Chap. I. BEES. 45 



sting, but they bite furiously when their colonies are 

 disturbed. The Indian who plundered the hive was 

 completely covered by them ; they took a particular 

 fancy to the hair of his head, and fastened on it by 

 hundreds. I found forty-five species of these bees in 

 different parts of the country ; the largest was half an 

 inch in length ; the smallest were extremely minute, 

 some kinds being not more than one-twelfth of an inch 

 in size. These tiny fellows are often very troublesome 

 in the woods, on account of their familiarity ; they settle 

 on one's face and hands ; and, in crawling about, get 

 into the eyes and mouth, or up the nostrils. 



The broad expansion of the hind shanks of bees is 

 applied in some species to other uses besides the con- 

 veyance of clay and pollen. The female of the hand- 

 some golden and black Euglossa Surinamensis has this 

 palette of very large size. This species builds its solitary 

 nest also in crevices of walls or trees ; but it closes up 

 the chink with fragments of dried leaves and sticks 

 cemented together, instead of clay. It visits the cajti 

 trees, and gathers with its hind legs a small quantity of 

 the gum which exudes from their trunks. To this it 

 adds the other materials required from the neighbouring 

 bushes, and when laden flies off to its nest. 



Whilst on the subject of bees, I may mention that 

 the neighbourhoods of Santarem and Villa Nova yielded 

 me about 140 species. The genera are for the most 

 part different from those inhabiting Europe. A very 

 large number make their cells in hollow twigs and 

 branches. As in our own country, the industrious nest- 

 building kinds are attended by other species which do 



