12 Transactions of the 



themselves within the folds of the corolla — not, indeed, 

 to feed on the flower, nor even on the pollen — but for a 

 totally different purpose : the flower is merely a station on 

 their railroad of life. Very shortly the train arrives, in the 

 form of a bee, to which the larvae fearlessly attach them- 

 selves by their claws, and are incontinently carried off. But 

 the embryo oil beetles are dainty travellers ; it is not every 

 bee that will suit their purpose. The honey bee, although 

 in the nature of things the most frequent visitor of flowers, 

 is carefully eschewed, and allowed to come and go un- 

 molested. Those species only are selected which make their 

 nests below the ground, or in some similar situation. Can 

 it be that these minute insects are warned by that most 

 mysterious endowment — instinct — (a quality so far below, 

 and yet so far above, reason) that were they to follow the 

 fortunes of the hive bee, they must with it be prematurely 

 cut off by man's art ? Be that as it may, it appears to be 

 well ascertained, that altogether neglecting Ains mellifica, 

 the larvae cling only to such species as do not dwell in hives, 

 and have never been taken under the guardianship of man, 

 such as Osmia, Eucera, Melitta, Andrcena, &c. 



The fact of these larvae being found on different kinds of 

 bees was known to the earlier nattiralists ; but until Mr. 

 Newport took the matter in hand, the character of the 

 animal itself, and the purpose for which it took up its abode 

 on the bees, were alike misunderstood. Even so late as the 

 publication of Kirby and Spence's 'Introduction to Ento- 

 mology' (1815), it was thought that they were completely 

 formed animals, belonging to the section Pediculi, or lice. 

 In fact, they were named by Kirby ' Melittophagus melittce,' 

 having been previously christened by Dufour, ' Triungulimis 

 apium ; ' there was not a suspicion entertained by these 

 accurate observers that the insect was only in an interme- 

 diate stage of transformation. Under date of May 7, 1812, we 

 find Kirby making the following entry in his common-place 

 book : ' On the flowers of Ficaria, Taraxacum, and Bellis, I 

 found a great number of this insect, which seemed extremely 

 restless, running here and there over the flowers, and over 

 each other, with great swiftness, moimting the anthers, and 

 sometimes lifting themselves up above them, as if looking 

 for something. One or two of them leapt upon my hand. 

 Near one of these flowers I found a small Andrena or Halictus, 

 upon which some of these creatures were busy, sucking the 

 poor animal, so that it seemed unable to fly away. Wlien 

 disclosed from the e^g, I imagine they get on the top of 



