110 STYLOPS. 



field, for they make their escape from the body of the bee almost 

 as soon as the bee begins its flight. The brighter the morning the 

 earlier it will be out. From 9 to 11 a.m. is the best time, and 

 after the turn of the day it would be almost useless to attempt to 

 find it, unless the weather were dull and showery. 



There is a very interesting record in " The Entomologist's 

 Monthly Magazine" of the capture of a number of Atriceps, 

 stylopised, at Hampstead Heath, by Mr. Enoch, on the 5th and 

 6th of April, 1875. On those two days, he captured 46 specimens 

 of that bee, and from these he obtained no less than 59 specimens 

 of Sty lops — 19 males and 40 females. These were all afterwards 

 bred from the bees in captivity, some of which, he tells us, did not 

 emerge for 20 days ; a very long time to keep captive bees 

 alive. On these two days he only saw one Stylops on the 

 wing, and his description of its flight was as follows : — "A 

 little before 11.30, I saw something flying in a very peculiar 

 manner over a broom-bush. I captured it with my net ; it proved 

 to be a male Stylops. I think I should now know a Stylops on 

 the wing the moment I saw it. Its flight is different to anything 

 else I have ever seen — a very peculiar, unsteady flight, something 

 like an ephemeron, or what I should call an uncomfortable flight 

 up and down, this way and that way ; in fact, at all angles, not 

 keeping in one direction apparently for more than 6 or 7 inches." 



Another entomologist tells us, that after capturing one on the 

 wing, he on another occasion saw about 20 flying, but they were 

 so high from the ground he could only capture half-a-dozen. 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 from the ground. Their expanse of wing 

 and mode of flight gave them a very different appearance to any 

 other insect. When captured, they are exceedingly active, 

 running up and down the sides of the bottle in which they are 

 confined, and moving their wings and antennse very rapidly. Mr. 

 Dale also tells us that Stylops flies with an undulating or vacci- 

 lating motion, and one he caught ran up and down, keeping its 

 wings in motion, and making a considerable buzz or hum, as loud 

 as a Sesia. It twisted its rather long tail about, and twined it up 



