116 Sir S. S. Saunders on the 



It may indeed be conceivable that Kirby himself 

 eventually renounced his original notion as to the P. 

 MelittcB being distinct from the P. Apis, for, in adverting 

 to his Melittophacjus, as corresponding with the species 

 cited in his Mon. Ap. Ang. {ante, p. 107), he inserts a 

 memorandum, copied from his common-place-book, under 

 date of May 7th, 1812, wherein he states that he had 

 found on certain flowers " a great number of this insect, 

 which seemed extremely restless, running here and there 

 over the flowers and over each other, with great swift- 

 ness mounting the anthers, and sometimes lifting them- 

 selves up above them, as if looking for something." 

 This is precisely the character of the young larvae of 

 Meloe, when met with in a swarm near the place of their 

 birth, but inapplicable to the black individuals, which are 

 far more sluggish and not found thus congregated. 

 Nevertheless, Kirby makes no mention of colour here, 

 while unreservedly referring this multitude to his P. 

 Melittce, under a new generic name, without any com- 

 ment thereon, though still diffident as to their imputed 

 lineage. 



But, in order to obtain some clue to the presumable 

 identity of Kirby' s so-called Pedicidi, alias Melittophagi, 

 with the larvas of Meloe, three tests may be propounded, 

 the successful issue of any one of which may suffice for 

 this purpose : — 



1. By segregating some of the former in separate 

 tubes with suitable accompaniments — such as the brood- 

 cell of an Anthophora furnished with a newly-deposited 

 egg of the bee, or other substitutes, as mentioned below 

 — their characteristic metamorphosis to the apod larva 

 would afford adequate proof to this effect. But the 

 pollen-paste (which might also be artifically prepared 

 with honey) should be somewhat clry, to avoid any 

 glutinous tendency imj)eding fresh access to the egg, 

 which would be fatal to the hexapod, accustomed to slip 

 down on the latter at the moment of oviposition, to avert 

 such a calamity. The egg, moreover, might be provided 

 from the ovary of a fresh-killed specimen of this bee, or 

 even from that of a wasp ; for M. Jules Lichtenstein, of 

 Montpellier, whose indomitable perseverance in such 

 researches is well known, found the young larvae of 

 Meloe cicatricosus readily tempted to avail themselves of 

 such a medium (Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr,, 5e Ser., Tome v., 

 1875, p. clxiii). Other devices may also be resorted to 



