CUJttOUS NESTS. 479 



as the Philanthus, and armed with a sting which eA r en man fears 

 to meet. Some preyed upon Andrena bees, and Mr. Smith tells 

 me that the choice of prey seemed to depend very much on 

 locality, the Andrena being preferred where it was plentiful, 

 and the hive bee taken when Andrenas are scarce. On the 

 Continent this Philanthus is said to do great harm to apiarians, 

 each female making on an average five cells, and depositing a 

 bee in each. 



Although so bold, strong, and active, and possessing a sting 

 which is venomous enough to disable even the hive bee, the 

 Philanthus is curiously averse to using its sting except for the 

 purpose of securing its prey. Mr. Smith found that he absolutely 

 could not provoke the insects to use their stings, even though he 

 held them in the bare hand. 



The species which is represented in the illustration is a native 

 of Southern Europe. Its colour is black, with yellow marks on 

 the abdomen and thorax, as shown in the illustration. Round 

 the head there is a radiating fringe of yellow hair, which has 

 earned for the species the name of coronata, or "crowned." The 

 name Philanthus is formed from two words signifying " a lover 

 of flowers," and is given to the insects because they are fond of 

 haunting the wild flowers when they are not forced by resistless 

 instinct to dig their burrows and search for prey. In order 

 to show the peculiar markings, the figure is enlarged about 

 one-third. 



We now come to a great group of Hymenoptera in which the 

 wings are folded longitudinally throughout their length when at 

 rest. Anyone can see this peculiar structure by looking at a 

 common wasp. Both sexes have wings, and so have the neuters. 



The first family in this group is the EumenidaB, which com- 

 prise the solitary species, and which may be known at once by 

 their double claws. We have in England one species of the 

 typical genus, Eumenes coarctata, which is a local insect, but 

 tolerably common in those districts which suit it, Sandy around 

 well covered with heather seems to be its favourite locality. It 

 makes a curious vase-shaped nest, forming it of sand, fastening 

 it to a heather spray, and then provisioning it w T ith little cater 

 pillars after it has deposited an egg. I may here mention that 

 the name Eumenidoe has been appropriately if somewhat fanei- 



