SOLITARY BEES 



3005 



and also from animal matter. As regards the distribution of species apart from 

 the usual increase in size and beauty of coloring it may be remarked that the 

 closer the equatorial regions are approached, the more numerous do members of 

 this group become. Of the better-known forms the common hornet ( Vespa crabro} 

 is readily distinguished from other species of wasps by its large size and the 

 prevailing red tint on the anterior portions of the body. It is universally dis- 

 tributed throughout Europe, and occurs as far north as L,apland. The solitary 

 female, after her hibernation, commences to build the first foundation of her nest 

 in May on some convenient beam in a loft or outhouse, or frequently in the 

 holes made in the eaves of thatched cottages by sparrows. The food of the grubs 

 consists of the bodies of insects, bees, etc. , which the workers chew up for their 

 benefit. On the approach of autumn the remaining larvae, which have not yet 

 been hatched out, are torn from their cells and left to perish. Under the title of 

 common wasps no less than five species may be included, although V. vulgaris is 

 the common wasp par excellence. V. germanica may be lecognized by the three 

 black spots on a yellow clypeus. V. vulgaris presents a longitudinal black line 

 dilated at the extremity. V. rufa is rare in Northern Europe. V. media has the 

 yellow markings of the abdomen darker than in the other species. The wood 

 wasp, V. silvestris, hangs its nest on the bough of a tree or shrub. Such brief 

 notices are, of course, wholly inadequate 

 for a student of the group; and reference 

 must be made to writings devoted to the 

 special points of difference between these 

 closely -allied species. Among other 

 forms space only admits mention of the 

 South- African wasp (Belonogaster} , of 

 which the comb is shown in the annexed 

 figure. Common in houses at the Cape, 

 this insect is much dreaded on account 

 of the severity of its sting. 



SOLITARY BEES Family 

 ANDRENID^ 



SOUTH-AFRICAN WASP AND ITS NEST. 

 (Natural size.) 



These insects may be recognized by 

 the fact that the pollen-collecting organs 

 are situated on the femora and coxae of 

 the hind-legs, and the neighboring sides 

 of the thorax. The genera Andrena and Hylczus comprise the greater part of all 

 the wild bees of Central and Northern Europe. Yhe perfect insects appear in 

 the early spring, making their nests in sandy soil. In the first genus figures of 

 three species {A. schencki, A. cineraria, and A. ftilvicrus) are given in the fol- 

 lowing illustration. H. grandis, figured on the same illustration, flies in July 

 and August, and forms a large number of holes a kind of colony in some sunny 

 slope. The species of both Andrena and the allied Halictus are parasitic, and dis- 



