BEES AND THEIR COUNTERFEITS. 9 



as a receptacle in which the pollen collected from flowers is 

 carried to the nest. This peculiarity of form is seen in the 

 engraving, Fig. I ; while the corresponding part of the hind 

 leg, as shown in Fig. 2, will be observed to be simply rounded. 

 These parasites, having neither the instinct to collect food for 

 their expected progeny, nor, in fact, the means of carrying it 

 home, even if they had the desire, have been considered by 

 naturalists to be entirely without those parental and home 

 instincts which distinguish the collecting and harvesting 

 kinds, and from this apparent apathy in regard to providing 

 food or {)rotection for their young being the chief charac- 



teristics of all parasites, the whole genus has been named 

 Apathus, by an eminent English naturalist, in place of the 

 name Cuculinw, or cuckoo-bees, given to them by Latreille. 

 The light band on the thorax, or forepart near the head, is less 

 distinct in the Apatlius, and the abdomen is less profusely 

 furred. 



The insect shown in Fig. 3 is still more curious, and 

 although, at first sight, it seems to resemble both the bees so 

 much as to be mistaken for them, it will be found on closer 

 examination to be not only far from identical, but radically 

 different. It is, in fact, merely the size and general colouring 

 which deceive the untrained eye. On examination, almost 

 every part of its structure will be found to be very distinct 

 from that of the bee : the eyes are differently placed, and 



