DEVELOPMENT OF THE STYLOPS. 



509 



bees visit the flowers, they attach themselves to them, and are 

 carried to their nests. 



"Judging from the multitude of larvte produced by each 

 female StylojJS, amounting to many hundreds in each case, and 

 the rarity of the perfect insect, the majority must perish, pro- 

 bably in their larval condition. From tlie fact of seldom more 

 than two Stylops being found to infest the same bee, we may 

 suppose that to be the largest number wliich infests one larva of 

 an Andrena. They undergo their changes in the body of the 

 bee, the male on its final transformation becoming an active 

 winged insect, the female remaining a mere apod, attached for 

 life to the bee which nourished it." 



Besides the Stylops, there are several other parasites which 

 infest this much-enduring bee, the curious little orange-coloured 

 larva of the Meloe being perhaps the most remarkable. A full 

 description of this larva and its development is given in my 

 " Insects at Home," p. 154. 



The specific name Holomelana is formed from tw^o Greek words 

 signifying " wholly black," and is given to the species because its 

 colour is entirely shining black. 



The strange-looking bee which is shown in the illustration 



It 



Europea 



has been selected on account of its beauty. 



species, but has never been 



found in England, where only 



one representative of tlie ^ 



genus is known, namely, 



Dasypoda hirtijycs, which Mr. 



Smith describes as being 



perhaps the most beautiful 



bee found in this country. 



In all the species belong- 

 ing to this genus the hind- 

 legs are clothed with very long downy hair. Both names refer 

 to this peculiarity, the generic name being taken from the Greek, 

 and signifying " hairy-footed," while the specific name is Latin, 

 and signifies "plumed-foot." 



This is a very beautiful bee. The original colour is black, but 

 the thorax is covered with a thick coat of silken hair, shining as if 

 spun from gold. The long hairs which fringe the legs are bright 



-Dis'i 11 1 1 1 1 In nil 

 \Mth ^olili n hM].) 



