44 THE FLORIST. 



the state of the dead ends, which had been cut ofF obh'quely, we observed a 

 little glossy black flv, full of activity, alight on the top of one of the twigs, and 

 as suddenly creep into one of the little circular burrows which we had observed 

 formed in the soft pithy part of the twig. Our attention was immediately roused, 

 not onlv by the action'of the insect itself, but also from the fact that it carried 

 some small green ol)jcct in its mouth. It soon flew out of the hole, and after 

 patiently watching the stem, we saw it again approach, but more carefully, in 

 consequence of our being so close to its burrow. We had, therefore, an oppor- 

 tunity of observing that its load was a green aphis, which it at length took into 

 its hole, as it had done with the former. 



This ol)servation let us into the whole secret of the manufacture of the 

 burrows, the insect by which, and the object for which, they were made. Our 

 little black fly was one of the small burrowing wood-wasps; and it made these 

 holes for the' purpose of fitting up a cell for the abode of its progeny still 

 unborn ; the food of which, when hatched, was to consist of the store of aphides 

 which it was then engaged in burying. Such is the course of proceeding of 

 many species of sand and wood-wasps, whose economy has been often observed, 

 and is well known ; but this species presented several circumstances worthy of 

 notice. The aphis Avas carried by the wasp in its jaws ; whereas many of the 

 allied species make use either of their fore, middle, or hind legs to clasp their 

 prey, but here it is so weak and so light in weight, that the wasp is able to carry 

 it without the assistance of its legs. Several aphides are thus deposited in the 

 little oval cell previously formed at the bottom of the burrow, together Avith an 

 egg, and then a covering is fixed over the whole ; another cell is then filled, 

 which is, of course, nearer to the top of the twig than the first, and so on, several 

 cells are thus successively formed and filled. It is important to notice that the 

 imprisoned aphides are not killed by the parent wasp (in which case they would 

 become putrid), but that the young larvae, when hatched, have a store oi fresh 

 food ; they do not, however, keep their victims long in suspense, as they are 

 quickly hatched, and are very voracious ; indeed, by the end of July or August, 

 they have attained their full size, and entirely consumed their stock of food, 

 which the parent fly has the instinct to apportion to their entire wants ; but 

 what is sufficiently curious, although they are full-grown at this early period 

 (when the heat of the weather is si;fticient to cause them quickly to imdergo 

 their transformations), yet they remain unchanged as larvae all through the 

 winter in the shape of small yellow footless gi'ubs, enclosed in a shining silken 

 kind of case, becoming pupae in the spring, and assuming the perfect winged state 

 about the end of INIay. We have reared the same insect in burrows formed in 

 the pith of elder-sticks stuck in our garden ; and Mr. F. Smith states that it also 

 burrows into bramble-sticks, depositing small green caterpillars in its cells. 



This wasp, which belongs to the Hymenopterous family of Crabronids, is 

 named, from its uniform black colour, Cemonus unicolor. It varies from rather 

 less than a quarter to more than a third of an inch in length ; it is slightly 

 covered Avith fine silvery down on the head and thorax, and has the abdomen 

 glossy, finely punctured, and affixed to the thorax by a curved footstalk scarcely 

 longer than the remainder of the first segment. The male differs from the 

 female in having more of the silvery down on the face. It is one of our com- 

 monest of insects. — J. O. W." 



CUPHEA PLATYCENTIlx\. 



As a bedding-plant, this prettiest of all the Cupheas deserves a place 

 in every flower-garden. It is true that a great many flowers are 

 more showy in the distance than this ; but upon closer inspection, 

 few \vill be found to possess more interest. When near, its white- 

 tipped bright crimson tubular blossoms are very handsome. It has 

 also the desirable property of standing rough and stormy weather 



