NESTS OF THE XYLOCOPA. 521 



The burrow being completed, the insect places a quantity of 

 pollen at the extremity of the tunnel, and deposits an egg upon 

 it. one then goes off to her store of wooden chips, and with 

 them constructs a flat ceiling over the pollen, so as to form a 

 cell. The ceiling is quite flat, and is made in concentric rings, 

 just like a slice cut through the middle of an onion. More pollen 

 and another egg are then deposited on this ceiling, which becomes 

 the floor of a second cell, and so the insect proceeds until it has 

 filled the burrow with its cells. 



In the Nest Room of the British Museum there are many 

 specimens of Xylocopa burrows, in which the whole process is 

 easily to be seen. One of the largest is Xylocopa trcpicla, a 

 singularly fine insect, with blue-glossed wings. The nest of this 

 bee, is also in the Museum. One of the handsomest species 

 is Xylocopa caffra, which is, as its name imports, an inhabitant 

 of Southern Africa. The male is entirely greenish yellow, while 

 the female is black, with a broad band of golden hair at the 

 junction of the thorax and abdomen. The front of the thorax 

 is black and blue. 



Another fine species, Xylocopa morio, is seen — Plate X., 

 Fig. 2. It is a Brazilian insect. It is shining black, with a 

 fringe of black hair upon the abdomen. The wings are brown. 



On the same plate, Fig. 4, is shown another of the parasitic 

 bee, named Euglossa romandi, which is shown as inserting its 

 long tongue in the flower of the Passiflora. 



It is a very handsome insect, the abdomen being green, with 

 the exception of the base, which is purple. The thorax is also 

 purple, and the head green like the abdomen. The green has 

 always a gloss of gold, and in some specimens it extends over 

 the whole of the abdomen, the purple band being wanting. As 

 may be seen by reference to the illustration, the tongue is of very 

 great length, and in one specimen in the collection of the British 

 Museum it is separated into its several parts. The name Euglossa, 

 or " beautiful tongue," refers to the length of the proboscis. 



Another species of the same genus, called Euglossa dimi- 

 diata, is drawn on the same block as the Centris flavopicta, 

 page 519. It is a Brazilian insect. 



It is handsomely coloured. The ground colour of the abdo- 



