508 INSECTS ABROAD. 



Andrena bee. Mr. Smith's description of these singular parasites 

 is very interesting : — 



" These insects are diminutive in size, the largest known 

 species not exceeding a quarter of an inch in length. We are 

 now speaking of the winged males, the females being apterous, 

 grub-like insects, which never leave the bodies of the bees. If 

 the abdomens of a number of Andrenidee be examined, it is 

 most probable that the female of Stylops will be found. Her 

 presence is known by the protrusion of her head, and a portion 

 of the thorax between the abdominal segments on their superior 

 surface resembling the point of a small bud of a brown colour, 

 or rather, a flattened scale. 



Fig. 275. — Ainlrrnn holoiuelaua. 



(Shining black.) 



" I have several times bred the larvae of the Stylops in the 

 following manner: — On finding a bee infested as described, 

 place her in a box five or six inches square, cover it with gauze, 

 and supply the bee with fresh flowers such as the Andrenidaa 

 frequent. Examine the bee every day, and it is most likely that 

 in eight or ten days she will appear as if her abdomen were 

 covered with dust. Examine it, and in all probability she will 

 be found to be covered with an innumerable quantity of exceed- 

 ingly minute animals ; these are the larvae of Stylops. 



" By the aid of a magnifying-glass they may be seen to issue 

 from the transverse aperture on the thorax. When the bee re- 

 enters the cell, or settles upon flowers, these diminutive creatures 

 will of course be deposited, and by these means, when other 



