46 HYMENOPTERA. 



Another phase in the economy of these bees is worthy of 

 notice ; for two or three days we noticed a number of males of 

 B. Latreillellus buzzing and flying about the entrance to a 

 nest, occasionally alighting and entering, then issuing out and 

 buzzing in a most excited manner ; now and then a worker 

 returned home laden with spoil. Although we sat quite 

 close to the hole into which they entered, they took no heed 

 of us, never attempting to fly at or sting us ; in fact, so 

 harmless they appeared, that we picked up several in our 

 fingers as they issued forth ; the males, it is true, kept up 

 a continual buzzing about our heads, and we occasionally 

 captured a fine highly coloured specimen ; at last we ob- 

 served the cause of this assemblage of males ; a fine fresh 

 example of the female at last showed herself at the entrance 

 to the nest, this was a signal for a more furious buzzing 

 than before ; numbers alighted within a few inches of the 

 female, and a fierce combat ensued ; about ten or twelve 

 of these males clung together and rolled over and over, 

 struggling in close combat ; the female, who had retreated 

 into the burrow, again appeared, and this time took 

 flight ; in a moment every male was gone, the whole host, 

 not less than twenty or more, flew off in chase of the 

 female, — we saw them no more. We noticed another day 

 an assemblage of males as before, but we saw no second 

 female take flight. 



