66 THE RING OF NATURE 



It is so widely distributed that I have seen it 

 within the boundaries of the city of London, 

 hovering on a sunny day round the flower stalls 

 in our streets at the time when daffodils are most 

 in evidence. Only, as a rule, the males appear in 

 such a public place. They are at all times both 

 more numerous and more daring than the females. 

 The flower sellers do not mind them, but they 

 rather stare when a man comes by and calmly 

 scoops them into the hand as they hover before the 

 blossoms. 



We must find a quieter place than Regent Circus 

 for studying our Anthophora. There must be an 

 enormous colony of them at Kew to judge by the 

 number of females in the Alpine garden from the 

 time of the crocus till the Solomon's seal is in 

 flower. I have not yet found that colony. 

 Probably in some sandy bank, or it may be in a 

 wall with many nail-holes, a swarm of these black 

 bees should be found digging their galleries or 

 plenishing them with pollen mixed with honey. 



Among them, sailing about with demurer flight, 

 may be seen some grey bees more like Hairy-legs 

 than his wife, but on closer acquaintance very 

 different from either. It is really a black bee with 

 white spots on it yes, spots and not bands as 

 most bees are marked with. These are upon the 

 abdomen, the thorax being bordered with whitish 

 hairs so as to leave a triangle of black in the 

 middle. A demure hypocrite is this Melecta 

 armata, for it is sailing about in this busy colony 



