^ HYMENOPTERA. 021 



when they enter houses, causing rats, lizards, &c., and even 

 man himself to flee. They travel at night or in cloudy weather, 

 as the direct rays of the sun are almost immediately fatal to 

 them. &quot; I know of no insect,&quot; says Dr. Savage, &quot;more fero 

 cious and determined upon victory. It may literally be said 

 they are against everything, and everything against them. 

 Conquer or die, is their motto.&quot; They are useful in keeping 

 down the more rapid increase of other noxious insects, and also in 

 consuming much dead animal matter. 



The SOLITARY BEES, Andrenidce, consist only of males and 

 females. The species of the genus Andrena, are quite numer 

 ous. They make their appearance in the early spring and sum 

 mer months, and have very much the appearance of Hive-bees. 

 The females collect pollen from the stamens of flowers, rather 

 by means of the general hairiness of the body than with the pos 

 terior tarsi. They burrow in the ground in sandy districts, 

 especially, if exposed to the sun, often to a considerable depth. 



Of the Bees proper, Apid&amp;lt;z, (Lat. apis, a bee,) there are sev 

 eral groups, differing from each other, to some extent, in their 

 qualities and habits. The HUMBLE (Bumble) BEES, Bombus, 

 (from Gr. bombos, a humming or buzzing.) construct their nests 

 under ground, in fields and pastures. The females, which are 

 unlimited as to number, assist the neuters in working. The 

 larger females alone survive the winter, and in the first fine 

 days of spring, construct their cells, and rear a brood of workers, 

 which, in due time, assist in the construction of new cells. The 

 honey which these bees collect, is of an inferior kind, and their 

 wax is not so clean, or so capable of fusion as that of the True 

 Honey-Bees. 



The MASON BEES, Megacliile, (Gr. great lips or jaws,) wmran a, 

 (Lat. from murus, a wall,) build their cells by agglutinating 

 grains of sand and gravel. 



The UPHOLSTER BEES, M. papaveris, (Lat of a poppy.) line 

 the holes which they excavate for their young in the earth, with an 

 elegant coating of leaves or flowers, preferring, for this purpose, 

 the brilliant scarlet furnished by the leaves of the wild poppy. 

 The species M. centuncularis, (from Lat. cenlunculus, patch 

 work,) coat their dwelling with the leaves of trees. 



The CARPENTER BEES, Xyclopa, (Gr. Xu/on, wood ; kopto, to 

 cut,) bore with great labor out of solid wood, long cylindrical 

 tubes, and divide them into various cells, in which the young are 

 placed with a quantity of pollen-paste. 



The VIOLET CARPENTER BEE, X. molacea, is common about 

 Paris, and in the gardens of Southern Europe. Among these 



