APIARI^E. 135 



The larva (Plate 4, Fig. 10) is longer, than that of Mega- 

 chile, and compared with that of Xylocopa, the different seg- 

 ments are much more convex, giving a serrate outline to the 

 back of the worm. The pupa, or chrysalis, we have found in 

 the cells the last of July. It is white, and three-tenths of an 

 inch long. It differs from that of the Leaf-cutter bee in having 

 four spines on the end of the body, and in having a much 

 longer tongue and maxillae, both being almost twice as long. 



In none of the wild bees are the cells constructed with more 

 nicety than those of our little Ceratina. She bores out with 

 her jaws a long deep well just the size of her body, and then 

 stretches a thin delicate cloth of silk, drawn tight as a drum- 

 head, across each end of her chambers, which she then fills with 

 a mixture of pollen and honey. 



Her young are not, in this supposed retreat, entirely free 

 from danger. The most invidious foes enter and attack 







them. Three species of Ichneumon-flies, two of which belong 

 to the Chalcid family, lay their eggs within the body of the 

 larva, and emerge from the dried larva and pupa skins of the 

 bee, often in great numbers. The smallest parasite, belonging 

 to the genus Anthophorabia (so called from being first known 

 as a parasite on another bee, Anthophora) , is a minute species 

 found also abundantly in the tight cells of the Leaf-cutter bee. 



The species of Anthidinm, according to Smith, are gaily 

 marked with yellow bands and spots ; the ligula is almost twice 

 as long as the labial palpi, and acutely pointed ; the paraglossse 

 are short, the maxillary palpi are two-jointed, and there are two 

 subcostal cells. The males are longer than the females, with an 

 elongated and stoutly toothed abdominal tip. The female lines 

 her nest, situated in any hole convenient for its purpose, with 

 down from woolly-stemmed plants. They pass the winter in 

 the larva state, and the bees do not appear until mid-summer. 

 The species mostly occur in the old world. 



In Anthophora, which approaches nearer to Bombus in its 

 plump and hairy body than the two preceding genera, the lig- 

 ula is twice as long as the labial maxillse, ending in a bristle- 

 like point ; the basal joint of the hind tarsus is thickly hirsute, 

 while the middle tarsus of the males is generally elongated. 

 The species are gregarious, their numerous cells, while indepen. 



