REVIEWS. 101 



honeybag o' the bee," before his acquaintance with the sweets of Shaks- 

 peare's Muse has gone much further. We turn to Kirby's homely, but 

 faithful, picture of their awkward feats in the science of self-defence. 

 " When these animals are walking upon the ground, if a finger be moved 

 to them, they lift up the three legs of one side to defend themselves, 

 which gives them a very grotesque appearance." Mr. Smith has noticed 

 more particularly 



" The various degrees of pugnacity which they exhibit when their dominions are 

 invaded ; the moss-builders exhibit little or no courage in the defence of their 

 citadel, they may be taken with impunity ; but a far different race are those which 

 build underground ; these are bold and daring insects, which defend their nests 

 with great courage. 



" The term moss-builders must not be taken literally, since many nests are 

 composed entirely of grass and leaves ; but in situations where moss is plentiful, 

 the nests will be found to be constructed entirely of that material. To show that 

 humble-bees avail themselves of such materials as are most readily found, and 

 suitable to their purpose, I may instance a very remarkable nest found near a 

 farm-house. One of the brown species of humble-bees was observed frequently 

 flying into a stable through the latticed window ; the bee was busily engaged in 

 collecting bundles of short horse-hair accumulated from the currying of horses ; 

 this she flew off with to a short distance, and settled down with it amongst some 

 grass ; on examining the spot, a nest composed entirely of horse-hair was dis- 

 covered ; this interesting nest was destroyed before the bee had quite completed its 

 construction. Another very interesting deviation from the usual economy of the 

 moss-building bees was observed by Dr. William Bell. During the summer of 

 1854, a robin built its nest in the porch of his cottage at Putney; some time after 

 this had been observed, an humble-bee took possession of the nest, and adapted it 

 to her own purpose; he was, unfortunately, unable to identify the species by cap- 

 turing a specimen, the nest having been destroyed ; but Dr. Bell saw the bee on 

 one occasion, and observed that it was black \\ith yellow bands, probably Bornbus 

 pratorum." 



The economy of the " cuckoo-bees" has been hitherto so imperfectly 

 investigated, that Mr. Smith may justly claim credit for the additional 

 materials he has contributed towards their biography. Of the Nomadce] 

 the most numerous in species among the parasitic genera, we have the 

 following account : 



' ' The bees belonging to this genus are popularly known by the name of wasp- 

 bees, from their close resemblance, in their gay colouring, to the smaller species of 

 Vespidse ; they are, however, true bees, and constitute the most beautiful of all the 

 genera found in this country ; notwithstanding the generally-received history of 

 their economy, we shall search in vain for much precise information. 

 No one appears to know anything beyond the mere fact of their entering the bur- 

 rows of Andrenidas and Apidaj, except that they are found in the cells of the 

 working bees in their perfect condition ; it is most probable that they deposit on 

 the provision laid up by the working-bee, that they close up the cell, and that the 

 working-bee, finding an egg deposited, commences a fresh cell for her own pro- 

 geny. My reason for thinking it probable that the parasite closes the cell is, that 

 1 have frequently captured Nomadse and Melectse with masses of clay attached to 

 their posterior tibiae ; and in the well-known genus of exotic parasitic bees, Cro- 

 cisa, specimens are of frequent occurrence which have masses of clay or mixed 

 earth on their tibise ; this, however, requires, and is deserving of, further investi- 

 gation. I have found several of the species in the cells of Andrenidse these will 



