SOLITARY BEES. '^55 



tliopliila, ox Flower-lovers, and sometimes Mellifera, or Honey- 

 bearers. It comprises the insects which are familiarly known 

 as Bees. As is the case with the Wasps, the Bees are both Social 

 and Solitary, and in the former case the workers, or imperfect 

 females, form the majority of the community. The antennse 

 of the male Bees have thirteen joints, and those of the females 

 only twelve ; and the same proportion exists in the rings or 

 segments of the abdomen, the male having seven, and the 

 female only six. The larva is always fed on pollen or honey, 

 or both, this food being- stored in cells constructed for the 

 purpose. 



Ail these insects possess a very remarkable modification of 

 the parts of the mouth which are formed with the organ 

 known as the tongue, trunk, or proboscis. The end of the 

 tongue is furnished with a slender brush, formed by tiny hairs 

 wliich edge the rings of which the organ is composed. Mag- 

 nified illustrations of the tongues of two kinds of Bee may be 

 seen on Woodcut XXXVII. Figs, a and b. A very full and 

 detailed description of this organ is given by Mr. Westwood in 

 his admirable 'Introduction,' vol. ii. pp. 256-260. I strongly 

 recommend any of my readers who wish to make themselves 

 adepts in practical entomology, to procure a few specimens of 

 the Icirgest Bees and examine this beautiful apparatus with the 

 aid of a lens The common Humble-bees will answer the purpose 

 very well. This apparatus is used, as we all know, for ex- 

 tracting from flowers the sweet juices which will become honey 

 after being taken into the system of the insect. The juices in 

 question are not sucked, as they are by the proboscis of a 

 moth or butterfly, but are swept out of the flower by means of 

 the brush. 



The first family, called Andrenidae, comprises the Solitary 

 Bees, and is divided into two groups, namely, the Obtusi- 

 lingues, or blunt-tongued Bees, and the Acutilingues, or sharp- 

 tongued Bees ; the tongues of the former group resembling 

 those of the wasps, while those of the second group are long, 

 lance-shaped, and pointed. Examples of the sharp-tongues 

 will presently be given. 



On Woodcut XXXV. Fig. 3, is drawn a Solitary Bee called 

 If (1,1 Ictus rubicundus. In this genus the head is rather trian- 

 gular, aud the ocelli are set in a curve upon the crown. The 



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