the characters which -separate them being extremely obscure, for it is not safe to depend upon -the differences of the arrangement of colour upon them, as it varies -infinitely; nor can their relative sizes be depended upon as a clue, for -in individuals which must be admitted to be of the same species, size -takes a wider extent of difference than in almost any of the genera of -bees. St. Fargeau, who maintains the parasitism of the genus, accounts -for it by saying that in depositing their eggs in the nests of the -_Andrenæ_, _Halicti_, and _Dasypoda_, the _Sphecodes_ resorts to the -burrows of the species of these genera indifferent to their adaptation -to its own size, and thus from the abundance or paucity of food so -furnished to its larvæ, does it become a large or a small individual. -Westwood says the species are parasitical upon Halictus. Latreille says -they are parasites. They are certainly just as destitute of the -pollinigerous apparatus as the preceding genus. Mr. Thwaites once -thought he had detected a good specific character in the differing -lengths of the joints of the antennæ, but I believe he never thoroughly -satisfied himself of its being practically available. At all events -great difficulty still attaches to their rigid and satisfactory -determination. There is an array of entomologists who deny their being -parasites. Mr. Kirby says they form their burrows in bare sections of -sandbanks exposed to the sun, and nine or ten inches deep, and which -they smooth with their tongues. But then, in impeachment of the accuracy -of his observation, he further supposes there are three sexes, founding -his statement upon what Réaumur remarks of having observed pupæ of three -different sizes in the burrows. In the first place, it is not conclusive -that these pupæ were those of _Sphecodes_, and secondly we know that -this condition of three sexes is found only in the social tribes, -wherein the peculiarities of the economy exact a division of offices. -Therefore his adoption of this inaccuracy militates against the -reception of his other statement. But Smith also states that they are -not parasites, and apparently founds his assertion upon direct -observation. It still, however, remains a debatable point, from the fact -of the destitution of pollinigerous brushes, and thence the character of -the food necessary to be stored for the larva. It would be very -satisfactory if these apparent inconsistencies could be lucidly -explained. - -If, however, it be ultimately proved that _Sphecodes_ is a constructive -bee, as well as _Prosopis_, we have then this fact exhibited by our -native genera, that none of the subfamily of our short-tongued bees, or -_Andrenidæ_, are parasitical. This is a remarkable peculiarity, as it is -amongst them that we should almost exclusively expect to find that -distinguishing economy, from the seemingly imperfect apparatus furnished -in the short structure of their tongues. It is possible, however, that -nature has so moulded them as to fit them chiefly for fulfilling its -objects within merely a certain range of the floral reign, and which -restricts them to visiting flowers which do not require the protrusion -of a long organ to rifle their sweet stores. - - - Genus 4. ANDRENA, _Fabricius_. - (Plates II. and III.) - MELITTA ** _c_, Kirby. - -_Gen. Char._: HEAD transverse, as wide as the thorax; _ocelli_ in a -triangle on the vertex; _antennæ_ filiform, geniculated, the basal joint -of the flagellum the longest; _face_ flat; _clypeus_ convex, transverse, -quadrate, slightly rounded in front; _labrum_ transverse, oblong; -_mandibles_ bidentate; _tongue_ moderately long, lanceolate, fringed -with fine hair; _paraglossæ_ half the length of the tongue, abruptly -terminated and setose at the extremity; _labium_ about half the length -of the entire apparatus, its inosculation acute; _labial palpi_ inserted -above it, below the origin of the paraglossæ in a sinus upon the sides -of the tongue; _maxillæ_ irregularly lanceolate; _maxillary palpi_ -six-jointed, longer than the maxillæ, the basal joint about as long as -the fourth, but more robust, the second joint the longest, the rest -declining in length and substance. THORAX ovate; _prothorax_ not -distinct; _mesothorax_ quadrate; _bosses_ protuberant; _scutellum_ -lunate; _post-scutellum_ lunulate; _metathorax_ gibbous, and pubescent -laterally; _wings_ with three submarginal cells, and a fourth slightly -commenced, the second quadrate, and with the third receiving a recurrent -nervure about their middle; _legs_ densely pubescent, especially -externally, and particularly the posterior pair, which have a long -curled lock upon the trochanter beneath, the anterior upper surface of -the femora clothed with long loose hair, which equally surrounds the -whole of the tibiæ, but which is less long upon their plantæ, the -_claws_ strongly bifid. ABDOMEN ovate, a dense fringe edging the fifth -segment, and the terminal segment having a triangular central plate, its -sides rigidly setose. - -The MALE differs in having the _head_ rather wider than the thorax, the -_vertex_ where the ocelli are placed more protuberant, the _mandibles_ -very large and more acutely bidentate, sometimes largely forcipate and -with but one acute tooth; the males in most species greatly differ from -their females. - -None of these insects exhibit any positive colouring of the integument, -excepting in some upon the abdomen, which exhibits red bands, and is -disposed to vary considerably in intensity and breadth, and in some the -_clypeus_ and _face_ are of a cream-colour, but which occurs chiefly -among the males. They are very dissimilar in general appearance, some -being densely pubescent all over, others merely so on the head and -thorax; others are banded with white decumbent down, and some are wholly -unmarked upon the abdomen. These peculiarities help to group them, and -thus facilitate their recognition. - - - NATIVE SPECIES. - - § _Banded with red on the abdomen, the segments of which are more or - less fringed._ - - 1. _Hattorfiana_, Fab., ♂ ♀. 6—7 lines. - _Lathamana_, Kirby, ♀. - _hæmorrhoidalis_, Kirby, ♀. - 2. _zonalis_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 4½-5 lines. - 3. _florea_, Fabricius, ♂ ♀. 5-6½ lines. - _Rosæ_, Kirby, var. - 4. _Rosæ_, Panzer, ♂ ♀. 4-6 lines. (Plate III. fig. 1 ♂ ♀.) - _Rosæ_, Kirby, ♀. - 5. _decorata_, Smith, ♂ ♀. 5-6½ lines. - 6. _Schrankella_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 4-5 lines. - _ affinis_, Kirby. - 7. _cingulata_, Fabricius, ♂ ♀. 3½-4 lines. (Plate III. fig. 3 ♂ - ♀.) - _cingulata_, Kirby. - - §§ _Abdominal segments edged with decumbent short down, or fringed with - long hair._ - - 8. _longipes_, Shuckard, ♂ ♀. 4-6 lines. (Plate III. fig. 2 ♂ ♀.) - 9. _chrysosceles_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 3½-4½ lines. - 10. _dorsata_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 4-4½ lines. - _combinata_, Kirby. - _nudiuscula_, Kirby. - 11. _connectens_, Kirby. 5 lines. - 12. _Wilkella_, Kirby, ♀. 5¾ lines. - 13. _Coitana_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 4 lines. - _Shawella_, Kirby. - 14. _labialis_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 5½-6 lines. - 15. _Lewinella_, ♂. 3¾ lines. - 16. _xanthura_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 3½-6 lines. - _ovatula_, Kirby. - 17. _Collinsonana_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 3½-4½ lines. - _digitalis_, Kirby. - _proxima_, Kirby. - 18. _albicrus_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 4-5½ lines. - _barbilabris_, Kirby. - 19. _minutula_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 2½-3½ lines. - _parvula_, Kirby. - 20. _nana_, Kirby, ♀. 3½ lines. - 21. _convexiuscula_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 5 lines. - 22. _Kirbyi_, Curtis, ♀. 6 lines. - 23. _fuscata_, Kirby, ♀. 4½ lines. - 24. _Afzeliella_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 4½-5 lines. - 25. _fulvicrus_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 3½-5¼ lines. - _contigua_, Kirby. - 26. _fulvago_, Christ. ♂ ♀. 4-4½ lines. - _fulvago_, Kirby. - 27. _tibialis_, Kirby. 5-7¼ lines. - _atriceps_, Kirby. - 28. _Mouffetella_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 5-7 lines. - 29. _nigro-ænea_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 5-6½ lines. - 30. _bimaculata_, Kirby, ♂. 5½ lines. - 31. _Trimmerana_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 5-6 lines. - 32. _conjuncta_, Smith, ♀. 5½ lines. - 33. _varians_, Rossi, ♂ ♀. 4-5½ lines. - 34. _helvola_, Linnæus, ♂ ♀. 5-5½ lines. - _picipes_, Kirby, ♂. - _angulosa_, Kirby. - 35. _Gwynana_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 4-5½ lines. - _pilosula_, Kirby. - 36. _angustior_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 4-5 lines. - 37. _picicornis_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 5-6 lines. - 38. _spinigera_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 5-6 lines. - 39. _Smithella_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 3-6 lines. - 40. _Lapponica_, Zetterstedt, ♂ ♀. 3½-5½ lines. - 41. _tridentata_, Kirby, ♂. 4½ lines. - 42. _denticulata_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 4-5½ lines. - _Listerella_, Kirby. - 43. _nigriceps_, Kirby, ♀. 5 lines. - 44. _pubescens_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 4-5 lines. - _rufitarsis_, Kirby. - _fuscipes_, Kirby. - - §§§§ _Thorax very pubescent, abdomen smooth and shining._ - - 45. _albicans_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 4-5 lines. - 46. _pilipes_, Fabricius, ♂ ♀. 5-7 lines. - _pratensis_, Kirby. - 47. _cineraria_, Linnæus, ♂ ♀. 5-7 lines. (Plate II. fig. 2 ♂ ♀.) - _cineraria_, Kirby. - 48. _thoracica_, Fabricius, ♂ ♀. 5-7½ lines. - _thoracica_, Kirby. - _melanocephala_, Kirby. - 49. _nitida_, Fourcroy, ♂ ♀. 5-6½ lines. (Plate II. fig. 3 ♂ ♀.) - _nitida_, Kirby. - 50. _vitrea_, Smith, ♀. 6½ lines. - - §§§§ _The entire body densely pubescent._ - - 51. _fulva_, Schrank, ♂ ♀. 4-6½ lines. (Plate II. fig. 1 ♂ ♀.) - _fulva_, Kirby. - 52. _Clarkella_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 4½-6½ lines. - - - GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. - -Fabricius seems to have named this genus from _ανθρήνη_, _a wasp_, but -why, it is impossible to say. Although one name is as good as another, -it being indifferent what the name may be, yet where so evident an -attempt to give a name pertinence is conspicuous, it is remarkable that -it should be so little relevant, for none of the characteristics of a -wasp or hornet are exhibited in these insects. - -Possibly it was from the genus being the most numerous in species that -Dr. Leach was induced to give this subfamily its collective designation, -making the other genera thus converge to it as to a centre. He took its -elliptical form as typical. Indeed, it is remarkable how very -judiciously this was done, for it is a form not apparent among the -normal bees excepting in two exceptional cases, the one upon the -frontiers of this subfamily, in almost debatable land, where the last of -the _Andrenidæ_ and the first of the _Apidæ_ seem almost to melt into -one another; and in the other case, in the parasitical _Nomada_, whose -parasitism is in every instance, but one only, restricted to the first -subfamily. A different type of form prevails amongst the _Apidæ_, upon -which I shall have subsequently occasion to speak. - -These insects are not distinguished for any elaborate economy. Varying -in the species, some prefer vertical banks, others sloping undulations, -and again others horizontal flat ground or hard down-trodden pathways. -Some burrow singly, and others are gregarious, collected in great -numbers upon one spot. They are, perhaps, the most inartificial -burrowers of all the bees. Their tunnels vary from five to nine or ten -inches in depth, and in some species they are formed with other small -tunnels slanting off from the main cylinder. The sides and bottom are -merely smoothed, without either drapery or polish. The little cells thus -formed are then supplied with the usual mixture of pollen and honey -kneaded together, which in the larger species forms a mass of about the -size of a moderate red currant, its instinct teaching it the quantity -necessary for the nurture of the young which shall proceed from the egg -that it then deposits upon this collected mass of food. The aperture of -each little tunnel is closed with particles of the earth or sand wherein -the insect burrows, and it proceeds to the elaboration of another -receptacle for a fresh brood until its stock of eggs becomes exhausted. -Some species have two broods hatched in the year, especially the earlier -ones,—for several present themselves with the earliest flowers,—but -others are restricted to but one. The quantity of pollen they collect is -considerable, and in fact they are supplied with an apparatus additional -to what is furnished to any of the other genera in a curled rather long -lock of hair that emanates from the posterior trochanters. This, with -the fringes that edge the lower portion and sides of the metathorax, as -well as the usual apparatus upon the posterior legs, enables the insect -to carry in each flight home a comparatively large quantity of pollen, -but perhaps scarcely enough at once for the nurture of one young one, -and it therefore repeats the same operation until sufficient is -accumulated. - -The exact period occupied by their transformations is not strictly -known; it will, of course, vary in the species, as also in those in -which two broods succeed each other in the year, but the larva rapidly -consumes its store and then undergoes its transformation. It does not -spin a cocoon, but in its pupa state it is covered all over with a thin -pellicle, which adheres closely to all the distinct parts of the body. -It is not known how this is formed; perhaps it is a membrane which -transudes in a secretion through the skin of the larva, or it may be -this itself converted to its new use, which seems to be for the -protection of all the parts of the now transmuting imago, until these in -due course shall have acquired their proper consistency. - -These insects in their perfect state vary very considerably in size, -both individually and specifically, the former depending upon both the -quantity and quality of the food stored up, for the pollen of different -plants varies possibly in its amount of nutriment, else why should we -observe so marked a difference in the sizes of individuals whose parent -instinct would prompt to furnish them with an uniform and equal supply. -The differences of specific appearance is often very considerable in -long genera, and perhaps in no genus is it more conspicuously so than in -_Andrena_, for here we have some wholly covered with dense hair, and -others almost glabrous; others again with the thorax only pubescent; -some are black, some white, some fulvous, or golden tinted, and some -red; some we find banded with decumbent down, and others with merely -lateral spots of this close hair, but the most prevalent colour is -brown, which will sometimes by immaturity take a fulvous or reddish hue. -In many males we see excentrically large transversely square heads -broader than the thorax, which also have widely spreading forcipate -mandibles, with often a downward projecting spine at their base beneath; -and it is chiefly these extravagantly formed males which are most -dissimilar to their own partners that the result of observation alone -confirms their specific identity. In other cases the males are so like -their females that a mere neophyte would unite them. In many males the -clypeus and labrum are white, which also occurs in some females; for -instance, in _A. labialis_, but this peculiarity is found more rarely in -this sex. The species are much exposed to the restricting influences of -several parasites, whose parasitism is of a varying character, but the -term should properly be applied only to the bees which deposit their -eggs in their nests, and whose young, like that of the cuckoo among the -birds, thrives at the expense of the young of the sitos by consuming its -food, and thus starving it. These parasites consist of many of the -species of _Nomada_, very pretty and gay insects, but in every case -totally unlike the bee whose nest they usurp. Several of the species of -these _Nomadæ_ are not limited to any particular species of _Andrena_, -but infest several indifferently, whereas others have no wider range in -their spoliation than one single species, to which they always confine -themselves. In my observations under the genus _Nomada_ I shall notify -those which they assail amongst the _Andrenæ_, as well as the other -genera which they also infest. - -The others which attack them are more properly positive enemies than -parasites, for they prey upon the bees themselves, or, as in the case of -the remarkable genus _Stylops_, render the bee abortive by consuming its -viscera and ovaries. I have spoken of these insects in the chapter upon -parasites, to which I must refer, but I may here add that the female is -apterous, and never quits the body of the bee. Much mystery attaches to -their history in which their impregnation is involved, for the male, -immediately upon undergoing its change into the imago, escapes through -the dorsal plates of the abdomen of the bee wherein it was bred and -takes flight. In localities where they occur they may be usually taken -on the wing in the month of May. The female would seem to be viviparous, -and produces extraordinary multitudes at one birth, extending to -hundreds. Being born as larvæ within the body of the bee they seek to -escape from their confinement, and find the opportunity in the suture -which separates the mesothorax from the metathorax. Their extreme -minuteness admits of their passing through the very constricted tube -which connects the abdomen with the thorax. Having now escaped into the -air they alight upon the flowers which the bee frequents, and thence -they affix themselves to other bees which may visit these plants, and -thus perpetuate the activity of the function it is their instinct to -fulfil. That many may be lost there can be no question; but Nature is -very prodigal of life, for by life it endows life, and thus its activity -is enlarged to a wider circle. Although the matured _Stylops_ has preyed -upon all the internal organs of the bee its attack is not immediately -fatal, although the life of the creature may be thus considerably -abridged, but it seems to live sufficiently long afterwards to -disseminate the distribution of the _Stylops_. A small blackish -_Pediculus_, which Mr. Kirby called _Pediculus Melittæ_, is found also -both upon the flowers the bees frequent and also upon the bees -themselves, especially the pubescent ones; but this insect is not -limited to the genus _Andrena_, as I shall have occasion to notice. The -flower I have chiefly found them upon is the Dandelion (_Leontodon_). -Their peculiar economy and connection with the bees is unknown; it may -be merely an accidental and temporary attachment, but they even -accompany them to their burrows. - -Another and more curious case of attack upon the young of the _Andrena_, -is instanced in the reputed parasitism of the Coleopterous genus -_Meloë_. The perfect insect is a large apterous, fleshy, heteromerous -beetle, ten times as big as the bee. Its vermicle, having issued from -the egg, has the appearance of a very small pediculus, of an orange -colour. They are often seen upon flowers, and, like the former -pediculus, attach themselves to such suitable _Andrena_ as may happen to -visit the flowers they are upon; and, it is said, that they are thus -conveyed by the bee to its domicile, and there feed to maturity upon the -larva of the bee. I have no faith in the correctness of this statement, -for it is not credible that so small a creature as the larva of an -_Andrena_ could fully feed the larva of so large a beetle. Observation -has not satisfactorily confirmed it, and the connection may be, as in -the former case, merely accidental. - -Although, perhaps, not a strictly scientific course, it is certainly a -matter of convenience in very long genera to break them up into -divisions, framed upon external characters, readily perceptible, and, by -which means, the species sought for may be more readily found. This I -have done in the preceding list of the species, and which are based upon -very prominent features. A slight divarication from the typical -neuration of the wing is observed in some species, but it is not of a -sufficiently marked character to afford a divisional separation, and -even much less a subgeneric one. I have therefore passed it unnoticed. -The commencing entomologist will often find considerable difficulty at -first in determining the species of this genus, for so much depends upon -condition; and where the colour of the pubescence is the chief -characteristic, a very little exposure to the atmosphere much alters -their physiognomy, but time, patience, and perseverance will ripen the -novice into an adept. The connection of the males with the females, from -their ordinarily great dissimilarity, was only to be accomplished by -positive observation, but now that this, in the majority of cases, is -effected, good descriptions facilitate their discrimination. - -The most conspicuous species are the _Hattorfiana_ and the _Rosæ_ for -size and colour; the _Schrankella_ is also a very pretty species; and -perhaps the commonest of all the _cingulata_ is the prettiest of all, -with its yellow nose and red abdomen; in the next section we may point -out the _longipes_ as being a very elegant insect,[3] as are also the -_chrysosceles_ and the _helvola_. In this section we find those most -subject to the attacks of the _Stylops_, for instance the _labialis_, -_convexiuscula_, _picicornis_, _Afzeliella_, _nigro-ænea_, _Trimmerana_, -_Gwynana_, etc. The whole of the third and fourth sections are splendid -insects, especially the _fulva_ in the last. The comparative rarity of -some results chiefly from an exceedingly local habitat. Many of the -species may be found everywhere where insects can be collected, -consequently, all over the United Kingdom. In all the three seasons of -the year, which prompt animal life, some of the species may be -collected, and the flowers they chiefly prefer are the catkins, -especially of the sallow, the early flowering-fruits, the hedge-row -blossoms, the heath, the broom, the dandelion, chickweed, and very many -others. - -Footnote 3: - - This insect was first captured by me, and with this, my manuscript - name, attached to it, it was distributed to entomologists with an - unsparing hand. The ordinary courtesy of the science has been, for the - describer, when not the capturer, to adopt and circulate the original - authority, and not to appropriate it. Similar buccaneering has been - practised with poor Bainbridge’s _Osmia pilicornis_, to which he had - attached this manuscript name, he being the first to introduce it, - having caught it at Birchwood. - - ------- - - Genus 5. CILISSA, _Leach_. - (Plate V. fig. 1 ♂ ♀.) - MELITTA ** _c_, partly, Kirby.—ANDRENA, Fab. Latreille. - -_Gen. Char._: HEAD transverse, scarcely so wide as the thorax, flat; -_ocelli_ in an open triangle on the vertex; _face_ flat; _clypeus_ -transverse, margined; _labrum_ transverse, slightly rounded in front; -_mandibles_ bidentate; _cibarial apparatus_ moderately long; _tongue_ -lanceolate, fringed with delicate hair; _paraglossæ_ about one-third the -length of the tongue, abruptly terminated, lacerate and setose at the -extremity; _labial palpi_ rather longer than the paraglossæ, the basal -joint considerably the longest, all the joints subclavate and -diminishing both in robustness and length to the apex; _labrum_ half the -length of the entire apparatus, its inosculation acutely triangular; -_maxillæ_ subhastate, as long as the tongue; _maxillary palpi_ -six-jointed, less than half the length of the maxillæ, the joints short, -subclavate and decreasing gradually from the base to the apex. THORAX -densely pubescent, obscuring its divisions; _metathorax_ truncated; -_wings_ with three submarginal cells, and a fourth slightly commenced, -the second subquadrate and receiving the first recurrent nervure in its -centre, the second recurrent nervure issuing from beyond the centre of -the third submarginal cell; _legs_ all pilose, especially the posterior -pair, which have hair beneath the _coxæ_ and _trochanters_, above only -on their femoræ, but surrounding the _tibiæ_, and as dense externally -upon their _plantæ_; _claws_ distinctly bifid. ABDOMEN ovate, truncated -at the base, the segments banded at their apex, with decumbent down, -which becomes densely and widely setose on the fifth segment, the -terminal segment having a central triangular glabrous plate, carinated -down the centre, and very rigidly setose laterally. - -The MALE scarcely differs, except in having the _antennæ_ less -distinctly geniculated, the flagellum taking a sweeping curve, the -_face_ and _clypeus_ much more pubescent, but the _legs_ sexually less -so; the sexes are much alike. - - - NATIVE SPECIES. - - 1. _tricincta_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 5 lines. (Plate V. fig. 1 ♂ ♀.) - _? Apis leporina_, Panzer. - 2. _hæmorrhoidalis_, Fab. ♂ ♀. - _hæmorrhoidalis chrysura_, Kirby. - - - GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. - -This genus has been named without any reference to any peculiarity, Dr. -Leach having applied a Proper name to it to designate it. - -The _Cilissa tricincta_ is perhaps most like the larger species of the -genus _Colletes_, both in markings and in the form of the body, but in -resemblance of form the second species participates. Although robust -insects, and as large as the larger _Andrenæ_, they are yet unprovided -with the same ample means for conveying pollen, being destitute of the -lock of hair upon the posterior trochanters and the sides of the -metathorax are less densely pubescent. The ground colour is brown. Their -economy is assumed to resemble that of _Andrena_, although it has not -been so closely investigated; for my own part I have never had the -opportunity of tracing it to its nidus, having always captured the -species upon flowers. They are fond of the trefoil (_Trifolium repens_), -and the _C. chrysura_ frequents the _Campanula rotundifolia_, as well as -the flowers of the throatwort (_Trachelium_). In their excursions they -are usually accompanied by their males. Both species are found in the -south and west of England. - - Section 2. _With entire paraglossæ._ - Subsection _c_. LINGUÆ ACUTÆ (acute tongues). - a. _With three submarginal cells to the wings._ - Genus 6. HALICTUS, _Latreille_. - (Plate IV.) - MELITTA ** _b_, Kirby. - -_Gen. Char._: HEAD transverse, flattish, scarcely so wide as the thorax; -_ocelli_ in an open triangle on the vertex, which is flat; _antennæ_ -short, filiform, geniculated, scape quite or more than half as long as -the flagellum; _face_ flat, excepting in the centre just below the -insertion of the antennæ, where it is protuberant; _clypeus_ -transversely lunulate, very convex; _labrum_ subquadrate, very convex, -with a central, linear, carinated appendage in front, nearly as long as -the basal portion; _cibarial apparatus_ moderate; _tongue_ very acute -and delicately fringed with short hair; _paraglossæ_ acute, about half -the length of the tongue; _labial palpi_ not quite so long as the -paraglossæ, the basal joint very long, the rest decreasing gradually in -length; _labium_ about as long as the tongue, its inosculation -emarginate; _maxillæ_ subhastate, rather longer than the tongue; -_maxillary palpi_ filiform, the basal joint the shortest, second the -longest, the rest decreasing in length. THORAX oval, usually pubescent, -sometimes glabrous; _prothorax_ inconspicuous, as are the bosses of the -mesothorax; _scutellum_ and _post-scutellum_ lunulate, the former -convex; _metathorax_ gibbous or truncated, but laterally pubescent even -in the glabrous species; _wings_ with three submarginal cells, and a -fourth sometimes commenced, the second subquadrate and receiving the -first recurrent nervure close to its extremity, the second being -received beyond the centre of the third submarginal cell [a slightly -different arrangement takes place in some of the species, which will be -noticed subsequently]; the _legs_ all setose, but the setæ not very -long, and the posterior _coxæ_ and _trochanters_ have long hair beneath; -the _claws_ bifid. ABDOMEN ovate, the terminal segment with a -longitudinal linear incision in its centre. - -The MALES differ in having the antennæ as long or longer than the -thorax; the _labrum_ transverse, linear, and the _abdomen_ usually -elongate and cylindrical, and much longer than the head and thorax. - - - NATIVE SPECIES. - - 1. _xanthopus_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 4-5 ½ lines. (Plate IV. fig. 1 ♂♀.) - _Lasioglossum tricingulum_, Curtis. - 2. _quadricinctus_, Fabricius, ♂ ♀. 4-4½ lines. - _quadricinctus_, Kirby. - 3. _rubicundus_, Christ. ♂ ♀. 4-5 lines. - _rubicundus_, Kirby. - 4. _cylindricus_, Fabricius, ♂ ♀. 3-5 lines. - _malachura_, Kirby. - _fulvo-cincta_, Kirby. - _abdominalis_, Kirby. - 5. _albipes_, Fabricius, ♂ ♀. 3-4 lines. - _albipes_, Kirby. - _obovata_, Kirby. - 6. _lævigatus_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 3-4½ lines. - _lugubris_, Kirby. - 7. _leucozonius_, Schrank, ♂. 3-4½ lines. - _leucozonius_, Kirby. - 8. _quadrinotatus_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 2-3 lines. - 9. _sexnotatus_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. - 10. _lævis_, Kirby, ♀. 4 lines. - 11. _fulvicornis_, Kirby, ♂. 4 lines. - 12. _minutus_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 2½-3½ lines. - 13. _nitidiusculus_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 2-3 lines. - 14. _minutissimus_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 1½-2½ lines. (Plate IV. fig. 3 ♂ ♀.) - 15. _flavipes_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 3-4 lines. (Plate IV. fig. 2 ♂ ♀.) - _seladonia_, Kirby. - 16. _Smeathmanellus_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 2½-3½ lines. - 17. _æratus_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 2½-3 lines. - 18. _leucopus_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 3-3½ lines. - 19. _morio_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 2-2½ lines. - - - GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. - -This genus was named by Latreille from _ἁλίξω_, to _crowd_, or _collect -together_, from the fact of their nidificating in numbers on the same -spot. - -The females closely resemble in form those of the genus _Andrena_, but -the males are very unlike both those of that genus and their own -females, for they all have long cylindrical bodies and very long -antennæ, much longer relatively than those of the former genus. Although -none of the species approach in size the larger ones of the preceding -genus, their extremes of specific size are as distant apart as they are -in that genus, the smallest being extremely minute. Some of even the -commoner species are very pretty when in fine condition, and several of -them have a rich metallic green or blue tint, and in the majority the -wings are iridescent with the brightest and gayest colours of the -rainbow. The numbers in which they associate together upon the same spot -varies considerably, and a very few indeed burrow solitarily and apart -from their congeners. In burrowing they form a tunnel which branches off -to several cells, the excavations being as inartificial as are those of -_Andrena_. Walkenaer tells us in his memoir upon the genus _Halictus_, -that they line their cells with a kind of glaze, that they burrow in -horizontal surfaces to a depth of about five inches, and which they -polish very smoothly previous to covering it with their viscous -secretion, and that the cells are all oval, the largest end being at the -bottom. He says also that they burrow solely during the night, -especially when the moon is shining, when it is difficult to walk -without treading upon them; so numerous are they, indeed, that they look -like a cloud floating close to the surface of the ground. Although -burrowing thus at night, it is only during the day that they supply -their nests with their provision of pollen and lay their eggs. Each of -their cells is furnished with a small ball of pollen, varying in size -with the species, but which never entirely fills the cell, and is -affixed intermediately between both extremities, and upon the mass -contained in each cell they deposit their small egg, which is placed at -the extremity of the lump of pollen most distant from the entrance. The -larva is hatched in about ten days, when it changes into the pupa. Some -doubt attaches as to the length of time that the pupa remains before its -transformation into the imago, and also as to the period at which this -takes place. A peculiarity attends the appearance of the larger species. -Some are very early spring insects, among which is the _Halictus -rubicundus_; this I have seen in abundance on the first fine spring days -collecting its stores on the flowers of the chickweed. It is then in the -very finest condition, and it is really a very beautiful although a very -common insect, having a richly golden fulvous pubescence on the thorax, -an intensely black and glabrous abdomen, the apex of which is fringed -with golden hair. No males are now to be found at all. Yet it is only -some species, and these the larger ones, which are subject to this -peculiarity, for the smaller ones I have found burrowing during the -summer months in vertical or sloping banks with a sunny aspect, whilst -the males were hovering about both in the vicinity and close by, -sometimes either playing or fighting on the wing with the very small -_Nomadæ_, which infest these species parasitically, whilst their females -were sedulously pursuing their vocation. Gradually these joyous spring -insects lose their gayness and their brilliancy, as do those which have -followed in succession of development with the growing year, and they -become senile and faded and are lost as they have progressively -fulfilled their function. By this time the ragwort is in bloom, and the -thistle displays its pinky blossoms; now the males are to be found -numerously exhibiting themselves upon these flowers, and also another -equally fresh brood to those of the spring and early summer, of females. -My friend the late Mr. Pickering, who was in the early days of the -present Entomological Society, when it held its meetings in Old Bond -Street, its honorary curator, and who was then and always, even when -less leisure was afforded him from professional duties, a most assiduous -and diligent observer of the habits of insects, propounded his theory, -both in conversation and before the meetings of the Society, although he -never drew up a paper upon the subject, that these females were then -impregnated, upon which they retired to a hibernaculum, and there -remained until the breath of a new spring brought them forth in all the -beauty of their gay attire, and that it was from their broods deposited -thus in the spring and early summer, that the autumnal insects were -developed. This theory is both plausible and possible, and I have no -doubt that it is the correct one; and thus is explained the total -absence of males at the time of the appearance of the females in the -foremost portions of the year; this habit we shall find also in the -_Bombi_. - -The flowers they delight in, besides those previously named, are among -others the ribwort plantain, and the bramble, as well as the -_Umbelliferæ_ and the flowers of the broom. The females possess two -remarkable distinctions of structure not found in any of the other bees, -which consist in an articulated appendage in the centre of the front -margin of the labrum, and a vertical cleft in the terminal segment of -the abdomen, both of which will necessarily have their uses in the -economy of the insect, although what these may be has not been -discovered. - -They, like _Andrena_, are exposed to parasites and enemies. The smaller -species of _Nomada_ infest their smaller kinds, and St. Fargeau tells us -that the _Sphecodes_ are also parasitical upon them. The smallest of the -genus, which is indeed an exceedingly minute insect, is subject to a -very minute strepsipterous destroyer; whether this be a genuine -_Stylops_ I am not aware, but the supporting insect being so minute, in -fact the smallest of our bees, how small must be the enemy bred within -it! Another genus of this order has been found by Mr. Dale upon them, -and which is figured as the genus _Elenchus_ in Curtis’s ‘British -Entomology.’ The smaller species are also attacked, upon their return -home laden, by spiders and ants. _Chryses_ and _Hedychra_ are bred at -their expense, and some of the _Ichneumons_ attack them, as well as the -fossorial _Hymenoptera_ of the genera _Cerceris_, _Crabro_, and -_Philanthus_, and these latter carry them off bodily to furnish their -own nests with pabulum. Several of the species exhale a rich balmy -odour, and, like all the _Andrenidæ_, they are silent on the wing, and -their sting is innocuous and not painful. The males are very eager in -their amours, and are not easily repulsed. - -Some of the species vary slightly in the neuration of the wings, and -this being a rather numerous genus, although not nearly approaching the -extent of _Andrena_, it has been proposed to make use of it for its -division, but I think this is scarcely required, it not being -sufficiently abundant to cause any inconvenience, the species being so -distinctly marked in their specific differences by the aid of the -metallic brilliancy of several of them. I have therefore arranged the -species in the above list in connective order without intermission, and -have placed in juxtaposition those species which appear the closest in -affinity. - - ------- - - b. _With two submarginal cells to the wings._ - Genus 7. MACROPIS, _Panzer_. - (Plate V. fig. 2 ♂ ♀.) - -_Gen. Char._: HEAD transverse, as wide as the thorax, flattish; _ocelli_ -placed in a very open curve upon the vertex; _face_ flat, but convex in -the centre beneath the insertion of the antennæ; _clypeus_ very slightly -convex; _labrum_ transverse, narrowly lunulate; _mandibles_ bidentate; -_cibarial apparatus_ moderately long; _tongue_ very acute and fringed -with delicate down; _paraglossæ_ barely half the length of the tongue, -and acute, their apex fringed laterally with down; _labial palpi_ -inserted in a deep sinus, filiform, the basal joint the longest, the -rest diminishing both in length and substance; _labium_ about half the -length of the entire organ, its inosculation emarginate; _maxillæ_ -hastate, rather longer than the tongue; _maxillary palpi_ six-jointed, -the basal joint the shortest, the third the longest, the remainder -diminishing gradually in length, and all declining in substance from the -basal joint. THORAX oval, rather pubescent; _prothorax_ transverse, -curving to the mesothorax, whose _bosses_ are inconspicuous; _scutellum_ -transverso-quadrate; _post-scutellum_ transverse linear; _metathorax_ -truncated. WINGS with two submarginal cells, and a third commenced, the -second about as long as the first, and receiving both the recurrent -nervures, the first near its commencement, and the second nearer its -extremity; _legs_ robust, with the posterior _tibiæ_ and _plantæ_ -densely clothed externally with short hair; the _plantæ_ broad; the -second joint of the _tarsus_ inserted at the lower angle of the plantæ; -_claws_ bifid. ABDOMEN subtriangular, truncated at its base, not longer -than the thorax. - -The MALE differs in having the _antennæ_ as long as the thorax and -curved; the _posterior coxæ_ very large and robust, the _trochanters_ -small and triangular; the _femora_ large and much swollen in the centre, -the posterior _tibiæ_ very large and triangular and convex externally, -and the _plantæ_ longer than the rest of the tarsus, and slightly curved -beneath longitudinally. - - - NATIVE SPECIES. - - 1. _labiata_, Panzer, ♂ ♀. 4-4½ lines. - (Plate V. fig. 2 ♂ ♀.) - - - GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. - -The name of this genus comes from _μακρὸς_, _long_, and _ὦψ_, _face_, in -allusion to the length of that portion of the head, although this -assumed discriminative characteristic is scarcely suitable; this again -constitutes another of the many instances wherein it would have been -much preferable to have imposed a name without any significancy than one -which is not thoroughly applicable. It is, indeed, always dangerous to -attach a name to a new genus which has reference to some individual -peculiarity, for it may eventually exhibit itself as limited to the one -single species or sex to which it was originally applied, as to every -other subsequently discovered species in the genus it may be -inappropriate. - -Nothing, so far as I am aware, is known of the habits of these singular -insects, which, I believe, have been caught only three times in this -country and then only the male sex. - -The first, which is in the collection of the British Museum, was brought -by Dr. Leach from Devonshire; the second was caught in the New Forest by -the late John Walton, Esq., distinguished for his knowledge of the -British _Curculionidæ_, and who kindly presented it to me for my -collection when I was at the zenith of my enthusiasm for the -Hymenoptera, and with that collection it passed to Mr. Thomas Desvignes, -in whose possession it remains; and the third was caught by Mr. Stevens, -at Weybridge, in Surrey. Why I enter so particularly into these -circumstances is, that the genus is extremely peculiar both for -scientific position and for structure. In the latter the male is -extremely like the male of _Saropoda_ and its female is more like the -female _Scopulipedes_ among the _Apidæ_ than one of the _Andrenidæ_, -especially in the form of the abdomen and of the intermediate and -posterior legs, as well as in the length of the claws and the low -insertion of the posterior joints of the tarsi upon their plantæ, a -peculiarity not occurring in another genus of the _Andrenidæ_. - -I have no doubt, also, that they are very musical in their flight and -are, perhaps, as shrill-winged as is _Saropoda_; whereas one of the -great characteristic specialities of the _Andrenidæ_ is their silence. -This genus, although restrained within the circuit of the subnormal bees -by the structure and folding of its tongue, has so much of the habit of -one of the true _Apidæ_ that it almost prompts the wish to resuscitate -the circular systems and place it within its own circle in analogical -juxtaposition to _Saropoda_ in the circle of the _Apidæ_, where they -might impinge one upon the other. It is not often that so rare an insect -is at the same time so curious and so suggestive. Having been found, -there is no reason why it may not be again found with due and patient -diligence; my own experience has taught me how easy it is even in -well-hunted ground to make rarities common, within almost a stone’s -throw of the metropolis, at Hampstead, Highgate, and Battersea, from -which localities in the course of my entomological career I have -introduced to our fauna many novelties, one of which was certainly a -remarkable discovery, from the last spot named, which it is worth -recording. A quantity of soil had been removed from the City where an -artesian well was being bored, and consequently from varying depths, and -carted thence and cast upon the edge of the river-bank at Battersea. The -following season, from this soil, a thick and prodigious quantity of the -common mustard plant shot up, and when in flower I happened to be -collecting near the spot on the day of our gracious Queen’s coronation, -when I captured multitudes of a splendid large _Allantus_, entirely new -to the British fauna, and a choice addition to collections. This ground -had been hunted at all seasons through all botanical and entomological -time, and neither had the mustard plant been found there before nor had -the insect. Whence did they both come? These observations have certainly -nothing to do with the subject in hand, beyond suggesting that with -untiring energy in the vicinities indicated where _Macropis_ has been -already found it may possibly turn up in abundance. - - ------- - - Genus 8. DASYPODA, _Latreille_. - MELITTA ** _c_, partly, Kirby. - (Plate V. fig. 3 ♂ ♀.) - -_Gen. Char._: HEAD transverse; _vertex_ glabrous; _ocelli_ placed in a -curved line; _antennæ_ short, filiform, geniculated, the scape thickly -bearded with long hair and scarcely half the length of the flagellum; -_face_ and _clypeus_ densely pubescent, the latter slightly convex; -_labrum_ transverse, linear, slightly rounded in front; _mandibles_ -arcuate, bidentate, the teeth acute and robust; _cibarial apparatus_ -moderately long; _tongue_ long, very acute, and fringed with delicate -hair; _paraglossæ_ about one-third the length of the tongue, very -slender, and acute; the _labial palpi_ inserted upon the junction of the -labium, very slender, filiform, of uniform thickness, the joints -subclavate, the basal joint considerably the longest, the second joint -also long, the two terminal joints much shorter and decreasing in -length; _labium_ about the length of the tongue, its inosculation -acutely triangular; _maxillæ_ hastate, as long as the tongue; _maxillary -palpi_ six-jointed, rather more than half the length of the maxillæ, -slender, the basal joint the most robust, the second the longest, the -rest declining both in thickness and length. THORAX oval, densely -pubescent, the divisions indistinct from its density; _scutellum_ -lunulate; _metathorax_ subtruncate; _wings_ with two submarginal cells -and a third commenced, the second receiving both the recurrent nervures, -the first close to its commencement and the second just beyond its -centre; _legs_ slender, pubescent, especially the _tibiæ_ and _plantæ_, -the hair upon the posterior pair being extremely dense and long, and -each hair twisted minutely spirally; their _coxæ_, _trochanters_, and -_femora_ also covered with long hair; _claws_ bifid, the inner tooth -very short. ABDOMEN oval, the basal and fifth segments densely hairy, -the superior surface glabrous and shining, excepting where the white -decumbent bands broadly edge the three intermediate segments. - -The MALE differs in being more densely pubescent, especially upon the -abdomen, which is not glabrous, and in not having the _antennæ_ -geniculated; the bands of the _abdomen_ are fulvous, and its legs are -longer and more slender, and it is sexually less hairy, although still -considerably so. - - - NATIVE SPECIES. - - 1. _hirtipes_, Fab., ♂ ♀. 6-7 lines. (Plate V. fig. 3 ♂ ♀.) - _Swammerdamella_, Kirby. - - - GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. - -This genus is named from the extreme hairiness of its posterior legs, -_ποῦς_, _hairy_, _ποûς, ποδὸς_, _foot or leg_. It is one of the most -elegant of our native bees, both in form and the extreme congruity of -its habiliment. This is unfortunately but a bridal raiment, for almost -as soon as the arduous duties of maternity supervene these bright -garments fade, and the workday suit immediately shows the wear and tear -produced by the labours of life. The male flaunts about longer in the -freshness of his attire, but he is usually the assiduous companion of -his spouse, although he does not participate in her toils. They are late -summer insects, and form their burrows upon banks having a southern -aspect; these they excavate deeper than does _Andrena_, and smooth and -polish them internally. They generally prefer spots intertangled with -shrubs, and at the mouth of the cylinder they tunnel they heap up the -extracted soil, to use a portion for closing it when their task is -accomplished. In the course of this process, especially if a cloud pass -over the sun, they will come forward to the aperture. They collect large -quantities of pollen, for which the hair upon their posterior tibiæ and -plantæ is excellently well adapted both by its length and the additional -storing power it possesses in each individual hair being spirally -twisted, although they are unprovided with the furniture of hair upon -the femora and coxæ found in the genus _Andrenæ_. Thus nature likes to -vary its mode of accomplishing the same object. The details of their -nursery processes are not known. For their protection their sting is -very virulent, and also actively employed, as they have many enemies, -especially amongst the fossorial _Hymenoptera_, whom they stoutly resist -to the extent of their strength. We are not aware of any special -parasites that infest them. They are semi-gregarious in their habits, -for where they occur any quantity of them may be taken. They are found -in their season in the southern counties, the Isle of Wight, and in -several parts of Kent and its eastern coast, and even as near London as -Charlton. They seem to prefer the composite flowers, having a great -liking for the bastard Hawkweed and the Dandelion. A fine series of them -forms a great ornament to a collection. - - ------- - - Subfamily 2. APIDÆ (Normal Bees), _Latreille_. - _Syn._ APIS, _Kirby_. - _Tongue always folded back in repose._ - _Maxillary palpi varying in the number of the joints._ - Section 1. _Solitary._ - Subsection 1. SCOPULIPEDES (brush-legged). - a. _Femoriferæ_ (collectors on entire leg). - † _With two submarginal cells to the wings._ - Genus 9. PANURGUS, _Panzer_. - (Plate VI. fig. 1 ♂♀.) - APIS * _a_, _Kirby_. - -_Gen. Char._: HEAD transversely subquadrate; _ocelli_ in a triangle on -the _vertex_, which, as well as the _face_, is convex, the latter -between the antennæ carinated as far as the clypeus; _antennæ_ short, -subclavate, the second joint of the flagellum considerably the longest, -the remainder equal; _clypeus_ slightly convex; _labrum_ transversely -quadrate, convex; _mandibles_ acutely unidentate; _cibarial apparatus_ -long; _tongue_ half its entire length, gradually acute, and fringed -laterally with delicate hair; _paraglossæ_ slender, acute, membranous, -not quite half the length of the tongue; _labial palpi_ more than half -the length of the tongue, the basal joint longer than the two following, -the remainder gradually decreasing in length, all conterminous; _labium_ -half the length of the cibarial apparatus, broad; _maxillæ_ slender, -subhastate, as long as the tongue; _maxillary palpi_ six-jointed, the -basal joint robust, subclavate, as is the second joint, but more -slender, the remainder filiform, gradually declining in length. THORAX -oval; _prothorax_ inconspicuous; _mesothorax_ with a deep central -groove; _bosses_ protuberant; _scutellum_ and _post-scutellum_ lunulate; -_metathorax_ gibbous; wings with the marginal cell slightly -appendiculated, two submarginal cells and a third commenced, the second -receiving both the recurrent nervures, the first close to its -commencement and the second beyond its centre; the _legs_ densely -pilose, the posterior pair having their _coxæ_ and _trochanters_ -beneath, their _femora_ in front, above, the _tibiæ_ and _plantæ_ all -round, covered with long hair; _claws_ bifid. ABDOMEN ovate, the base -subtruncate, the basal segment having a deep central impression at its -base, the fifth segment fringed with short dense hair, the terminal -segment with a triangular plate carinated in the centre, and fimbriated -laterally, and all very slightly constricted. - -The MALE scarcely differs, except in having the _head_ rather more -globose and more pubescent; and the _legs_, although still hairy, much -less so than in the female. - - - NATIVE SPECIES. - - 1. _Banksiana_, Kirby, ♂♀. 4-5¼ lines. - _ursinus_, Curtis, iii. 101. (Plate VI. fig. 1 ♂♀.) - 2. _calcaratus_, Scopoli, ♂♀. 3-4 lines. - _ursinus_, Kirby. - - - GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. - -_Πανοῦργος_ signifies _one excessively industrious_, at least as it is -applied here, although it has other less meritorious meanings, but these -insects can scarcely be considered more energetic than any of their -associates; perhaps the contrast made between the bright yellow pollen -and their lugubrious vestment might give the idea of very active -collecting, they being usually, upon returning from their foray, almost -entirely disguised in the produce of their excursion. They are rather -remarkable insects from their intensely black colour and their compact -active forms; their square head and short clavate antennæ give them a -sturdy business-like appearance. They also are silent on the wing, but -being at the very van of the present subfamily, forming as it were the -advanced picket of the _Apidæ_, it may be considered suitable that they -should retain, by way of partial disguise, some of the characteristics -of the preceding subfamily. In many respects, therefore, they closely -approach _Dasypoda_: thus their legs are similarly furnished with hair, -relatively as long and having the same spiral twist, and their whole -habit is that of one of the _Andrenidæ_, excepting that their clavate -antennæ, and the folding of their tongue in repose, separate them from -that subfamily. They are local insects, but extremely abundant when -fallen upon. I used to find the first species upon an elevated plateau, -on the south side over-hanging the Vale of Health and its large pond at -Hampstead. Every Dandelion, for a wide circuit in the vicinity, was -crowded with individuals—assiduously collecting, in the case of females, -but basking in sunny indolence, and revelling in the attractions of the -flower, in the case of males, and, at the same time, their burrowing -spot, which was not larger than half-a-dozen square yards, was swarming -with them, coming and going, burrowing and provisioning. Very numerous, -but not so numerous as themselves, were their pretty parasite, the -_Nomada Fabriciana_, fine specimens of both sexes of which I have -constantly captured; and a remarkable singularity pertaining to the -latter is, that some seasons it would totally fail, and another season -present itself sparsely, when, after these lapses, it would recur in all -its primitive profusion, although the _Panurgus_ was every season -equally present. Both these insects are found during the months of June -and July, especially about the middle of the former. In their burrows, -which they perforate vertically, they usually enclose about six cells, -each being duly provisioned and the egg deposited, when each is -separately closed and the orifice of the cylinder filled up. This -species is also found in Kent and Surrey, and I have no doubt they might -be discovered in most of the southern counties. The smaller species, -which is a good deal like a little _Tiphia_, is remarkable for the -peculiarity of the male having a projecting process upon its posterior -femora, whence it derives its specific name, _calcaratus_, which is -hardly consistent, as it is not quite the right place for a spur. This -smaller species is also found in Kent, Hampshire, and at Weybridge, in -Surrey, and in the Isle of Wight. As well as in the _Leontodon_, it -likes to repose in the flowers of the Mouse-ear Hawkweed (_Hieracium_). - - ------- - - b. _Cruriferæ_ (collectors on the shanks and tarsi). - † _With two submarginal cells to the wings._ - Genus 10. EUCERA, _Scopoli_. - (Plate VI. fig. 2 ♂ ♀.) - APIS ** _d_ 1, Kirby. - -_Gen. Char._: HEAD transverse; _vertex_ concave; _ocelli_ in a curve, -and very high up; _face_ flattish; _clypeus_ very convex, hirsute, and -fimbriated; _labrum_ transverse-ovate, and emarginate in front; -_mandibles_ very obtusely and inconspicuously bidentate; _tongue_ very -long and slender, and gradually acuminating, transversely striated; -_paraglossæ_ slender, membranous, very acute, and about two-thirds the -length of the tongue; _labial palpi_ membranous, and about the length of -the paraglossæ, the basal joint linear, broad, longer than the rest -united, the second about half its length and acuminate, the two terminal -ones are very short and equal, and articulate within the apex of the -second joint; _labium_ less than half the length of the tongue, its -inosculation concave; _maxillæ_ two-thirds the length of the tongue, -subhastate; _maxillary palpi_ six-jointed, short, less than one-third -the length of the maxillæ, the basal joint robust, the rest filiform, -and gradually decreasing in length and substance. THORAX very pubescent, -which conceals its divisions; _metathorax_ truncated; _wings_ with two -submarginal cells, the second receiving both the recurrent nervures, one -near each of its extremities; _legs_ setose, especially the tibiæ and -plantæ, which, in the posterior pair is very dense on the exterior of -the tibiæ, and both externally and internally upon the plantæ, the -following joints of the posterior tarsi inserted beneath, and within the -extremity of their plantæ; the claw-joint being longer than the two -preceding, and the _claws_ acutely bifid. ABDOMEN oval, convex above, -subtruncate at the base, where it is thickly pubescent, the other -segments glabrous on the disk; the fifth segment fimbriated with -decumbent short hair, and the terminal segment having a central -triangular plate at the sides of which it is rigidly setose. - -The MALE differs in having the _antennæ_ longer than the thorax, -filiform, but with their several joints curved, the curvature increasing -towards the terminal joints, the integument of the whole of the -flagellum consisting of a congeries of minute hexagons, the edges of -which are all raised, and the whole resembling shagreen; the legs have -the usual sexual slighter and extended development, and are necessarily -less setose; it is also deficient in the transverse whitish bands of -decumbent hair upon the abdomen, which is more densely pubescent on the -first and second segments; and the four terminal joints of the posterior -tarsi are conterminous with their plantæ. - - - NATIVE SPECIES. - - 1. _longicornis_, Linnæus. 6-7 lines. (Plate VI. fig. 2 ♂♀.) - _longicornis_, Kirby. - - - GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. - -This genus derives its name from the great length of the antennæ in the -male,—_εὖ_, _good_ or _great_, _κέρας_, _horn_. The name of the genus is -usually given from some female characteristic, or from a peculiarity -common to both sexes, or irrespective of any direct application, but -here we find it deduced from a feature exclusively masculine. Instances -of the first class we see in _Colletes_, _Halictus_, _Andrena_, -_Dasypoda_, _Panurgus_, _Saropoda_, _Ceratina_, _Cœlioxys_, -_Chelostoma_, _Heriades_, _Anthocopa_, and _Apathus_; of the second -class we have _Prosopis_, _Sphecodes_, _Macropis_, _Anthophora_, -_Nomada_, _Melecta_, perhaps _Epeolus_, according to Latreille’s idea, -_Stelis_, _Anthidium_, _Osmia_, and _Bombus_; the third class comprises -in our series merely _Cilissa_, and in this series the male -characteristics that have suggested the name are just as few, being -limited to the present genus. But the males among the bees exhibit in -many cases strong and striking peculiarities which distinguish them from -their partners. Exclusively of the general distinction expressed in -their organic difference by the possession of one additional joint to -the antennæ and one more segment to the abdomen than is exhibited in the -females, we find in many cases in these two parts of their structure -very marked singularities. Great sexual differences in the length of the -antennæ are not restricted to the present genus; in fact, in most of the -genera, this is the first striking feature, but which becomes -conspicuously so in some species of _Sphecodes_, in most of the -_Halicti_, in some _Nomadæ_, in _Chelostoma_, _Osmia_, _Apathus_, and -_Bombus_. In _Eucera_ and _Sphecodes_, each joint of the flagellum is -slightly curved, and in the former the surface of those joints appears -compounded of hexagons. In _Chelostoma_ the antennæ, besides being -longer than in the female, are also very much slighter and slightly -compressed, and have a structure capable of curling upon itself; in the -female of this genus the organ is clavate; and in _Osmia_, besides their -length, in one species the male has a fringe of hair attached to one -side along the whole of the organ. In other cases, where the antennæ are -not remarkably longer in the male they have extra development by -becoming thicker, as in _Melecta_; and in _Megachile_ the terminal joint -of their antennæ is laterally dilated and compressed. In scarcely any -case are they geniculated at the scape in the male, as they are in the -female. The other genera with clavate antennæ have the same structure in -both sexes, as in _Panurgus_ and _Ceratina_. Remarkable peculiarities in -the terminal ventral segment or segments of the male may be found most -conspicuously developed in _Halictus_, _Cœlioxys_, _Anthidium_, -_Chelostoma_, _Heriades_, _Osmia_, _Apathus_, Bombus, and Apis. In -_Cœlioxys_ and _Anthidium_, and some of the _Osmiæ_, this sex is further -furnished with a series of projecting spines, processes, or serrations -at the apex of the terminal dorsal segment. In _Chelostoma_, the ventral -structure of the male is very singular, the apex being adapted to a -mucro at the base which permits the insect to curl up this portion of -the body similarly to its antennæ, the furcated extremity of the abdomen -fitting, when thus folded, upon the mucro. It is as well to draw -observation to these peculiarities, which give additional interest to -the study of the group. - -The genus _Eucera_ appears in May and June. In some parts they are found -in large colonies; although I have seen them abundant I never found them -in this gregarious condition, and I have usually discovered them -frequenting loamy and sandy soils; they burrow a cell six or eight -inches deep, form an oval chamber at its extremity, which as well as the -sides of the cylinder leading to it they make extremely smooth, and by -some process prevent its absorbing the mixture of honey and pollen which -they store for the supply of the larva, and each contains but one young -one. These, having full fed, lie in a dormant state throughout the -winter and do not change into pupæ until mid-spring, and speedily -transform into the imago, which, until fully matured, is closely in -every part and limb covered with a thin silky pellicle, wherein it lies -as in a shroud, but at its appointed time, regulated by some influence -of which we have no cognizance, active life becomes developed, it then -casts off its envelope and comes forth to revel in the sunshine, in -close companionship with a partner which its instinct promptly teaches -it to find. The largest of our native _Nomadæ_ is its parasite the _N. -sexcincta_, and which seems wholly restricted to it, but which is often -even rare in places where the _Eucera_ abounds. The female, like those -of the rest of the bees, is no time-waster, but flies steadily to and -fro in her occupation of provisioning her nest, and the male often -accompanies her in these expeditions, gallantly winging about with -extreme velocity as if to divert his sedulous companion in the fatigue -of her toil, by his evolutions and his music, which is very sonorous. -And on a fine May day it is extremely pleasant in a picturesque -situation to sit and watch the operations of these very active insects. -In their recent state, when just evolved from the nidus, they are very -elegant, being covered with a close silky down, which labour and -exposure soon abrades. It is said that this bee deserts her nest when -she finds the stranger’s egg deposited on the provender laid up in -store, or when she meets with the _Nomada_ within, which sometimes lays -two eggs in one cell. To this she does not deliver battle, as does the -_Anthophora_ to _Melecta_, but patiently vacates the nest, leaving it to -the service of the parasite, which is also supposed to close it herself, -having been caught with clay encrusted upon her posterior legs. For the -accuracy of this supposition I cannot vouch, never having observed the -circumstance, nor have I seen reason to abandon the idea that the -parasite has no instinct for labour of any kind,—the presence of the -clay being, I expect, merely accidental, for it is notorious that these -insects have an overruling predilection for keeping themselves extremely -clean. - - ------- - - †† _With three submarginal cells to the wings._ - Genus 11. ANTHOPHORA, _Latreille_. - (Plate VI. fig. 3, and Plate VII. fig. 1.) - APIS ** _d_, 2 _a_, Kirby. - -_Gen. Char._: HEAD transverse, nearly as wide as the thorax; _vertex_ -depressed; _ocelli_ placed in a curved line upon its posterior margin; -_antennæ_ short, subclavate, basal joint of flagellum globose, its -second joint longer than the scape, very slender, the rest of the joints -subequal; _face_ flattish; _clypeus_ protuberant; _labrum_ quadrate, -convex; _mandibles_ distinctly bidentate and obtuse; _cibarial -apparatus_ very long; _tongue_ very long, transversely striated, and -with a small knob at the extremity; _paraglossæ_ about one-third the -length of the tongue, acuminate; _labial palpi_ slender, more than half -the length of the tongue, membranous, the basal joint as long again as -the remainder, the second joint very slender and very acute; the two -terminal joints very short and subclavate, inserted before the extremity -of the second joint; _labium_ short, one-fourth the length of the -tongue, its inosculation concave; _maxillæ_ hastate, not so long as the -tongue; _maxillary palpi_ one-third the length of the maxillæ, -six-jointed, the basal joint very robust, the rest filiform, the second -the longest, and all the rest decreasing in length and substance. THORAX -oval, densely pubescent, which conceals its divisions; _metathorax_ -truncated; _wings_ with three submarginal cells, closed, the second -receives the first recurrent nervure in its centre, and the third, which -bulges externally, receives the second at its extremity; _legs_ setose, -the exterior of the posterior _tibiæ_ and _plantæ_ moderately so, and -the interior of the latter also densely setose; the second joint of the -posterior _tarsi_ inserted beneath and within the termination of their -plantæ; the claw-joint longer than the two preceding; _claws_ bifid, the -inner tooth distant from the external. ABDOMEN ovate, subpubescent, the -fifth segment densely fimbriated and the terminal segment with an -emarginate appendage. - -In the MALES the antennæ are very similar, but the mandibles are more -acutely bidentate, and with the exception of the form of the legs, the -general aspect is like the female; the legs, although setose, are less -conspicuously so, the intermediate tarsi in the first section of the -genus being longer than the rest of the entire leg, and are fringed -externally with very long hair, or it is restricted to the plantæ of -that leg and then it is short and very rigid; the entire limb stretched -out extends beyond the widest expansion of the superior wings. The -ABDOMEN is also less retuse than in the female, at its basal segment. - -In the second division of this genus, of which _Anthophora furcata_ may -be considered to be the type, the general habit is precisely the same, -but the insects are not so pubescent, and there is a greater similarity -between the sexes. The intermediate legs also, although long in the -male, are not so extremely long as they are in the first section. - - - NATIVE SPECIES. - - § _Males with elongate tufted intermediate tarsi, and differing from - female in colour._ - - 1. _retusa_, Linnæus, ♂ ♀. 6 lines. (Plate VI. fig. 3 ♂ ♀.) - _Haworthana_, Kirby. - _Haworthana_, Curtis, viii. 357. - 2. _acervorum_, Fabricius, ♂ ♀. 6-8 lines. - _retusa_, Kirby. - - §§ _Males without elongate tufted intermediate tarsi, concolorous with - their females._ - - 3. _furcata_, Panzer, ♂ ♀. 5-6 lines. (Plate VII. fig. 1 ♂ ♀.) - _furcata_, Kirby. - 4. _quadrimaculata_, Panzer, ♂ ♀. 4-5 lines. - _vulpina_, Kirby. - _subglobosa_, Kirby. - - - GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. - -The name _ἄνθος_, _φὼρ φωρὸς_, _flower-rifler_, would be as suitable for -any other genus of bees, and therefore may be classed with those names -which have no explicit signification. - -The two divisions which our native species of this genus form, might -very consistently constitute two genera, differing so much as they do -both in habit and habits. In the first section the males totally differ -from their females, the latter being black and the pubescence of their -partners fulvous, and whose intermediate legs are so much longer, and -are decorated besides with tufts of hair upon their plantæ, neither -peculiarity being found in those of the second section, which conform -more regularly to the ordinary type of structure. The first section also -nidificate gregariously, forming enormous colonies which consist of many -hundreds; whereas the second are solitary nidificators, and at most -half-a-dozen may be found within as many square yards of territory, and -one species, the _A. furcata_, diverges considerably from the ordinary -habits of the genus, and closely approaches those of the foreign genus -_Xylocopa_, but its structure necessarily retains it within the -boundaries of the genus. All these insects exhibit the peculiar -characteristic of the _Scopulipedes_, in the insertion of the second -joint of the posterior tarsi at the very bottom of their plantæ, -conjunctively with the polliniferous scopa, placed externally upon their -tibiæ and plantæ, in which characteristics the Andrenoid _Macropis_ -remarkably resembles them, and which I have noticed in my remarks upon -that genus. - -The first section burrows in banks, where their colonies are extremely -numerous. In the tunnels which they form they construct several -elliptical cells which they line with a delicate membrane of a white -colour, formed by a secretion or saliva derived from the digestion of -either the pollen or the honey which they consume. Each cell when formed -is stored as usual, and the egg deposited, and then it is closed. There -is but little variation in these processes among all the solitary bees, -excepting in the case of the artisan bees and the more elaborate -processes of _Colletes_, in which, however, the casing is merely -thicker, arising from several layers of the coating membrane. The -perfect insects make their appearance during the spring and summer -months, their successive maturity being the result of the previous -summer and autumn deposit of eggs. They pass the winter and spring in -the larva state, and undergo their transformations into pupa and imago -with but slight interval, and only shortly before the appearance of the -perfect insect. When first presenting themselves they are certainly very -handsome insects, and if carefully killed preserve their beauty for many -years in the cabinet. I have found the retusa, Linn., (Kirby’s -_Haworthana_,) in enormous profusion at Hampstead Heath, indeed, so -numerous were they, that late in the afternoon, upon approaching the -colony, they, in returning home, would strike as forcibly against me as -is often done by _Melolontha vulgaris_ or _Geotrupes stercorarius_. In -equal abundance I have found the _A. acervorum_ at Charlton, where I -have experienced a similar battery. This is the insect which Gilbert -White, in his letters from Selborne, describes as having found in -numbers at Mount Caburn, near Lewes, a spot I have often visited in my -schoolboy days. This section is subject to the parasitism of the genus -_Melecta_, whose incursions are very repugnant to them, and which they -exhibit in very fierce pugnacity, for if they catch the intruder in her -invasion they will draw her forth and deliver battle with great fury. I -have seen both the combatants rolling in the dust, the combat and escape -made perhaps easier to the _Melecta_ by the load the _Anthophora_ was -bearing home. Upon the larva also of this bee it is said that the larva -of the Heteromerous genus _Meloë_ is nurtured; this I have never been -able to verify, but I believe the fact is fully confirmed. This beetle -is closely allied to the _Cantharides_, or blister-beetles, and it -itself exudes a very acrimonious yellow liquid when touched or -irritated. Two of the _Chalcididæ_ also infest their larvæ, which they -destroy; one is the _Melittobia_, named thus from its preying upon bees; -it, like the majority of its tribe, is exceedingly minute, and of a -shining dark green metallic colour. It is peculiar from having its -lateral eyes simple, and in possessing besides three ocelli. The other -genus is _Monodontomeris_, an equally small insect, which, although -living upon the larva of _Anthophora_, is equally preyed upon by that of -the _Melittobia_. The universal scourge, _Forficula_, is a great -devastator of these colonies, where, of course, it revels in its -destructive propensities. - -The insects of the second division I have never been able to track to -their burrows, but have always caught them either on the wing or on -flowers, especially upon those of the common Mallow, and I have found -both species all round London. They are said also to frequent the Dead -Nettle (_Lamium purpureum_). The _A. quadrimaculata_ burrows in banks, -and its processes are scarcely different from those of the preceding -species, only its habits are solitary. In flight it is exceedingly -rapid, and thus much resembles _Saropoda_. But the _A. furcata_ bores -into putrescent wood, in which it forms a longitudinal pipe subdivided -into nine or ten oval divisions, separated from each other by -agglutinated scrapings of the same material, very much masticated, the -closing of each forming a sharp sort of cornice; each of these cells is -about half an inch in length, and three-tenths of an inch in diameter, -the separations between them being about a line thick. These pipes or -cylinders run parallel to the sides of the wood thus bored, an angle -being made both at its commencement and its termination, and thus the -latter permits the ready escape of the developed imago nearest that -extremity, which being the first deposited, that cell being the first -constructed, it necessarily becomes the first transmuted, and thus has -not to wait for the egress of all above it. - -All these insects are usually accompanied by their partners in their -flight, and their amorous intercourse takes place upon the wing. - - ------- - - Genus 12. SAROPODA, _Latreille_. - (Plate VII. fig. 2 ♂♀.) - APIS ** _d_, 2, a, Kirby. - -_Gen. Char._: HEAD transverse, as wide as the thorax, very pubescent; -_ocelli_ placed in a triangle, the anterior one low towards the face; -_vertex_ slightly concave; _antennæ_ short, filiform, basal joint of -flagellum globose, the second joint subclavate and the longest, the rest -short and equal; _face_ flattish, short; _clypeus_ forming an obtuse -triangle, slightly convex; _labrum_ quadrate, with the angles rounded; -_mandibles_ obtusely bidentate; _cibarial apparatus_ long; _tongue_ very -long and slender, but gradually expanding towards half its length and -then as gradually tapering to the extremity and terminating in a small -knob, its sides throughout being fimbriated with short delicate down; -_paraglossæ_ one-third its length, membranous, very delicate, and -tapering to a point; _labial palpi_ slender, membranous, the joints -conterminous, the basal joint more than half the length of the tongue, -the remainder short, the second the longest of these three, and all -tapering to the pointed apical one; _labium_ scarcely one-third as long -as the tongue, rather broad, bifid at its inosculation; _maxillæ_ nearly -as long as the tongue, gradually diminishing from its basal sinus to a -point at its extremity; _maxillary palpi_ four-jointed, about one-third -the length of the maxillæ, the basal joint short, robust, the second -tapering from its base to the third joint, which is rather shorter and -subclavate, the terminal joint slender. THORAX very pubescent, rendering -its divisions inconspicuous; _scutellum_ and _post-scutellum_ lunulate -and convex; _metathorax_ truncated; _wings_ as in _Anthophora_, with -three marginal cells closed, the second forming a truncated triangle, -and receiving the first recurrent nervure near its centre, the third -bulging outwardly and receiving the second recurrent nervure at its -extremity; _legs_ very setose, especially the posterior tibiæ -externally, and their plantæ both externally and internally, but the -setæ are longer on the exterior of the joint, the second joint of these -tarsi inserted beneath, and before the termination of their plantæ, the -terminal joint longer than the two preceding; _claws_ bifid, the inner -tooth distant from the apex. ABDOMEN subovate, very convex, truncated at -its base, where it is densely pubescent, the fifth segment fimbriated -with stiff setæ, and the terminal segment having a central triangular -plate with rigid setæ at its sides. - -The MALE scarcely differs, excepting in the characteristic sexual -disparities of slightly longer antennæ, and considerably longer -intermediate tarsi, whose apical joint is very clavate. - - - NATIVE SPECIES. - - 1. _bimaculata_, Panzer. ♂ ♀. 4-5 lines. (Plate VII. fig. 2 ♂ ♀.) - _bimaculata_, Kirby. - _rotundata_, Kirby. - - - GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. - -The name of this genus is as applicable to the subsection as to the -genus itself, _σάρος_, _brush_, _ποῦς ποδὸς_, _a foot_, in allusion to -their polliniferous posterior legs. - -We have but one species, but it is very characteristic; for, although -retaining several of the features of the second division of _Anthophora_ -(in the colouring of the face it participates with the males of both -divisions), yet has it still a marked physiognomy of its own; it retains -the normal colouring of bees generally, but its strongest distinction -from that division of _Anthophora_ is the shortness of the antennæ in -the female, as in the length of the intermediate legs of the male it -would seem to form a link between the two divisions, could a distinct -genus stand in such a position, and would almost import the necessity of -elevating that division to generic rank, as hinted at in the -observations under _Anthophora_. In the large development of its claws -it seems to point to an economy somewhat differing from that second -division, but nobody appears to have traced it to its nidus. I have -often captured it at Battersea upon the Mallow, together with _A. -quadrimaculata_, but the singular velocity of its flight might indicate -a very distant domicile,—in a few minutes it could traverse miles. The -electrical vivacity and rich opaline tint of its eyes has been often -observed, but this, unfortunately, fades with death; yet so marked is it -that it has called forth the distinct observation of a Panzer and a -Kirby. Besides the Mallow it has been observed to frequent the Heaths, -and were its habits better known would be found, I have no doubt, to -visit many other flowers, for Curtis took it in the Isle of Wight -sleeping in the great Knapweed, _Centaurea scabiosa_. I have never -caught it laden. - -I have hazarded the conjecture in a different part of this work that the -music of the bees might be attuned to a musical scale by associating the -different species in the due gradation of their varying tones. Here we -have one of the most musical of the tribe,—not a monotonous dull sleepy -hum, but a fine _contralto_, the very Patti amongst the bees. But it is -rapidity of motion which in them intensifies the note they chant, and -the velocity of the flight of this insect is something remarkable. They -dart about with almost the rapidity of a flash of lightning, and this -swiftness of approach and retreat modulates their accents. - -Under the head “Macropis” I have pointed to some strong resemblances -between this genus and that. - - ------- - - Genus 13. CERATINA, _Latreille_. - (Plate VII. fig. 3 ♂ ♀.) - APIS ** _d_ 2, a, Kirby. - -_Gen. Char._: HEAD transverse, convex, glabrous; _ocelli_ placed in a -triangle on the vertex, which is, as well as the face, convex; _antennæ_ -short, subclavate, each inserted in a separate deep cavity in the centre -of the face, the first joint of the flagellum globose, the second the -longest of all and slender at its base, but all gradually enlarging to -the extremity; _clypeus_ very gibbous; _labrum_ quadrate, convex; -_cibarial apparatus_ long; _tongue_ long and tapering, and with a minute -knob at its extremity; _paraglossæ_ obsolete; _labial palpi_ -three-fourths as long as the tongue, the two first joints membranous and -diminishing in width, the second joint rather shorter than the basal one -and acute at its extremity, and externally before its termination the -two very short terminal ones are inserted; _labium_ half the length of -the tongue, with a lozenge-shaped inosculation; _maxillæ_ as long as the -tongue, broad at the base, whence it abruptly acuminates to the slender -apex; _maxillary palpi_ six-jointed, filiform, the three first joints -subequal, the three terminal gradually decreasing in length. THORAX -oval, glabrous; _prothorax_ inconspicuous; _mesothorax_ with a central -basal groove, the _bosses_ conspicuous and shining; _scutellum_ and -_post-scutellum_ lunulate; _metathorax_ subtruncate; _wings_ with three -submarginal cells and a fourth slightly commenced, the second in the -form of a truncated triangle, the third considerably larger than the -second, and each receiving a recurrent nervure just beyond the centre; -_legs_ plumose but not densely so, the hair very long within the -posterior tibiæ, but denser and shorter on its exterior; the _posterior -plantæ_ also plumose, and all the joints of the posterior tarsi -conterminous; _claws_ bifid. ABDOMEN glabrous, subclavate, very convex -above and flat beneath, subtruncate at the base, and the basal segments -slightly constricted. - -The MALE scarcely differs, excepting in the _clypeus_ being less -gibbous, the _legs_ not plumose, and the sixth segment of the _abdomen_ -carinated in the centre towards its extremity, and impending over the -seventh, which is transversely gibbous, then depressed, and with an -obtuse process at its extremity. - - - NATIVE SPECIES. - - 1. _cærulea_, Villers, ♂ ♀. 2-3 lines. (Plate VII. fig. 3 ♂ ♀.) - _cyanea_, Kirby. - 2. _albilabris_, Fabricius, ♂ ♀. 2½ lines. - - - GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. - -This genus is named from the presence of a little horn between its -antennæ, _κερατίνη_, _a horn_. Some foreign entomologists, especially -Latreille and Le Pelletier de St. Fargeau, have considered it to be -parasitical, but that it is not so we have the authority of the Marquis -Spinola, of Genoa, confirmed by the testimony of Mr. Thwaites, a very -accurate observer, in the vicinity of Bristol, where the insect is not -at all uncommon, although extremely rare in most other parts, and -consequently usually a desideratum to cabinets, from its great beauty -both of form and colour, notwithstanding that it is so very small in -size. It has also been found in other localities, as at Birchwood, where -the late Mr. Bambridge used to take it, and as near London as Charlton, -at both which places I have no doubt it might frequently be found were -it carefully looked for, but the practised entomological eye is often -wanting to detect an insect unless it be conspicuously present. Its -usual nidus is a bramble or briar stick, from which it excavates the -pith, and this it has been frequently observed doing, and both sexes -have been repeatedly bred from such sticks. We have no notice of any -peculiarity in its mode of forming its cells, which may resemble that of -such wood-boring genera as _Chelostoma_ and _Heriades_, although its -structure would intimate a closer affinity to the habits of the exotic -genus _Xylocopa_; nor is there extant any account of the process or time -occupied in the development of its young. Spinola’s notion, from not -seeing the sufficiency of the hair upon the posterior tibiæ for the -purpose, assumed that the pollen was conveyed home on the forehead and -between the antennæ, he having caught an insect with some pollen -accidentally incrusted there in the insect’s honey-seeking excursion. -The hair upon these legs is very sparse, it is true, but then it is very -long, and the quantity of pollen required for the nurture of the larva -is evidently small, from its having been observed that the store upon -which the egg is deposited is semi-liquid, thus preponderating in the -admixture of honey. - -That it has not been caught laden with pollen upon its legs has no -weight against the fact of its non-parasitism, for it is not always that -the excursions of bees are made for the purpose of collecting pollen. -Honey is as necessary to their economy—and in this case perhaps more -so—as pollen, and the only way to determine the fact of its carrying -pollen, corroboratively, would be when knowing that one of these bees -has visited a bramble stick—its presumptive nidus,—to watch the stick -very patiently for the insect’s return from every journey until it came -back laden; the presence of pollen upon its legs would surely be -indicated by the difference of its colour from the ordinary dark hue of -the little labourer. - -We have already noticed bees with metallic hues among the _Halicti_, and -there are slight indications of it in some of the _Andrenæ_, for -instance, in the _A. cinerea_ and the _A. nigro-ænea_, etc., but in none -hitherto so absolutely is it exhibited as in this genus. The prevalent -colour of the bees, that is to say, the ground colour of the integument, -and not the fleeting one of the pubescence, is black or brown, but here -we have a positive metallic tinge, which we shall again come across in -many shades and hues in the genus _Osmia_. - -A second species of the genus was brought from Devonshire by Dr. Leach, -and is in the collection of the British Museum, but no other specimens -of the same species have since been found. - -The only flower which it has been noticed that they frequent is the -Viper’s Bugloss (_Echium vulgare_). - - ------- - - Subsection 2. NUDIPEDES (naked-legged cuckoo-bees). - a. _With three submarginal cells to the wings._ - Genus 14. NOMADA, _Fabricius_. - (Plates VIII., IX., X.) - -_Gen. Char._: HEAD transverse; _ocelli_ in a triangle on the vertex; -_antennæ_ filiform, scarcely geniculated, the scape short, the basal -joint of the flagellum subglobose, the second joint clavate, the -remainder subequal; _face_ flat, or slightly concave, carinated -longitudinally in the centre between the insertion of the antennæ; -_clypeus_ subtriangular, convex, deflected at the lateral angles; -_labrum_ subcircular, very gibbous and protuberant; _mandibles_ acute or -subbidentate; _tongue_ long, acute; _paraglossæ_ about one-fourth its -length, acute; _labial palpi_ two-thirds the length of the tongue, the -two basal joints membranous, the basal one as long as the rest united, -and tapering to its extremity, the second joint less than half the -length of the first, and not wider at its base than the apex of the -first joint, and tapering like that to its end, where it is acute, the -third joint short, subclavate, and the terminal one-half the length of -the preceding, very slender and linear; _labium_ about one-half the -length of the tongue, and at its inosculation produced obtusely in the -centre; _maxillæ_ subhastate, about the length of the tongue; _maxillary -palpi_ six-jointed, the basal joint short, robust, subclavate, the -second the longest, and with the rest tapering in substance and -diminishing in length to the extremity, the terminal joint being very -little shorter than the preceding. THORAX ovate; _prothorax_ -inconspicuous, or distinct and angulated laterally; _mesothorax_ -glabrous, deeply punctulated; its _bosses_ conspicuous and prominent; -_scutellum_ divided into two very prominent tubercles; _post-scutellum_ -linear, convex; _metathorax_ with a triangular space at its base, and -declining to the insertion of the abdomen; _wings_ with three -submarginal cells, and a fourth very slightly commenced, the first as -long as the two following, and each of which receives a recurrent -nervure about its centre; _legs_ subspinose externally on the tibiæ, and -not polliniferous; _claws_ of tarsi small and not bifid. ABDOMEN oval, -glabrous, shining; terminal segment triangular, with its sides ridged. - -The MALE scarcely differs, excepting in sometimes being more profusely -adorned with colour, but this is not always the case, the female being -often the most ornate. There are very slight differences in the antennæ -in the sexes, which may be readily associated together. - - - NATIVE SPECIES. - - § _With filiform antennæ._ - - 1. _sexfasciata_, Panzer, ♂ ♀. 5-6 lines. (Plate VIII. fig. 3 ♂ ♀.) - _Schæfferella_, Kirby. - _connexa_, Kirby. - 2. _Goodemana_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 4-5 lines. (Plate VIII. fig. 1 ♂ ♀.) - _? succincta_, Panzer. - 3. _alternata_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 4-5 lines. - _Marshamella_, Kirby. - 4. _Lathburiana_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 4-5½ lines. (Plate VIII.fig. 2 ♂ ♀.) - 5. _varia_, Panzer, ♂ ♀. 4-4½ lines. - _varia_, Kirby. - _fucata_, Kirby. - 6. _ruficornis_, Linnæus, ♂ ♀. - _ruficornis_, Kirby. - _leucophthalma_, Kirby. - _flava_, Kirby. - 7. _lateralis_, Panzer, ♂ ♀. 4-4½ lines. (Plate X. fig. 3 ♂ ♀.) - 8. _ochrostoma_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 4-4½ lines. Hillana, Kirby. - 9. _signata_, Jurine, ♂ ♀. 4-5 lines. (Plate IX. fig. 1 ♂ ♀.) - 10. _borealis_, Zetterstedt, ♂ ♀. 3½-5 lines. - 11. _lineola_, Panzer, ♂ ♀. 4-6 lines. - _cornigera_, Kirby. - _subcornuta_, Kirby. - _Capreæ_, Kirby. - _sexcincta_, Kirby. - 12. _xanthosticta_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 2-2¾ lines. - 13. _flavoguttata_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 2-3 lines. (Plate IX. fig. 3 ♂ ♀.) - 14. _furva_, Panzer, ♂ ♀. 2-2½ lines. - _rufocincta_, Kirby. - _Sheppardana_, Kirby. - _Dalii_, Curtis. - 15. _Germanica_, Panzer, ♂ ♀. 4 lines. - _ferruginata_, Kirby. - 16. _Fabriciana_, Linnæus, ♂ ♀. 3½-5 lines. (Plate IX. fig. 2 ♂ ♀.) - _Fabriciella_, Kirby. - _quadrinotata_, Kirby. - 17. _armata_, Schaeffer, ♂ ♀. 5-5½ lines. - _Kirbii_, Stephens. - - §§ _With subclavate antennæ._ - - 18. _Jacobeæ_, Panzer, ♂ ♀. 4-4½ lines. (Plate X. fig. 1 ♂ ♀.) - _Jacobeæ_, Kirby. - _flavopicta_, Kirby. - 19. _Solidaginis_, Panzer, ♂ ♀. 3½-4 lines. (Plate X. fig. 2 ♂ ♀.) - _picta_, Kirby. - _rufopicta_, Kirby. - 20. _Roberjeotiana_, Panzer, ♂ ♀. 3 lines. - - - GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. - -This genus was named by Fabricius from the _Nomades_, a pastoral -Scythian tribe, in allusion to the assumed wandering habits of the -insects, and it is the fact indeed that they are usually found leisurely -hovering about hedge-rows, or the banks enclosing fields, or about the -metropolis or nidus of any bee upon which they are parasitical. They are -the gayest of all our bees, their colours being red or yellow intermixed -with black, in bands or spots; they are also very elegant in form, which -is after the type of that of the most normal _Andrenidæ_, and to which -they have a further affinity by the silence of their flight, and by -their parasitism upon many of the species of that subfamily. From their -very general resemblance to wasps in colour they are often mistaken for -wasps, and are popularly called wasp-bees, although they have none of -the virulence of that vindictive tribe, for although all the females are -armed with stings, they are not prompt in their use, or if roused to -defence the puncture is but slight. In addition to their prettiness of -colour and elegance of form, they have a further attraction in the -agreeable odours they emit, sometimes of a balmy or balsamical, and -sometimes of a mixed character, and often as sweet as the _pot-pourri_, -and occasionally pleasantly pungent. A fine string of specimens of the -several species is a great ornament to a collection, but to secure this -in its perfection some care is required in the mode of killing them. -Their colours are best permanently retained by suffocating them with -sulphur, which fixes the reds and yellows in all their natural and -living purity. My method was in my collecting excursions to convey with -me a large store of pill-boxes of various sizes, and as I captured -insects in my green gauze bag-net, I transferred them separately to -these boxes. When home again I lifted the lids slightly on one side and -placed as many as would readily go beneath a tumbler, and then fumigated -them with the sulphur. This is a better plan than killing them with -crushed laurel-leaves, for it leaves the limbs much longer flexible for -the purposes of setting, whereas the laurel has a tendency to make them -rigid, and this rigidity is extremely difficult to relax, whereas the -setting of those killed with sulphur, if they are kept in a cool place, -may be deferred for a few days, until leisure intervene to permit it, -and even then if they become stiffened they are readily relaxed for the -purpose. - -A division might very consistently be established in the genus by the -separation of those which have subclavate antennæ, and the segments of -whose abdomen are slightly constricted; these also are more essentially -midsummer insects, and usually frequent the Ragwort. This is the only -genus of parasites amongst the true bees whose parasitism is directed -exclusively upwards in the scientific arrangement; the parasitism of all -the rest of the genera of _Nudipedes_ bears upon the genera below them -in the series. Some of the species of the _Nomadæ_ attack more than one -species or one genus, but the majority are strictly limited to but one -genus and one species. The genera obnoxious to this annoyance are -_Andrena_, _Halictus_, _Panurgus_, and _Eucera_; the latter two have but -one of these enemies each, the _Nomada Fabriciana_ infesting the -_Panurgus Banksianus_, and the _N. sexfasciata_ frequenting the _Eucera -longicornis_. Under _Panurgus_ I have alluded to the relative abundance -of the parasite at the metropolis of its sitos. As far as known, the -other species are thus distributed. Those frequenting several -indifferently are the _Nomada alternata_, _Lathburiana_, _succincta_, -and _ruficornis_, which are found to infest _Andrena Trimmerana_, -_tibialis_, _Afzeliella_, and _fulva_, without displaying any choice; -whereas others confine themselves to one sitos exclusively: thus _Nomada -ochrostoma_ limits itself to _Andrena labialis_; _N. Germanica_ to _A. -fulvescens_; _N. lateralis_ to _A. longipes_; _N. baccata_ to _A. -argentata_; _N. borealis_ to _A. Clarkella_; _N. Fabriciana_ to -_Panurgus Banksianus_; and _N. sexfasciata_ to _Eucera longicornis_. -Observation has not yet fully determined whither each species of -_Nomada_ conveys its parasitism; several infest the _Halicti_, -especially the smaller species; the association of these it is difficult -to determine; I have usually found several of the small _Halicti_ -burrowing together in the vertical surface of an enclosure bank, and -several of the small _Nomada_ hovering cautiously opposite, now -alighting and entering a burrow, then retreating backwards and winging -off. I lost patience in endeavouring to combine the species by the aid -of blades of grass or slight straws thrust into the aperture, but the -crumbling nature of the soil frustrated my wishes, and I abandoned the -attempt. This field of observation is widely open to the exertions of -observing naturalists, and the novelty of their discoveries would well -reward the toil of the undertaking, for it would not be long before they -gathered fruit. - - ------- - - Genus 15. MELECTA, _Latreille_. - (Plate XI. fig. 1 ♂ ♀.) - APIS ** _a_, Kirby. - -_Gen. Char._: HEAD transverse, scarcely so wide as the thorax; _ocelli_ -in a triangle on the vertex; _antennæ_ filiform, rather robust, and but -slightly geniculated, the scape not longer than the two following -joints, the second joint of the flagellum the longest and clavate, the -rest short, nearly equal, and the terminal one laterally compressed at -its extremity; _face_ flat, very pubescent; _clypeus_ short transverse, -lunulate, convex; _labrum_ irregularly gibbous, obovate; _mandibles_ -strongly bidentate; _tongue_ long, slightly expanding towards the middle -and thence tapering to the extremity, and with a central line; -_paraglossæ_ scarcely half the length of the tongue, almost setiform, -but robust at the base; _labial palpi_ more than half the length of the -tongue, the two first joints membranous and very slender, the first -longer than the rest united, the second about half the length of the -first, and terminating acutely, the third not more than one-fourth the -length of the second, and inserted laterally before its termination, the -fourth about as long as the third, and, like it, subclavate, both being -more robust than the second; _labium_ not half the length of the tongue, -and acutely triangular at its inosculation; _maxillæ_ subhastate, not -quite so long as the tongue; _maxillary palpi_ five-jointed, about -one-third the length of the maxillæ, the basal joint clavate, short, and -robust; the second elongate, subclavate, the remainder gradually but -slightly diminishing in substance and length, the terminal not so long -as the basal joint. THORAX very retuse, and its divisions scarcely -distinguishable; _scutellum_ bidentate; _metathorax_ abruptly truncated; -_wings_ with three closed submarginal cells, the second the smallest, -irregularly triangular, and receiving the first recurrent nervure just -beyond its centre, the third submarginal considerably larger than the -second, sublunulate, but angulated externally and receiving the second -recurrent nervure about its centre; the _legs_ robust and spinulose, -especially the tibiæ externally (where they are very convex) and the -femora beneath; the _claws_ short, strong and bifid. The ABDOMEN -conical, truncated, and retuse at its base, the apical segment with a -central triangular plate ridged laterally, and fimbriated at its sides -with strong setæ. - -The MALE scarcely differs in personal appearance, excepting that its -antennæ are more robust and its ornamental pubescence is more profuse, -its posterior tibiæ very robust and almost triangular, and the terminal -segment of its abdomen slightly emarginate and concave at its extremity. - - - NATIVE SPECIES. - - 1. punctata, Fabricius, ♂ ♀. 6 lines. (Plate XI. fig. 1 ♂ ♀.) - _? Atropos_, Newman. - _? Lachesis_, Newman. - 2. _armata_, Panzer, ♂ ♀. 6-7 lines. - _punctata_, Kirby. - _? Tisiphone_, Newman. - _? Alecto_, Newman. - _? Clotho_, Newman. - _? Megæra_, Newman. - - - GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. - -Named from _μέλι_, _honey_, _λέγω_, _I collect_; which is scarcely the -case, for the parasites, although they may indulge in the luxury of -honey as epicures, or resort to it as a repast, cannot be said to -collect it, for it is only the labouring bees that truly collect it for -the purpose of storing. - -These insects are extremely handsome, their ground-colour being -intensely black, brightly shining on the abdomen, upon the segments of -which it is laterally ornamented with silvery pubescent tufts and spots; -the black legs are also variously ringed with similar silver down. The -great variation these spots and markings undergo—from what cause we know -not—has induced several entomologists to consider them as distinct -species. But the strongest varieties so rarely recur with identical -ornaments, and as almost all can be closely connected together in a -regular series by interlacing differences impossible to divide, it would -be certainly incorrect, without stronger characteristics, to raise such -fugitive variations to specific rank. Whether the curious spines of the -scutellum which they possess furnish a more certain character is -doubtful, for we find all such processes equally liable to variation in -size and form. What can be the uses of these spines? They can hardly be -for defence, although an entomologist has said that a male which he held -endeavoured to pinch by that means. We find similar processes in the -same situation in _Cœlioxys_, equally a parasitical genus; but the -former genus infests the _Scopulipedes_ and the latter the -_Dasygasters_, whose economies are so very different, and thus it can -hardly be supposed to have reference to habits. In _Epeolus_ and -_Stelis_ the same part is mucronated, a tendency to which we see in the -_Nomadæ_ with subclavate antennæ. Under _Anthophora_ I have given an -account of the pugnacious spirit of these insects in their contests with -the sitos, and it is necessary to be cautious in handling them, as they -sting very severely. Our two native species are parasitical upon the two -species of the first division of _Anthophora_,—those which are -gregarious. The circumstance of _Melecta_ being often caught with many -of the extremely young larvæ of _Meloë_ upon it seems to confirm the -fact of this coleopterous insect preying upon _Anthophora_, as it may be -thus assumed to prey simultaneously upon the larva of _Melecta_. I have -never captured these insects upon flowers, nor can I trace what flowers -they frequent, although Latreille tells us, in the name he has imposed, -that they are honey collectors; but Curtis reports that he has found the -genus upon the common furze or whin (_Ulex Europæus_). - - ------- - - Genus 16. EPEOLUS, _Latreille_. - (Plate XI. fig. 2 ♂ ♀.) - APIS ** _b_, Kirby. - -_Gen. Char._: BODY glabrous. HEAD transverse, vertex convex; _ocelli_ -placed in a triangle on its summit; _antennæ_ short, linear, the joints -of the flagellum subequal; _face_ flat, carinated longitudinally in its -centre between the insertion of the antennæ; _clypeus_ transverse, -lunulate, convex, margined anteriorly; _labrum_ transversely ovate, with -a small process in the centre in front; _mandibles_ bidentate, the -internal tooth minute, the external robust and broad; _tongue_ rather -long, more than twice the length of the labium, tapering to its -extremity; _paraglossæ_ short, about one-fourth the length of the -tongue, broad at the base, and acuminate towards the apex; _labial -palpi_ more than half the length of the tongue, the basal joint longer -than the three following, membranous, and gradually decreasing to the -second, which is one-third the length of the first, and acute at its -apex, where the third subclavate joint is articulated, the terminal -joint considerably shorter than the third; _labium_ not more than -one-third the length of the tongue, and trifid at its inosculation, the -central division being hastate; _maxillæ_ subhastate, more than one-half -the length of the tongue; _maxillary palpi_ consisting of one robust -short conical joint inserted in a deep circular receptacle. THORAX -subglobose; _prothorax_ conspicuous, with its lateral angles slightly -prominent; _mesothorax_ with its bosses prominent; _wing_-scales large; -_scutellum_ transverse, gibbous, margined posteriorly, slightly -mucronated laterally, slightly depressed in the centre, and impending -over the _post-scutellum_, which is inapparent; _metathorax_ abruptly -truncated; _wings_ with three submarginal cells, and a fourth feebly -commenced, the first as long as the two following, the second -subtriangular, and receiving the first recurrent nervure about its -centre, and the third lunulate, and receiving the second recurrent -nervure also about the centre; _legs_ short, stout, the _tibiæ_ slightly -spinulose externally; _claws_ very small, short, robust and simple. -ABDOMEN obtusely conical, truncated at the base, its terminal segment -triangular, and the lateral margins slightly reflected. - -The MALE scarcely differs, excepting in the usual male characteristics, -and that the apical segment of the abdomen is rounded and margined. - - - NATIVE SPECIES. - - 1. _variegatus_, Linnæus, ♂ ♀. 3-4 lines. (Plate XI. fig. 2 ♂ ♀.) - _variegatus_, Kirby. - - - GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. - -It is difficult to assign a reason for the name of this genus, or to -trace an applicable derivation from _ἐπίαλος_, for the insect in no way -suits, either directly or by anti-phrase, any of the significations of -this word. It is one of the prettiest of our little bees, and is -parasitical upon the _Colletes Daviesiana_, and it may be found in -abundance wherever the metropolis of this species occurs. There is one -special locality near Bexley, in Kent, a vertical sandbank within a few -hundred yards of the village, where I have always found it in the spring -months, and have there taken it as numerously as I wished. I have -already alluded, in another part of this work, to the uniformly greater -beauty of the parasitical bees, to those which they infest, and their -exceedingly different appearance in every case excepting in that of the -genus _Apathus_. We might have expected that they would have been -disguised like these, the better to carry on their nefarious practices, -but what can well be more dissimilar than _Epeolus_ and _Colletes_, or -than _Nomada_ and all its supporters, and the same of _Melecta_, -_Cœlioxys_, and _Stelis_. These facts puzzle investigation for a reason; -nor will the perplexity be speedily solved. All that we can surmise is -that there must be a motive for it, for wherever we successfully elicit -her secret from the veiled goddess, we invariably find the reason -founded in profound wisdom. In some cases the mystery seems devised to -test our sagacity, but it cannot be so here, for the most palpable and -plausible cause that would suggest itself in the supposition of its -being for the guardianship and apprisal of the sitos is often -contravened, as in this instance, by it and its parasite living in great -harmony together, again by the desertion of its nidus by _Eucera_ in -favour of the parasite, although itself is a very much more powerful -insect; but in the cases of _Panurgus_, _Halictus_, and _Andrena_, they -all live well reconciled to the intrusion of the stranger’s young, and -this, without their enumeration, may be adopted as nearly the universal -case. The hostility of _Anthophora_, previously noticed, is an almost -insulated case of the contrary. The form of these insects does not -promise much activity, and we accordingly find that they are slow, -heavy, and indolent; yet they must be cautiously handled, for they sting -acutely; but indeed it is not well ever to handle insects whose -markings, as we find them in these, consist of a close nap, as -evanescent as the down upon a plum, and of course the fingers carry it -readily off, and disfigure the beauty of the little specimen. When their -special habitat is not known they may often be found upon the blossoming -Ragwort in the vicinity, or upon the Mouse-ear Hawkweed (_Hieracium -murorum_) within whose flowers they are frequently observed enjoying -their siesta. - - ------- - - b. _With two submarginal cells._ - Genus 17. STELIS, _Panzer_. - (Plate XI. fig. 3 ♂ ♀.) - APIS ** _c_, 1 _β_, Kirby. - -_Gen. Char._: BODY glabrous, much punctured. HEAD transverse, curving -posteriorly to the thorax, where it is angulated laterally; _ocelli_ in -a triangle at the summit of the vertex; _antennæ_ short, slender, -filiform, scarcely geniculated, the scape about as long as the three -first joints of the flagellum, all the joints of which are subequal but -slightly increasing in length towards the apical one, which is a little -compressed laterally; _face_ entirely flat; _clypeus_ transverse, rather -convex; _labrum_ elongate, convex; _mandibles_ robust, tridentate, the -external tooth considerably the stoutest; _cibarial apparatus_ long, -tongue three times as long as the labium, slightly inflated in the -centre, and terminating in a small knob; _paraglossæ_ very short, not -more than one-sixth the length of the tongue and acuminate; _labial -palpi_ about two-thirds the length of the tongue, the two first joints -membranous, the basal one the most robust, and both tapering to an acute -apex, shortly before which the two very short subclavate terminal joints -articulate; _labium_ about one-third the length of the tongue, its -inosculation trifid, the central division considerably the longest and -truncated at its extremity; _maxillæ_ subhastate, nearly as long as the -tongue, acutely acuminated towards their apex; _maxillary palpi_ very -short, two-jointed, the basal joint subclavate and slightly the longest, -and inserted in a circular cavity, the terminal joint short ovate. -THORAX subglobose; _prothorax_ inconspicuous; _mesothorax_ very convex; -_scutellum_ lunulate, very gibbous, and impending over the -post-scutellum and metathorax, mucronated laterally; _metathorax_ -abruptly truncated; _wings_ with two submarginal cells, and a third very -slightly commenced, the two subequal, the second being the largest and -receiving the first submarginal cell near its commencement and the -second at the inosculation of the terminal transverso-cubital nervure; -_legs_ short, moderately stout, the _tibiæ_ very slightly setose -externally; _claws_ short, bifid, the internal tooth near the external. -ABDOMEN oblong, truncated at its base, very convex above and flat -beneath, deflexed towards its extremity, and the terminal segment almost -rounded, being very slightly produced in the centre and margined. - -The MALE scarcely differs, excepting in the usual male characteristics, -and by the apical segment being obsoletely tridentate. - - - NATIVE SPECIES. - - 1. _aterrima_, Panzer, ♂ ♀. 4-4½ lines. - _punctulatissima_, Kirby, - 2. _phæoptera_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 4-4½ lines. (Plate XI. fig. 3 ♂ ♀.) - 3. _octomaculata_, Smith, ♂ ♀. 3 lines. - - - GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. - -The name of this genus may be derived from _στελὶς_, _a sort of -parasitical plant_, perhaps _mistletoe_, if we could be sure that Panzer -imposed it after being aware of the parasitical nature of these bees. It -is true his book (the ‘Revision’) was published in 1805, and Kirby, who -first intimated a suspicion of such cuckoo-like habits in some of the -bees, published his in 1802; therefore it might have been given in -allusion to that peculiarity of their economy, but it may also be from -_στηλὶς_, _a little column_, in application to their cylindrical form. -In but few of the parasitical bees do we know the precise nature of -their transformations, I have therefore been obliged to be silent upon -this point of their natural history, and I have nothing to state of its -nature in these, although I expect there is much uniformity with but -slight modifications in all. The species of this genus are parasitical -upon the _Osmiæ_; thus the _S. phæoptera_ is found to infest the _O. -fulviventris_, and the _S. octomaculata_ intrudes itself into the nests -of _O. leucomelana_, both of which occur tolerably abundantly near -Bristol. I have no doubt that the south-west and west of England, if -well searched, would yield many choice insects. - -It is singular that bee-parasitism does not prevail throughout all the -genera of bees, some being subject to it and others not. Thus the genera -_Colletes_, _Andrena_, _Halictus_, _Panurgus_, _Eucera_, _Anthophora_, -_Saropoda_, _Megachile_, _Osmia_, and _Bombus_ have all parasites, -whereas the genera _Cilissa_, _Macropis_, _Dasypoda_, _Ceratina_, -_Anthidium_, _Chelostoma_, _Heriades_, _Anthocopa_, and _Apis_ have -none, as far as we yet know; and some of the genera of parasites -frequent two or more genera indifferently, whilst others are restricted -to a single one; also some of the species of the parasitical genera -infest indifferently several of the species of the genus to which their -parasitism is mainly limited; other species have a more circumscribed -range and do not visit the nests of more than a single species. What law -may control all these seeming anomalies we cannot discover,—it may -possibly be scent that guides them, and this may control their -parasitism by indicating the species they are taught by their instinct -to be most suitable from the quality of the pollen with which it -supplies its own nest, to be that which is best adapted for the nurture -of their young. It is not likely that we shall very speedily lift the -veil from these mysteries, but they are suggestive of observation which -in seeking one thing may fall upon another equally interesting. - -I have usually caught these insects settled upon the leaves of shrubs, -especially of fruit bushes, particularly that of the black currant, upon -which, in a favourable locality, many bees, as well as numerous small -fossorial _Hymenoptera_ may be found in genial weather. I have never -caught them upon flowers, nor do I know what flowers they frequent. The -end of May, if warm, and throughout June, they are usually found most -abundantly. - - ------- - - Genus 18. CŒLIOXYS, _Latreille_. - (Plate XII. fig. 1 ♂ ♀.) - APIS ** _c_ 1 _α_, _Kirby_. - -_Gen. Char._: BODY subglabrous. HEAD transverse, concave posteriorly to -fit the anterior portion of the thorax; _ocelli_ in a triangle on the -vertex; _antennæ_ filiform, short, subgeniculated, the basal joint of -the flagellum globose, the second subclavate, and all from the second -subequal, the terminal joint compressed laterally; _face_ flat, very -pubescent; _clypeus_ ovate, concavely truncated in front, its surface -convex; _labrum_ oblong, with its sides parallel, but with lateral -processes at its articulation; _mandibles_ broad, quadridentate; -_cibarial apparatus_ long, the _tongue_ very long, nearly three times -the length of the labium, linear but slightly inflated in the centre, -and thence tapering to its extremity, and slightly covered with a very -short down; _paraglossæ_ wholly wanting; _labial palpi_ membranous, the -two first joints long, the second slightly the longest, and both -tapering to the extremity of the second, which is acute, and has the -third joint, which is very short and subclavate, articulated before the -extremity, with the terminal one of equal length, and rounded at the -apex, appended to it; _labium_ about one-third the length of the tongue, -its inosculation trifid and equal, and the central division acute; -_maxillæ_ subhastate and acuminate, not quite so long as the tongue; -_maxillary palpi_ very short, three-jointed, the basal joint the -smallest, the second the most robust, and the terminal one ovate. THORAX -subglobose; _prothorax_ inconspicuous; _mesothorax_ convex; -_wing-scales_ large; _scutellum_ produced horizontally, and impending -over the post-scutellum and metathorax, and having at each lateral -extremity an acute, slightly-curved tooth projecting backwards; -_metathorax_ abruptly truncated; _wings_ with two submarginal cells and -a third commenced, the first slightly the longest, the second receiving -both the recurrent nervures, the first near its commencement, and the -second close to its termination; _legs_ slender, spinulose externally on -the tibiæ; _claws_ rather long, slender, and simple. ABDOMEN very -conical, truncated at the base, its segments slightly constricted, the -apical one long, superficially carinated longitudinally in the centre, -and much deflexed. - -The MALE scarcely differs, excepting that the whole of the front of the -head is more densely pubescent; the mandibles are deeply, acutely, and -nearly equally tridentate, the terminal segment of the abdomen is -variously mucronated or toothed at its apex, these processes pointing -backwards, and the penultimate segment is more or less produced -laterally. - - - NATIVE SPECIES. - - 1. _conica_, Linnæus, ♂ ♀. 4-5 lines. - _quadridentata_, Linnæus, ♂. - _quadridentata_, Kirby, ♂. - 2. _simplex_, Nyland, ♂ ♀. 5 lines. - _conica_, Kirby. - _conica_, Curtis, viii. 349. - _Sponsa_, Smith, ♂. - 3. _umbrina_, Smith, ♂ ♀. - 4. _rufescens_, St. Fargeau, ♂. 4-6 lines. - 5. _vectis_, Curtis, ♂ ♀. 5-6 lines. (Plate XII. fig. 1 ♂ ♀) - 6. _inermis_, Kirby. - - - GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. - -This genus is named from _κοιλία_, _belly_, _ὀξὺς_, _acute_, in -application to the conical abdomen of the female. The insects of this -genus are parasitical upon the genera _Megachile_ and _Saropoda_. Thus, -_C. simplex_ infests _M. circumcincta_; _C. rufescens_, _M. -Willughbiella_; _C. vectis_, _M. maritima_; and _C. umbrina_ is -parasitical on _Saropoda bimaculata_. Linnæus, from the different -appearance of the two sexes made two species of them, and from the -circumstance of his having described first the male as _Apis -quadridentata_, this, by the law of priority, supersedes the name of _C. -conica_ as the name of the species, which is its female, and which he -next described, and thus that sex, whose form Latreille adopted as -typical of the genus, is in the series of species totally superseded and -reduced to a synonym. The species of this genus are extremely difficult -to separate from each other, no tangible character presenting itself -conspicuously, although the Swedish entomologist Nylander supposes he -has found one in the plates of the apical segment of the abdomen, -especially those of the venter, in which he detects both a difference of -form and a difference of relative length to that of the superior plates, -and in the males he assumes that the teeth of the apical segment are -constant characters. Not having had sufficient opportunity since this -supposed discovery was made, for the examination of a great multitude of -specimens, for it is only upon such an investigation that it can be -firmly based, I cannot speak corroboratively upon the point, but it is -very possibly a correct solution of the difficulty. - -The peculiarity of these spines at the apical segments of the abdomen of -the males is remarkable, they being straight projecting processes, or -they have even a slight upward bearing. In the males of _Anthidium_ and -_Osmia_ we observe spines also arming the apex of the last segment, but -in these we can trace an evident use, both from the downward curvature -of the abdomen itself, and that same tendency also in the spines. But in -the insects of this genus they have not the same conspicuously apparent -object, the abdomen itself even having an upward curvature, or rather a -greater facility for turning upwards than downwards. These insects -appear to be most abundant in the midland and southern counties, and, -according to Curtis, they are numerously found at the back of the Isle -of Wight. I have usually taken them on the wing and never on a flower, -and I do not know the plants which they may prefer. - - ------- - - Subsection 3. DASYGASTERS (convey pollen on the belly). - _All with two submarginal cells to the wings._ - Genus 19. MEGACHILE, _Latreille_. (Leaf-cutters.) - APIS ** _c_ 2 _α_, Kirby. - (Plate XII. fig. 2 and 3 ♂♀.) - -_Gen. Char._: HEAD as wide as the thorax, flat and broad on the -_vertex_, where, on the anterior edge, the _ocelli_ are disposed in a -triangle; _antennæ_ shortish, filiform, geniculated; _scape_ about as -long as two first joints of flagellum, which increases both in length of -joints and their substance from base to apex, the terminal one being the -longest, and longitudinally compressed; _face_ and clypeus very -pubescent, concealing their divisions; _clypeus_ transversely lunulate, -scarcely convex; _labrum_ longitudinally slightly convex and oblong, -with the sides parallel; _mandibles_ broad, widening outwardly, -irregularly quadridental, the two inner teeth obtuse; _cibarial -apparatus_ moderately long; _tongue_ more than twice the length of the -labium, tapering from the base to the apex, where it terminates in a -minute knob; _paraglossæ_ very short, scarcely one-sixth the length of -the tongue, coadunate at the base and acuminate at the apex, where, in -repose, they lap round the base of the tongue; _labial palpi_ -three-fourths the length of the tongue, the two basal joints long, -subequal, membranous, linear, slightly tapering to the acute apex of the -second, where the third subclavate joint articulates just before its -termination, and conterminous with which is the fourth, shorter than the -third, but also subclavate; _labium_ not quite half the length of the -tongue, with a long subobtuse process in the centre of its inosculation; -_maxillæ_ subhastate, and very acuminate, nearly as long as the tongue; -_maxillary palpi_ very short, two-jointed, the basal joint the shortest, -and the terminal one obtuse at its apex, where it is furnished with -brief setæ. THORAX subglobose, pubescent, the pubescence almost -concealing its divisions; _prothorax_ inconspicuous; _mesothorax_ -convex, subglabrous on the disk; _scutellum_, lunulate, convex; -_metathorax_ truncated; wings with two submarginal cells, the -commencement of a third slightly indicated, the two complete ones nearly -equal, the second of which receives both the recurrent nervures, one -towards each extremity; _legs_ robust, very setose; the posterior -_tibiæ_ slightly curved longitudinally, concavo-convex, broad at the -extremity; all the _plantæ_ as long as their tibiæ and as broad at the -base but decreasing at the apex to the width of the following tarsal -joints, the anterior pair fimbriated externally, and the posterior pair -clothed, on the inner surface, with a dense, short brush, the three -following joints short, subequal, the claw-joint as long as the three, -and the _claws_ with a broad basal inner tooth. ABDOMEN ovate, with -parallel sides, convex above, truncated and concave at its base to fit -the metathorax, distended horizontally in length, or with an upward -curve, the four first segments slightly constricted, and their edges -usually clothed with decumbent down; the terminal segment obtusely -pointed and slightly depressed transversely towards its extremity; the -_ventral segments_ commencing with the second, clothed with parallel -layers of moderately long, straight setæ, which in each parallel are of -equal length, but those on the fifth segment are the shortest, upon all -of which the insect conveys the pollen it collects. - -The FEMALES of the second division of the genus scarcely differ. - -The MALES of the first division differ in having the _head_ slightly -larger and squarer above; the _antennæ_ very slightly longer; the -_mandibles_ more acutely tridentate, with a distinct powerful basal -tooth beneath, terminating the concavity of the organ; the anterior -_femora_, _tibiæ_, and joints of their _tarsi_, excepting the terminal -one, concavo-convex, the four first joints of the latter distended -laterally, and edged with a dense fringe of setæ, the distension of -these joints is widest at their articulation with the tibiæ and they -decline in length to the claw-joint which is long; the _claws_ bifid; -the interior claw acute, but remote from the apical one; the posterior -_femora_ are very robust, their _tibiæ_, much curved, robust, almost -triangular, and externally very convex; their _plantæ_, almost glabrous, -not so long as the three following joints, externally rather twisted, -and beneath furnished with a dense brush of long stiff hair. - -In the second division of the genus the males are destitute of the -distension of the anterior tarsi, these being instead densely fimbriated -externally; the legs in them are much less robust, and more closely -resemble those of their females. - - - NATIVE SPECIES. - - § _Anterior tarsi of males much dilated._ - - 1. _Willughbiella_, Kirby, ♂♀. 5-7 lines. - 2. _maritima_, Kirby, ♂♀. 6-7 lines. (Plate XII. fig. 2 ♂♀.) - 3. _circumcincta_, Kirby, ♂♀. 4½-5½ lines. - - §§ _Anterior tarsi of males not dilated._ - - 1. _ligniseca_, Kirby, ♂♀. 5-7 lines. - 2. _centuncularis_, Linnæus, ♂♀. 4-6 lines. - _centuncularis_, Kirby. - 3. _argentata_, Fabricius, ♂♀. 3-4½ lines. (Plate XII. fig. 3 ♂♀.) - _Leachella_, Kirby. - _Leachella_, Curtis. - 4. _odontura_, Smith, ♂. 4½ lines. - - - GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. - -Named from the great development of the labrum, _μέγα_ _large_, _χεῖλος_ -_lip_, which is characteristic of all the _Dasygasters_, and also of -some of the proximate _Nudipedes_, those parasitical upon them, _Stelis_ -and _Cœlioxys_, and which, too, resemble the sitos in the expansion and -dentated formation of their mandibles, although they do not use them for -the same purposes; this again exhibits an analogy of structure, that -appears in the parasite to be merely corroborative of identity of -existence. - -These are more essentially summer insects than the majority of the -preceding genera, although some of them present themselves with genial -spring weather. The genus may be separated into two distinct divisions -by the peculiar dilatation of the tarsi of the males of some of the -species, but such division is not indicative of a difference of habits, -as is distinctly the case in the genus _Anthophora_, and in which these -combined circumstances Mr. Kirby suggested as acceptable for generic -division, or, as he called it, the institution of another _family_. But -in these we find in both divisions both wood-borers and earth-tunnelers, -and some species are indifferently either as suits their accidental -convenience. The general appearance of the insects is more that of -ordinary bees, and the sexes are more approximate in their habit than is -usually the case. - -With this genus commences essentially those designated as artisan bees, -although _Colletes_ might very suitably come under that denomination. -The species themselves of the genus are called leaf-cutters, from the -habit they have of cutting pieces from the leaves of various shrubs and -trees, for the purpose of lining their nests. The description of the -operations of one species will apply precisely to that carried on by -all, the occasional difference between them being the selection of the -leaves of distinct plants; and it will exhibit the patient industry and -perseverance with which these little upholsterers carry on their -labours. - -Thus _M. centuncularis_, the type of the genus, burrows in decaying wood -or in brick walls, and sometimes also in the ground, and makes use of -the cuttings of rose leaves,—not the petals,—and the leaves of the -annual and perennial Mercury (_Mercurialis annua_ and _M. perennis_). -The _M. ligniseca_ bores into sound Oak and the Mountain Ash, as well as -into putrescent Elm, and uses Elm leaves to line its nests, sometimes -called _centunculi_ from their being as it were patched together. This -is the largest of all our species, and is found very abundantly -everywhere around London frequenting the flowers of the Thistle. The _M. -argentata_, Fab., or _Leachella_ of Kirby, is perhaps the prettiest of -all the species, and forms its tunnels in sandbanks. I do not know what -leaves this species selects, which used to be extremely rare, indeed for -a long time only known by the specimen in the British Museum, until that -ardent entomologist the Rev. F. W. Hope, to whom the University of -Oxford owes its superb entomological collection, brought it in abundance -from Southend, where, during his brief annual stay at his residence -there, he used to find it in the grove which runs under the cliff edging -the terrace of the village; it is extremely local, as that and -Weybridge, in Surrey, are the only two spots where I have known it to be -found. It is one of the most vivid fliers among the bees, and darts -about, especially during brilliant sunshine in June, with the velocity -of a sand-martin, and its note is shrill, but harmonious; it is not -often caught upon flowers, being so extremely alert, but has been seen -to visit the common Viper’s Bugloss (_Echium vulgare_). The _M. -odontura_, the last of the second division, which is known only in a -single male specimen in the cabinets of the British Museum, is one of -Dr. Leach’s west country captures, of which nothing precise is known, -and it is only noticed here on account of the singular peculiarity of -the armature of the apex of its abdomen, which brings it closer to the -genus _Osmia_ in that particular, although the majority of the males of -the genus have the terminal segment slightly furcated. - -In these observations I have commenced with the division which contains -the type, and to which the present name of the genus would attach from -that circumstance, were it ever thought desirable to separate those -species, which have dilated anterior tarsi in the males, into a distinct -genus, but which I could scarcely recommend. In the arrangement of the -species in the preceding list, I have placed these latter first, from -their more symmetrical appearance in the cabinet, by leading down to the -terminal smaller species in due order, from these larger and more -conspicuous ones. - -The _M. Willughbiella_ and _maritima_ prefer decaying wood, and they -have been found upon decaying Willows in the Midland Counties in extreme -abundance; they might be called gregarious were the material within -which they burrow connected in a continuous plane. The _M. -Willughbiella_ makes use of the leaves of the Rose and of the Laburnum, -but the _M. maritima_ seems to prefer the leaves of the Sallow. The _M. -circumcincta_ invariably burrows in banks, confirming the -semi-gregarious habits of the genus, where it forms large colonies, and -it is only by accident that it constructs secluded and solitary nests; -it also makes use of rose leaves for lining its apartments. The insects -are subject to the molestation of bee-parasites of the genus _Cœlioxys_, -the _C. quadridentata_ having been bred from the cells of this latter -species,—that parasite also frequenting the _M. Willughbiella_, and the -_C. vectis_ is well known to infest the _M. maritima_. Thus, it appears -to be only the species of this division with the dilated tarsi that are -exposed to such incursions, there being no record of parasites -frequenting the division in which the males have simple anterior tarsi. -Besides this bee-parasite, they are also subject to the attacks of some -dipterous insect, whose larvæ destroy the larvæ of the _Megachile_. Much -difficulty exists in separating the females of some of the species from -each other; in others the specific character is sufficiently noticeable. -It is a singular concomitant that those males with the dilated anterior -tarsi have the apical joint of the flagellum of the antennæ considerably -compressed and also dilated laterally. - -The proceedings of these bees are very curious. Although the tubes they -usually form are long, they are so constructed as not to branch far away -from the exterior of the material into which they bore,—sound or -putrescent wood or earth, or old mortar joining the bricks of walls,—if -in the second material, they usually follow the putrescent vein, and -their tunnel in every case is rarely further than an inch or an inch and -a half from the external surface. Both the sides of the tube, and the -cells they form within them, will necessarily vary in diameter and -length with the size of the species, but in the larger species they are -about an inch and a quarter long and half an inch in diameter. Some -entomologists have surmised that different species use the leaves of -different plants for lining their cells; this, however, is not strictly -the case, as shown in the preceding remarks; but, although not so, the -series of nests in the same tube are always lined with cuttings from the -same plant; perhaps a varying caprice operates upon each day’s labours -and changes the plant, influenced by the drift of the wind or some -casual freak. - -The cylindrical tube being prepared, which is done very similarly to the -way in which it is practised by all the labouring genera, by the gradual -removal of the particles of the wood, or sand, or earth of which it -consists, the insect’s instinct prompts it to fly forth to obtain the -requisite lining, that the lateral earth may not fall in, or the wood -taint the store to be accumulated for the young, for it is before this -is done that the upholstery is commenced. Having fixed upon the -preferred plant, Rose-bush or Laburnum or Sallow, or whatever it may be, -it alights upon the leaf, and fixing itself upon the edge, it holds it -with three legs on each side, then using its mandibles as the cutter of -silhouettes would his scissors, and, just as rapidly as he cuts out a -profile, does this ingenious little creature ply the tools it is -furnished with by nature. The oval or semicircular cutting being thus -speedily dispatched, with the legs still clinging to the surfaces, the -insect biting its way backwards, the piece cut off necessarily remains -within the clutch of the legs, and, when about falling, the rejoicing -labourer expands her wings and flies off with it with a hum of -delightful triumph, the cutting being carried perpendicularly to her -body. In a direct line she wings her way to the receptacle, and arrived -at the mouth of the aperture within which she has to convey it, she -rolls it to its requisite tubular form and thrusts it forward to the -bottom of the cavity. The first piece for the lining of each cell is -always oval and larger in proportion than the succeeding ones, which, to -the number of three or four, are semicircular, the first piece having an -extra use to serve in forming a concave bottom to the cavity. Having -completed the requisite manipulation, for adjusting it to shape the -external lining of the bottom and sides of the first cell, she withdraws -backwards, again flies off, and, as if she had traced a trail in the -air, or had marked its limpidity with a frothy surge, like that left in -the wake of a ship, to note the road for her return, back she wends to -the same plant, and proximately to the spot of her recent triumphant -exploit renews the operation, but the result of which, this time, is to -be semicircular. Home she flies again, and the arrangement within of -this piece is different to that of the first, for this is simply -tubular, and so placed that it imbricates with its cut margin within the -serrated edge of the first and the third, and in case of a fourth the -fourth also is similarly placed, so that one laps within the other, the -edges of two of these cuttings never being conterminous. The number of -the coatings is apparently regulated by the drier or moister condition -of the substance in which the tunnel is drilled. Another duty has now to -be performed, indeed, that for which all the preceding labours were -undertaken,—the provision for its young, wherein it perpetuates its -kind,—and thus on and on flows the wonderful stream of life, whose -origin who shall estimate through the millennia it has hitherto so -placidly and uniformly traversed, and whose termination who shall -predict? Having completed the requisite store of honey mixed with -pollen, this is carried to the brush with which the under side of the -abdomen is furnished, by means of the posterior legs. The honey and -pollen are gathered from different kinds of thistles, whence it acquires -a reddish hue and looks almost like conserve of roses, and the nest is -filled with it to within a line of its top; the egg is then deposited, -but the coating of leaves, which enclose the cell completely, secures -the store from lateral absorption, although the mixture is rather more -fluid, consisting of a relatively greater quantity of honey than is -usual, excepting perhaps in the case of _Ceratina_, and although no -viscous secretion is used to bind the leaves together, which retain -their position from merely lateral pressure. The cell has now to be -closed, and the artificer knowing that the transverse section of the -cylinder is circular, again flies forth, and without compass, but with -all the accuracy with which Leonardo da Vinci struck a circle with his -pencil, to testify his mastery, cuts the leaf again in that form, and as -surely: and, three or four, or five or six times, repeats this -operation, returning each time with each piece, so many having been -variously observed. The separation between the cells being thus -consolidated, it is further thickened by the lateral, spare, protruding -edge of the leaf first introduced lapping over it. The whole process is -again renewed in the same manner as at first, the bottom edge of the -cutting of the external leaf is again curved to form a concave bottom to -the next cell, and the sides are similarly formed, and each cell fits -the preceding like the top of one thimble placed in the mouth of -another. The repetition of all this is continued until the completion of -the five or six cells necessary to fill the tube, when another is formed -with the same routine, if her store of eggs is not exhausted; and the -orifice of the tube, upon the completion of the last cell, which is -closed in the usual way, is filled up with earth. Should any casualty -interfere with her labours or temporarily derange their utility, without -the obstruction being one that would permanently affect it, the -remarkable patience and rapidity with which the repairs are effected, or -the obstructions removed, is worthy of all admiration,—the _στοργὴ_, or -love of offspring, being the predominant passion which overthrows and -controls every difficulty. - -When full fed, the larva spins a thick cocoon of silk, which is attached -to the sides of the cell; the outer coating of this cocoon is of a -coarser and browner silk than the interior, which is formed of very -delicate threads of a slaty-whitish colour and of a close texture, and -which is as lustrous as satin. The exact period of their evolution from -this state is not recorded, but it is probable that they pass the winter -enveloped in their cocoon as pupæ, and in their season come forth the -following year. - - ------- - - Genus 20. ANTHIDIUM, _Fabricius_. - (Plate XIII. fig. 1 ♂♀.) - _Apis_ ** _c_ 2 _β_, Kirby. - -_Gen. Char._: BODY subglabrous. HEAD transverse, as wide as the thorax; -_ocelli_ in a triangle on the vertex, which is flat; _antennæ_ shortish, -slender, filiform, subgeniculated; the _scape_ stouter than the -flagellum, subclavate, first joint of flagellum globose, the remainder -subequal; _face_ flat; _clypeus_ triangular, truncated at its base, -slightly rounded in front and convex; _labrum_ longitudinally oblong, -the sides parallel and concavo-convex; _mandibles_ dilated at the apex, -where they are quinque-dentate; the _alternate teeth_ smallest; -_cibarial apparatus_ long; _tongue_ very long, tapering to its -extremity; _paraglossæ_ very short, one-sixth the length of the tongue, -coadunate at the base and subhastate; _labial palpi_ more than half the -length of the tongue, the two first joints very long, the second the -longest, and both tapering to the acute extremity of this, where, just -before its apex, the third very short subclavate joint articulates with -the still shorter terminal joint conterminous with it; _labium_ -one-third the length of the tongue, its inosculation with an acute -projection in the centre; _maxillæ_ as long as the tongue, subhastate -and acuminate; _maxillary palpi_ springing from a deep sinus at its -base, very short, two-jointed, the basal joint the shortest, and the -second obtuse one terminating with a few rigid setæ. THORAX subglobose; -_prothorax_ inconspicuous; _mesathorax_ slightly convex, wing-scales -large; _scutellum_ lunulate, projecting and impending over the -metathorax, which is truncated; _wings_ with two submarginal cells, and -a third indistinctly commenced, the second slightly the longest, and -receiving the two recurrent nervures one at each extremity; _legs_ -moderate, subsetose, the tibiæ fimbriated along the edges, the anterior -_spurs_ slightly palmated; the _plantæ_ of the four anterior pairs -longer than their tibiæ, but those of the posterior not quite so long, -and all densely clothed all round with a brush of short close hair; the -_claws_ distinctly bifid. ABDOMEN semicircular, very convex; the base -truncated and hollowed to fit the metathorax; the _segments_ slightly -constricted, the _terminal segment_ transversely concave, and its apex -terminating in three slight angles; the _venter_, which is flat, is -densely clothed from the second segment with parallel layers of equal, -moderately long, shining hair, the segment being distinctly indicated by -these layers. - -The MALE differs in being considerably larger; the _mandibles_ merely -tridentate; the _legs_ longer and more robust; the _tibiæ_ and _tarsi_ -more densely fimbriated externally, and the tarsi relatively much -longer; the _abdomen_ densely edged laterally with short curled hair, -the terminal segment with three processes, the lateral ones strong and -curved internally, the central one shorter and straight, and the -penultimate segment transversely concave, with a strong tooth on each -side curved externally, and the venter glabrous beneath. - - - NATIVE SPECIES. - - 1. _manicatum_, Linnæus. 5-8 lines. (Plate XIII. fig. 1 ♂♀.) - _manicatum_, Kirby. - - - GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. - -The generic name in this instance seems to be manufactured from the root -_ἄνθος_, _a flower_. I cannot trace any other derivation as it may not -be attributed merely to the habits of the species in frequenting -flowers, for is not this the prime function of all the bees, wherein -they fulfil a most important office in the economy of nature? How easy -might it have been to regulate that flowers should fertilize themselves, -as many do without any extraneous intervention, but by this wise and -benevolent ordination a tribe of sensitive creatures is introduced to be -perpetuated by the perpetuation they supply to that which supports them, -and in this circle of reciprocal good offices lend an additional charm -to the genial seasons, by the animation which they give to the face of -nature, in embellishing the plants they visit with their vivacity and -music. - -These bees are gay insects, for both sexes are richly spotted with -yellow, and they present the single instance which occurs amongst our -bees of the male being considerably the largest, and so boisterous is he -in his amours that he forcibly conveys his partner to the upper regions -of the air, where she is compelled to yield to his solicitations. His -whole structure is fully adapted to carry out this violent abduction, as -well in the length and power of his limbs as in the prehensile teeth -with which the apex of his abdomen is armed. - -We have but one species of the genus, although the southern parts of the -Continent abound in them. The habits of ours differ very considerably -from those of the preceding genus. First, in the peculiarity just -described, and then in the formation of their nests. They do not, like -the majority of the wild bees, excavate or bore a cavity for themselves, -but take one already formed by the xylophagous larva of some -considerable insect, such as _Cerambyx moschatus_, or _Cossus -ligniperda_. This they line, to the depth suitable to them, with cottony -down which they scrape from the leaves or stalk of the Woolly -Hedge-nettle (_Stachys Germanica_), the Wild Lychnis (_Agrostemma_), and -other woolly-leaved plants. In collecting this wool the insect is very -active, scraping it off rapidly with its broad mandibles, and as this is -doing she gradually rolls it up into a little ball, making with the -vibration of her wings a considerable hum all the time she is gathering -it, and when the ball is sufficiently large she flies off with it to her -nidus; this operation she continues until sufficient is accumulated for -her purpose, which consists in lining the cavity with the material; she -then forms cells within it in succession, gluing the same material -together to resist the escape of the mixed store of pollen and honey she -intends to fill it with, having in the operation smoothed the sides of -the cell which is closed after the deposit of the egg, and another -similar cell is then proceeded with, and this is repeated until the -selected cavity is filled, or that she has exhausted her store. Having -completed her labours, she wanders away. Sometimes the cavity is large -and admits of the conjunction of many of these cells together; in that -case they are all collectively covered with the same envelope of downy -substance. The larva, having consumed its entire store of food, spins a -cocoon of brown silk wherein it remains throughout the winter, and with -the evolution of spring, feeling its propulsive energy, it changes into -the pupa. In June and July, but earlier if the weather be continuously -warm, the imago comes forth in its maturity, to live its little life of -labour intermingled with pleasure, and in its pleasing hum to give -cheerful notification of its perfect satisfaction. - - ------- - - Genus 21. CHELOSTOMA, _Latreille_. - (Plate XIII. fig. 2, ♂♀.) - APIS ** _c_ 2 _γ_ partly, Kirby. - -_Gen. Char._: BODY nearly glabrous and coarsely punctured. HEAD -subglobose, rather wider than the thorax; _ocelli_ in a triangle in the -centre of the vertex, which is broad and slightly convex; _antennæ_ -short, subclavate, geniculated, the scape nearly one-half the length of -the flagellum and more robust; the first and second joint of the -flagellum subclavate, the basal one the longest and most robust, the -remainder short, subequal, and gradually enlarging to the apical one, -which is obtuse and as long as the basal joint; _face_ flat, slightly -convex between the insertion of the antennæ; _cheeks_ large and -protuberant; _clypeus_ concave, projecting, lobated in front, where it -is slightly emarginate in the centre; _labrum_ elongate at its -articulation, broader than beyond, and from this expansion immediately -and abruptly contracting, from the inner angles of the contraction -waving to about three-fourths its length, whence it is produced into an -equal truncated oblong; _mandibles_ bidentate, external tooth acute, -inner one obtuse; _cibarial apparatus_ long; the _tongue_ twice the -length of the labium, narrowest at its base and obtuse at the extremity, -and clothed with short setæ; _paraglossæ_ very short, coadunate at the -base and acuminate; _labial palpi_ two-thirds the length of the tongue, -with the three first joints membranous and flat, conterminous and -tapering to their extremity, the first joint about one-half the length -of the second, the third twice the length of the fourth, which is -clavate and articulated within the apex of the third; _maxillæ_ -subhastate and acuminate, as long as the tongue; _maxillary palpi_ very -short, rather stout, the joints subequal and the terminal one acute. -THORAX oval, convex; _prothorax_ inconspicuous _wing-scales_ rather -large; _scutellum_ transversely quadrate, convex; _post-scutellum_ -transverse, linear; _metathorax_ gradually declining, with a glabrous -triangular space at its base; _wings_ with two submarginal cells nearly -equal and a third commenced; the second receives both the recurrent -nervures, the first beyond its commencement and the second before its -termination; _legs_ shortish, subsetose, the anterior spurs short, -broad, and emarginate at the apex; the _posterior plantæ_ with a compact -dense brush within; _claw-joint_ long; _claws_ simple. ABDOMEN longer -than head and thorax, subclavate, convex above, retuse at the base, and -the apical segment obtuse at its extremity, the venter flat, its -segments clothed from the second with dense parallel brushes of longish -hair for the conveyance of pollen. - -The MALE differs in having the _head_ less conspicuously globose; the -_cheeks_ less protuberant; the whole body more pilose, the anterior -_spurs_ robust, short, and abruptly obliquely truncated; the _antennæ_ -slender, filiform, much longer than in the female, but not much longer -than the head, and from the fourth to the ninth joints serratulate -within, adapting it to a sharp curve; the _abdomen_ being equal, -cylindrical, retuse at its base, convex above, and flat on the venter, -where it has a longitudinal deeply concave mucro in the centre of the -second segment, which concavity runs along all the subsequent segments, -and it is densely pilose on the fourth; the terminal dorsal segment -being deeply emarginate in the centre and produced on each side into a -broad obtuse process; the _claws_ are more robust than in the female and -bidentate; the posterior pair being subclavate, and their single tooth -abruptly reflected. - - - NATIVE SPECIES. - - 1. _florisomne_, Linnæus, ♂♀. 3-5 lines. (Plate XIII. fig. 2 ♂♀.) - _maxillosa_, Linnæus. - _maxillosa_, Kirby. - 2. _campanularum_, Kirby, ♂♀. 2-2½ lines. - - - GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. - -These insects are named from _χηλὴ_, _a forceps_, and _στόμα_, _a -mouth_,—in allusion to the forcipate form of the mandibles, which are -strong, and cross each other in inaction. - -They and the next genus are styled _carpenter bees_, but they are not -more consistently thus called than might be _Anthophora furcata_ and the -genus _Ceratina_; they, in fact, like the latter, just as often avail -themselves of an empty straw to form their cells in, or the cylinder -that has been drilled by some xylophagous beetle of their own size, as -they themselves drill into palings and solid wood for the purpose, but -when they do this, it is facilitated to them by their powerful mandibles -and their square and strong head. They are certainly very compactly -formed, their structure being indicative of great power, of course -relatively to their size. When they drill their cylinders themselves -they are extremely persevering in its execution, and in the process, the -material they extract, which is like fine sawdust, they withdraw from -the depth of the cavity by passing it beneath them, and pushing it out -at the orifice by means of their posterior legs and the apex of the -abdomen, for they are too long to be able to turn within the cavity they -have formed, its capacity not being sufficient to permit this, as it is -very little larger in diameter than themselves. I have repeatedly -watched them in these operations. - -Having found or drilled a suitable cylindrical tube, they do nothing -further to it but collect a sufficient store of provender for the -nutriment of the young one, upon which they deposit the egg which is to -produce it. The insect then flies away to collect a small quantity of -clay intermingled with sand, and this they knead together by means of a -viscous secretion which they disgorge, and this forms a concrete that -hardens firmly and rapidly; to anticipate its rapid drying they speedily -fly back, carrying this small ball within their mandibles, and with it -they cover over the provision they have collected, and which, adhering -to the sides of the cavity, forms a firm and hard division, effectually -separating it from the next store of provision that is to be accumulated -for the supply of the larva that will be hatched from the egg that is to -be deposited, and the same process is repeated again and again until all -the eggs are laid. In their development, which takes place near -midsummer, the males precede the females by about ten days. They -associate sometimes in colonies, often using the tubes of the straw -thatch which covers cottages for their nidus. - -These bees are subject to the parasitical intrusion of _Fœnus jaculator_ -and _assectator_, which I have repeatedly caught at Battersea, hovering -opposite the cells of these insects bored in the shingles forming the -enclosure of an old garden outhouse. These parasites are themselves -peculiar creatures, forming a type distinct from the Ichneumons, and -belonging to the group _Aulacus_, upon which see my paper in the -‘Entomologist,’ June, 1841. In these insects, the abdomen springs from -immediately beneath the scutellum. _Chrysis cyanea_ and _ignita_ are -also bred at the expense of these bees, neither of the species of which -are uncommon; the smaller one, the _C. campanularum_, which is the -smallest of our true bees, excepting perhaps one or two of the _Nomadæ_, -I used to find in abundance upon the railings of the fields that skirt -Hampstead Heath, on the right-hand going from London, parallel with the -Vale of Health, and thence rising to the Holly enclosure of the Earl of -Mansfield’s mansion. This spot has been productive to me of many very -choice aculeate _Hymenoptera_, and supplied me with them in abundance at -a time when even the chief metropolitan collections were bare of them. -It has also furnished me with several very desirable _Diptera_ of -extremely rare genera. The male of the larger species of this genus -Linnæus called _florisomne_, from its habit of curling up its abdomen -and antennæ, and passing the night in flowers. Those which they chiefly -frequent are the species of Wallflower, and the _Campanula_, especially -the round-leaved Throatwort. - - ------- - - Genus 22. HERIADES, _Spinola_. - (Plate XIII. fig. 3 ♂♀.) - APIS ** c 2 _γ_ partly, Kirby. - -_Gen. Char._: BODY glabrous and much punctured. HEAD globose and curving -to the thorax posteriorly; _ocelli_ in a triangle far forward on the -vertex; _antennæ_ slightly subclavate, the scape not half so long as the -flagellum, the first joint of which is robust, subclavate, and twice the -length of the second, which, with the rest, are subequal, very slightly -lengthening to the terminal one, which is as long as the basal one and -laterally compressed; _face_ slightly convex, cheeks large and convex; -_clypeus_ lunulate, convex, and with two minute central teeth on its -front margin; _labrum_ longitudinally oblong, rather broadest at the -base and slightly waved laterally, concavo-convex and subemarginate at -the apex; _mandibles_ subequal, tridentate at the apex, and the central -tooth obtuse; _cibarial apparatus_ moderately long, _tongue_ twice the -length of the labium, with a small knob at its apex; _paraglossæ_ very -short, almost obsolete, coadunate at the base; _labial palpi_ two-thirds -the length of the tongue, the two first joints membranous and long, the -first one-third the length of the second, which tapers to its acute -extremity, before the end of which the two terminal, subclavate, very -short, subequal joints are inserted; _labium_ half the length of the -tongue, slightly produced in the centre of its inosculation; _maxillæ_ -subhastate, two-thirds the length of the tongue; _maxillary palpi_ -three-jointed, short, robust, equal, and collectively subfusiform, the -terminal one rather acute. THORAX globose; _prothorax_ inconspicuous; -_scutellum_ lunulate; _post-scutellum_ linear, transverse; _metathorax_ -declining; _wings_ with two submarginal cells, and the commencement of a -third indicated, the second larger than the first, subtriangular, and -receiving both the recurrent nervures, one at each of its extremities; -_legs_ short, rather robust, subsetose and spinulose; _posterior tibiæ_ -convex externally and with their plantæ rugose, the latter covered -beneath with a dense brush of short hair; _claws_ simple. ABDOMEN -cylindrical, convex above, retuse at the base, and the first and second -segments slightly constricted at their extremity, obtuse, and from the -end of the third segment sensibly declining to the apex; plane on the -venter, where, from the second segment, the plate of each, excepting the -glabrous terminal one, is covered with a dense brush of short hair for -the conveyance of pollen. - -The MALE differs in the _antennæ_ being rather longer, more distinctly -filiform, the seventh segment of the _abdomen_ concealed under the -extremity of the sixth, and the _venter_ from the third segment -longitudinally deeply concave, the plate of the third itself covered -with hair; the _claws_ more robust and each equally bifid, not -bidentate. - - - NATIVE SPECIES. - - 1. _truncorum_, Linnæus, ♂♀. 3-3½ lines. (Plate XIII. fig. 3 ♂♀.) - _truncorum_, Kirby. - - - GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. - -The names of insects are not always very aptly given, for the only -available derivation of this appears to be from _ἔπιον_, _wool_; in -allusion to the clothing of its venter; but, if so, it should be spelt -without the H, for the first letter is without an aspiration. The habits -of these closely resemble those of the preceding genus, to which they -have a great personal likeness, and therefore their natural history -would be but its reiteration. Our solitary species is a rare insect, but -I expect western England would produce it. It is like those of the -preceding genus, of a uniform black colour, punctured, but it -approximates more closely than they do to the type of form exhibited in -the genus _Osmia_. They visit the same flowers as the preceding genus. - - ------- - - Genus 23. ANTHOCOPA, _St. Fargeau_. - (Plate XIV. fig. 2 ♂♀.) - -_Gen. Char._: BODY glabrous, subpubescent, shining. HEAD subglobose, as -wide as the thorax; _ocelli_ placed in a slight curve on the summit of -the vertex; _antennæ_ short, geniculated, the _flagellum_ subclavate -seen in front, but seen from above, owing to the compression of the -terminal joint, subfusiform, the first joint of the flagellum globose, -rather robust, the second short, subclavate and subequal with the rest, -which increase gradually in length and substance to the terminal one, -which is the longest, and laterally compressed; _face_ flattish; -_clypeus_ subquadrate, very convex and very pubescent; “_labrum_ oblong, -quadrate; _mandibles_ strong, tridentate; _labium_ (tongue) long, -filiform; _labial palpi_ having the third joint articulated externally -on the outer side of the second; _maxillary palpi_ four-jointed.” THORAX -globose; _scutellum_ lunate; _post-scutellum_ transverse, linear; -_metathorax_ rounded; _wings_ with two submarginal cells and the -commencement of a third just indicated, the second very slightly larger -than the first, and receiving both the recurrent nervures, the first -just beyond its commencement and the second close to its termination; -_legs_ short, rather robust, subsetose; the _posterior tibiæ_ externally -convex and the _posterior plantæ_ with a dense, short brush beneath; the -_claws_ simple. ABDOMEN cylindrical, retuse at the base, convex above, -declining from the base of the fourth segment to the extremity, the -first and second segments very slightly constricted, the margin of the -posterior one, at the apex, slightly crenulated, the ventral segments -plane and from the second covered with a dense brush of parallel hair, -excepting the sixth, which is reflected laterally and longitudinally, -convex down the centre. - -The MALE differs in having “the sixth segment of the _abdomen_ -emarginate, and with a strong tooth on each side; the terminal segment -emarginate, thus producing two strong, lateral, obtuse teeth, the -ventral plates of these same segments emarginate at the extremity, and -the emargination fringed with hair; the claws bifid.” - - - NATIVE SPECIES. - - 1. _papaveris_, Latreille. (Plate XIV. fig. 2 ♂♀.) - - - GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. - -Named by St. Fargeau from _ανθος_, a _flower_, and _κοπὴ_, a _cutting_ -or _incision_, from its habit of cutting sections out of the petals of -the common scarlet poppy with which to line the cells it forms within -the cylinder it excavates, just as _Megachile_ does with the leaves of -various plants. It is noticed as British upon the faith of the specimens -introduced by Leach into the cabinets of the British Museum and -presumptively caught in the west or south-west of England, a region rich -in rarities. Rennie in fact tells us that he has found it at Largs, in -Scotland. One of Leach’s specimens I received in exchange from that -establishment in 1842, and which is now in the possession of Mr. -Desvignes, to whom my collections passed in the following year. This -genus forms a sort of combination between the genera _Megachile_ and -_Osmia_, it having the upholstering habits of the former in the mode -with which it lines its nest, and the general habit of the latter. At a -first glance, before its habits were known or its structure examined, -even an experienced entomologist might have placed it under _Osmia_, as -an unrecognised species, for it very strongly resembles the _Osmia -leucomelana_. This proves how very inconclusive habit is as an index to -habits, the latter of these insects drilling into the pith of brambles, -and the _Anthocopa_ tunnelling cylinders into the hardest trodden roads -or pathways and lining them with its crimson hangings. - -From the extreme rarity of the insect, I have been unable to examine the -cibarial apparatus, and thence to ascertain upon what substantial -grounds the generic distinctions are based, which separate it from -_Osmia_. Whether it was these mere habits of the insect which induced Le -Pelletier de St. Fargeau to establish the genus I do not know, but he is -always extremely slovenly, and therefore very unsatisfactory in his -characteristics, which are never framed in a strictly explicit manner. -In consequence of all these difficulties, I have merely been able under -the generic character to introduce such as he has given, which I could -not derive from the personal external inspection of Mr. Desvignes’ -female (my own selection of whose bees for the purposes of this work he -has been so kind as to lend me, and whom I thus publicly present with my -best thanks). I have therefore compounded a character as well as I could -from St. Fargeau’s descriptions, inserted in the tenth volume of the -‘_Encyclopédie Méthodique_,’ and from his work on the _Hymenoptera_, -forming one of the ‘_Suites à Buffon_.’ - -The habits of these bees, as said above, are to excavate vertical -cylinders in hard down-trodden pathways and roads, by the sides of -fields where corn is grown, and where consequently the common red poppy -is abundant. From the petals of the flowers of this plant they cut out -semicircular pieces, precisely as is done by _Megachile_ with the more -rigid leaves of shrubs and trees, and convey them home and line their -nests with them, just as is practised by that genus with those -leaves,—with this difference merely, that a sufficient portion of the -upper edge of the pieces of the petals used is left projecting, for the -purpose of forming a covercle to the nidus, and which, when filled with -provender and the egg deposited, is refolded over it and covered in, and -it is closed up with earth. They then proceed to make another -excavation, which is treated in the same manner, for they deposit only -one larva in a tube. If disturbed in their retreat, they will show -themselves at its mouth, like _Dasypoda_, to see what is the matter. - -I would urge our collecting entomologists, especially those who have the -opportunity of hunting up the west of England, to use due diligence and -strive to confirm the native existence of this bee and add specimens to -the cabinets of their fellow-entomologists. - - ------- - - Genus 24. OSMIA, _Latreille_. - (Plate XIV. figs. 1 and 3 ♂♀.) - APIS ** _c_ 2 _δ_, Kirby. - -_Gen. Char._: HEAD subglobose, concave, posteriorly fitting the -prothorax and about as wide as the thorax; _ocelli_ placed far forward -on the vertex, which is wide and convex, in a curved line; _antennæ_ -filiform, sometimes subclavate, short, and geniculated, the _scape_ -robust, as long as the four following joints, the basal joint of the -_flagellum_ globose, its second joint clavate and as long as the -terminal one, the remainder short, subequal, and gradually but slightly -increasing in length; the _face_ flattish; the _clypeus_ a truncated -triangle, convex; _labrum_ longitudinally oblong, a little laterally -distended at the articulation, from whence the sides are parallel; -_mandibles_ broad at the apex, obscurely tridentate, the internal teeth -obtuse and short; _cibarial apparatus_ long; the _tongue_ three times -the length of the labium, clothed with short hair and tapering from the -base to the acute apex; _paraglossæ_ very short, coadunate at the base -and acuminate at the apex; _labial palpi_ more than half the length of -the tongue, the two first joints membranous and long, the basal one the -broadest, seated on a petiole and not so long as the second, which -tapers to an acute point, before the apex of which the remaining two -short subclavate conterminous joints articulate; _labium_ about -one-third the length of the tongue, acutely produced in the centre of -its inosculation; _maxillæ_ as long as the tongue, subhastate and -acuminate; _maxillary palpi_ four-jointed, rather short, the joints -subequal and subclavate, but the second is both the most robust and -slightly the longest. THORAX oval or globose; _prothorax_ inconspicuous; -_scutellum_ lunulate and convex; _post-scutellum_ transverse and linear; -the _metathorax_ abruptly truncated; _wings_ with two submarginal cells, -and a third distinctly commenced, the second the longest, and receiving -both the recurrent nervures, the first towards its centre and the second -near its termination; _legs_ moderate, setose, the plantæ of all with a -dense brush beneath; _claw-joint_ longer than the three preceding; -_claws_ simple. ABDOMEN short, cylindrical, convex, the terminal segment -slightly pointed, the ventral segments densely pilose in parallel lines -from the second. - -The MALE differs in having the _antennæ_ longer and always filiform, the -ventral segments very concave, and the terminal dorsal segment variously -mucronated, tuberculated, spinose or serrated, and the claws bifid. - - - NATIVE SPECIES. - - 1. _leucomelana_, Kirby, ♂♀. 3-4½ lines. (Plate XIV. fig. 3 ♂♀.) - 2. _spinulosa_, Kirby, ♂♀. 3-4 lines. - 3. _pilicornis_, Bainbridge, MS., ♂♀. 4-4½ lines. - 4. _bicolor_, Schrank, ♂♀. 4-5 lines. (Plate XIV. fig. 1 ♂♀.) - 5. _fulviventris_, Panzer, ♂♀. 4-5 lines. - _Leaiana_, Kirby. - 6. _ænea_, Linnæus, ♂♀. 3-4½ lines. - _cærulescens_, Linnæus, ♀. - _cærulescens_, Kirby, ♀. - 7. _parietina_, Curtis, [V. 222.] ♂♀. 3-4 lines. - 8. _xanthomelana_, Kirby, ♂♀. 4-7 lines. - _atricapilla_, Curtis, [V. 222.] ♀. - 9. _aurulenta_, Panzer, ♂♀. 4-6 lines. - _tunensis_, Kirby. - 10. _rufa_, Linnæus, ♂♀. 3-6 lines. - _bicornis_, Linnæus. - _bicornis_, Kirby. - - - GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. - -Named from _ὀσμὴ_, _sweet-scent_, from some fancied idea of their -possessing the property of emitting a sweet odour; but this, although it -is the case with many of the bees,—for instance, with the genera -_Prosopis_, _Halictus_, _Nomada_, some of the _Anthophoræ_, _Saropoda_, -and the male _Bombi_ and _Apathi_,—I have not noticed in any of this -subsection, the _Dasygasters_, and therefore not in any of the present -genus. It is possible that when richly laden with pollen, this may emit -some smell, but I am not aware that any of the scent of flowers lies in -the anthers or their pollen, although this in some cases has a spermatic -odour pointing to its express function; but be this as it may, such is -their name. These as a group are what are called the ‘Mason Bees,’ from -the habit they have of agglutinating particles of sand or earth mixed -with minute pebbles, scarcely larger than grains of sand, or raspings of -wood combined in the same manner, with a secretion which they emit, and -of which they form their cells. The instinct of the creature prompts it -to be speedy in the operation, as the material, like plaster of Paris, -dries very rapidly to a hard substance. Whether they have the power of -softening the edges as the manufacture of the cell proceeds is not -known, nor whether, as they add the material, it instantaneously -consolidates itself, but the colour of the structures themselves would -indicate a simultaneous mixture. This could not be the case, if the -mortar or mixture were formed away from the domicile and brought home in -little pellets, each being added upon the insects’ arrival, although -they obtain it all from the same spot, whence arises its uniformity in -colour, and they are speedy in the formation of their nests. These cells -are rather rough externally, according to the nature of the material of -which they are composed, but they are very smooth within. The nature of -the cells varies with the places of their deposit, which is dependent -upon the idiosyncrasy of the species. Thus, those which construct their -cells in wood, form them of moistened particles of wood, and those which -make them in cavities of any kind, in the earth, beneath stones, or -within empty snail-shells, make a mortar of earth and sand and small -pebbles. Some are strictly uniform in the selection of the material -wherein they build, but others are perfectly indifferent to its -locality, and adopt either earth or wood, and sometimes the mortar of -walls, sandbanks or chalk cliffs. According to the nature or the size of -the receptacle which they select, is the adjustment of these cells. -Where the cavity is restricted they place them end to end, but where it -is more roomy they affix them side to side, completely adapting -themselves to the circumstances of the locality as I shall instance -below, in the description of the special habits of the more conspicuous -species. I have elsewhere referred to the metallic colouring of many of -the species of this genus, and amongst them is found the greatest sexual -disparity of personal appearance, the _O. leucomelana_, and one or two -of the neighbouring species being, perhaps, the only ones wherein -uniformity of appearance would unite the partners together. The majority -are very pubescent insects, and the females of the terminal species in -the foregoing list are remarkable for a couple of inwardly curved horns, -springing from the base of the clypeus just below the insertion of the -antennæ, an appendage usually a male attribute. - -There is very great dissimilarity in the habits of the various species, -whence no single characteristic will embrace them, nor is there any -distinctive feature whereby the genus might bear subdivision, either -from habits or habit, as will be collected from the following cursory -survey of their special natural history. - -Thus the first species, the _O. leucomelana_, named so from the white -decumbent down which edges the black segments of the abdomen, extracts -the pith from bramble sticks, and its cells are formed and closed with a -composition made of triturated wood or leaves. The cylinders it forms -are usually about five inches deep, and within this it constructs about -the same number of cells proportionate to the small size of the insect. -These are midsummer insects, coming forth in June and July; they are -very local, but seem to abound in the vicinity of Bristol, whence Mr. -Thwaites formerly sent me specimens. A very few days serve for the -hatching of the larva, which spins a slight silken cocoon, and in this -dormitory it reposes until its season again comes round. Under the -influence of the following first genial spring weather, the larva is -transmuted into the pupa, and the active little imago comes forth upon -the settlement of our variable spring, in the merry days of June, and -thus is perpetuated the circle of its existence, but which is sometimes -abridged by its special parasite, the pretty little _Stelis -octomaculata_. Many of the species in the males are distinguished by a -peculiar armature of the apex of the abdomen; the second being named by -Kirby from the circumstance. A very remarkable singularity distinguishes -the males of the third species, in the fringe of short hair that runs -along the flagellum of its antennæ. This, I believe, was first noticed -by the late Mr. Bainbridge, a very active practical entomologist, who -took the insect at Darenth or Birchwood, and distributed specimens with -this manuscript name attached, which has since been appropriated by -another entomologist to whom the science was wholly unknown at that -time, but as it is scarcely consistent with scientific courtesy to adopt -such a course, and as the MS. names of Linnæus and Kirby have been -retained, where it was authorized by their being attached to undescribed -species, I have restored to Mr. Bainbridge his just rights, and have -claimed the same for myself, in the case of _Andrena longipes_, and -which many cabinets must still possess with my name attached, in my own -writing, unless their possessors have chosen to adopt the illegitimate -parentage; for the entomologists of my own standing well know that I -always freely distributed specimens to all who desired them of the many -very desirable insects which I have captured in the course of my -entomological career. The fourth and the ninth species, the _O. bicolor_ -and _O. aurulenta_, have very much the same habits, both usually -burrowing in sandbanks, sometimes however in wood, in which case the -perforation, contrary to the mode of wood-drilling bees, is made -upwards, a sagacity or instinct which saves it much trouble, for the -particles as they are removed by the mandibles are passed beneath the -insect, and their own gravity carries them downwards, and thus the -insect saves itself the labour of conveying them out as they accumulate -in inconvenient quantities. The cells in this case are placed end to -end. When they burrow in the earth, the latter species often associate -gregariously in large numbers, and if they select a cavity, instead of -tunnelling it themselves, and it be too large to take one cell upon the -others, they form them side by side, and thus fill the space. This is -the case when they adopt snail-shells as the receptacle for their -incunabula, and this is done by both these species, and the shells they -select are the empty ones of _Helix nemoralis_, _hortensis_, and -_adspersa_. The capacity of the latter shell being much greater than -that of the others, and too wide for a single succession, she fills the -interval by placing them side by side, and with the increase of the -whorl of the shell towards its orifice she places them across the space, -and thus completes her task. In the former shells, the cavity at first -admits of the succession of but one upon the other, but with its -enlargement she places them side by side, and this repeated fills the -hollow. Its aperture is then closed with earth and pebbles or sticks -agglutinated together, as described at the commencement. The _O. -fulviventris_ burrows in wood, and upon this species the _Stelis -phæoptera_ is parasitical; and that very pretty but extremely common -species the _O. ænea_, in which the male is of a rich bronzy tint, and -the female of a beautiful blue, verging sometimes to nearly black, -burrows also in wood, although sometimes it capriciously selects old -walls or chalk-cliffs, and is subject to the incursions of the same -parasite. Perhaps the most extraordinary species is the _O. parietina_, -figured and named by Curtis, and which he first found at Ambleside; it -has since been found in the Grampians very considerably above the level -of the sea, and it is thus essentially a northern species both from -altitude and locality. It would appear that this species selects some -flat stone of about a foot in surface, lying upon the ground over a -hollow spot. Such a specimen, sent to the British Museum, had attached -to its under side two hundred and thirty cocoons, indicative of a -considerable colony, or perhaps the accumulation of successive years, as -one-third of these cocoons were empty of tenants. These, in their new -depository, continued developing themselves in the perfect state between -March and June, males appearing first. When the transformations of the -season ceased, five-and-thirty were still left to present themselves -another year, and the following spring these were developed; thus, -including those which had already escaped when the stone and its -treasure was secured, three successive seasons were occupied in their -transmutations. It may be a species that requires three years for its -metamorphosis, and the whole deposit of cocoons may have been the result -of three years’ accumulative structure, the vital activity of their -northern life being perhaps more sluggish than in species frequenting -the south. The last species the _O. rufa_, that in which the female is -remarkable for its inverted horns, which must be for some use in its -economy, is perhaps the most common of all. I have found it in abundance -upon old walls with a sunny aspect at Erith, and throughout the pleasant -Crays of Kent. It is indifferent as to the choice of its domicile, -selecting either walls, where I have chiefly found them, sandbanks, or -the decaying stumps of pollard-willows. Its processes are similar to -those of some of the earlier described, but its larva is longer in full -feeding, which, when it has consumed all its provender spins a tough -cocoon of brown silk, wherein it undergoes its changes; some, depending -much upon locality, pass into pupæ in the autumn, others hibernate as -larvæ which are subject to destruction from the attacks of the -_Chalcideous_ insect, _Monodontomerus dentipes_, previously noticed -under _Anthophora_. Some of the _Chrysididæ_ also infest several of the -species of this genus, and I have no doubt that _Stelis aterrima_ is -parasitical upon one of them, although it has not been recorded. The -various species frequent many flowers, especially those abundant in the -locality they inhabit, but the _O. pilicornis_ chiefly affects the -common Bugle (_Ajuga reptans_), and they much frequent composite -flowers, especially the species of the genus _Hieracium_. - - ------- - - Section 2. _Cenobites_ (_dwellers in community_). - Subsection 1. SPURRED. - † _Parasitical._ - Genus 25. APATHUS, _Newman_. - (Plate XIV. figs. 1 and 2.) - APIS ** _e_ 2 partly, Kirby.—PSITHYRUS, St. Fargeau. - -_Gen. Char._: BODY subhirsute. HEAD subglobose; _vertex_ broad, -glabrous, with a deeply impressed cross upon its summit, in the centre -of which the ocelli are placed in an almost straight line and -contiguously; _antennæ_ short, filiform, geniculated, the _scape_ -slightly curved, the basal joint of the _flagellum_ subglobose, its -second joint as long as the terminal one and subclavate, the rest short, -subequal, but gradually increasing in length to the terminal one, which -is laterally compressed; the _face_ flat; _clypeus_ transversely lunate -but straight in front; _labrum_ lunulate, tuberculated laterally; -_mandibles_ broad and obscurely bidentate; _cibarial apparatus_ -moderate; _tongue_ twice the length of the labium, tapering from base to -apex, where it terminates in a small knob, and is clothed with short -hair; _paraglossæ_ obsolete; _labial palpi_ as long as the tongue, the -two first joints long and membranous and tapering to the apex of the -second, which is acute, and about one-fourth the length of the first, it -has the two very short, subclavate, terminal joints, which are -conterminous, and articulated just before its acute apex; _maxillæ_ -subhastate and acuminate; _maxillary palpi_ very short, linear, and -equal. THORAX globose, pubescent, concealing its divisions; _metathorax_ -truncated; _wings_ with three submarginal cells nearly equal, or the -third the largest, the second receiving the first recurrent nervure at -about one-third its length, and the second is received by the third -submarginal cell near its extremity; _legs_ setose; the _posterior -tibiæ_ convex, very slightly enlarging from base to apex, rounded at the -extremity externally, and unfurnished with means to convey pollen; -_posterior plantæ_ oblong, narrowly equal, and not auriculated; _claws_ -bifid. ABDOMEN ovate, convex above, deflecting toward its extremity, and -subglabrous on the disk, the terminal dorsal segment triangular, and its -ventral plate straight at its apex with the lateral angles reflected, -making it concave beneath and subcarinated longitudinally in the centre, -or also triangular and the sides of the prominent angle deflected. - -The MALE differs in having the antennæ slightly longer, in being rather -more pubescent, more highly and rather differently coloured, and its -terminal segment merely rounded. - - - NATIVE SPECIES. - - 3. _campestris_, Panzer, ♂ ♀. 6-9 lines. (Plate XIV. fig. 2. The - fig. marked ♂ by mistake for ♀.) - _campestris_, Kirby, ♀. - _Rossiella_, Kirby, ♂. - _Leeana_, Kirby. - _Franciscana_, Kirby. - _subterranea_, Kirby. - 2. _Barbutellus_, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 6-9 lines. - 3. _vestalis_, Fourcroy, ♂ ♀. 6-10 lines. (Plate XIV. fig. 2 ♀.) - _vestalis_, Kirby, ♀. - 4. _rupestris_, Fabricius, ♂ ♀. 6-10 lines. (Plate XIV. fig. 1 ♂ ♀.) - _albinella_, Kirby, ♂. - - - GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. - -Named from _α_, privative, _πάθος_, _affection_; that is to say, without -affection, from their habit of leaving their young to be nurtured by -others, in allusion to their parasitical instincts, for the young of -these bees are brought up in the nests of the _Bombi_. They form the -only instance in bee-parasitism of the parasite closely, or nearly so, -resembling its sitos, if not always in colour, certainly in habit. -Having no labours to undergo they consist of merely males and females, -but the latter, although very like the large female _Bombi_, are much -less pubescent than these, for they have a broad disk, upon the upper -surface of the abdomen, always smooth and shining. Both sexes appear to -have free in- and egress to the nests of those _Bombi_ which they -infest, without any let or hindrance on the part of the latter, with -whom they seem to dwell in perfect amity. In the times of their -appearance they closely resemble the _Halicti_ and the neighbouring -_Bombi_. Thus the females, after impregnation in the autumn, having -hibernated during the winter in selected receptacles, come out with the -first gleams of spring conjunctively with the large maternal _Bombi_, in -whose nests they have taken their long repose in perfect torpidity; and -as soon as these begin to accumulate the masses of conglomerated honey -and pollen whereon to deposit their eggs, the parasite takes advantage -of it, lays her eggs too, and thus secures food for her offspring. There -being two broods of them in the year, many are gradually developed with -the advance of summer, but the great hatching takes place in the autumn, -when the thistles are in blossom. Then both males and females come forth -in abundance, the latter are made fertile, and their partners enjoy the -brief interval of the still blossoming flowers until the usual period is -put to their existence by natural decay, the first frosts, or the -rapacity of insectivorous birds. Connected with this last circumstance I -have a personal experience to record, and which its repetition would -indicate as being one of Nature’s prompting acts. A lofty sandy level, -very near the high-road which leads at the upper part of Hampstead -Heath, to Highgate, from which road it was separated by merely a band of -whins and coarse grass, used to be a very favourite collecting place of -mine, for there, and in its immediate vicinity, I have often caught, -within a very brief period, more than half the genera, and a very large -number of the species of the fossorial _Hymenoptera_. One particular -little spot was inhabited by _Psen equestris_, rare everywhere else, and -our largest _Cerceris_, who carried on their instinctive pursuits during -all the summer months, but at a particular time in the autumn, varying -slightly with the nature of the season, a flock of wagtails -(_Motacilla_) would alight and make brief work of those fossores which -were still aflight; and this was repeated season after season, as if the -wagtails thought it was time that their own rapacity should stop the -course of these predacious insects. But to return, the female _Apathi_ -then resort to the nests of the _Bombi_ whence they have issued, and lay -themselves up in their winter dormitory. That this must take place -speedily after impregnation is rendered almost conclusive by the fine -state in which their pubescence appears in the spring, which would be -tarnished did they loiter about visiting flowers previous to their -return home. But the labours of the female and neuter _Bombi_ themselves -are now over, and they would therefore find no store whereon to deposit -their eggs. The parasitical allocation of these insects is as follows. -_Apathus rupestris_ infests _Bombus lapidarius_; _A. vestalis_ the _B. -terrestris_, and this forms an instance in which the parasite is not -clothed in the colours of its sitos. But _A. Barbutellus_ has a wide -range, for it frequents the nests of _B. pratorum_, _B. Derhamellus_, -and _B. Skrimshiranus_. - - †† _Not parasitical._ _Collectors of pollen._ - ‡ _Temporarily social._ - Genus 26. BOMBUS, _Latreille_. - (Plate XIV. figs. 3 and 4, and Plate XVI. figs. 1, 2, 3.) - APIS ** _e_ 2, Kirby. - -_Gen. Char._: BODY densely hirsute. HEAD small, subglobose, not so wide -as the thorax; the _vertex_ glabrous, with a longitudinal, short, deep -channel, crossed in its centre by a deeper transverse one, wherein the -_ocelli_ are disposed in a very slightly-curved line; _antennæ_ short, -geniculated, and filiform; the _scape_ half as long as the flagellum, -the first joint of which is globose, the second subclavate, the rest -short and subequal, and the terminal one compressed laterally; _face_ -flat, densely pubescent; _clypeus_ subtriangular, gibbous, its base -truncated, and apex convexly lobated, or straight and margined; _labrum_ -lunulate; _mandibles_ broad at the base, and obscurely tridentate; -_cibarial apparatus_ moderate; _tongue_ twice the length of the labium, -clothed with pubescence to within a brief distance of its apex, and -terminating in a small knob; _paraglossæ_ about one-fourth the length of -the tongue, coadunate at the base, and acuminate; _labial palpi_ -three-fourths the length of the tongue, broad at the base, and tapering -to the extremity of the acute apex of the second joint, which is about -one-fifth the length of the first, the two terminal joints very short -and articulated laterally just before the end of the second; _labium_ -one-half the length of the tongue, broadest at its base, and acutely -produced in the centre of its inosculation; _maxillæ_ as long as the -tongue, subhastate and acuminate; _maxillary palpi_ two-jointed, short, -sometimes equal, and slightly robust, or with the basal joint very -robust, and its terminal joint twice as long and linear. THORAX globose, -very hirsute, whence its divisions are inconspicuous; _scutellum_ -lunate; _metathorax_ truncated; _wings_ with three submarginal cells -subequal, or the third the longest, and a fourth slightly commenced, the -second receiving the first recurrent nervure near its centre, and the -third receiving the second recurrent nervure close to its extremity; -_legs_ robust, pilose, the four anterior plantæ with a dense, short, -setose brush beneath; the _posterior tibiæ_ triangular, very smooth, and -irregularly concave on their external surface, fringed with long pile -along its two external edges, and its extremity tipped with a short -pecten of stiff setæ; the _plantæ_ elongate and broad, nearly equal, -externally shagreened and spinulose, with a longish auriculated process -at the external angle of the superior edge, a dense brush of short, -stiff hair beneath, and a short pecten of stiff setæ edging its -subemarginate extremity; the _claw-joint_ the longest of the four short -subsequent joints, and the _claws_ bifid. ABDOMEN ovate or globose, -deflected towards its extremity, its base retuse, the last segment -triangular, and terminating obtusely. - -The MALE differs in always being more intensely coloured; in having the -_antennæ_ distinctly longer, less distinctly geniculated, the _scape_ -shorter, the third joint of the _flagellum_ almost as short as its basal -joint, and the fourth as long as the terminal one, which latter two are -the longest of all, and the joints from the fourth to the eleventh -severally more or less slightly curved. - - - NATIVE SPECIES. - - 1. _lapidarius_, Linnæus, ♂ ♀ ⚲. 6-10 lines. - _lapidarius_, Kirby. - 2. _Harrisellus_, Kirby, ♂ ♀ ⚲. 6-10 lines. (Plate XVI. fig. 1 ♀.) - 3. _subterraneus_, Linnæus. ♂ ♀ ⚲. 5-10 lines. - _Soroensis_, Kirby? - 4. _Latreillellus_, Kirby, ♂ ♀ ⚲. 5-8 lines. - _Tunstallana_, Kirby. - 5. _hortorum_, Linnæus, ♂ ♀ ⚲. 5-10 lines. - _hortorum_, Kirby. - 6. _Soroensis_, Fabricius, ♂ ♀ ⚲. 5-8 lines. (Plate XV. fig. 4 ♂.) - _Cullumana_, Kirby, ♂. - 7. _lucorum_, Linnæus, ♂ ♀ ⚲. 5-9 lines. - _lucorum_, Kirby. - _virginalis_, Kirby. - 8. _terrestris_, Linnæus, ♂ ♀ ⚲. 7-11 lines. - _terrestris_, Kirby. - 9. _Skrimshiranus_, Kirby, ♂ ♀ ⚲. 5-8 lines. - _Jonella_, Kirby. - 10. _nivalis_, Dahlbom, ♂ ♀. 6-8 lines. - 11. _pratorum_, Linnæus, ♂ ♀ ⚲. 4-8 lines. - _pratorum_, Kirby. - _subinterrupta_, Kirby. - _Donovanella_, Kirby. - _Burrellana_, Kirby. - 12. _Derhamellus_, Kirby, ♂ ♀ ⚲. 4-8 lines. - _Raiella_, Kirby, ♀. - 13. _Lapponicus_, Fabricius, ♂ ♀ ⚲. 5-9 lines. - _regelationis_, Newman. - 14. _fragrans_, Pallas, ♂ ♀ ⚲. 5-10 lines. (Plate XIV. fig. 3 ♀.) - _fragrans_, Kirby. - 15. _sylvarum_, Linnæus, ♂ ♀ ⚲. 6-8 lines. (Plate XVI. fig. 3 ♀.) - _sylvarum_, Kirby. - 16. _Smithianus_, White, ♂♀⚲. 4-10 line - 17. _senilis_, Fabricius, ♂♀⚲. 6-9 lines. - _muscorum_, Kirby. - 18. _muscorum_, Linnæus, ♂♀⚲. 4-9 lines. - _Francillonana_, Kirby. - _floralis_, Kirby. - _Sowerbiana_, Kirby. - _Beckwithella_, Kirby. - _Curtisella_, Kirby. - _Forsterella_, Kirby. - - - GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. - -These, perhaps the most conspicuous of our native bees, certainly the -largest, and probably the most generally known after the domestic bee, -have their scientific generic name from _βόμβος_, an imitative word, -made to indicate the sound of the hum of the insects themselves. They -have many popular names such as bumble bees, dumbledors, humble-bees, -and in Scotland they are called foggie bees. They consist of three -sexes, males, females, and neuters, which differ considerably in size, -the females being very much the largest, and the neuters the smallest. -Of course, individually, like all other insects, there is much variation -among them in the intensity or diversity of the colouring of their -pubescence, from which it is chiefly that they derive their specific -distinctions; in the relative sizes of individuals also there are great -differences. It is the males, as is usual among the bees, which are the -gayest in their attire, and take the widest range of variation, and -sometimes so much exceed the typical specific character in their -markings as to require experience to identify them, and to place them -correctly with their true species, which can only be ascertained with -certainty by the examination of the male organs of generation, which -differ in the various species, but are undeviating in their specific -uniformity. Of this character, which I was the first to discover as -being of specific value for critical determination in the separation of -the species of very difficult insects, I was enabled to make important -use in the genus _Dorylus_, in a monograph on the _Dorylidæ_, an exotic -family proximate to the ants, and which was published in Taylor’s -‘Annals of Natural History’ for May, June, and July, 1840. The females -and neuters of _Bombus_ are less subject to such extensive -dissimilarity, and may be usually associated, by their pubescence, in -their legitimate groups. Form also frequently lends its aid as -subsidiary to their specific identification. - -These and _Apis mellifica_ are our only social bees, which live in -numerous communities under a kind of municipal government which is -considerably less perfectly organized in the present genus than in the -domestic bee, and thence they are called “villagers,” in -contradistinction to the citizenship of the hive bee, earned by its -comparatively metropolitan institutions, and the centralization of its -government, which wholly emanates from the pervading influence of the -queen upon the labours, and, indeed, upon the existence of her subjects. -But the _Bombi_ are under much less social restraint, and admit of -several co-regents in the same community, without its being productive -of any disturbance of social harmony. In the account of the genus -_Apathus_, the last described, we have seen that the _Bombi_ are subject -to bee-parasites, which in some closely resemble the species they -infest, and we have also shown there how these are distributed. The hive -bee is not exposed to such intrusion, although, like these, they have -many enemies. In the very earliest spring months these _Bombi_ are -abroad; for as soon as the catkins of the sallow are ripe for -impregnation, they are on the wing. But it is now that the large females -only are at work, for they have to create their companions before they -can be surrounded by them. Their fruition is the result of the previous -autumn’s amours, at a period too late to form sufficient stores for the -numerous brood they will produce, and accordingly, after revelling in a -brief honeymoon, they resort, like staid matrons, to a temporary -domicile, some cavity just large enough for themselves. In this -retirement they pass the cheerless wintry months, requiring perhaps the -incubation of time thoroughly to mature their fruit. Whether this be the -case or not, as soon as the earth begins to feel the warmth of the sun -upon its return from its far southern journey, and to respond to the -renewed vitality it gives to vegetation, these bees feel its active -influence and come forth. With the progress of the spring and summer -most flowers are exposed to their rifling, but they revel upon the -elegant flowers of the Horse-chestnut, and their hum is the music of the -lime when it is in blossom. According to the species, they select a -cavity for their nest, or construct it upon the surface of the ground, -this being the case with the CARDER-BEES, which gather moss to construct -their residence. In those which inhabit beneath the surface, the -selection of an already formed cavity greatly abridges their labour, and -their instinct prompts them to choose one sufficiently large for the -prospective community, but the nest itself is gradually extended in size -suitable to their progressive increase in numbers. All that the parent -female does at first is to form a receptacle sufficiently large for her -first gatherings of pollen and honey, whereon to deposit her first eggs, -and to form a waxen cruse or two to contain the honey requisite for the -nest operations of keeping these masses moist enough for the nurture of -the larvæ. The material of these pots although called wax is not -properly so, but is an agglutination of collected vegetable matter, for -it is not plastic to the fingers like wax, and it burns, leaving a -carbonaceous residuum very attractive to moisture. The larvæ hatched -from the eggs now deposited produce the first neuters, which spin a -cocoon wherein they rapidly undergo their transformations. They are, in -the first instance, aided to emerge from their silken cot by the parent -gnawing off its top, but subsequently this duty is performed, as the -family increases, by the neuters then developed. The young bee, on -emerging from its cocoon, is not thoroughly hardened in its integument, -and its pubescence also acquires by degrees only its proper colouring; -all this is not long in being effected, but, until they are thoroughly -able to fly forth, they continue to be fed by their elder sisterhood, -for the neuters are properly abortive females. Males, and further -productive females are produced later in the spring, and are smaller -than the normal sizes of those sexes; the autumnal brood, consisting -also of males and females, again resume the full size of the complete -insect, and it is these females which, after impregnation, hibernate and -reappear in the following early spring to be each the parent of a new -progeny. The population of these nests varies considerably in the -several species: in some, as in that of _Bombus terrestris_, there are -more than two hundred, and in that of _B. senilis_ there are about a -hundred and forty; but it is in those that construct their nests above -the ground that the fewest are found. As with the general population, so -with the relative proportions of the sexes, the several species vary. Of -course all these numbers are approximative only, as under certain -conditions they will necessarily differ, nor are the general or relative -numbers identical, even in the same species, in the same season, and in -the same locality. The proportions are usually somewhat like this, about -double the number of neuters to females, and nearly the same number of -males as of females. In some of the communities there are even as few as -twenty neuters, and these, of course, comprise those species which are -most rarely found by collectors. The most pugnacious of all, and the -fiercest in their attacks and most painful in their stings, are those -which live underground or in cavities formed of accumulations of stones, -and it is these which are the least constructive in their habitations, -as if their truculent nature rejected the concomitants of incipient -civilization; for it is those which build moss-nests, requiring a -certain amount of skill, that are the most gentle in their habits. With -the increase of numbers in the habitation, the rapidity of the labours -progresses, and the accumulations quickly increase; but there is always -opportunity for the entire community to find employment, either in -enlarging their nests, when they build them, or in securing them from -the intrusion of water, or repelling enemies, or feeding the young, and -accumulating stores. In collecting pollen they are often covered as if -they had rolled themselves in it, and this they brush from their hairy -bodies chiefly with their posterior legs; sometimes they return in this -disguised condition, and free themselves from it only at home; in other -cases they bring it home collected in little masses upon the corbiculum, -or basket, of the posterior shanks. They may be often caught thus laden, -and I once captured a large female of _B. terrestris_, with the shanks -and plantæ of both intermediate and posterior legs covered with masses -of thick clay, required doubtless at home for some domestic repairs. The -instinct of these bees teaches them that where the tube of the flower is -too narrow for the introduction of their body, and too long for even -their long proboscis to reach the nectarium at the bottom, they may get -at the honey by piercing a hole near that organ, which they know where -to find, and thus they readily get at the treasure that they seek, -lapping it through the aperture and carrying it off. If, in their -collecting excursions, they are intercepted by heavy rains, or loiter -far away too long until the twilight closes, they will pass the night -away from home, and return laden with their gatherings as soon as the -warmth of the sun reanimates them to activity; thus they will often -sleep in flowers, and a nest therefore taken at night is not always a -sure indication in those found within it, of its complete population. In -their amours, the autumnal females evince considerable coquetry to -attract their partners: they place themselves upon some branch in the -most fervid sunshine, and here they practise their cajoleries in the -vibrations of their wings, and allure them by their attractive postures. -The males are simultaneously abroad, and soon perceive them. The -seduction is complete, and they pounce down upon them with impetuosity, -but their brief indulgence terminates in death, for with his abating -vigour the female repulses him, and he falls to the ground never to take -wing again. Amongst their insect enemies the _Dipterous_ genera, -_Volucella_ and _Conops_, are very destructive to their larvæ,—the first -of these genera in its colouring greatly resembling the species upon -which it preys. Foxes, weasels, field-mice, all prey upon them, and, -like schoolboys, often destroy the bee for the sake of its honey-bag, an -instance of which I have before recorded as illustrative of their -endurance of the loss of a considerable portion of the body without its -being fatal. - -The most interesting part of their history is perhaps that upon which I -have not yet enlarged, namely, the structure of their nests. This is -particularly the case with the carder-bees, which felt and plait the -filaments of moss to form its whole enclosure. Such species select a -spot close to an abundant supply of the material; this they bite off and -form pellets of. To these nests a moderately long arched passage is -formed of the same material, of sufficient size to permit the free -passage of the bees to and fro. This necessarily is shorter at first and -leads to a smaller receptacle when the parent bee works alone. But as -her offspring of workers increases, the passage is lengthened and the -nest enlarged. To construct it, when in full activity, the bees form a -chain, one behind the other, extending from the growing material to the -entrance of their passage to the nest, all their heads being turned -towards the moss and their backs to the nest. The first bites off the -raw material, rolls it and twists it, and passes it to the second, by -whom and the succeeding ones it undergoes further manipulation, and -where the chain terminates at the commencement of the passage another -bee receives it and conveys it along this into the interior, and then -applies it itself or passes it to others thus employed where it is -required. A vaulted covering and sides is thus formed or extended within -the cavity by the plaiting or wreathing together of these sprigs of -moss, and the inside of which is further strengthened by being plastered -with a coating of the pseudo-wax, which, however, smells much like true -wax, and with which the lower loose filaments of the moss are -intermingled, that one cannot be separated from the other without -tearing the whole to pieces. Thus ingeniously do these insects enclose -their home. These nests are not always on the surface, but often -cavities of the necessary size are thus lined, and then they are doubly -secure. Within these nests, with the increase of the population the -number of the cocoons of course increases, as they are never used twice -over, excepting that when they are conveniently situated for the purpose -they are converted into honey pots. Thus sometimes several layers are -formed of these irregularly-placed cocoons, of which the longest -diameter is, however, always perpendicular to the horizon. In this way -_B. muscorum_, _senilis_, _fragrans_, and others build. Some use a naked -cavity, and merely secure it in its crevices from the filtering -intrusion of rain or other water, the closing patches being formed of -the usual waxy material. This is the practice of _B. terrestris_, which -associates the largest communities of all; and _B. lapidarius_ seeks -cavities among stones or in the earth, and forms a nest of a regular -oval, but merely clothes the sides, which is done by bits of moss and -grass carried carefully home. The domestic arrangements within are much -the same in all, the prolific females and the neuters being the -labourers, which perform all the duties of building, the collecting and -caring for the young, the function of the males being limited to the -perpetuation of the species. - - Subsection 2. WITHOUT SPURS TO THE POSTERIOR TIBIÆ. - ‡‡ _Permanently social._ - Genus 27. APIS, _Linnæus_. - (Plate XVI. fig. 4 ♂ ♀ ⚲.) - APIS ** _e_ 1, Kirby. - -_Gen. Char._:—THE NEUTER.—BODY nearly cylindrical and subpubescent. HEAD -transverse, about as wide as the thorax; _vertex_ and _face_ deeply -longitudinally channelled in the centre, the latter to the apex of a -small triangular elevated space between the insertion of the antennæ, -and extending to the base of the clypeus, the sides of the face flat; -the _ocelli_ rather large, seated far back upon the vertex in a -triangle, the anterior one in the depth of the longitudinal channel, the -two lateral ones placed further back towards the occiput in a transverse -indentation crossing the longitudinal one; _compound eyes_ very -pubescent; the _hexagonal facets_ very minute; _antennæ_ short, -filiform, geniculated; the _scape_ nearly half the length of the -flagellum and subfusiform, the basal joint of the flagellum globose, the -second subclavate and subequal with the remainder, very slightly -lengthening to the apical joint, which is compressed and as short as the -second; _clypeus_ quadrate, convex; _labrum_ transverse, linear, -slightly waved in front; _mandibles_ broad at the apex, edentate, -obliquely truncated and concavo-convex; _cibarial apparatus_ shortish; -_tongue_ nearly twice the length of the labium, linear, pubescent, and -terminating in a small knob; _paraglossæ_ obsolete, coadunate with the -base of the tongue; _labial palpi_ not quite so long as the tongue, the -first joint four times as long as the remainder, and tapering from the -base to the apex of the second joint, which is about one-fourth the -length of the preceding, and has the two very short terminal joints -articulated just before its acute apex; _maxillæ_ broad, hastate; -_labium_ half the length of the tongue, its inosculation straightly -transverse, not so long as the tongue and acuminate; the _maxillary -palpi_ extremely short, the basal one the shortest. THORAX subglobose; -_prothorax_ inconspicuous; _scutellum_ lunulate and impending over the -post-scutellum, which is transverse and linear; _metathorax_ truncated; -_wings_ with a long marginal cell extending nearly to the end of the -wing, and obtuse at its extremity, three submarginal cells which -terminate at less than half the length of the marginal, the second the -largest and receiving the first recurrent nervure towards its -commencement, the third oblique and narrow and receiving the second -recurrent nervure just beyond its centre; _legs_ slender, subpilose; the -anterior and intermediate _tibiæ_ with a spur, their _plantæ_ with a -dense short close brush all round, the _posterior tibiæ_ triangular, -glabrous within, externally smooth, shining, and irregularly concave, -the edges fringed longitudinally with long hair curving inwards, and -forming the sides of the corbiculum, or basket, which conveys the -_matériel_ of the nest, the apex transverse and pectinated with short -rigid setæ, but wholly without spurs; the _plantæ_ oblong, not quite so -long as the tibiæ, the sides nearly parallel, the upper edge fringed -with long loose hair, subglabrous externally, but furnished internally -with ten transverse, parallel rows of short stiff golden hair, with an -auricle at the outer angle, forming collectively a dense brush, and its -oblique apex pectinated with short stiff setæ, the remainder of the -tarsal joints short, the fourth the shortest, and the claw-joint the -longest; the _claws_ short, robust, and bifid. ABDOMEN retuse at the -base, subcylindrical, convex above, and terminating conically, the first -segment very short, the second the longest, the ventral segments ridged -longitudinally in the centre. - -The FEMALE, or QUEEN differs in the head not being quite so wide as the -thorax, in having the _cibarial apparatus_ very much shorter; the -_mandibles_ distinctly bidentate, the inner edge of the inner tooth -stretching obliquely to the acute inner extremity of the broad apex of -the organ; the _labial palpi_ as long as the tongue, with all the joints -conterminous, the basal one slightly acuminate, the second linear, the -two terminal ones more slender and shorter, the pubescence of the eyes -very much longer than in the neuter; the _legs_ more robust and less -pilose; the _posterior tibiæ_ convex externally, without the lateral -fringes of hair, and their plantæ merely oblong, without the external -basal auricle. The ABDOMEN is also considerably relatively longer; and -has not the central ventral ridge. - -The MALE or DRONE differs from both in being considerably more robust -and more completely cylindrical, and very much more densely pubescent; -the _compound eyes_ contiguous at the summit, occupying the whole of the -vertex, and nearly all the lateral portions of the face, extending below -to the articulation of the mandibles, their pubescence much shorter but -denser than in the other sex; the _ocelli_ large, and seated at the top -of the central portion of the face in a close triangle, a little above -the insertion of the antennæ, and in front of the conjunction of the -compound eyes, the lateral ones of the triangle being closely contiguous -to the upper inner edge of those eyes; the _antennæ_ are more robust and -rather longer; the _cibarial apparatus_ very short; the _labial palpi_ -about three-fourths the length of the tongue, and the joints -conterminous, the _tongue_ robust; the _thorax_ is nearly quadrate; the -_legs_ are nearly naked, the four anterior very slender; the _posterior -tibiæ_ slightly curved, convex externally; the _posterior plantæ_ more -robust, and more convex externally than their tibiæ, they are regularly -oblong, and without the basal auricle, the rest of the joints of the -tarsi are very short. The ABDOMEN robust, and obtuse at its extremity, -but its seventh segment is concealed beneath; the _ventral segments_ -concave longitudinally. - - - NATIVE SPECIES. - - 1. _mellifica_, Linnæus. (Plate XVI. fig. 4 ♂♀⚲.) - _mellifica_, Kirby. - - - GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. - -The name of this genus, _Apis_, adopted by Linnæus as the classical -generic name of the bee, although with him it comprised the whole modern -family of these insects, but which, as now restricted, in accordance -with its limitation exclusively to the congeners of his adopted type, is -the ancient Latin vernacular name of the honey-bee, and to which it has -been ever since uniformly attached. This name, as shown by its -derivative meaning, was originally imposed with direct reference to the -insect’s constructive habits, as was the case with the names given to it -in the more primitive languages before referred to, and which is also -the origin of its Teutonic and Scandinavian appellations—_Biene_, _Bie_, -and _Bi_, whence our own common name for it is obtained through the -Saxon _Beo_, and we have beside Bye or bee, signifying _a dwelling_. -From this circumstance it would seem that a very early and universal -discernment existed of its ingenuity and skill, its significant name -being everywhere analogous. - -The habits and economy of these industrious little creatures have been a -source of greater wonder and admiration the more closely and accurately -they have been observed. They have attracted the thoughtful speculation -of minds of the largest compass throughout all ages, which, reasoning -upon the _modus operandi_ of these insects, have endeavoured to define, -and determine the differences between instinct and reason, with their -precise limitations. But baffled in their attempt to settle whether -these be affinities or analogies, it should rather have persuaded them -to adopt the motto of Montaigne, and exclaim, _Que sais-je?_ Into these -metaphysical discussions it is not necessary to enter, and I confine -myself to the natural history of the insect. - -Although the description of the three sexes which comprise the -population of the hive are technically given above with scientific -precision, it will be as well, perhaps, to recapitulate them briefly, -with their distinctive attributes, in a more popular form. - -They consist of a queen, or productive female, whose function is thought -to be exclusively to lay eggs, but who may perhaps have some hitherto -undiscovered control over the executive of the hive, to be implied by -the confusion invariably following her death or her removal from the -community, and which becomes totally destructive to its organic -constituency unless stayed by another monarch being improvised, or by -one extraneously supplied; one monarch alone rules without a coadjutor, -and without any equal being tolerated, for the presence of a second -queen, or the immature larva of one, even of her own progeny, maddens -her to murderous aggression, or to the impulse of emigration accompanied -with a host of adherents. She never leaves the hive when once her duties -have fully commenced, for by distinction of structure she is rendered -incompetent to execute any of the labours that devolve upon the workers; -her tongue is formed only to lap nutriment; she has no cysts for the -secretion of wax, she is without the honey-bag for conveying that liquid -home, and her posterior shanks are convex externally, and thus deficient -in the concave basket for carrying home the stores of pollen or -propolis, whilst their plantæ are without the little earlet at the top -externally, or the close dense brush arranged in rows within, which aid -these workers in their many manipulations. Her wings are too short to -convey her ponderous body through the air, and her sting becomes -stronger by being curved. Thus she is exonerated from labour by the -incapacity of her structure to execute it, although her duties are quite -as incessant and as arduous, being indispensable to the perpetuation of -the species. - -Her consort, the DRONE, is the male of the hive, and although the queen -is monandrous or single-spoused, and although the hive during the season -rarely throws off more than three swarms, usually restricted to the -accompaniment of a single queen, and thus but three males are absolutely -required, nature is so provident of the great design of perpetuation, -that to provide against the possibility of its frustration, the hive -usually produces about a thousand drones. A peculiarity in the structure -of the drone which facilitates his discovery of the virgin queen when -she issues from the hive on the bridal excursion, which she makes -preliminary to her heading a swarm of emigrants, or assuming monarchy at -home, consists in the vertical enlargement of his compound eyes, which -meet over the brow, and in the posterior expansion of the inferior -wings, which take a broad backward sweep, giving the insect larger -powers of flight, but perhaps required as much by its own bulkiness and -weight as for the purpose of ascending above his bride in the upper -regions of the air; but that its weight cannot be the sole reason is -testified by the analogous structure in the male of the genus _Astata_, -one of the fossorial _Hymenoptera_, where a similar expansion of the -inferior wing is concomitant with a similar development of the compound -eyes, yet in which the abdomen is very small, and this power is -therefore evidently given to these merely to increase the velocity or -the duration of their flight. The rest of the structure of these drones -disables them, like all other male bees, for any labour; and as they -must be sustained as long as they may be of service, the possibility of -which terminates with the last issue of a swarm from the hive, a period -appreciated by the instinct of the workers, they are then driven forth, -but it is in dispute whether the workers destroy them, or whether their -destruction is effected by exposure and hunger, or by the natural -limitation of their lives, for although their tongues are formed upon -the same type as that of the worker, it is considerably less developed, -and appears to be adapted only to obtain nutriment from the honey -already collected in the cells, as they seem even deficient in the -instinct to gather it for themselves from flowers, never being observed -to visit them. - -The last inhabitant of the hive is the WORKER, or abortive female, whose -labour has several phases. A difference of size amongst them has been -supposed to have been noticed by observers as varying with their -occupation and duties, but as they are all constructed in the same -manner, with precisely the same organs, which are of the same form and -in the same situation, this must be a mere imaginative surmise. Their -similarity of structure permits them, collectively, to apply themselves -to the same occupations which the needs of the community may at any -moment demand. Taking them separately with their distinctive occupations -at any given time, without implying by it a permanent separation of -classes, we find them to consist of wax secreters, builders or -cell-sculpturers, honey collectors, pollen collectors, propolis -collectors, nurses of the young, ventilators, undertakers to carry off -the dead, who are perhaps also the scavengers which cleanse away any -occasional dirt, sentinels to guard the hive outside and inside, and -attendants upon the queen, or as the “‘Times’ Bee Master” very aptly -designates them “ladies in waiting,” and at all times many slumberers -are reposing from their toils. That all these duties are transferable, -and consequently are transferred indifferently from one to the other, is -implied by their general capacity for fulfilling them resulting from -this identity of structure, which will be understood as not at all -infringed by the separate capacities I unfold as devolving from their -temporarily limited functions, all being simultaneously in action, but -distributed amongst the several individuals. - -The first important occupation of the worker is the secretion of wax for -the structure of the cells, and, to effect this, honey must be -collected, for it is solely from the digestion of honey that the wax is -produced. This in due course passes from the first stomach or -honey-pouch wherein it is collected, thence to the second stomach, and -then on to the cysts or little bags which run along on each side from -the second to the fifth ventral segments, and correspond and communicate -with eight trapezoidal depressions placed externally upon the plates of -the ventral segments—four on each side, through the concavity of which -the secreted wax exudes in a liquid, transparent, hot state, forming a -thin scale within each, which the air hardens into a white substance, as -the pulp of paper is hardened upon the form into which it is introduced, -or like salt crystallizing into flakes from sea-water in shallow -salines. This, however, is not yet wax, although its essential -constituent, but to become so these scales are removed by the scopulæ of -the posterior plantæ and their auricle, to the intermediate feet and by -these transferred to the anterior pair, which pass them to the -mandibles, where they are masticated and mixed with a saliva issuing -from the mouth, and thus intermingled they consolidate into a white -opaque mass, which issues from the mouth like a thin strip of riband, -and constitutes true wax, plastic to their manipulation. To form this -secretion, the bees having collected the honey themselves in the first -instance, or having consumed sufficient before leaving the hive with the -swarm, but which they subsequently obtain from the supplies stored in -the present hive, hang themselves in festoons in all directions about -its cavity, each festoon being formed by two parallel chains of bees -clinging together; the top bee on each side hangs by its anterior claws -to the top of the hive, and the next in succession grasps with its fore -claws the hind claws of that and so on, until the depth of the festoon -they find to be sufficient, when the bottom bees of each chain swing -themselves together, and cling to each other in the same manner by their -hind claws only. These festoons are speedily suspended, and with a fresh -swarm are in immediate active operation. The secretion requires about -twenty-four hours to complete, and as this is accomplished the festoons -break up, and these secreters convey it to where the sculpturer bees or -builders are moulding the cells, to whom it is successively supplied by -the secreters themselves as wanted, for none is stored, although the wax -of old or dilapidated parts of the hive, or of the vacated cells of the -new-born queens are reconverted to use. These builders are very rapid in -their construction of the hexagonal cells, which, as they are -progressively completed, are stored with honey, this being during the -time assiduously gathered by the honey collectors, and these cells are -interspersed occasionally with those wherein pollen or propolis is -stored, each of which, as the bees collecting them successively return, -is cast into the selected cell by the bee collecting it, who returns at -once to the same employment, whilst the store thus deposited is -immediately compactly pressed in and warehoused by other bees who fulfil -that duty, or who cover it in when the cells are filled, with a waxen -covercle formed of concentric circles; or, in the case of the -honey-cells, to keep the thickened operculum deposited upon it in due -position and repair, after the retiring of the bee which brought home -the fresh store of honey, and which had displaced it to regurgitate her -addition into the cell. This operculum or cover is of a thicker -consistency than the honey itself, and prevents its oozing from the -cells, which would often take place from their uniformly horizontal -position, were it not for the sagacity which prompts them to introduce -this preventive, and which is not removed until the cell is filled; it -is then covered hermetically with its waxen top. - -A sufficient number of cells being ready, and sufficient stores of -honey, pollen, and propolis for the progressive labours of the hive, and -a great number of empty cells all finished for the use of the queen, she -begins to lay her eggs. As these are hatched the duty of the -nursing-bees commences, which is to feed the young, who crave for food -like young birds, and are as diligently supplied by these nurses with a -material called bee-bread, which consists of masticated pollen, the -pollen being exclusively stored and used for the purpose. This is mixed -with some secretion from the mouth, which converts it into a sort of -frothy jelly. These bees are never negligent of their duties, and with -their feeding the larvæ rapidly grow. - -To keep up a necessary supply of air in the hive, and to prevent -suffocation from heat, a certain number of the community are employed in -fanning the passages between the cakes of comb and the whole interior of -the hive, by the vibration of their wings, which thoroughly ventilates -it, and the accumulation of deleterious air is prevented; some, for this -purpose, being posted at the aperture to the hive, where, this vibration -causing a temporary vacuum, the external air rushes in, and the chain of -succession of bees within becoming thus vibrating air-valves completes -the ventilating arrangement. While all these operations are progressing, -a certain number are acting as a militia of citizens, who have -substitutes only in the succession and change of duties. These act as -sentinels, who guard the entrance and patrol the interior and -courageously intercept all inimical intrusion, for the bees have many -enemies, but who are merely so to benefit themselves, and are not -parasites of the nature of the bee-parasites of the solitary kinds; and -where they cannot individually avert it, they obtain collateral aid from -others of their staff. The next class is the attendants upon the queen: -these vary in number from twelve to twenty; they invariably accompany -her wherever she proceeds throughout the hive, for the purpose of laying -her eggs; and whether their custom gave rise to the etiquette which -attends human royalty, that a subject may never turn the back upon the -sovereign, these attendant bees surround her with the head always turned -towards her, and seem to caress her with their antennæ and pay her every -kind of deferential homage, those in front moving backwards as she -advances, and those on each side, laterally, so that they ever face her; -and as they tire others succeed them in their duties. Another set fulfil -the office of keeping the hive thoroughly clean, for the transit of such -large numbers will inevitably collect occasional dirt, as will the drift -of the wind at the entrance of the hive and the action of the -ventilators themselves. Their duty it is also to remove any extraneous -organic body that has forcibly entered and which may have succumbed to -the vindictiveness of the bees. Where they are not strong enough, even -collectively, to effect the removal, as in the case of a mouse or -anything else as large or larger, they then call to their aid the wax -workers and the repairers; these enclose the obnoxious body, which they -have the judgment to know will become dangerous from putrefaction, to -aid in its prevention, by a cerement of wax or propolis, which prevents -any offensive exhalation, and thus secures the wholesomeness of the -hive. - -Here is completed, with the enumeration of those which successively -repose from their toil, the several labours of the community which -inhabits the hive. - -The structure of the workers, which enables them to carry on all these -operations with the requisite facility, is very different from that of -the two sexes we have just described. As before said, they are abortive -females, but, as I shall have occasion to explain lower down, capable of -having this special incapacity removed, if the necessary process -requisite to be adopted for the purpose be applied within three days of -their being hatched into the larva state. The acquisition of the faculty -of fertility entails, however, the loss of all power of pursuing any of -the other occupations of the hive practised exclusively by the workers -in general. The nurture that gives it them converts them into queens, -and moulds them to the structure of this sex described above. As a -remarkable and rare exception, some one or other of these workers will -occasionally have power of laying a few eggs, but which are always those -of drones. The other peculiarities of their structure are its adaptation -to the secretion of wax above described; and their power of throwing up -the honey they have collected in the first stomach or honey-bag, before -it passes on by digestion, somewhat in the way the ruminant quadrupeds -bring up the cud, of course by muscular action, without the convulsion -of vomiting. Their next distinction is that their mandibles are edentate -and more like spoons, and are often so used, or as the plastering-trowel -of masons is for smoothing surfaces. Their legs remarkably differ from -those of the other sexes, all of their limbs being somewhat adapted to -the collection and conveyance of pollen and its manipulation, as well as -that of propolis; but it is the posterior shanks which are specially -constructed for the conveyance of these materials, by being framed -externally like a little basket; being hollowed longitudinally and their -lateral edges fringed with recurved hair, which retains whatever may be -placed within the smooth and hollow surface, and the apical extreme edge -has a pecten or comb of short stiff bristles. The first joint of the -posterior feet have also their distinctive form, adapted to special -branches of their economy. These are oblong, wider than the shank, and -about two-thirds its length, and consequently powerful limbs; at the -outer angle of the edge, nearest the shank, is a little projection -called the auricle or earlet, the inner surface is clothed with ten -parallel transverse rows of close dense hair, and its apical edge has -along its whole width a pecten similar to that of the apex of the shank. -This shank being without spurs, which only the domestic bee is deficient -in, gives the pecten a freedom of action it would not otherwise have, -and enables it to be used together with the earlet opposite to it on the -foot, as an instrument for laying hold of the thin flakes of wax upon -the venter, and to bring them forward to the intermediate legs to be -passed on to the mouth, and there to be converted into wax. The pecten -of the foot and also its brush aid in their removal in case of need, and -help as well both in the manipulation and the storing the materials -collected. Thus, this whole structure, exclusively possessed by the -worker, is pre-eminently designed for the manifold operations of the -hive; and the bee itself and its works are but one closely linked chain -of wonderful contrivances. - -The entire economy of the hive seems to emanate exclusively from the two -most prominent attributes of instinct, that of self-preservation, and -that other more important axis of the vast wheel of creation, the -secured perpetuation of the kind by the conservative _στοργὴ_, or -absorbing love of the offspring. The latter is more eminently developed -in the social bees than in any other group of the family of these -insects. In the solitary bees it presents itself as a blind impulse, -unconscious of its object; for did we admit the consciousness of the -purpose of their labours, we should evidently endow them with reason. -How could they know, without reflection, that the food they store in the -receptacle they form for the egg they will deposit, and which receptacle -is exactly adapted to the size that the larva which will be hatched from -it will take, is to nurture a creature they will never see, and whose -wonderful transformations they will not therefore witness? In the hive -bee the maternal instinct exhibits itself as an energy diffused through -a multitude of individuals, but these witness the results of their -solicitude, and exclusively promote its successful issue; and in these -also the instinct of self-preservation is a diffused impulse, which -likewise includes the preservation of the society. - -As male and female conjunctively make up the species, thus do the -queen-bee and the neuters collectively make up one sex,—the mother,—for -the functions performed by the female alone in the case of the solitary -kinds of bees are, in the genus _Apis_, separately executed. The cares -and labours of maternity devolve upon these neuters, while the -queen-bee’s maternal function is limited to merely laying the eggs with -which she is replete, with the instinctive power of selecting for them -their proper depository,—each of which is adapted in size to that of the -sex which will be produced. Her maternal instinct stops abruptly here, -without the development of an afterthought or care for their future -thriving. The instinct of the neuters, like the anticipative promptings -of the human mother, to prepare the clothing and other necessaries for -her expected infant, has forecast the queen’s needs in its intermittent -urgency, by progressively constructing cells fitted severally in size -for the growth and nurture of neuters, the first developed; of drones, -the next produced; and lastly, of queens, which soon afterwards appear; -she instinctively knowing the proper time and the suitable use of them, -having the faculty of distinguishing them with a view to the deposit of -the particular kind of eggs of which she is for the moment parturient. - -The drones, or male bees, appear to receive life for one substantial -purpose only, which is soon accomplished, but during the short space of -time its successive performance requires, it is incidentally accompanied -with assistance to the general community whilst they remain permitted -occupants of the hive, by aiding in heating and ventilating it,—a labour -repaid by the food, which they obtain from the stores kept open for -daily consumption. Although uncontributive to the acquisition of the -riches of the hive, yet are they indispensable to the perpetuation of -the species, and their murder as supposed by some apiarians, or their -expulsion as thought by others, in either case equally terminating in -their destruction, seems an unworthy return for the important service -performed, although this is restricted to the number of individuals -required by the equal number of queens that may be produced. To this -number their production might be limited, but for the chance of either -or all of these queens failing by some casualty to obtain a prince -consort. To baffle the possibility of this mischance, a very superfluous -number of these drones is hatched, as above stated, which are on the -alert, when each queen successively issues forth upon her bridal morn, -to catch her favouring glances, and be the accepted groom. That they are -not further conducive to the well-being of the hive is the fault of -their structure and of their instinct, which are correlative, they being -as little fitted either in their tongue or their legs for the uses of -the hive as the queen herself. The physiology of their intercourse is a -mystery of mysteries, and would seem to partake of the principle, -modified, of that developed in the aphides, where the vital power passes -on through successive generations by the efficiency of the energy of one -ancestral intercourse. In the hive bee this is not the case, but in -these the one espousal fertilizes eggs to the number of often a hundred -thousand, yet undeveloped and even indiscernible by the aid of the -microscope in the ovaries of the queen, and which become bees -progressively in the course of a couple of years, the supposed duration -of her existence, during the whole of which time she is laying. The -accepted male is destroyed by the effects of the amour, and when all the -queens which are to be the heads of independent communities are -successively fertilized, and have led forth their colonies, the -remaining drones issue compulsively from the hive and are lost in the -wideness of nature, and die by the natural limitation of their -existence, or become the prey of their numerous enemies. - -The neuters or workers are, as it were, emanations of the queen, or the -organs whereby her several functions as a mother are performed, -considering the species as restricted to two sexes, and thus they -comprise with her, collectively, one organic whole. That this is a -consistent view of their condition is further proved by the circumstance -that from their larvæ, upon the failure of a queen, a new queen is -produced upon one being supplied with a certain nutriment that developes -the capacity that would remain inert and abortive, were it not thus -promoted from its primary state. It may be questioned whether the eggs -deposited by the queen in the royal cells are other than neuter eggs, -their subsequent nature being changed by the different quality of the -sustenance they are fed with when hatched, as is the case in the above -noticed defection of a queen. This then would limit the queen’s eggs to -the eggs of neuters and of drones, thus further corroborating the idea -of the existence of but two sexes. - -I have stated above the supposition that the queen’s office may be -restricted to the laying of eggs, but it must be inferred that it has a -wider compass, and possibly comprises some administrative function in -the regulation of the hive, from the circumstance that with her loss the -entire community loses its self-possession and self-control. Labour then -ceases and the hive becomes the scene of turmoil and confusion, and -unless the loss be repaired in the way named above, which their instinct -teaches them to adopt, if any eggs have been already deposited, or if -supplied by the surreptitious introduction of another queen which they -immediately raise to their superintendency, paying her the same -deference they had done to their lost monarch, or would do to a -legitimately native birth, it disperses and destroys the community. Such -a loss in its natural course must necessarily, to be effectively -repaired, take place in the interval after the laying of the drones’ -eggs, and before those of the queens are deposited, for otherwise she -would remain unimpregnated. Having thus shown reasons for supposing that -the hive actually contains but two sexes, and having also shown that the -first phase exhibited of this distributed maternal instinct by which the -neuters form conjunctively with the queen a many-headed and many-hearted -mother, is their preparation of the cells for all the purposes -required,—the next and most important, and the one perhaps which -elevates them vastly higher in the scale of social intelligence and -affection, is the absolute development in them only of maternal -solicitude for the well-being of the offspring. This certainly proves -the existence of the diffused maternity urged, for they feed the hatched -young as the bird does its callow, from hour to hour, and which, when -full grown, they enclose in its formative cell, to undergo its changes -and become one amongst themselves. It is not absolutely determined -whether the functions performed within the hive are restricted to -distinct sets of the workers, but it may be presumed that the duties are -transferable, for the most plausible supposition is, that all the -offices are interchangeably performed by the entire population, possibly -merely limited to daily alternation of individuals taled off each -morning for the day’s duties. That an administrative regulation must -exist under some executive authority, emanating doubtless from the -centralization of all in the queen, and communicated to the rest by her -relays of attendants, may be conclusively inferred, otherwise all might -similarly employ themselves from day to day, and thus overwhelm with one -work the multiplicity of labours required for the well-being of the -hive. For whilst some are secreting the wax from the honey they have -consumed, others are moulding it into shape, others are harvesting the -bee-bread to feed the voracious larvæ, others are gleaning the propolis -for the security of the domicile, others are collecting honey to store -as needful supplies, others are either ventilating or heating the -interior, others act as sentinels and guard the approaches or patrol the -passages within, and will die in that defence like genuine patriots, and -others are in attendance upon the queen in her progresses through her -dominions, and who may individually act as _aides-de-camp_ to convey her -commands to the rest. All these are not fanciful embellishments of the -narrative, but substantial and well-authenticated facts, supported by -the repetition on many sides of careful observations, but perplexing to -human intelligence, for not the least wonder of this conventicle of -wonders—the hive—is that it confounds the astute reason of man to -comprehend it in all its significancies. - -The first necessity of a new colony is the selection of a locality for -habitation, which is usually effected by preliminary trustworthy -intelligencers determining upon a site suitable from its concurrent -conveniences. A sufficient supply of sustenance must be conveyed by the -emigrants to accompany the preparatory construction of the settlement, -until land can be cleared, grain grown, etc., and a year at least will -pass, even under the most favourable circumstances of the exertion of -the greatest industry, concurrently with the most propitious succession -of the seasons, before it can become self-sustaining. But when once the -wheel is fairly on the move, round it spins without interruption or -relaxation. The colony thrives, increasing rapidly in its population; -and where all have put the shoulder to the wheel it climbs the steep and -rugged hill of prosperity, whilst those who are carried onward by its -evolutions, from each of the many successive terraces of this noble -height, survey a broad, cheerful, and fertile landscape, extending -itself with their elevation, spread out to a distant horizon, which many -of the more venturous spirits amongst them, urged by the teeming -increase of their compatriots, have already traversed, and who -themselves are now rejoicing in the establishment of offshoots, which -speedily rival, in successful fruitfulness, the wide-branched -productiveness of the parent stock. - -This is strictly the history of the hive, and the parallelism is -complete, even to the conveyance with them of the preliminary needful -stores. Before a swarm issues from the hive, some fly forth to select a -dwelling-place, and return, it is presumed, to make their report. - -The population of the hive becoming so dense that there is no longer -room for the free and unrestrained circulation of the ordinary -processes of the community, and so hot from the inconvenient -accumulation of such numbers,—for they extend sometimes to as many as -fifty thousand,—instinct prompts a portion of the community to -migrate. This disposition is further promoted by the progressive, or -completed development of some of the young queens. The inveterate and -internecine animosity of these—anticipated rivalry, suggesting, it is -surmised, the murderous desire, but being prevented from its -indulgence by the defensive guardianship of several of the -workers—urges the old queen to abandon at this conjuncture her royal -metropolis. The inclination to do so, it would appear, is already -foreseen by a very large body of her subjects, for if her departure be -delayed by her successor’s protracted incapacity for undertaking the -sovereign rule, the intending emigrants, having already abandoned all -the labours of their old domicile preparatory to their issuing forth, -will cluster in groups about the bee board until she is ready to -emerge. This condition will sometimes last a day or two, and thence of -course all is confusion both within and without the hive, for her -subjects have suspended their labours and she has suspended her -egg-laying, and roams wildly about within, striving, whenever she -approaches a royal cell, or a fully developed young queen, to attack -the latter, and destroy her by stinging her to death, or, to tear the -former to pieces to get at the imago within, which indicates its -apprehension by a shrill piping sound. But she is forcibly dragged -back from this apicidal purpose by the working bees which surround -each, and who now intermit their usual deference to prevent this -destruction, and bite her and drag her back. The future queen of the -abdicated throne having, during this turmoil, returned from her -wedding tour, and being still protected from slaughterous aggression, -the old queen indignantly issues forth. This exodus takes place -usually on a brilliant and warm day, between twelve and -three,—accordingly during the hottest hours. This is the first swarm -of the year, and if the season be very genial it will take place in -May. In this migration she is accompanied by all her most faithful -lieges, which comprise, to the honour of beehood, by very much the -largest majority of the inhabitants, to the number usually, in a -well-stocked hive, of several thousands,—say from ten to twenty, -depending on the population of the hive. - -Having thus issued forth in a body, they shortly alight upon and about -the branch of some adjacent tree, clustering, in as close proximity as -they can, to their royal leader. In a natural state, when duly organized -to proceed, they would thence start for the domicile that had previously -been selected by the emissaries above noted; but, as their natural -habits are not at all perverted by their subjugation to man, we will -pursue their history under his dominion. This will be the more -convenient, for in the comfortable hive to which they have been -transferred by his agency, we shall have every opportunity of exactly -watching their manœuvres by the facilities yielded in its being glazed -for the purpose. We shall thus be enabled to see and follow the -wonderful economy of the hive and its many mysteries, which it would not -have been possible to accomplish in an abode of their own choice,—some -cavity presented by Nature herself, the hollow of a tree, or an -excavated rock. They are, therefore, now housed, and after the survey of -the capacity of their abode, which is a short affair, with all the -prompt energy peculiar to them they at once commence their labours. The -queen is already matured, and ready to lay eggs. In a natural abode the -gathering of propolis would perhaps be a first necessity to make their -home water-and-wind-tight, for they abhor the inconveniences of the -intrusion of wet or cold. It is with this material that they make -repairs, fill crevices, and strengthen the suspension of their combs, -which are hung vertically; and they apply it also to other purposes, -which we shall see hereafter. This material is of a resinous nature, it -has a balsamic odour, and is of a reddish-brown or darker colour, and is -supposed to be collected from fir or pine trees, or from the envelopes -of the buds of many plants, or their resinous exudations, especially -that of the blossoms of the hollyhock. It is exceedingly clammy, and -they have been observed ten minutes moulding it into the lenticular -pellets in which they carry it home in the corbicula, or little basket, -of the posterior tibiæ. They gather it like pollen with the fore feet, -and pass it to the intermediate ones, whence it is taken by the -posterior plantæ, kneaded into shape, and deposited upon the hind -shanks. It dries so rapidly that often, upon arriving home, the bees -which store it have much difficulty in tearing it from the legs of these -collectors. The hottest days only are propitious to its gathering, for -all moisture is injurious to it, and the hottest period of the day, -also, is alone occupied in its collection. It is said that they have -been known to fly as many as from three to five miles for it, from the -circumstance that suitable plants were not to be found within a lesser -radius; but this may be a mistake, for their ordinary excursions are not -supposed to range wider than a single mile or something more, and bees -may be able to find it where we may suppose it not to occur. In the -abode with which we have provided them it is not so urgent a necessity, -this being already wind-and-water-tight, although in the progress of -their labours they find it indispensable, and use it to fasten the -crevices that intervene between the bottom of the hive and the bee -board, and, as before noticed, to strengthen the support of the cakes of -comb which hang from the roof. The name it still retains is that which -was applied to it by the ancients, and signifies _before the city_, as -indicative of its use in strengthening the outworks. - -Conjoined herewith is the imperative need for the construction of cells -for every purpose of the hive, namely, for the storing of the propolis, -and that of the pollen, as also the collected honey, as well as for the -reception of the young brood, for the mature queen is waiting -impatiently to deposit her eggs. Simultaneously, therefore, is the wax -being secreted and elaborated by the processes previously noticed. The -community is already late, and all are at once in active operation, but -four-and-twenty hours must elapse before the cells can he commenced, for -it takes that time to secrete the first batch of wax. Festoons, as -before described, of these wax secreters are hanging in every direction -within the cavity of the hive, and as soon as the process is completed -by the first festoon, this dissolves itself by the several bees -unlinking their feet, and a leading bee proceeds to the top of the -centre of the hive, where she makes herself room from the lateral -pressure of other bees, by turning herself sharply about and agitating -her wings, and there she collects the scales from the surface of her -ventral segments, manipulates them as before noticed, and thus converts -them into wax. The rest follow her, and she collects it from them into a -little oblong mass of about half an inch; whilst other bees from other -festoons are continually arriving to deposit their produce; and as soon -as the mass is sufficiently large, which is speedily the case, a -sculpturer bee succeeds, and the first cell is laterally commenced. On -the opposite side to where this is being framed, two other bees are at -work, moulding the bottoms of two cells in apposition to the basis of -the first one. The wax keeps constantly increasing by fresh deposits, -and the rudiments of more cells are as rapidly formed. These all emanate -laterally, in a horizontal direction or with a very slight incline -towards their base. They gradually form the vertical cake of comb, for -the bottom of one entire range of cells suffices for both sides and -inevitably they are so adjusted that the bottoms of those on either side -are each covered by one-third of the bottoms of each cell on the -opposite side, and so conversely, receiving and communicating strength -by three thus supporting one. Here comes the great wonder of the hive; -here in this fragile structure abides a mystery that has perplexed man’s -keenest sagacity. Is it accident or is it intelligence that instructs -the bee, or is it the impulse of the instinct implanted by that Supreme -Intelligence which gives man his reason and moulds all things to their -most fitting use? - -Ray’s view is precisely this; he says:—“The bee, a creature of the -lowest forms of animals, so that no man can suspect it to have any -considerable measure of understanding, or to have knowledge of, much -less to aim at, any end, yet makes her combs and cells with that -geometrical accuracy, that she must needs be acted by an instinct -implanted in her by the wise Author of Nature.” To support this idea of -the geometrical skill of the bee, he cites “the famous mathematician -Pappus,” the Alexandrian, of the time of Theodosius the Great, who -“demonstrates it in the preface to his third book of _Mathematical -Collections_.” “First of all (saith he, speaking of the cells), it is -convenient that they be of such figures as may cohere one to another, -and have common sides, else there would be empty spaces left between -them to no use but to the weakening and spoiling of the work, if -anything should get in there, and therefore though a round figure be -most capacious for the honey, and most convenient for the bee to creep -into, yet did she not make choice of that, because then there must have -been triangular spaces left void. Now, there are only three rectilineous -and ordinate figures, which can serve to this purpose, and inordinate, -or unlike ones, must have been, not only less elegant and beautiful, but -unequal. [Ordinate figures are such as have all their sides and all -their angles equal.] The three ordinate figures are triangles, squares, -and hexagons; for the space about any point may be filled up either by -six equilateral triangles, or four squares, or three hexagons; whereas -three pentagons are too little, and three heptagons too much. Of these -three, the bee makes use of the hexagon, both because it is more -capacious than either of the others provided they be of equal compass, -and so equal matter spent in the construction of each. And, secondly, -because it is most commodious for the bee to creep into. And, lastly, -because in the other figures more angles and sides must have met -together at the same point, and so the work could not have been so firm -and strong. Moreover, the combs being double, the cells on each side the -partition are so ordered that the angles on one side insist upon the -centres of the bottoms of the cells on the other side, and not angle -upon or against angle; which also must needs contribute to the strength -and firmness of the work.” - -Each cell therefore is in shape a hexagon, that is to say, a figure with -six equal sides, to each of which six other hexagons attach, for each -wall forms also one wall of another hexagon. The basis of each hexagonal -cavity is of an obtuse three-sided pyramidal shape inverted, and -consisting of three rhomboidal plates, each forming one-third of the -basis of the three opposite cells; thus the edges of these three basal -plates of one side support three lateral walls of three hexagons on the -other side. The inverted triangular pyramid thus made by these three -equal rhomboidal plates, form, at one extremity and at each pair of -their posterior edges a re-entering angle, and at the other extremity a -salient angle. From these edges spring the lateral walls of the -hexagonal cell, this shape being superinduced by the form of the edges -of the basal cavity. That the bees should have been thus guided to elect -a form which combines conjunctively the advantages of strength and -capacity evidently proves that it is their instinct which guides them, -which, being an afflation from the highest source, ensures the most -complete perfection in its result. That it cannot be the effect of -simultaneous lateral pressure is proved incontestably by the whole -superstructure resulting from the design of the base; and this is -further corroborated by the base of one cell on one side forming -invariably equal portions of the base of three cells on the opposite -side,—all clearly the result of preconceived design impressed upon their -sensorium. From this combination of forms results the security procured -to the fragile tenement, which consists of the very smallest quantity of -material that will cohere substantially, for the bees are exceedingly -parsimonious of their wax, as if the production of it were attended with -pain or inconvenience, and it is only upon the construction of the royal -cells that a profusion of this choice material is squandered. As soon as -these cohorts of bees are in active operation, it is astonishing with -what pertinacity and rapidity they labour, for within the space of -four-and-twenty hours they will construct a cake a foot deep and six -inches wide, containing within its double area some four thousand cells. -Other cakes parallel to each side of the original are being at the same -time carried forward with an interval between each sufficient for two -bees to pass each other _dos à dos_, and further to promote the -convenience of traffic within the hive, and ready communication to its -several parts, passages are left through these cakes from one to the -other, so that the means of transit are opened, which of course saves -much time. The queen is already making her progresses from one side of -each comb to the other, and depositing her eggs as rapidly as she can, -and is constantly attended by her _aides-de-camp_, as I have suggested, -which act, as they evidently sometimes are, as the emissaries of her -commands. They consist of ten or twelve or sometimes more, and have been -previously described. They are replaced by others as they quit to obey -orders, or as they retire fatigued, so that she is always surrounded. -The number of eggs she will lay in a day is about two hundred. In doing -this she first thrusts her head into a cell to ascertain its fitness, -which having done, she withdraws it, and then curving her body she -thrusts the apex of her abdomen, which tapers to the extremity for the -purpose, into the cell, wherein by means of the sheaths of her curved -sting, which act as an ovipositor, she places the egg at the bottom of -the cell. It is possibly from some taction of this instrument that she -discerns the sizes of the eggs, and thence their respective sex. This -process she continues repeating, passing from one side of the comb to -the other by means of the passages perforated through it, making the -numbers as nearly as possible tally on each side and as opposite to each -other as may be, and she will then go forward to further cakes of comb. -In this way she lays about ten or twelve thousand in six weeks, -depending much upon the propitiousness of the season, but the rapidity -of this laying intermits according to the months; the above estimate is -based upon what April and May produce, as it slackens during the summer -heats and again revives in the autumn, but totally terminates with the -first cold weather. She thus will lay from thirty to forty thousand or -more in a year. - -Apiarians do not state whether the same queen heads another swarm on the -following year, which perhaps she does in those cases of excessive -fertility where her abundance is estimated at one hundred thousand, when -by her sole individual capacity she populates three hives. In the more -usual and ordinary case of her teeming with about seventy thousand, or -fewer, she evidently heads but one swarm. With the described rapidity of -the production of the cells, although the majority are store cells and -not brood cells, conjunctively with her prolific laying, the population -of the hive rapidly increases, which, added to the large original -colony, will enable it in a propitious year to throw off a swarm of its -own; but ordinarily she does not again lay drone eggs and royal eggs -until the following season. The period at which to do this is taught her -by the condition of the hive, as urgent for relief to its oppressive -population by an exodus. The drone eggs are then laid, and are speedily -succeeded by the laying of the royal eggs, so that the males of the -season and the new queens may be hatched almost simultaneously, the -drones slightly preceding the development of the queens. As soon as the -egg of a worker is hatched, which, by means of the high temperature, is -effected in four days after the laying, it, from its birth, is -sedulously attended by the bees called nurse-bees. The little vermicle -is very voracious and is heedfully supplied by these careful attendants, -when it has consumed the quantity of bee bread already deposited in the -cell by some of these nurses as soon as the egg was laid. This bee bread -consists of pollen, taken from the cells by the nurses, where it is -garnered for the purpose, being therein mixed with a slight quantity of -honey. This, in masticating, the nurses intermingle with some secretion -of their own, which gives it a sort of gelatinous frothy appearance, and -upon this the young thrives so rapidly, greedily opening its jaws to -receive it, that in four more days it is full grown, and fills the whole -cell. The nursing-bees then cover this in with a light brown top, convex -externally, and within it the larva spins for itself a cocoon to undergo -its subsequent transformations. This cocoon is spun of a fine silk, -which issues from the organ of the larva called the spinner, in two -delicate threads, which, as they pass out, cohere together. It works at -this labour for thirty-six hours, and then changes into the pupa or -grub; thus it lies quiescent for three days, when it gradually undergoes -its transformation into the imago, and it issues as a perfect insect -about the twenty-first day after being deposited as an egg. The cocoon -it has formed exactly fills the cell it has left, which still continues -to serve as a brood cell until the succession of cocoons with which it -is thus lined renders it too small for the purpose, it is then cleaned -out by the scavengers of the hive and changed into a honey depository, -but the honey stored in such a cell is never so pure as that which comes -from the exclusively waxen cell. Thus is effected the transformation of -the working bee, which, upon the very day of its emancipation from its -nursery, commences its duties as an active member of the community, in -the successive and several labours undertaken for the benefit of the -commonwealth, and these it assiduously follows for the period of its -natural life, which extends to about six or eight months. - -The hive is now in the liveliest activity. The swarm which entered with -the queen, and the large addition to the population which has already -been produced from her incessant laying, are all at their several -avocations. The whole hive, its entrance and the immediate vicinity, and -far around is jocund with the bustle and the buzz of the busy little -creatures going and coming; those returning are all laden, although some -do not appear so, but these are conveying riches home within them, as -they are returning from their excursions with their honey-bag well -filled. There is welcoming recognition at the entrance to the hive, -where, on its broad platform, they all alight, and there many are to be -seen touching each other with their antennæ, or refreshing themselves by -the vibrations of their wings, and in doing this they often raise -themselves on the hind legs, or they are resting for a few seconds -before they enter. Others are to be seen arriving unrecognizable from a -coloured envelope of pollen which mantles them. The incessant hum that -accompanies these proceedings is like the mildest tones of the surge of -the distant sea, or the inarticulate buzz of the voice of large crowds. -In this seeming confusion all obey the strictest order, for each attends -to his own business only; there is no collision or loss of time or -labour, each one fulfilling precisely its own mission. At this period -the hive is a perfect model of order, neatness, and beauty. The combs we -have seen so rapidly growing are to be filled, and fresh cells are being -constantly constructed. The honey there stored from the gradual -gatherings of these active harvesters is partly to be reserved for the -winter’s needs, and is carefully husbanded, for each of these cells is, -when filled, closed by a covercle of wax moulded as it is supplied to -the operator in concentric circles, commencing at the edge, and each -circle being completed before another is begun, and not in a spiral -twist towards the centre. To prevent the trampling of the discharging -bees from injuring the delicate structure of the walls of the cell, each -edge is furnished with a strengthening rim of wax. The bulk of these -stores is never broken, except in bad wet seasons, in times of great -dearth, or upon any suspension of torpidity during their hibernation. -For the ordinary and daily consumption of those of the community whose -labours confine them to the hive, open stores are left. As of course it -occupies the excursions of several bees for some time to fill one of -these vases, and to prevent the liquid flowing out, as it might do from -its exceeding tenuity through the influence of the summer heat, and the -then increased temperature of the hive, as well as from its inclined -horizontal position,—this is guarded against by the precautional -sagacity of the little creatures placing upon it from the deposit of the -very first supply a sort of operculum, as before described, of a thicker -consistency, which lies upon the top of its progressive increase, and -thus prevents its oozing. It lies upon the honey across the transverse -diameter of the cell, and consequently in a vertical position. Its -purpose, like that of the flat pieces of wood which are placed upon the -water of full pails when carried by the yoke, is to prevent its spilling -or overflowing. This small cover has to be partially removed upon the -arrival of a bee with fresh store, which she herself does by tearing -aside a portion of it to enable her to regurgitate into the cavity the -portion she has brought home; upon freeing herself from this she does -not wait to restore the dilapidation she has caused, but proceeds on a -fresh harvesting. Another bee, whose duty it is, then readapts this -cover to its purpose, and repairs it. Their excursions to collect are -variously estimated at from one to three miles, and they make about ten -a day. The bees, in their temporary distribution of labour, are -something like the Indians which have caste, among whom each service has -its special servitor, who never undertakes or interferes with the duties -of another. The collection of pollen is almost as needful to the -well-being of a hive as honey, this being used exclusively as the basis -of the sustenance of the new brood in their larva state, in all their -conditions of worker, drone, and queen, the perfect bee itself never -partaking of it. It is variously commingled upon its application to use -with secretions of their own, which convert it into bee bread or royal -jelly, as the case may be, to fit it for its special employment, which -is done by the nurse-bees, who diligently attend to the nurture of all -the young. The cells for storing this material are not so numerous as -the honey-cells, and they are jotted about without any distinct order, -amongst them. When a bee arrives with her store of pollen on the edge of -one of these cells, she turns round with her back to it and thrusts it -in as fast as she can free it from her legs, both by their aid and the -twisting about of her abdomen, and then, like the honey-gatherer, -commences another journey. As soon as she is gone, another bee -manipulates it with a small stock of honey, and packs it closely in. -Whilst all this is doing, the set which watch the condition of the hive, -like surveyors, to apply repairs where necessary, or to add strength and -further support to the suspended cakes of comb, impatiently await the -return of the collectors of propolis; this they tear from their shanks -as fast as they arrive and as quickly as they can, for it rapidly -hardens, especially in fine hot weather, and they convey it away for -their requirements, whilst those which collected it fly off for fresh -supplies, should more be needed. Concurrently with the execution of all -these things, wax is still being secreted by festoons of bees suspended -wherever there is space, the sculpturer bees are still moulding cells, -the queen is still laying eggs, deferentially attended, as usual, by her -maids of honour; the young brood is still being fed; other bees are -ventilating the hive at its entrance and within its streets and lanes by -the rapid vibration of their wings; the sentinels are diligently keeping -guard to repel the inimical intrusion of wasps or snails or woodlice, or -the moth which is so destructive to the interior in her larva state, -from the covered moveable silken retreat which she constructs impervious -to the sting, and thence with impunity gets at the silk of the cocoons -and consumes the wax, making, when once fairly domiciled, such fearful -havoc in the hive that the bees are fain to desert it,—and the many -other numerous enemies which lust for the luscious honey, or whose -voracity is attracted by the poor little diligent bees themselves, but -who in such contingencies exhibit invincible courage, which, if not -always successful in its efforts, is always meritorious. Where -self-preservation is not the prompter, or the rivalry of love the -instigator, but the duration of which is limited to a season, the feuds -of the animal world all seem to proceed from the urgency of their -gastronomic suggestions, the acrimony of which urges craft and strength -to their most powerful exhibition. To allay hunger, destruction is -perpetrated and order despoiled, and thus our bees become the victims of -the imperativeness of this universal law. But sometimes they are -triumphant over a very large enemy; for instance, an intrusive mouse, or -a slug that has slimed its way through the arched portal. They have been -known to kill these enemies within the hive as they could not make them -withdraw, but perplexity results from their success; they are, however, -gifted with the sagacity to know that the putridity of these masses will -poison with its effluvia the atmosphere of their city which no -ventilation can purify, and they convert that part of their metropolis -into a mausoleum, covering the carcases with a coating of propolis, -alone or mixed with wax, as before noticed. Those which execute this -summary martial law are the sentinels—the armed police of the hive—which -guard its entrance and avenues, and patrol its streets and lanes and -passages. Concurrently with all these doings, scavengers are heedfully -conveying away any particles of dirt or other undesirable superfluity -which may have accidentally found its way in. That all these labours -produce fatigue and exact rest is proved by the circumstance that many -bees are always observed in a state of repose,—perhaps only forty winks -during the day just to restore exhausted energy,—for they are soon seen -again to resume their toil, this inactivity never being idleness. -Whether they proceed with the same kind of employment upon the renewal -of their work is not known, nor how long lasts a particular kind of -labour, but the change of occupation may be one of frequent occurrence, -and it may be presumed that each bee severally and successively -undertakes each task, that the faculty for exercising it may not be -extinguished. It is very possibly a daily change, which circulates -through the entire civic population of workers. - -Although the labours of the bees are divided, we do not find that even -the most successful observers, who have had every opportunity, by the -nature of the hives they possessed, and the sagacity they applied to the -detection of the most minute particulars, have been enabled to discover -that these workers were permanently separated into distinct -classes,—indeed, although surmising from this distribution of labour -that such might be the case, and thus made alert to the discovery of its -positive confirmation by direct observation, they have never been able -to do so; and they strongly deny it, maintaining that these duties are -individually transferable, and that they are not restricted to certain -classes, already sufficiently implied by the organization of the -workers. Huber, it is true, states that the wax-sculpturers—those which -finish the cells to their nicety of perfection—are smaller than any of -the rest of the community, to facilitate their operations within the -cells, which may perhaps be a foregone conclusion. - -The idea of administrative vigilance in the distribution of the labour -of the community is strongly corroborated by the fact that all the -labours proceed _pari passu_ and in equable order, no excessive -preponderance of any particular work having been observed, which would -certainly sometimes be the case were there no limiting control over -their individual action, and thus the harmonious concurrence of all to -one effect seriously disturbed. The supposition is also strengthened by -the unfailing attendance of the queen’s numerous and deferential -retinue, some one or other of whom, every now and then, quits that -service—perhaps as an envoy on business of government—and is replaced by -another. All these many circumstances lead to the presumption that the -queen is the heart of the whole body, the organ which forces forward the -circulation through its diverse channels, giving to all the temperate -pulsation of vigorous health. - -The hive is, of course, quite dark within, and to carry on the numerous -operations which we have noticed are done there, either sight of a -peculiar nature must lend its aid, or some faculty residing in a -sensation analogous to touch, but which it may be cannot be known, nor -where it may lie, but if it exist its organ is most probably the -antennæ. We can, it is true, compute their eyes, which comprise more -than sixteen thousand, namely, about eight thousand in each of the -compound organs placed laterally upon the head, each separate eye being -an hexagonal facet furnished with its separate lens and capillary branch -of the optic nerve, and also edged with short hair; in this hair, -therefore, may lie the particular sensation which guides them, for we -cannot be sure that this large congeries of hexagonal facets facilitate -sight in the dark, as in number and position they do not exceed or -differ from the analogous structure and number of the same organs in -many other insects which we know to be only seers by day, and which -repose at night; but the hairy addition to the eyes of these bees is a -structure not observed in them. - -This constitution of the hive and its various operations continues -during the remainder of the season until the approach of winter cautions -them from venturing abroad, when, if the temperature of the hive is much -lowered, they hibernate and remain in a torpid condition until the -sunshine of the following spring, and with it the flowering of plants, -rouses them again to resume their suspended labours. The population of -the hive having continued to increase, although not so vigorously as at -first, up to the very intrusion of winter, and the renewed year giving -renewed energy to the queen, the population thence rapidly further -increasing, it becomes inconveniently thronged, especially as spring -advances and hot weather sets in. These promptings then urge her to lay -drone eggs, for which preparations have already been made by the -workers, who have already framed for their reception—they being much -larger insects—larger cells moulded precisely in the same manner, and -which are also used occasionally as receptacles for honey, and always -skirt the bottom of the several combs. This task she has completed in -about five days, and it is carried on precisely in the same way as is -practised in the case of the neuters; and they are nurtured by -nursing-workers just like them. Of these eggs she lays, as before said, -about a thousand, and the workers by some instinctive faculty have -framed about such a number of the needful cells. The transformations of -the drone occupy about twenty-four or twenty-five days, of which three -are passed in the maturing of the egg which then hatches into the larva. -This occupies nearly seven days in attaining its full growth, and the -remaining portion of the time is spent in its spinning its cocoon, in -the same way as the larva of the worker does, and it changes into the -imago. To effect all these changes in the transformations of all the -sexes, a heat of about seventy degrees is indispensable, but that of the -hive in summer is considerably higher. They as well as the workers are -assisted to emerge from the cocoon by some of the older workers, who use -their mandibles to bite through the enclosure, and who also help to -cleanse them from their exuviæ. - -Concurrently with the formation of the brood cells of the drones, some -of the workers are constructing cells to receive the royal eggs. These -cells are totally unlike the other cells of the hive, and are of a sort -of pear-shape five times as large as the drone cells, and are attached -laterally to the edges of the comb in a vertical position, with the -narrowest part, which is the orifice, hanging downwards. In the forming -of these cells the workers are very lavish of their wax, making the -coats of them thick and opaque, and they are irregularly rough outside, -but within very smoothly polished. Just as the construction of these -cells intervenes irregularly with the formation of the cells of the -drones, so does the queen intermit at intervals the laying of the drone -eggs to deposit occasionally an egg in one of the royal cells, which are -not usually completed at the time she commences laying them, but are -finished afterwards, even during the time the larva is growing. This -provision seems to be made for the earliest development of the young -queens after the drones come forth, with the possible prevision that the -sooner all of these young queens are fertilized that are needful for the -requirements of the swarms that the hive may throw off, the sooner will -the hive be rid of the incumbrance and the consumption of stores caused -by the drones. The transformations of the queens take place more rapidly -than the others, for in sixteen days they are completed, of which three -are occupied in hatching the egg, and for five they are feeding as -larvæ, and in that time attain their full growth; the cell is then -closed in with a waxen cover by the workers, and the full-fed larva -within is occupied in spinning its cocoon, which it takes twenty-four -hours to accomplish. This cocoon is unlike that of the drones and -workers, both of which completely enclose the pupa, but the royal larva -only forms so much of a cocoon as will cover the head and thorax, and by -which imperfection she unconsciously facilitates her destruction by her -rivals in case they are permitted to attempt it before she emerges,—this -being supposed to be the object of it, as the close texture of the silk -of the cocoon would intercept the action of the rival queen’s sting. In -this state she remains in complete repose up to a part of the twelfth -day, and it takes about four days more to change into the imago, which -is ready to emerge on the sixteenth. In her larva state she has been -very carefully and profusely supplied by her nurses with the royal -jelly, made in the manner before described. This royal jelly is very -stimulating, it is pungent, rather acescent, and is very different from -the food supplied to the drone- and worker-larvæ. A great many of the -drones being now perfect insects, some young queen, that is ready to go -forth, is at length permitted to do so by her guardian protectors, for -the old queen is already aware of her existence, and has more than once -attempted her destruction, but from which she has been prevented. At a -suitable opportunity this young queen issues, attended by a bevy of -drones; she immediately ascends in a spiral direction high into the air, -far out of sight, and is followed by her suitors. Their larger capacity -of flight speedily permits them to overtake her, and they ascend above -her; one being favoured, the rest descend again, and either at once -return to the hive or frolic about in its vicinity. It is not long -before this young queen returns, matured into an incipient mother. Now -comes renewed hostility from her own parent, who is still prevented from -the murderous assault, but who succeeds in ejecting her young rival. -During this contest the hive has become a scene of confusion, and the -preliminaries and accompaniments of fresh swarming take place, and in -going forth she is accompanied by a large body of the present -population, and thus the first swarm of the fresh season is thrown off. -Other queens become gradually developed, and other swarms similarly -accompany them, but each swarm successively diminishes in the number of -its participating emigrants, the last consisting perhaps of not more -than two thousand. The order of the hive is speedily restored after each -swarming convulsion has subsided, until the population being -sufficiently reduced, the motive to leave is destroyed, and the queen is -then permitted to execute her murderous onslaught on the hapless young -queens, which are either still embryonic, or, if developed, have not -been allowed to leave their cells; but, where they have done so, and are -still within the hive, her attendants and the old queen’s attendants -open their ranks, and the furious rivals attack each other. The contest -is sharp but short, the young queen is stung to death, the body is -conveyed away, and the old queen reigns paramount. Her next effort is to -destroy the royal brood in their cells; the cells she tears to pieces, -the young ones within, where developed, may be heard uttering a -plaintive cry, whilst she sounds a triumphant note as loud as the -highest note of a flute. Her throne is now free from pretenders, and -after the expulsion of the drones, which then takes place, the entire -harmony of the hive is restored for another season. The queen meanwhile -is growing old, a new spring has set in, her stock of eggs is being -exhausted, and mortality, which afflicts even royalty itself, lays her -low. Now comes into operation that extraordinary faculty possessed by -these insects. Her death has taken place after she had laid new spring -eggs, which are to produce a further addition of neuters and a supply of -drones. The loss of their queen is soon communicated to the inhabitants -of the hive, confusion ensues, and labour is suspended. They group about -in clusters of a dozen or more, and after about a day’s intermission of -the ordinary routine of labour they appear to have come to a resolution. -Bustle is again renewed, and several, as the delegates of the general -body, pass into the midst of the neuter brood cells, tear down the -separating walls of three, kill two of the very young larvæ, convert -these three cells into one by fitting alterations, and transfer the care -of this vermicle to the nursing-bees. Under their care, they heedfully -feeding her with the royal jelly, her transformations speedily are -completed, and whilst this is being done, drones are coming forth. As -soon as she is ready she is aided to quit her cell. She now leaves the -hive, and the drones which are already perfected accompany her; she -makes her wedding tour in the air, and quickly returns as the -queen-regnant of the rejoicing monarchy, whose vacant throne is again -royally occupied, and the entire harmony of the hive renewed. - -The quantity of pollen that is collected in the course of a season, by -the diligence of the bees, has been estimated at from sixty to seventy -pounds; and the weight of the honey, so affluent a hive will produce by -abstraction from the bees, is calculated at as much as sometimes fifty -pounds. This, however, must be vastly exceeded by the quantity -collected, as it is being constantly consumed for sustenance, and for -the secretion of the raw material of wax, as well as for the production -of the liquid which converts this into its mouldable consistency. It is -possible to estimate pretty nearly the quantity of honey required for -each secretion of the raw material, by finding what the honey-bag will -contain when gorged, as it is this quantity which seems to make the -eight scales of it upon the ventral plates, for they cannot convey more -up when they hang themselves in the festoons to secern it. But it is -impossible to know what addition this liquid from their mouths makes to -it when they manipulate it into its plastic state, other bees often -undertaking this task, which may apply themselves to it with a larger -stock than the wax secreters possess, they being perhaps already -exhausted by their labours. It is a singular fact that wax is more -rapidly and largely made by feeding the bees with dissolved sugar than -from the honey they collect themselves, the sugar thus evidently -containing more of its productive elements. - -Some of the labours within the hive are apparently continued at night, -or the bees may be then revelling, after the day’s toils, in social -enjoyment, or otherwise more worthily employed; for, to use the words of -the benevolent apiarian, the Rev. Wm. Chas. Cotton, “If you listen by a -hive about nine o’clock, you will hear an oratorio sweeter than any at -Exeter Hall. Treble, tenor, and bass are blended in the richest harmony. -Sometimes the sound is like the distant hum of a great city, and -sometimes it is like a peal of hallelujahs.” - -This is the history of the hive and its inhabitants. Modifications may -occasionally occur, but nothing of sufficient consequence seriously to -affect or neutralize this ordinary routine. It would occupy space -already too largely encroached upon to go into these minute particulars, -which, although parts of their general history, where treated of in -special detail, are not necessarily the province of a work which speaks -of them as but one member of the family of which it collectively -discourses. As the space occupied by what was really essential to be -known about them, has exceeded the due dimensions of their share to it, -although of paramount interest, infinitely greater than that which -attaches to the economy of the whole of the rest of the group combined, -it will not, I trust, be considered that I terminate abruptly, in -drawing here to a close. - - -------------- - -The close of the work concurs with the termination of the history of its -crowning marvel; and I take leave of my readers, with a reiteration of -the hope that it may stimulate them to undertake a study, wherein, each -step of their progress, expands the delightful contemplation of the -manifestations of the predominance of a vast design, emanating from the -paternal benevolence of an august, supreme, and wisely superintending -Providence. - - “To-morrow to fresh woods and pastures new.”—_Milton._ - - - - - [Illustration: Decoration] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - GENERAL AND GLOSSARIAL INDEX. - - - Abdomen, 25. - and its differences of form, 47. - causes of differences of clothing and form lie in its use, 48. - colour and marking and clothing of, characteristic, 47. - elliptical, or lanceolate and truncated, 48. - - Acari infest bees, 110. - - Activity of a hive at work, 348. - - Acuminate, terminating gradually in a sharp point. - - Affinity, doctrine of, 136. - - Agassiz’ ‘Nomenclator Zoologicus,’ 130. - - Analogies between the stages of bees and flowers, 15. - - Analogy, doctrine of, 138. - - Andrena, general observations upon, 264 - geography of, 67. - infested by Stylops and Nomada, 208. - list of native species, 201. - natural history of, 205. - scientific description of, 200. - - Andrenidæ, abnormal bees, 160. - diagram of mode of folding the tongue in repose, 39. - - Animals, domestication of, 5. - - Antennæ, 26, 28. - apparatus for cleaning, 42. - form and structure in Eucera, 29. - possible complex function of, 57. - - Antennæ, sexual differences in length, 233. - their probable use, 55, 57. - used as means of communication, 58. - - Anthidium, general observations on, 281. - geography of, 75. - native species, 279. - natural history of, 282. - scientific description of, 279. - - Anthocopa, general observations on, 292. - geography of, 76. - native species of, 292. - natural history of, 293. - scientific description of, 290. - - Anthophora, general observations on, 238. - geography of, 70. - infested by Melecta, 240. - list of native species, 238. - natural history of, 238. - scientific description of, 236. - trophi of, 29. - - Apathus, general observations on, 304. - geography of, 77. - list of native species, 304. - scientific description of, 302. - the Bombi they infest, 306. - - Apidæ, diagram of the mode of folding the tongue in repose, 39. - = normal bees, 160, 227. - - Apis, general observations on, 321. - geography of, 79. - native species, 321. - natural history of, 322. - origin of names, 321. - scientific description of, 318. - see “Bee” and “Bees.” - - Appearance of bees intermittent, 54. - - Appendiculated, when there is a small appendage, as in the lip of - Halictus, and at the end of the marginal cell of the wings, etc. - - Arrangement and description of British bees, 184. - - Artesian well, peculiar results from its soil, 223. - - Articulate, where jointed, or the point of attachment. - - Artisan bees = Dasygasters, 272. - - Aryans, one of the primitive divisions of the human race, 4. - - Atmosphere, its conditions affect bees, 50. - - Aulacus, 287. - - Auriculated, with a small ear-like appendage. - - Bee, constructive habits of the, early noticed, 93. - general history of the, 17. - parasites, 115. - parasitism limited, 264. - probably earlier known to man than the silkworm, 6. - Queen, description of, 322. - see “Apis.” - several species of, 87. - symbol of royalty with the Egyptians, 5. - The, one of the Suras of the Koran, 90. - why attractive, 1. - - Bee-bread, 347. - - Bees, amount of their susceptibility of pain, 57. - construction of cells, 327. - duties performed in the hive, 325. - duties transferable, 336. - early cultivated, 3, 90, 91. - economy, early known, 92. - emit an odour, 52. - enemies, 51. - extent of flight, 340. - flight, modes of, varies, 49. - found in the Orkneys, 7. - genera of, determined by an artificial mode, 170. - habits of, in America, 7. - hairiness of, reason of, 14. - intimately connected with flowers, 3. - largely contribute to the impregnation of plants, 11. - make about ten journeys a day, 351. - many disclosed in autumn for the following year’s spring flight, 53. - not early risers, 51. - number of eyes, 355. - other than social, also known, 8. - rarely walk, 50. - sagacity in finding the honey of flowers, 13. - scientific arrangement and description of the genera of, 184. - secretion of wax, 325. - stages of life of,— - egg, 18. - larva, 19. - pupa, 22. - imago, 23. - swarming, 337. - their relative perfection, 56. - voice, a scale of music, 49. - - Beehive represented on a tomb at Thebes, 6. - - Beehives moved on rafts, 84. - - Bifid, divided into two parts. - - Binomial system invented by Linnæus, 129. - - Body of the bee, its structure, 25. - - Bombus, difficulty in determining the species of the males, 311. - general observations on, 310. - geography of, 78. - infested by _Apathus_, 311. - list of native species, 308. - natural history of, 312. - peculiarities in times of appearance, 312. - scientific description of, 307. - - Boss of mesothorax, 45. - - Bougie, derivation of, 84. - - British bees, new arrangement of, 153, 158. - - Carder-bees, 316. - - Carelessness of describers of new species, 125. - - Carinated, having a longitudinal elevated line. - - Carpenter bees, 286. - - Cells of hive, geometrical form of, 343. - results from instinct, 343. - how constructed, 342. - of wings characteristic, 44. - - Cenobites = social bees, 167, 302. - - Ceratina, disputed parasitism of, 247. - general observations on, 246. - geography of, 71. - list of native species, 246. - natural history of, 247. - scientific description of, 245. - - Cereal plants early cultivated, 4. - - Chelostoma, general observations on, 286. - geography of, 76. - infested by Fœnus, 287. - native species of, 285. - natural history of, 286. - scientific description of, 283. - - Chrysis infests Chelostoma, 287. - infests Halictus, 219. - infests Osmia, 302. - - Cibarial apparatus = trophi = collective organs of the mouth, 163. - - Cilissa, general observations on, 213. - geography of, 67. - list of native species, 213. - scientific description of, 211. - - Clavate, club-shaped. - antennæ, 28. - - Claws, 42. - reflected, 285. - - Climate inoperative on low forms of life, 24. - - Clothing of bees, 60. - - Clypeus, 26, 28. - - Coadunate, closely united without perceptible articulation. - - Cœlioxys, difficulty of their specific separation, 267. - general observations on, 267. - geography of, 74. - list of native species, 267. - parasitical on Megachile and Saropoda, 267. - scientific description of, 265. - - Collar, 41. - - Colletes, general observations on, 187. - geography of, 64. - list of native species, 187. - natural history of, 187. - parasites upon, 190. - scientific description of, 185. - - Colour of bees, 60. - more intense in males than females, 52. - most conspicuous in parasites, 66, 105. - - Combs, structure of, 345. - - Corbiculum, 319. - - Correlative relations of structure and function, 10. - - Cotton, Rev. Chas. Wm., a distinguished apiarian, 361. - - Coxa, or hip, 41. - useful as a specific character, 42. - - Compound eyes, 26, 27. - - Compressed, when the transverse section is shorter than the vertical. - - Constricted, with tightened edges. - - Conterminous, where the joints follow each other in a straight line of - succession. - - Crenulated, cut into segments of very small circles. - - Cubital cells of wings, 45. - - cuckoo-bees = Nudipedes, 249. - - ‘Cui bono?’ answer to, 141. - - Curtis, inferior merit of his system, 152. - - Dasygasters, artisan bees, 167, 269. - - Dasypoda, general observations on, 225. - geography of, 69. - native species, 225. - natural history of, 226. - scientific description of, 224. - - Deflected, when bent downwards. - - Dentate, toothed. - - Depressed, when the vertical section is shorter than the transverse. - - Describers, duties of, 125. - - Describing, modes of, before Linnæus, 129. - - Differences of appearance between the parasite and the sitos, 260. - - Digiti, anterior tarsi, 42. - - Dissimilarity frequent between the sexes, 52. - - Domestication of animals, 5. - - Dorylus, 311. - - Drone = male bee, description of, 323. - - Edentate, without teeth. - - Egg of bees, 18. - - Egyptian hieroglyphics and sculptures represent the bee, 6. - - Elenchus, habits of, described by Dale, 113. - infests Halictus, 113, 219. - - Elliptical, oval but with the longitudinal diameter more than twice the - length of the transverse. - - Enemies of bees, 51. - - Epeolus, general observations on, 260. - geography of, 73. - native species, 260. - parasitical on Colletes, 190, 260. - scientific description of, 258. - - Epipharynx, 29, 30. - - Eucera, general observations on, 232. - geography of, 70. - infested by Nomada sexcincta, 235. - native species, 232. - natural history of, 234. - scientific description of, 231. - - Face of bees, 26, 27. - - Families, characteristics of, differ, 136. - - Family, 134. - - Feeling of bees, 56. - - Femur, or thigh, 41. - - Fertilization of flowers produced by bees, 11, 51. - - Feuds of animals, the occasion of, 352. - - Filiform, thread-like, of uniform thickness. - antennæ, 28. - - Fimbriated, = fringed. - - Flagellum of antennæ, 18. - - Flight of bees, variation of their modes, 49. - - Floral clock of Linnæus, 50. - - Flowers, the, chiefly agreeable to bees, 15. - earliest, sought by the bees, 14. - fertilized by bees, 11, 51. - - Fœnus infests Chelostoma, 287. - - Forcipate, when crossing each other. - - Foreign bees, conspicuous genera of, 101. - - Form of parasitical bees often adapted to that of their sitos, 48. - determined by function, 48. - - Fossorial Hymenoptera, 45. - - Fruit preserved in honey, 83. - - Fusiform, = spindle-shaped. - - Genæ, 26, 28. - - Genera of bees determined artificially, 176. - that emit scents, 296. - with and without parasites, 264. - - Geniculated, bent like a knee or angle. - - Genus, 132. - type of, 133. - - Geography of the British genera of bees, 61. - - Gibbous, = irregularly swollen. - - Glabrous, without hair or pubescence. - - Gregarious, its application to bees, 57. - - Habit, 127. - - Habitat, 127. - - Habits, 127. - and structure correlative, 24. - - Halictophagus, 115. - - Halictus, general observations on, 216. - geography of, 68. - its enemies, 220. - list of native species, 215. - natural history of, 217. - parasites that infest it, 219. - peculiar autumnal appearance, 218. - scientific description of, 214. - structure of labrum, 30. - - Hastate, halberd shaped. - - Head of bees, 26. - - Hedychrum infests Halictus, 219. - - Heriades, general observations on, 288. - geography of, 76. - native species of, 288. - scientific description of, 288. - - Hindoo Koosh, supposed cradle of the human race, 3. - - Hirsute, covered with long stiffish hairs, thickly set. - - Hives, darkness of, 355. - moved on rafts, 85. - - Homer mentions bees, 6. - - Honey, different kinds of, 87. - green, 87. - its use in the East, 83. - mode of lapping, described by Réaumur, 35. - mode of storing, 350. - prescribed by Mahomet, 91. - quantity in a well-filled hive, 360. - sometimes poisonous, 86. - used in medicine by the Egyptians, 90. - - Honey-bee, see “Apis,” “Bee,” “Bees.” - mode of secreting wax, 330. - - Hypopharynx, 29. - - Imago of bees, 23. - - Inosculation, point of close contact or attachment. - - Insect-feeding reptiles before glacial period, 5. - - Inserted, where joined. - - Instinct, its applications, 56. - occasional divergence of, 55. - of bees, 55. - - Job mentions bees, 6. - - Kirby’s merits, 144. - system of bees, 147. - - Labial palpi, 30, 32. - number of joints invariable, 32. - structure in Andrenidæ, 32. - structure in Apidæ, 32. - - Labium = lower lip, 30, 31. - - Labrum = upper lip, 28, 30. - - Lacerate, with a roughened irregular edge. - - Lanceolate, oblong but gradually tapering. - - Latreille’s classification not adopted, 168. - - Leg, diagram of, 42. - - Legs, general description of, 41. - - Length of an insect is taken from the front of the head to the apex of - the abdomen; the breadth, or the expansion of the wings, it is not - usual to give, excepting under such circumstances as would be - particularly mentioned, viz. in cases of an excessive enlargement or - diminishment of the typical size. - - Life, duration of, of bees, 54. - - Line, the twelfth part of an inch; the ordinary measure used in - entomology for the fractions of an inch, unless the insect is much - more than an inch long. - - Linnæus, author of the binomial system, 129. - great merits of, 129. - - Lobated, divided into equal rounded parts. - - Low forms of life unaffected by climate, 24. - - Lunate, semicircular. - - Lunulate, crescent-shaped. - - Macropis, general observations on, 222. - geography of, 68. - native species, 221. - scientific description of, 220. - strong analogy to the Scopulipedes, 222. - - Maculæ indicantes, 13. - - Mahomet prescribes honey, 91. - - Males, how to be united to their partners, 179. - - Mandibles, 30, 40. - used for boring, 44. - - Marginal cells of wings, 45. - - Marginate, edged with a ridge. - - Mason bees, 296. - - Maxillæ, 30, 31. - - Maxillary palpi, 30, 32. - number of joints invariable in Andrenidæ, 32. - number of joints variable in the Apidæ, 32. - - Megachile, general observations on, 272. - geography of, 74. - infested by Cœlioxys, 275. - list of native species, 271. - natural history of, 273. - scientific description of, 269. - - Melecta, general observations on, 255. - geography of, 72. - list of native species, 255. - parasitical on Anthophora, 240. - scientific description of, 255. - very pugnacious, 258. - - Melittobia, a parasite upon Anthophora, 241. - - Meloë proscarabæus, parasitical on bees, 110. - said to infest Andrena, 209. - - Mesothorax, 26, 44. - - Metallic colouring of bees, 248. - - Metathorax, 26. - - Metropolis, 128. - - Miltogramma, parasitical upon Colletes, 190. - - Mode of killing coloured insects, 253. - - Moniliform, bead-like. - antennæ, 129. - - Monodontomerus, parasitical on Anthophora and Osmia, 302. - - Moths help to fertilize flowers, 13. - - Motives for new arrangement, 163. - - Mouth, organs of = trophi = cibarial apparatus, 163. - - Mucronated, having one or more short stout processes. - - Mutilla, parasitical on bees, 117. - - Names usually given from a sexual peculiarity, 232. - - Natural history, attractions of, 141. - modes of treating, 140. - - Natural system, 139. - - Nature, its large operations, 8. - - Nectaria of plants indicated to bees by a difference of colour, 12. - - Nervures of wings, 44. - - Nomada, general observations on, 252. - geography of, 72. - intermittent appearance of N. Fabriciana, 230. - list of native species, 250. - scientific description of, 249. - sexcincta infests Eucera, 235. - the bees infested by them, 253. - - Nomenclature simplified by Linnæus, 130. - - Nudipedes, = cuckoo-bees or parasites, 116, 167, 249. - - Nylander’s mode of determining the species of Cœlioxys, 268. - - Obsolete, more or less inapparent. - - Ocelli = simple eyes = stemmata, 26, 27. - - Oman, no bees in the province of, 84. - - Osmia, general observations on, 296. - geography of, 76. - list of native species, 295. - natural history of, 296. - parasites of, 302. - scientific description of, 294. - - Ovate, oval, but with the ends circumscribed by unequal segments of - circles. - - Ovipositor = egg-depositor, 17. - - Pain, doubtful susceptibility of, 57. - - Palmæ, 41. - - Palmated, spread like a hand. - - Palpi, their probable use, 55. - - Panurgus, general observations on, 229. - geography of, 69. - infested by Nomada Fabriciana, 230. - list of native species, 228. - natural history of, 229. - scientific description of, 227. - - Paraglossæ, 33. - obsolete in the artisan bees, 33. - where attached, 33. - - Parasites, different kinds of, 110. - of bees, 109. - - Parasitical bees always the most highly coloured, 66, 105. - unlike the sitos, 116. - Cenobites, 302. - - Passions of bees, 56. - - Pecten or comb, a fringe of very short stiff hair attached to an organ, - for various purposes. - - Pectinated, having an edge like a comb. - - Pediculus Melittæ, 209. - - Petiole, a foot stalk. - - Pharynx, 29, 30. - - Pile, long loose hair. - - Pilose, with long, distinct, flexible hair. - - Plantæ, 42, 46. - structure of, in hive bee, 46. - - Plants agreeable to bees, 15. - impregnated by bees, 11. - - Pleasures attending the pursuit of natural history, 14. - - Plumose, with long hair, but not thick. - - Pollen, collection of, 351. - - Pollen, mode of collecting and transferring from limb to limb, 43. - probable reasons for the ways of carrying, 47. - quantity usually collected, 360. - - Polliniferous, = pollen-collecting. - - Posterior legs, their structure for the conveyance of pollen, 46. - where attached, 46. - - Post-scutellum, 26, 45. - - Priority, law of, the basis of synonymy, 131. - - Proboscis, 39. - - Process, a protuberance. - - Processes in bees, peculiarities of, 258. - - Propolis, nature of, 340. - - Prosopis emits an agreeable odour, 195. - general observations upon, 193. - geography of, 65. - list of native species, 192. - presumed parasitism of, 193. - scientific description of, 191. - supposed liable to Stylops, 195. - - Prothorax, 26, 41. - - Pubescent, covered with short fine hair. - - Pubescent, hirsute, setose, pilose, plumose, various relative - conditions of hairiness. - - Pulvillus, 42. - - Punctate, impressed with many points. - - Punctulate, with fine impressed points. - - Punctured, with coarsely impressed points. - - Pupa of bees, 22. - - Queen-bee, administrative function of, 336. - and worker constitute a unity, 331. - description of, 322. - etiquette of attendants, 329. - - Queen-bee, great fertility of, 334. - loss of, disorganizes the hive, 335. - number of eggs laid by, 346. - - Ray’s merits, 142. - - Réaumur’s description of the mode of lapping honey, 35. - description of the structure of the tongue, 35. - - Recurrent nervures of wings, 45. - - Retuse, with an obtuse cavity. - - Ridged, with a slight projecting margin. - - Rugose, rough or irregularly wrinkled. - - St. Fargeau’s merits, 151. - - Sanskrit notice of bees and honey, 92. - - Saropoda, general observations, 243. - geography of, 71. - native species of, 243. - rapidity of flight, 245. - scientific description of, 242. - vivacity of its eyes, 244. - - Scape of antennæ, 28. - - Scent emitted by bees, 52. - - Scientific arrangement and description of the genera, 184. - principles of, 118. - cultivation of British bees, 142. - - Scopulipedes = brush-legged bees, 163, 227. - - Sculpture, 60. - - Scutellum, 26, 45. - - Senses of bees, 56. - - Sensorium of bees, 55. - - Serrate, edged like a saw. - - Serratulate, edged like a fine saw. - - Setæ, slightish bristles. - - Setiform, like bristles. - - Setose, bristled. - - Shakespeare on the polity of the bee, 1. - - Shemitic branch of the human race, 4. - - Sight of bees, 56. - - Simple eyes = ocelli = stemmata, 26, 27. - - Sinus, a cavity. - - Sitos, the supporter of a parasitical bee. - - Sizes, differences of, what caused by, 41. - - Smell of bees, 56. - - Social bees = Cenobites, 302. - - Species, 122. - name of, 128. - the basis of natural science, 121. - vary in number of individuals, 123. - - Specific character, 124. - descriptions, 125. - differences, 123. - - Sphecodes, difficulty of specific distinction in, 198. - doubts as to its parasitism, 199. - general observations on, 197. - geography of, 66. - list of native species, 197. - scientific description of, 196. - - Spines at apex of abdomen of bees, 268. - - Spinose, with minute spiny processes. - - Spinulose, with fine spiny processes. - - Spiral hair of the scopa, 226, 229. - - Spurs, 42. - - Squamulæ = epaulettes = wing-scales, 26, 44. - - State of Great Britain before the glacial period, 5. - - Stelis, general observations on, 263. - geography of, 73. - infests Osmia, 302. - list of native species, 263. - scientific description of, 262. - - Stemmata = simple eyes = ocelli, 26, 27. - - Stephens, inferior merit of his system, 152. - - Strepsiptera parasitical on bees, 111. - - Strigilis, 42. - - Structure and habits correlative, 24. - of the body of the bee, 25. - similarity of, caused by direct and proximate affinities, 48. - - Stylops infests Andrena, 208. - infests Halictus, 219. - Kirby’s description of, 112. - manners of, described by Thwaites, 114. - some particulars of its history, 208. - - Sub, a prefix indicating the diminution of a condition, as subhastate, - subovate, subtruncate, etc. etc. - - Submarginal cells of wings, 45. - - Swarming, 358. - - Synonymy, 130. - - System, value of, 119. - - Tarsus of fore legs in some males greatly dilated, 43. - or foot, 41. - - Taste of bees, 56. - - Thorax, 26, 41. - - Tibia, or shank, 41. - - Tomb at Thebes with representation of a beehive, 6. - - Tongue improperly called labium, 34. - of Andrenidæ folded in repose, 39. - of Apidæ folded in repose, 39. - once thought tubular, 34. - where situated, description of it, 33. - - Topical geography of British bees, 96. - - Tooth, a long sharp process. - - Toothed, spinose, spinulose, tuberculated, mucronated, dentate, the - various conditions of extraneous prominences or processes. - - Transformations of worker bee, 347. - of the drone, 356. - of the Queen, 357. - - Transverso-cubital nervures of wings, 45. - - Travellers, suggestions to, 64, 95. - - Trifid, divided into three parts. - - Trivial name, 128. - - Trochanter, 41. - - Trophi = organs of the mouth, 26, 29. - diagram of, 30. - - Truncated, abruptly terminated. - - Tuberculated, with small processes. - - Turonian branch of the human race, 4. - - Uses of bees in the impregnation of plants, 11. - - Vedas mention bees, 6. - - Velum, 42. - - Ventilation of the hives, 328. - - Ventral segments, peculiarities of structure of, 234. - - Vernacular names of insects, 9. - - Vertex, 26. - - Vertigo of bees, 87. - - Voice of bees, 49. - - Wagtails destroy fossorial Hymenoptera, 306. - - Wax, secretion of, 325. - - Wax used by the Romans, 85. - - Westwood’s classification not adopted, 168. - - Wild bees, 8. - come forth early in the spring, 10. - - Will of bees, 56. - - Willughby’s merits, 143. - - Wing, treatise on the, 45. - - Wing-hooklets for uniting the upper and lower wings, 45. - - Wing-scales = squamulæ, 26. - - Wings, 44. - diagram of, 45. - - Worker bee, description of, 324. - duties performed by, 325. - peculiarities of structure, 330. - secretion of wax, 325. - - Xenophon’s description of poisonous honey, 86. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - PLATE I. - - 1 ♂. Colletes Daviesiana, _male_. - 1 ♀. " " _female_. - 2 ♂. Prosopis dilatata, _male_. - 2 ♀. Prosopis signata, _female_. - 3 ♂. Sphecodes gibbus, _male_. - 3 ♀. " " _female_. - - [Illustration: Plate I. E. W. Robinson, Delineavit et Sculpsit - 1866.] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - PLATE II. - - 1 ♂. Andrena fulva, _male_. - 1 ♀. " " _female_. - 2 ♂. Andrena cineraria, _male_. - 2 ♀. " " _female_. - 3 ♂. Andrena nitida, _male_. - 3 ♀. " " _female_. - - [Illustration: Plate II. E. W. Robinson, Delineavit et Sculpsit - 1866.] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - PLATE III. - - 1 ♂. Andrena Rosæ, _male_. - 1 ♀. " " _female_. - 2 ♂. Andrena longipes, _male_. - 2 ♀. " " _female_. - 3 ♂.Andrena cingulata, _male_. - 3 ♀. " " _female_. - - [Illustration: Plate III. E. W. Robinson, Delineavit et Sculpsit - 1866.] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - PLATE IV. - - 1 ♂. Halictus xanthopus, _male_. - 1 ♀. " " _female_. - 2 ♂. Halictus flavipes, _male_. - 2 ♀. " " _female_. - 3 ♂. Halictus minutissimus, _male_. - 3 ♀. " " _female_. - - [Illustration: Plate IV. E. W. Robinson, Delineavit et Sculpsit - 1866.] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - PLATE V. - - 1 ♂. Cilissa tricincta, _male_. - 1 ♀. " " _female_. - 2 ♂. Macropis labiata, _male_. - 2 ♀. " " _female_. - 3 ♂. Dasypoda hirtipes, _male_. - 3 ♀. " " _female_. - - [Illustration: Plate V. E. W. Robinson, Delineavit et Sculpsit - 1866.] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - PLATE VI. - - 1 ♂. Panurgus Banksianus, _male_. - 1 ♀. " " _female_. - 2 ♂. Eucera longicornis, _male_. - 2 ♀. " " _female_. - 3 ♂. Anthophora retusa, _male_. - 3 ♀. " " _female_. - - [Illustration: Plate VI. E. W. Robinson, Delineavit et Sculpsit - 1866.] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - PLATE VII. - - 1 ♂. Anthophora furcata, _male_. - 1 ♀. " " _female_. - 2 ♂. Saropoda bimaculata, _male_. - 2 ♀. " " _female_. - 3 ♂. Ceratina cærulea, _male_. - 3 ♀. " " _female_. - - [Illustration: Plate VII. E. W. Robinson, Delineavit et Sculpsit - 1866.] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - PLATE VIII. - - 1 ♂. Nomada Goodeniana, _male_. - 1 ♀. " " _female_. - 2 ♂. Nomada Lathburiana, _male_. - 2 ♀. " " _female_. - 3 ♂. Nomada sexfasciata, _male_. - 3 ♀. " " _female_. - - [Illustration: Plate VIII. E. W. Robinson, Delineavit et Sculpsit - 1866.] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - PLATE IX. - - 1 ♂. Nomada signata, _male_. - 1 ♀. " " _female_. - 2 ♂. Nomada Fabriciana, _male_. - 2 ♀. " " _female_. - 3 ♂. Nomada flavoguttata, _male_. - 3 ♀. " " _female_. - - [Illustration: Plate IX. E. W. Robinson, Delineavit et Sculpsit - 1866.] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - PLATE X. - - 1 ♂. Nomada Jacobææ, _male_. - 1 ♀. " " _female_. - 2 ♂. Nomada Solidaginis, _male_. - 2 ♂* (should be ♀). " _female_. - 3 ♂. Nomada lateralis, _male_. - 3 ♀. " " _female_. - - [Illustration: Plate X. E. W. Robinson, Delineavit et Sculpsit - 1866.] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - PLATE XI. - - 1 ♂. Melecta punctata, _male_. - 1 ♀. " " _female_. - 2 ♂. Epeolus variegatus, _male_. - 2 ♀. " " _female_. - 3 ♂. Stelis phæoptera, _male_. - 3 ♀. " " _female_. - - [Illustration: Plate XI. E. W. Robinson, Delineavit et Sculpsit - 1866.] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - PLATE XII. - - 1 ♂. Cœlioxys Vectis, _male_. - 1 ♀. " " _female_. - 2 ♂. Megachile maritima, _male_. - 2 ♀. " " _female_. - 3 ♂. Megachile argentata, _male_. - 3 ♀. " " _female_. - - [Illustration: Plate XII. E. W. Robinson, Delineavit et Sculpsit - 1866.] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - PLATE XIII. - - 1 ♂. Anthidium manicatum, _male_. - 1 ♀. " " _female_. - 2 ♂. Chelostoma florisomne, _male_. - 2 ♀. " " _female_. - 3 ♂. Heriades truncorum, _male_. - 3 ♀. " " _female_. - - [Illustration: Plate XIII. E. W. Robinson, Delineavit et Sculpsit - 1866.] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - PLATE XIV. - - 1 ♂. Osmia bicolor, _male_. - 1 ♀. " " _female_. - 2 ♂. Anthocopa Papaveris, _male_. - 2 ♀. " " _female_. - 3 ♂. Osmia leucomelana, _male_. - 3 ♀. " " _female_. - - [Illustration: Plate XIV. E. W. Robinson, Delineavit et Sculpsit - 1866.] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - PLATE XV. - - 1 ♂. Apathus rupestris, _male_. - 1 ♀. " " _female_. - 2 ♂ (should be ♀). Apathus campestris, _female_. - 2 ♀. Apathus vestalis, _female_. - 3 ♀. Bombus fragrans, _female_. - 4 ♂. " Soroensis (var. Burrellanus), _male_. - - [Illustration: Plate XV. E. W. Robinson, Delineavit et Sculpsit - 1866.] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - PLATE XVI. - - 1 ♀. Bombus Harrisellus, _female_. - 2 ♀. " Lapponicus, _female_. - 3 ♀. " sylvarum, _female_. - 4 ♂. Apis mellifica, _male_. - 4 ♀. " " _female_. - 4 ⚲. " " _neuter_. - - [Illustration: Plate XVI. E. W. Robinson, Delineavit et Sculpsit - 1866.] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - LOVELL REEVE & CO.’S - - PUBLICATIONS IN - - Botany, Conchology, Entomology, - - CHEMISTRY, TRAVELS, ANTIQUITIES, - - ETC. - - “None can express Thy works but he that knows them; - And none can know Thy works, which are so many - And so complete, but only he that owes them.” - _George Herbert._ - - [Illustration: Decoration] - - LONDON: - LOVELL REEVE AND CO., 5, HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN. - - 1866. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - CONTENTS. - - ------- - - PAGE - BOTANY 3 - FERNS AND MOSSES 9 - SEAWEEDS 10 - FUNGI 11 - SHELLS AND MOLLUSKS 12 - INSECTS 14 - TRAVELS 15 - ANTIQUARIAN 16 - MISCELLANEOUS 18 - WORKS IN PREPARATION 19 - - _All Books sent post-free to any part of the United Kingdom - on receipt of a remittance for the published price._ - - _Post-Office Orders to be made payable at_ KING - STREET, COVENT GARDEN. - - ------- - - LIST OF WORKS - PUBLISHED BY - LOVELL REEVE & CO. - - ------- - - BOTANY. - - --- - - HANDBOOK OF THE BRITISH FLORA; a Description of the Flowering Plants - and Ferns indigenous to, or naturalized in, the British Isles. For - the Use of Beginners and Amateurs. By GEORGE BENTHAM, F.R.S., - President of the Linnean Society. Crown 8vo, 680 pp., 12_s_. - -Distinguished for its terse and clear style of description; for the -introduction of a system of Analytical Keys, which enable the student to -determine the family and genus of a plant at once by the observation of -its more striking characters; and for the valuable information here -given for the first time of the geographical range of each species in -foreign countries. - - -------------- - - HANDBOOK OF THE BRITISH FLORA, ILLUSTRATED EDITION; a Description - (with a Wood-Engraving, including dissections, of each species) of - the Flowering Plants and Ferns indigenous to, or naturalized in, - the British Isles. By GEORGE BENTHAM, F.R.S., President of the - Linnean Society. Demy 8vo, 2 vols., 1154, pp. 1295 - Wood-Engravings, from Original Drawings by W. Fitch. £3. 10_s_. - -An illustrated edition of the foregoing Work, in which every species is -accompanied by an elaborate Wood-Engraving of the Plant, with -dissections of its leading structural peculiarities. - - -------------- - - THE FIELD BOTANIST’S COMPANION; a Familiar Account, in the Four - Seasons, of the most common of the Wild Flowering Plants of the - British Isles. By THOMAS MOORE, F.L.S. One volume, Demy 8vo, 424 - pp.. With 24 Coloured Plates, by W. FITCH, 21_s_. - -An elegantly-illustrated volume, intended for Beginners, describing the -plants most readily gathered in our fields and hedge-rows, with the -progress of the seasons. Dissections of the parts of the flowers are -introduced among the Figures, so that an insight may be readily obtained -not only of the Species and name of each plant, but of its structure and -characters of classification. - - -------------- - - CURTIS’S BOTANICAL MAGAZINE, comprising the Plants of the Royal - Gardens of Kew, and of other Botanical Establishments. By Dr. J. - D. HOOKER, F.R.S., Director of the Royal Gardens. Royal 8vo. - Published Monthly, with 6 Plates, 3_s_. 6_d_. coloured. Vol. XXII. - of the Third Series (being Vol. XCII. of the entire work) in - course of publication. A Complete Set from the commencement may be - had. - -Descriptions and Drawings, beautifully coloured by hand, of -newly-discovered plants suitable for cultivation in the Garden, -Hothouse, or Conservatory. - - -------------- - - THE FLORAL MAGAZINE, containing Figures and Descriptions of New - Popular Garden Flowers. By the Rev. H. HONYWOOD DOMBRAIN, A.B. - Imperial 8vo. Published Monthly, with 4 Plates, 2_s_. 6_d_. - coloured. Vol. I. to IV., each with 64 plates, £2. 2_s_. - -Descriptions and Drawings, beautifully coloured by hand, of new -varieties of Flowers raised by the nurserymen for cultivation in the -Garden, Hothouse, or Conservatory. - - -------------- - - THE TOURIST’S FLORA; a Descriptive Catalogue of the Flowering Plants - and Ferns of the British Islands, France, Germany, Switzerland, - Italy, and the Italian Islands. By JOSEPH WOODS, F.L.S. Demy 8vo, - 504 pp., 18_s_. - -Designed to enable the lover of botany to determine the names of any -wild plants he may meet with while journeying in our own country and the -countries of the Continent most frequented by tourists. The author’s aim -has been to make the descriptions clear and distinct, and to comprise -them within a volume of not inconvenient bulk. - - -------------- - - CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE FLORA OF MENTONE. By J. TRAHERNE MOGGRIDGE. Royal - 8vo. Parts I. and II., each, 25 Coloured Plates, 15_s_. - -In this work a full page is devoted to the illustration of each Species, -the drawings being made by the author from specimens collected by him on -the spot, and they exhibit in vivid colours the beautiful aspect which -many of our wild flowers assume south of the Alps. - - -------------- - - A FLORA OF ULSTER, AND BOTANIST’S GUIDE TO THE NORTH OF IRELAND. By G. - DICKIE, M.D., F.L.S., Professor of Botany in the University of - Aberdeen. A pocket volume, pp. 176, 3_s_. - -A small volume, not exclusively of local interest, containing, as it -does, much valuable information relative to the geographical and -altitudinal range of the Species. - - -------------- - - A SECOND CENTURY OF ORCHIDACEOUS PLANTS, selected from the subjects - published in Curtis’ ‘Botanical Magazine’ since the issue of the - ‘First Century.’ Edited by JAMES BATEMAN, Esq., F.R.S. Royal 4to. - Parts I. to III., each with 10 Coloured Plates, 10_s_. 6_d_., now - ready. - -During the fifteen years that have elapsed since the publication of the -‘Century of Orchidaceous Plants,’ now out of print, the ‘Botanical -Magazine’ has been the means of introducing to the public nearly two -hundred of this favourite tribe of plants not hitherto described and -figured, or very imperfectly so. It is intended from these to select “a -Second Century,” and the descriptions, written at the time of -publication by Sir W. J. Hooker, will be edited, and in many cases -re-written, agreeably with the present more advanced state of our -knowledge and experience in the cultivation of Orchidaceous plants, by -Mr. Bateman, the acknowledged successor of Dr. Lindley as the leading -authority in this department of botany and horticulture. - - -------------- - - MONOGRAPH OF ODONTOGLOSSUM, a Genus of the Vandeous Section of - Orchidaceous Plants. By JAMES BATEMAN, Esq., F.R.S. Imperial - folio, Parts I. to III., each with 5 Coloured Plates, and - occasional Wood-Engravings, 21_s_. - -Designed for the illustration, on an unusually magnificent scale, of the -new and beautiful plants of this favoured genus of _Orchidacea_, which -are being now imported from the mountain-chains of Mexico, Central -America, New Granada, and Peru. - - -------------- - - SELECT ORCHIDACEOUS PLANTS. By ROBERT WARNER, F.R.H.S. With Notes on - Culture by B. S. WILLIAMS. In Ten Parts, folio, each, with 4 - Coloured Plates, 12_s_. 6_d_.; or, complete in one vol., cloth - gilt, £6. 6_s_. - -Second Series, Part I., 3 Coloured Plates, 10_s_. 6_d_. - - -------------- - - PESCATOREA. Figures of Orchidaceous Plants, chiefly from the - Collection of M. PESCATORE. Edited by M. LINDEN, with the - assistance of MM. G. LUDDEMAN, J. E. PLANCHON, and M. G. - REICHENBACH. Folio, 48 Coloured Plates, cloth, with morocco back, - £5. 5_s_., or whole morocco, elegant, £6. 6_s_. - - -------------- - - THE RHODODENDRONS OF SIKKIM-HIMALAYA; being an Account, Botanical and - Geographical, of the Rhododendrons recently discovered in the - Mountains of Eastern Himalaya, from Drawings and Descriptions made - on the spot, by Dr. J. D. Hooker, F.R.S. By Sir W. J. HOOKER, - F.R.S. Folio, 30 Coloured Plates, £3. 16_s_. - -Illustrations on a superb scale of the new Sikkim Rhododendrons, now -being cultivated in England, accompanied by copious observations on -their distribution and habits. - - -------------- - - GENERA PLANTARUM, ad Exemplaria imprimis in Herbariis Kewensibus - servata definita. By GEORGE BENTHAM, F.R.S., President of the - Linnean Society, and Dr. J. D. HOOKER, F.R.S., Assistant-Director - of the Royal Gardens, Kew. Vol. I. Part I. pp. 454. Royal 8vo, - 21_s_. Part II., 14_s_. - -This important work comprehends an entire revision and reconstruction of -the Genera of Plants. Unlike the famous Genera Plantarum of Endlicher, -which is now out of print, it is founded on a personal study of every -genus by one or both authors. The First Part contains 56 Natural Orders -and 1287 Genera. The Second, now printing, will contain as many more. -The whole will be completed in Four or Five Parts. - - -------------- - - FLORA OF THE ANTARCTIC ISLANDS; being Part I. of the Botany of the - Antarctic Voyage of H.M. Discovery Ships ‘Erebus’ and ‘Terror,’ in - the years 1839-1843. By Dr. J. D. HOOKER, F.R.S. Royal 4to. 2 - vols., 574 pp., 200 Plates, £10. 15_s_. coloured. Published under - the authority of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. - -The ‘Flora Antarctica’ illustrates the Botany of the southern districts -of South America and the various Antarctic Islands, as the Falklands, -Kerguelen’s Land, Lord Auckland and Campbell’s Island, and 1370 species -are enumerated and described. The plates, which are executed by Mr. -Fitch, and beautifully coloured, illustrate 370 species, including a -vast number of exquisite forms of Mosses and Seaweeds. - - -------------- - - FLORA OF NEW ZEALAND; being Part II. of the Botany of the Antarctic - Voyage of H.M. Discovery Ships ‘Erebus’ and ‘Terror,’ in the years - 1839-1843. By Dr. J. D. HOOKER, F.R.S. Royal 4to, 2 vols., 733 - pp., 130 Plates. £16. 16_s_. coloured. Published under the - authority of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. - -The ‘Flora of New Zealand’ contains detailed descriptions of all the -plants, flowering and flowerless, of that group of Islands, collected by -the Author during Sir James Ross’ Antarctic Expedition; including also -the collections of Cook’s three voyages, Vancouver’s voyages, etc., and -most of them previously unpublished. The species described amount to -1767; and of the Plates, which illustrate 313 Species, many are devoted -to the Mosses, Ferns, and Algæ, in which these Islands abound. - - -------------- - - FLORA OF TASMANIA; being Part III. of the Botany of the Antarctic - Voyage of H.M. Discovery Ships ‘Erebus’ and ‘Terror,’ in the years - 1839-1843. By Dr. J. D. HOOKER, F.R.S. Royal 4to, 2 vols., 972 - pp., 200 Plates, £17. 10_s_., coloured. Published under the - authority of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. - -The ‘Flora of Tasmania’ describes all the Plants, flowering and -flowerless, of that Island, consisting of 2203 Species, collected by the -Author and others. The Plates, of which there are 200, illustrate 412 -Species. - - -------------- - - HANDBOOK OF THE NEW ZEALAND FLORA; a Systematic Description of the - Native Plants of New Zealand, and the Chatham, Kermadec’s, Lord - Auckland’s, Campbell’s, and Macquarrie’s Islands. By Dr. J. D. - HOOKER, F.R.S. Demy 8vo, Part I., 475 pp., 16_s_. Published under - the auspices of the Government of that colony. [_Part II. in the - Press._ - -A compendious account of the plants of New Zealand and outlying islands, -published under the authority of the Government of that colony. The -present Part contains the Flowering Plants, Ferns, and Lycopods; the -Second Part, containing the remaining Orders of _Cryptogamia_, or -Flowerless Plants, with Index and Catalogues of Native Names and of -Naturalized Plants, will appear shortly. - - -------------- - - FLORA AUSTRALIENSIS; a Description of the Plants of the Australian - Territory. By GEORGE BENTHAM, F.R.S., President of the Linnean - Society, assisted by FERDINAND MUELLER, F.R.S., Government - Botanist, Melbourne, Victoria. Demy 8vo. Vol. I. 566 pp., and vol. - II. 530 pp., 20_s_. each. Published under the auspices of the - several Governments of Australia. [_Vol. III. nearly ready._ - -Of this great undertaking, the present volumes, of more than a thousand -closely-printed pages, comprise about one-fourth. The materials are -derived not only from the vast collections of Australian plants brought -to this country by various botanical travellers, and preserved in the -herbaria of Kew and of the British Museum, including those hitherto -unpublished of Banks and Solander, of Captain Cook’s first Voyage, and -of Brown in Flinders’, but from the very extensive and more recently -collected specimens preserved in the Government Herbarium of Melbourne, -under the superintendence of Dr. Ferdinand Mueller. The descriptions are -written in plain English, and are masterpieces of accuracy and -clearness. - - -------------- - - FLORA HONGKONGENSIS; a Description of the Flowering Plants and Ferns - of the Island of Hongkong. By GEORGE BENTHAM, P.L.S. With a Map of - the Island. Demy 8vo, 550 pp., 16_s_. Published under the - authority of Her Majesty’s Secretary of State for the Colonies. - -The Island of Hongkong, though occupying an area of scarcely thirty -square miles, is characterized by an extraordinarily varied Flora, -partaking, however, of that of South Continental China, of which -comparatively little is known. The number of Species enumerated in the -present volume is 1056, derived chiefly from materials collected by Mr. -Hinds, Col. Champion, Dr. Hance, Dr. Harland, Mr. Wright, and Mr. -Wilford. - - -------------- - - FLORA OF THE BRITISH WEST INDIAN ISLANDS. By Dr. GRISEBACH, F.L.S. - Demy 8vo, 806 pp., 37_s_. 6_d_. Published under the auspices of - the Secretary of State for the Colonies. - -Containing complete systematic descriptions of the Flowering Plants and -Ferns of the British West Indian Islands, accompanied by an elaborate -index of reference, and a list of Colonial names. - - -------------- - - FLORA VITIENSIS; a Description of the Plants of the Viti or Fiji - Islands, with an Account of their History, Uses, and Properties. - By Dr. BERTHOLD SEEMANN, F.L.S. Royal 4to, Parts I. to IV. each, - 10 Coloured Plates, 15_s_. To be completed in 10 Parts. - -This work owes its origin to the Government Mission to Viti, to which -the author was attached as naturalist. In addition to the specimens -collected, the author has investigated all the Polynesian collections of -Plants brought to this country by various botanical explorers since the -voyage of Captain Cook. - - -------------- - - ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE NUEVA QUINOLOGIA OF PAVON, with Observations on - the Barks described. By J. E. HOWARD, F.L.S. With 27 Coloured - Plates by W. FITCH. Imperial folio, half-morocco, gilt edges, £6. - 6_s_. - -A superbly-coloured volume, illustrative of the most recent researches -of Pavon and his associates among the Cinchona Barks of Peru. - - -------------- - - ILLUSTRATIONS OF SIKKIM-HIMALAYAN PLANTS, chiefly selected from - Drawings made in Sikkim, under the superintendence of the late J. - F. CATHCART, Esq., Bengal Civil Service. The Botanical - Descriptions and Analyses by Dr. J. D. HOOKER, F.R.S. Imperial - folio, 24 Coloured Plates and an Illuminated Title-page by W. - FITCH, £5. 5_s_. - - -------------- - - VICTORIA REGIA; or, Illustrations of the Royal Water Lily, in a series - of Figures chiefly made from Specimens flowering at Syon and at - Kew, by W. FITCH, with Descriptions by Sir W. J. HOOKER, F.R.S. - Elephant folio, 21_s_. - - -------------- - - THE LONDON JOURNAL OF BOTANY. Original Papers by eminent Botanists, - Letters from Botanical Travellers, etc. Vol. VII., completing the - Series. Demy 8vo, 23 Plates, 30_s_. - - -------------- - - JOURNAL OF BOTANY AND KEW MISCELLANY. Original Papers by eminent - Botanists, Letters from Botanical Travellers, etc. Edited by Sir - W. J. HOOKER, F.R.S. Vols. IV. to IX., Demy 8vo, 12 Plates, £1. - 4_s_. A Complete Set of 9 vols., half-calf, _scarce_, £10. 16_s_. - - -------------- - - ICONES PLANTARUM. Figures, with brief Descriptive Characters and - Remarks, of New and Rare Plants, selected from the Author’s - Herbarium. By Sir W. J. HOOKER, F.R.S. New Series, Vol. V., Royal - 8vo, 100 plates, 31_s_. 6_d_. - - FERNS AND MOSSES. - - -------------- - - THE BRITISH FERNS; or, Coloured Figures and Descriptions, with the - needful Analyses of the Fructification and Venation, of the Ferns - of Great Britain and Ireland, systematically arranged. By Sir W. - J. HOOKER, F.R.S. Royal 8vo, 66 Plates, £2. 2_s_. - -The British Ferns and their allies are illustrated in this work, from -the pencil of Mr. FITCH. Each Species has a Plate to itself, so that -there is ample room for the details, on a magnified scale, of -Fructification and Venation. The whole are delicately coloured by hand. -In the letterpress an interesting account is given with each species of -its geographical distribution in other countries. - - -------------- - - GARDEN FERNS; or, Coloured Figures and Descriptions, with the needful - Analyses of the Fructification and Venation, of a Selection of - Exotic Ferns, adapted for Cultivation in the Garden, Hothouse, and - Conservatory. By Sir W. J. HOOKER, F.R.S. Royal 8vo, 64 Plates, - £2. 2_s_. - -A companion volume to the preceding, for the use of those who take an -interest in the cultivation of some of the more beautiful and remarkable -varieties of Exotic Ferns. Here also each Species has a Plate to itself, -and the details of Fructification and Venation are given on a magnified -scale, the Drawings being from the pencil of Mr. FITCH. - - -------------- - - FILICES EXOTICÆ; or, Coloured Figures and Description of Exotic Ferns, - chiefly of such as are cultivated in the Royal Gardens of Kew. By - Sir W. J. HOOKER, F.R.S. Royal 4to, 100 Plates, £6. 11_s_. - -One of the most superbly illustrated books of Foreign Ferns that has -been hitherto produced. The Species are selected both on account of -their beauty of form, singular structure, and their suitableness for -cultivation. - - -------------- - - FERNY COMBES; a Ramble after Ferns in the Glens and Valleys of - Devonshire. By CHARLOTTE CHANTER. _Second Edition._ Fcp. 8vo, 8 - coloured plates by Fitch, and a Map of the County, 5_s_. - - -------------- - - HANDBOOK OF BRITISH MOSSES, containing all that are known to be - Natives of the British Isles. By the Rev. M. J. BERKELEY, M.A., - F.L.S. Demy 8vo, pp. 360, 24 Coloured Plates, 21_s_. - -A very complete Manual, comprising characters of all the species, with -the circumstances of habitation of each; with special chapters on -development and structure, propagation, fructification, geographical -distribution, uses, and modes of collecting and preserving, followed by -an extensive series of coloured illustrations, in which the essential -portions of the plant are repeated, in every case on a magnified scale. - - SEAWEEDS. - - -------------- - - PHYCOLOGIA BRITANNICA; or, History of British Seaweeds, containing - Coloured Figures, Generic and Specific Characters, Synonyms and - Descriptions of all the Species of Algæ inhabiting the Shores of - the British Islands. By Dr. W. H. HARVEY, F.R.S. Royal 8vo, 4 - vols., 765 pp., 360 Coloured Plates, £6. 6_s_. Reissue in Monthly - Parts, each 2_s_. 6_d_. - -This work, originally published in 1851, at the price of £7. 10_s_., is -still the standard work on the subject of which it treats. Each Species, -excepting the minute ones, has a Plate to itself, with magnified -portions of structure and fructification, the whole being printed in -their natural colours, finished by hand. - - -------------- - - SYNOPSIS OF BRITISH SEAWEEDS, compiled from Dr. Harvey’s ‘PHYCOLOGIA - BRITANNICA.’ Small 8vo, 220 pp., 5_s_. - -A Descriptive Catalogue of all the British Seaweeds, condensed from the -‘Phycologia Britannica.’ It comprises the characters, synonyms, -habitats, and general observations, forming an extremely useful pocket -volume of reference. - - -------------- - - PHYCOLOGIA AUSTRALICA; a History of Australian Seaweeds, comprising - Coloured Figures and Descriptions of the more characteristic - Marine Algæ of New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South - Australia and Western Australia, and a Synopsis of all known - Australian Algæ. By Dr. HARVEY, F.R.S. Royal 8vo, 5 vols., 300 - Coloured Plates, £7. 13_s_. - -This beautiful work, the result of an arduous personal exploration of -the shores of the Australian continent, is got up in the style of the -‘Phycologia Britannica’ by the same author. Each Species has a Plate to -itself, with ample magnified delineations of fructification and -structure, embodying a variety of most curious and remarkable forms. - - -------------- - - NEREIS AUSTRALIS; or, Algæ of the Southern Ocean, being Figures and - Descriptions of Marine Plants collected on the Shores of the Cape - of Good Hope, the extra-tropical Australian Colonies, Tasmania, - New Zealand, and the Antarctic Regions. By Dr. HARVEY, F.R.S. - Imperial 8vo, 50 Coloured Plates, £2. 2_s_. - -A selection of Fifty Species of remarkable forms of Seaweed, not -included in the ‘Phycologia Australica,’ collected over a wider area. - - FUNGI. - - -------------- - - OUTLINES OF BRITISH FUNGOLOGY, containing Characters of above a - Thousand Species of Fungi, and a Complete List of all that have - been described as Natives of the British Isles. By the Rev. M. J. - BERKELEY, M.A., F.L.S. Demy 8vo, 484 pp., 24 Coloured Plates, - 30_s_. - -Although entitled simply ‘Outlines,’ this is a good-sized volume, of -nearly 500 pages, illustrated with more than 200 Figures of British -Fungi, all carefully coloured by hand. Of above a thousand Species the -characters are given, and a complete list of the names of all the rest. - - -------------- - - THE ESCULENT FUNGUSES OF ENGLAND. Containing an Account of their - Classical History, Uses, Characters, Development, Structure, - Nutritious Properties, Modes of Cooking and Preserving, etc. By C. - D. BADHAM, M.D. Second Edition. Edited by F. CURREY, F.R.S. Demy - 8vo, 152 pp., 12 Coloured Plates, 12_s_. - -A lively classical treatise, written with considerable epigrammatic -humour, with the view of showing that we have upwards of 30 Species of -Fungi abounding in our woods capable of affording nutritious and savoury -food, but which, from ignorance or prejudice, are left to perish -ungathered. “I have indeed grieved,” says the Author, “when reflecting -on the straitened condition of the lower orders, to see pounds of -extempore beefsteaks growing on our oaks, in the shape of _Fistulina -hepatica_; Puff-balls, which some have not inaptly compared to -sweetbread; _Hydna_, as good as oysters; and _Agaricus deliciosus_, -reminding us of tender lamb-kidney.” Superior coloured Figures of the -Species are given from the pencil of Mr. Fitch. - - -------------- - - ILLUSTRATIONS OF BRITISH MYCOLOGY, comprising Figures and Descriptions - of the Funguses of interest and novelty indigenous to Britain. By - Mrs. T. J. HUSSEY. Royal 4to; First Series, 90 Coloured Plates, - £7. 12_s_. 6_d_.; Second Series, 50 Coloured Plates, £4. 10_s_. - -This beautifully-illustrated work is the production of a lady who, being -an accomplished artist, occupied the leisure of many years in -accumulating a portfolio of exquisite drawings of the more attractive -forms and varieties of British Fungi. The publication was brought to an -end with the 140th Plate by her sudden decease. The Figures are mostly -of the natural size, carefully coloured by hand. - - SHELLS AND MOLLUSKS. - - -------------- - - ELEMENTS OF CONCHOLOGY; an Introduction to the Natural History of - Shells, and of the Animals which form them. By LOVELL REEVE, - F.L.S. Royal 8vo, 2 vols., 478 pp., 62 Coloured Plates, £2. 16_s_. - -Intended as a guide to the collector of shells in arranging and naming -his specimens, while at the same time inducing him to study them with -reference to their once living existence, geographical distribution, and -habits. Forty-six of the plates are devoted to the illustration of the -genera of shells, and sixteen to shells with the living animal, all -beautifully coloured by hand. - - -------------- - - THE LAND AND FRESHWATER MOLLUSKS indigenous to, or naturalized in, the - British Isles. By LOVELL REEVE, F.L.S. Crown 8vo, 295 pp., Map, - and 160 Wood-Engravings, 10_s_. 6_d_. - -A complete history of the British Land and Freshwater Shells, and of the -Animals which form them, illustrated by Wood-Engravings of all the -Species. Other features of the work are an Analytical Key, showing at a -glance the natural groups of families and genera, copious Tables and a -Map illustrative of geographical distribution and habits, and a chapter -on the Distribution and Origin of Species. - - -------------- - - CONCHOLOGIA ICONICA; or, Figures and Descriptions of the Shells of - Mollusks, with remarks on their Affinities, Synonymy, and - Geographical Distribution. BY LOVELL REEVE, F.L.S. Demy 4to, - published monthly in Parts, 8 Plates, carefully coloured by hand, - 10_s_. - -Of this work, comprising illustrations of Shells of the natural size, -nearly 2000 Plates are published, but the plan of publication admits of -the collector purchasing it at his option in portions, each of which is -complete in itself. Each genus, as the work progresses, is issued -separately, with Title and Index; and an Alphabetical List of the -published genera, with the prices annexed, may be procured of the -publishers on application. The system of nomenclature adopted is that of -Lamarck, modified to meet the exigencies of later discoveries. With the -name of each species is given a summary of its leading specific -characters in Latin and English; then the authority for the name is -quoted, accompanied by a reference to its original description; and next -in order are its Synonyms. The habitat of the species is next given, -accompanied, where possible, by particulars of soil, depth, or -vegetation. Finally, a few general remarks are offered, calling -attention to the most obvious distinguishing peculiarities of the -species, with criticisms, where necessary, on the views of other -writers. At the commencement of the genus some notice is taken of the -animal, and the habitats of the species are worked up into a general -summary of the geographical distribution of the genus. - - - CONCHOLOGIA ICONICA IN MONOGRAPHS. - - Genera. Plates. £. _s_. _d_. - ACHATINA 23 1 9 0 - ACHATINELLA 6 0 8 0 - ADAMSIELLA 2 0 3 0 - AMPHIDESMA 7 0 9 0 - AMPULLARIA 28 1 15 6 - ANASTOMA 1 0 1 6 - ANATINA 4 0 5 6 - ANCILLARIA 12 0 15 6 - ANCULOTUS 6 0 8 0 - ANOMIA 8 0 10 6 - ARCA 17 1 1 6 - ARGONAUTA 4 0 5 6 - ARTEMIS 10 0 13 0 - ASPERGILLUM 4 0 5 6 - AVICULA 18 1 3 0 - BUCCINUM 14 0 18 0 - BULIMUS 89 5 12 0 - BULLIA 4 0 5 6 - CALYPTRÆA 8 0 10 6 - CANCELLARIA 18 1 3 0 - CAPSA 1 0 1 6 - CAPSELLA 2 0 3 0 - CARDITA 9 0 11 6 - CARDIUM 22 1 8 0 - CARINARIA 1 0 1 6 - CASSIDARIA 1 0 1 6 - CASSIS 12 0 15 6 - CERITHIUM 20 1 5 6 - CHAMA 9 0 11 6 - CHAMOSTREA 1 0 1 6 - CHITON 33 2 2 0 - CHITONELLUS 1 0 1 6 - CHONDROPOMA 11 0 14 0 - CIRCE 10 0 13 0 - COLUMBELLA 37 2 7 0 - CONCHOLEPAS 2 0 3 0 - CONUS 56 3 11 0 - CORBULA 5 0 6 6 - CRANIA 1 0 1 6 - CRASSATELLA 3 0 4 0 - CRENATULA 2 0 3 0 - CREPIDULA 5 0 6 6 - CRUCIBULUM 7 0 9 0 - CYCLOPHORUS 20 1 5 6 - CYCLOSTOMA 23 1 9 0 - CYCLOTUS 9 0 11 6 - CYMBIUM 26 1 13 0 - CYPRÆA 27 1 14 6 - CYPRICARDIA 2 0 3 0 - CYTHEREA 10 0 13 0 - DELPHINULA 5 0 6 6 - DIONE 12 0 15 6 - DOLIUM 8 0 10 6 - DONAX 9 0 11 6 - EBURNA 1 0 1 6 - ERATO 3 0 4 0 - EULIMA 6 0 8 0 - FASCIOLARIA 7 0 9 0 - FICULA 1 0 1 6 - FISSURELLA 16 1 0 6 - FUSUS 21 1 6 6 - GLAUCONOME 1 0 1 6 - HALIA 1 0 1 6 - HALIOTIS 17 1 1 6 - HARPA 4 0 5 6 - HELIX 210 13 5 0 - HEMIPECTEN 1 0 1 6 - HEMISINUS 6 0 8 0 - HINNITES 1 0 1 6 - HIPPOPUS 1 0 1 6 - IANTHINA 5 0 6 6 - IO 3 0 4 0 - ISOCARDIA 1 0 1 6 - LEPTOPOMA 8 0 10 6 - LINGULA 2 0 3 0 - LITHODOMUS 5 0 6 6 - LITTORINA 18 1 3 0 - LUCINA 11 0 14 0 - LUTRARIA 5 0 6 6 - MACTRA 21 1 6 6 - MALLEUS 3 0 4 0 - MANGELIA 8 0 10 6 - MARGINELLA 27 1 14 6 - MELANIA 59 3 14 6 - MELANOPSIS 3 0 4 0 - MELATOMA 3 0 4 0 - MEROE 3 0 4 0 - MESALIA & EGLISIA 1 0 1 6 - MESODESMA 4 0 5 6 - META 1 0 1 6 - MITRA 39 2 9 6 - MODIOLA 11 0 14 0 - MONOCEROS 4 0 5 6 - MUREX 37 2 7 0 - MYADORA 1 0 1 6 - MYOCHAMA 1 0 1 6 - MYTILUS 11 0 14 0 - NASSA 29 1 17 0 - NATICA 30 1 18 0 - NAUTILUS 6 0 8 0 - NAVICELLA & LATIA 8 0 10 6 - NERITA 19 1 4 0 - NERITINA 37 2 7 0 - OLIVA 30 1 18 0 - ONISCIA 1 0 1 6 - ORBICULA 1 0 1 6 - OVULUM 14 0 18 0 - PALUDINA 11 0 14 0 - PALUDOMUS 3 0 4 0 - PARTULA 4 0 5 6 - PATELLA 42 2 13 0 - PECTEN 35 2 4 6 - PECTUNCULUS 9 0 11 6 - PEDUM 1 0 1 6 - PERNA 6 0 8 0 - PHASIANELLA 6 0 8 0 - PHORUS 3 0 4 0 - PINNA 34 2 3 0 - PIRENA 2 0 3 0 - PLACUNANOMIA 3 0 4 0 - PLEUROTOMA 40 2 10 6 - PSAMMOBIA 8 0 10 6 - PSAMMOTELLA 1 0 1 6 - PTEROCERA 6 0 8 0 - PTEROCYCLOS 5 0 6 6 - PURPURA 13 0 16 6 - PYRAMIDELLA 6 0 8 0 - PYRULA 9 0 11 6 - RANELLA 8 0 10 6 - RICINULA 6 0 8 0 - ROSTELLARIA 3 0 4 6 - SANGUINOLARIA 1 0 1 6 - SCARABUS 3 0 4 0 - SIGARETUS 5 0 6 6 - SIMPULOPSIS 2 0 3 0 - SIPHONARIA 7 0 9 0 - SOLARIUM 3 0 4 0 - SOLETELLINA 4 0 5 6 - SPONDYLUS 18 1 3 0 - STROMBUS 19 1 4 0 - STRUTHIOLARIA 1 0 1 6 - TAPES 13 0 16 6 - TELESCOPIUM 1 0 1 6 - TEREBRA 27 1 14 6 - TEREBELLUM 1 0 1 6 - TEREBRATULA & RYNCHONELLA 11 0 14 0 - THRACIA 3 0 4 0 - TORNATELLA 4 0 5 6 - TRIDACNA 8 0 10 6 - TRIGONIA 1 0 1 6 - TRITON 20 1 5 6 - TROCHITA 3 0 4 0 - TROCHUS 16 1 0 6 - TUGONIA 1 0 1 6 - TURBINELLA 13 0 16 6 - TURBO 13 0 16 6 - TURRITELLA 11 0 14 0 - UMBRELLA 1 0 1 6 - VENUS 26 1 13 0 - VERTAGUS 5 0 6 6 - VITRINA 10 0 13 0 - VOLUTA 22 1 8 0 - VULSELLA 2 0 3 0 - ZIZYPHINUS 8 0 10 6 - - -------------- - - CONCHOLOGIA SYSTEMATICA; or, Complete System of Conchology. By LOVELL - REEVE, F.L.S. Demy 4to, 2 vols. pp. 537, 300 Plates, £8. 8_s_. - coloured. - -Of this work only a few copies remain. It is a useful companion to the -collector of shells, on account of the very large number of specimens -figured, as many as six plates being devoted in some instances to the -illustration of a single genus. - - INSECTS. - - ------- - - CURTIS’ BRITISH ENTOMOLOGY. Illustrations and Descriptions of the - Genera of Insects found in Great Britain and Ireland, containing - Coloured Figures, from nature, of the most rare and beautiful - species, and, in many instances, upon the plants on which they are - found. Royal 8vo, 8 vols., 770 Plates, coloured, £21. - - Or in separate Monographs. - - Orders. Plates. £. _s_. _d_. - APHANIPTERA 2 0 2 0 - COLEOPTERA 256 8 0 0 - DERMAPTERA 1 0 1 0 - DICTYOPTERA 1 0 1 0 - DIPTERA 103 3 5 0 - HEMIPTERA 32 1 1 0 - HOMOPTERA 21 0 14 0 - HYMENOPTERA 125 4 0 0 - LEPIDOPTERA 193 6 0 0 - NEUROPTERA 13 0 9 0 - OMALOPTERA 6 0 4 6 - ORTHOPTERA 5 0 4 0 - STREPSIPTERA 3 0 2 6 - TRICHOPTERA 9 0 6 6 - -‘Curtis’ Entomology,’ which Cuvier pronounced to have “reached the -ultimatum of perfection,” is still the standard work on the Genera of -British Insects. The Figures executed by the author himself, with -wonderful minuteness and accuracy, have never been surpassed, even if -equalled. The price at which the work was originally published was £43. -16_s_. - - -------------- - - INSECTA BRITANNICA; Vols. II. and III., Diptera. By FRANCIS WALKER, - F.L.S. 8vo, each, with 10 plates, 25_s_. - - TRAVELS. - - ------- - - THREE CITIES IN RUSSIA. By Professor C. PIAZZI SMYTH, F.R.S. Post 8vo, - 2 Vols., 1016 pp. Maps and Wood-Engravings, 26_s_. - -The narrative of a tour made in the summer of 1859 by the Astronomer -Royal of Scotland, to the cities of St. Petersburg, Moscow, and -Novgorod. - - -------------- - - THE GATE OF THE PACIFIC. By Commander BEDFORD PIM, R.N. Demy 8vo, 430 - pp., with 7 Maps and 8 Tinted Chromo-Lithographs, 18_s_. - -A spirited narrative of Commander Pim’s explorations in Central America, -made with the view of establishing a new overland route from the -Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans, through English enterprise, by way of -Nicaragua. - - -------------- - - TRAVELS ON THE AMAZON AND RIO NEGRO; with an Account of the Native - Tribes, and Observations on the Climate, Geology, and Natural - History of the Amazon Valley. By ALFRED R. WALLACE. Demy 8vo, 541 - pp., with Map and Tinted Frontispiece, 18_s_. - -A lively narrative of travels in one of the most interesting districts -of the Southern Hemisphere, accompanied by Remarks on the Vocabularies -of the Languages, by Dr. R. G. LATHAM. - - -------------- - - WESTERN HIMALAYA AND TIBET; a Narrative of a Journey through the - Mountains of Northern India, during the Years 1847-1848. By Dr. - THOMSON, F.R.S. Demy 8vo, 500 pp., with Map and Tinted - Frontispiece, 15_s_. - -A summary of the physical features, chiefly botanical and geological, of -the country travelled over in a mission undertaken for the Indian -Government, from Simla across the Himalayan Mountains into Tibet, and to -the summit of the Karakoram Mountains; including also an excellent -description of Kashmir. - - -------------- - - TRAVELS IN THE INTERIOR OF BRAZIL, principally through the Northern - Provinces and the Gold and Diamond Districts, during the years - 1836-1841. By Dr. GEORGE GARDNER, F.L.S. Second Edition. Demy 8vo, - 428 pp., with Map and Tinted Frontispiece, 12_s_. - -The narrative of an arduous journey, undertaken by an enthusiastic -naturalist, through Brazil Proper, Bahia, Maranham, and Pernambuco, -written in a lively style, with glowing descriptions of the grandeur of -the vegetation. - - ANTIQUARIAN. - - ------- - - MAN’S AGE IN THE WORLD ACCORDING TO HOLY SCRIPTURE AND SCIENCE. By an - ESSEX RECTOR. Demy 8vo, 264 pp., 8_s_. 6_d_. - -The Author, recognizing the established facts and inevitable deductions -of Science, and believing all attempts to reconcile them with the -commonly received, but erroneous, literal interpretation of Scripture, -not only futile, but detrimental to the cause of Truth, seeks an -interpretation of the Sacred Writings on general principles, consistent -alike with their authenticity, when rightly understood, and with the -exigencies of Science. He treats in successive chapters of The Flint -Weapons of the Drift,—The Creation,—The Paradisiacal State,—The -Genealogies,—The Deluge,—Babel and the Dispersion; and adds an Appendix -of valuable information from various sources. - - -------------- - - THE ANTIQUITY OF MAN. An Examination of Sir Charles Lyell’s recent - Work. By S. R. PATTISON, F.G.S. Second Edition. 8vo, 1_s_. - - -------------- - - HORÆ FERALES; or, Studies in the Archæology of the Northern Nations. - By the late JOHN M. KEMBLE, M.A. Edited by Dr. R. G. LATHAM, - F.R.S., and A. W. FRANKS, M.A. Royal 4to, 263 pp., 34 Plates, many - coloured, £3. 3_s_. - -The principal material left by the late Mr. Kemble for this work was an -extensive and interesting series of drawings; and the thirty-four Plates -consist of a selection from these, with some important additions, -described and figured under the superintendence of the Director of the -Society of Antiquaries. The objects delineated comprise Stone Implements -and Weapons, Axes and Hammers, Bronze Implements, Arrow-Heads, Spears, -Daggers, Swords, Shields, Helmets and Trumpets, Iron Daggers and Swords, -Enamelled Horse-Trappings, Bronze Horse-Trappings, Fibulæ, Armlets, -Diadems, Collars and Personal Ornaments, Teutonic Swords, Weapons, and -Brooches, and a variety of Urns and other sepulchral objects. - - -------------- - - A MANUAL OF BRITISH ARCHÆOLOGY. By CHARLES BOUTELL, M.A. Royal 16mo, - 398 pp., 20 coloured plates, 10_s_. 6_d_. - -A treatise on general subjects of antiquity, written especially for the -student of archæology, as a preparation for more elaborate works. -Architecture, Sepulchral Monuments, Heraldry, Seals, Coins, Illuminated -Manuscripts and Inscriptions, Arms and Armour, Costume and Personal -Ornaments, Pottery, Porcelain and Glass, Clocks, Locks, Carvings, -Mosaics, Embroidery, etc., are treated of in succession, the whole being -illustrated by 20 attractive Plates of Coloured Figures of the various -objects. - - -------------- - - THE BEWICK COLLECTOR. A Descriptive Catalogue of the Works of THOMAS - and JOHN BEWICK, including Cuts, in various states, for Books and - Pamphlets, Private Gentlemen, Public Companies, Exhibitions, - Races, Newspapers, Shop Cards, Invoice Heads, Bar Bills, Coal - Certificates, Broadsides, and other miscellaneous purposes, and - Wood Blocks. With an Appendix of Portraits, Autographs, Works of - Pupils, etc. The whole described from the Originals contained in - the Largest and most Perfect Collection ever formed, and - illustrated with a Hundred and Twelve Cuts from Bewick’s own - Blocks. By the Rev. THOMAS HUGO, M.A., F.S.A., the Possessor of - the Collection. Demy 8vo, pp. 562, price 21_s_.; imperial 8vo - (limited to 100 copies), with a fine Steel Engraving of Thomas - Bewick, £2. 2_s_. The Portrait may be had separately, on imperial - folio, price 7_s_. 6_d_. - - -------------- - - WHITNEY’S “CHOICE OF EMBLEMS;” a Facsimile Reprint by - Photo-lithography. With an Introductory Dissertation, Essays - Literary and Bibliographical, and Explanatory Notes. By HENRY - GREEN, M.A. Post 4to, pp. lxxxviii., 468. 72 Facsimile Plates, - 42_s_. - -A beautiful and interesting reproduction by Photo-lithography of one of -the best specimens of this curious class of literature of the sixteenth -century. An Introductory Dissertation of eighty-eight pages traces the -history of Emblematic Literature from the earliest times, and gives an -Account of the Life and Writings of Geoffrey Whitney, followed by an -Index to the Mottoes, with Translations, and some Proverbial -Expressions. The facsimile reproduction of the ‘Emblems,’ with their -quaint pictorial Illustrations, occupies 230 pages. Then follow Essays -on the Subjects and Sources of the Mottoes and Devices, on Obsolete -Words in Whitney, with parallels, chiefly from Chaucer, Spenser, and -Shakespeare; Biographical Notices of some other emblem-writers to whom -Whitney was indebted; Shakespeare’s references to emblem-books, and to -Whitney’s emblems in particular; Literary and Biographical Notes -explanatory of some of Whitney’s emblems, and of the persons to whom -they are dedicated. Seventy-two exceedingly curious plates, reproduced -in facsimile, illustrate this portion of the work, and a copious General -Index concludes the volume. - - -------------- - - SHAKESPEARE’S SONNETS, Facsimile, by Photo-Zincography, of the First - Printed edition of 1609. From the Copy in the Library of - Bridgewater House, by permission of the Right Hon. the Earl of - Ellesmere. 10_s_. 6_d_. - - -------------- - - A SURVEY OF THE EARLY GEOGRAPHY OF WESTERN EUROPE, as connected with - the First Inhabitants of Britain, their Origin, Language, - Religious Rites, and Edifices. By HENRY LAWES LONG, Esq. 8vo, - 6_s_. - - MISCELLANEOUS. - - ------- - - MANUAL OF CHEMICAL ANALYSIS, Qualitative and Quantitative; for the Use - of Students. By Dr. HENRY M. NOAD, F.R.S. Crown 8vo, pp. 663, 109 - Wood-Engravings, 16_s_. Or, separately, Part I., ‘QUALITATIVE,’ - 6_s_.; Part II., ‘QUANTITATIVE,’ 10_s_. 6_d_. - -A Copiously-illustrated, Useful, Practical Manual of Chemical Analysis, -prepared for the Use of Students by the Lecturer on Chemistry at St. -George’s Hospital. The illustrations consist of a series of -highly-finished Wood-Engravings, chiefly of the most approved forms and -varieties of apparatus. - - -------------- - - PHOSPHORESCENCE; or, the Emission of Light by Minerals, Plants, and - Animals. By Dr. T. L. PHIPSON, F.C.S. Small 8vo, 225 pp., 30 - Wood-Engravings and Coloured Frontispiece, 5_s_. - -An interesting summary of the various phosphoric phenomena that have -been observed in nature,—in the mineral, in the vegetable, and in the -animal world. - - -------------- - - DICTIONARY OF NATURAL HISTORY TERMS, with their Derivatives, including - the various Orders, Genera, and Species. By DAVID H. M’NICOLL, - M.D. Crown 8vo, 584 pp., 12_s_. 6_d_. - -An attempt to furnish what has long been a desideratum in natural -history,—a dictionary of technical terms, with their meanings and -derivatives. - - -------------- - - THE ZOOLOGY OF THE VOYAGE OF H.M.S. SAMARANG, under the command of - Captain Sir Edward Belcher, C.B., during the Years 1843-46. By - Professor OWEN, Dr. J. E. GRAY, Sir J. RICHARDSON, A. ADAMS, L. - REEVE, and A. WHITE. Edited by ARTHUR ADAMS, F.L.S. Royal 4to, 257 - pp., 55 Plates, mostly coloured, £3. 10_s_. - -In this work, illustrative of the new species of animals collected -during the surveying expedition of H.M.S. Samarang in the Eastern Seas -in the years 1843-1846, there are 7 Plates of Quadrupeds, 1 of Reptiles, -10 of Fishes, 24 of Mollusca and Shells, and 13 of Crustacea. The -Mollusca, which are particularly interesting, include the anatomy of -_Spirula_ by Professor Owen, and a number of beautiful Figures of the -living animals by Mr. Arthur Adams. - - -------------- - - LITERARY PAPERS ON SCIENTIFIC SUBJECTS. By the late Professor EDWARD - FORBES, F.R.S., selected from his Writings in the ‘Literary - Gazette.’ With a Portrait and Memoir. Small 8vo, 6_s_. - - -------------- - - THE PLANETARY AND STELLAR UNIVERSE. A Series of Lectures. With - Illustrations. By R. J. MANN. 12mo, 5_s_. - - -------------- - - THE GEOLOGIST. A Magazine of Geology, Palæontology, and Mineralogy. - Illustrated with highly-finished Wood-Engravings. Edited by S. J. - MACKIE, F.G.S., F.S.A. Vols. V. and VI., each, with numerous - Wood-Engravings, 18_s_. Vol. VII., 9_s_. - - -------------- - - OUTLINES OF ELEMENTARY BOTANY, as Introductory to Local Floras. By - GEORGE BENTHAM, F.R.S., President of the Linnean Society. Demy - 8vo, pp. 45, 2_s_. 6_d_. - - -------------- - - ON THE FLORA OF AUSTRALIA, its Origin, Affinities, and Distribution; - being an Introductory Essay to the ‘Flora of Tasmania.’ By Dr. J. - D. HOOKER, F.R.S. 128 pp., quarto, 10_s_. - - -------------- - - GUIDE TO COOL-ORCHID GROWING. By JAMES BATEMAN, Esq., F.R.S., Author - of ‘The Orchidaceæ of Mexico and Guatemala.’ Woodcuts, 1_s_. - - -------------- - - A TREATISE ON THE GROWTH AND FUTURE TREATMENT OF TIMBER TREES. By G. - W. NEWTON, of Ollersett, J.P. Half-bound calf, 10_s_. 6_d_. - - -------------- - - PARKS AND PLEASURE GROUNDS; or, Practical Notes on Country Residences, - Villas, Public Parks, and Gardens. By CHARLES H. J. SMITH, - Landscape Gardener. Crown 8vo, 6_s_. - - -------------- - - THE STEREOSCOPIC MAGAZINE. A Gallery for the Stereoscope of Landscape - Scenery, Architecture, Antiquities, Natural History, Rustic - Character, etc. With Descriptions. 5 vols., each complete in - itself and containing 50 Stereographs, £2. 2_s_. - - -------------- - - THE CONWAY. Narrative of a Walking Tour in North Wales; accompanied by - Descriptive and Historical Notes. By J. B. DAVIDSON, Esq., M.A. - Extra gilt, 20 stereographs of Welsh Scenery, 21_s_. - - -------------- - - THE ARTIFICIAL PRODUCTION OF FISH. By PISCARIUS. Third Edition. 1_s_. - - -------------- - - =Commencement of a New Series of Natural History - for Beginners.= - - -------------- - - BRITISH BEETLES; an Introduction to the study of our Indigenous - COLEOPTERA. By E. C. RYE. Crown 8vo, 16 Coloured Steel Plates, - comprising Figures of nearly 100 Species, engraved from Natural - Specimens, expressly for the work, by E. W. ROBINSON, and 11 - Wood-Engravings of Dissections by the Author, 10_s_. 6_d_. - [_Ready._ - - -------------- - - BRITISH SPIDERS; an Introduction to the study of the ARANEIDÆ of Great - Britain and Ireland. By E. F. STAVELEY. Crown 8vo, 16 Coloured - Plates and Wood-Engravings, 10_s_. 6_d_. [_Ready._ - - -------------- - - BRITISH BEES; an Introduction to the study of the Natural History and - Economy of the Bees indigenous to the British Isles. By W. E. - SCHUCKARD. Crown 8vo, 16 Coloured Plates, and Wood-Engravings, - 10_s_. 6_d_. [Ready. - - -------------- - - BRITISH BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS; an Introduction to the study of our - Native LEPIDOPTERA. By H. T. STAINTON. Crown 8vo, 16 Coloured - Plates, and Wood-Engravings, 10_s_. 6_d_. [_In preparation._ - - -------------- - - BRITISH FERNS: an Introduction to the study of the Ferns, LYCOPODS, - and EQUISETA indigenous to the British Isles. With Chapters on the - Structure, Propagation, Cultivation, Diseases, Uses, Preservation, - and Distribution of Ferns. By MARGARET PLUES. Crown 8vo, 16 - Coloured Plates, and Wood-Engravings, 10_s_. 6_d_. [_Ready._ - - -------------- - - BRITISH SEAWEEDS; an Introduction to the study of our Native Marine - ALGÆ. By S. O. GRAY. Crown 8vo, 16 Coloured Plates, and - Wood-Engravings, 10_s_. 6_d_. [_In preparation._ - -⸪ A good introductory series of books on British Natural History for the -use of students and amateurs is still a _desideratum_. Those at present -in use have been too much compiled from antiquated sources; while the -figures, copied in many instances from sources equally antiquated, are -far from accurate, the colouring of them having become degenerated -through the adoption, for the sake of cheapness, of mechanical -processes. - -The present series will be entirely the result of original research -carried to its most advanced point; and the figures, which will be -chiefly engraved on steel, by the artist most highly renowned in each -department for his technical knowledge of the subjects, will in all -cases be drawn from actual specimens, and coloured separately by hand. - - LONDON: - - LOVELL REEVE & CO., 5 HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - ● Transcriber’s Notes: - ○ The drawing for Fig. 5 (on page 26 of the printed book) was - corrected to show that (b) is the face and the two arrows pointing - to the compound eyes are marked (d). - ○ Missing or obscured punctuation were corrected. - ○ Typographical errors were silently corrected. - ○ On page 250, the number of the Genus was wrong. It was changed - from - “Genus 2. ANTHOPHORA, _Latreille_.” to - “Genus 11. ANTHOPHORA, _Latreille_.” - ○ On page 211, in the description of Genus 5, the notation for the - sexes shows the female symbol inverted. There is no other use of - the symbol in this manner, so it was corrected. (Plate V. fig. 1 ♂ - ♀.) - ○ Spelling and hyphenation were made consistent when a predominant - form was found in this book; otherwise it was not changed. - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's British Bees, by William Edward (W. E.) 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