Packard.] INSECTS AS MIMICS. 291 



ine a number of cases, some of which are not recorded so 

 far as the writer is aware, but which any one can see for 

 Iiimself in his rambles out of doors. 



The humble bees are mimicked bj' the Apathus, which 

 takes up its abode in their nests. The peculiar relations 

 existing between the Apathus and its host are not well 

 understood. The Apathus is closely related to the humble 

 bee, only differing fi*om it in the structure of the jaws and 

 hind legs, disabling it from gathering honey and pollen and 

 caring for its young. Another well known mimic of humble 

 bees is the Volucella, a large, plump, hirsute fly, in form 

 and color closely copying the bee. Protected by this resem- 

 blance they enter the nests of their hosts, and their young 

 devour the young bees. Bees fiq. 227. 



are also mimicked by certain 

 Syrphus flies (see Fig. 107) 

 and by Laphria flies. The 

 wasps are imitated often very 

 closely by certain S^'rphus flies 

 (Fig, 26, a). The most extra- 

 ordinary case of this kind is a 

 Syrphus fly called Spilomyia. 



*' ^ '' I ^ Vespa maciilata. 



I once noticed this fly resting 



on a leaf in northern Maine, and involuntarily drew back, 

 supposing it to be a white faced wasp ( Vespa maculata. Fig. 

 227). It is smooth-bodied with the abdomen nearly cylin- 

 drical and thoroughly wasp-like. The position and form of 

 the markings are almost exactly as in the wasp ; the face is 

 white, and the eyes are banded with white in imitation of 

 the white orbits of the Avasps. Even the abdomen or hind 

 body is banded only towards the tip as in the wasp, while 

 the legs are slashed with white much as in the wasp. An- 

 otlier Syrphus {Epopter vittatxs), with a cylindrical body, is 

 banded with bright yellow and resembles the Vesjya vulgaris, 

 while there are other species, such as Doros hahjras, which 



3 



