528 INSECTS ABROAD. 



net and cauglit about a hundred in one sweep, when, to my sur- 

 prise, they proved to be Bees. On watching them, I observed 

 that they went in and out of a little hole in the wall close by 

 under a beam where there was a hollow, and that many of their 

 thighs were laden with pollen. 



" The insects seemed quite harmless, walking about my hand 

 and not attempting to sting. Digging out some bricks with care, 

 I came on a portion of their nest. The space it occupied appeared 

 to have been originally eaten out by Termites. It was coated 

 on all sides with a layer of black wax, and in it was stored their 

 honey. The waxen cells were of a dark brown colour, and very 

 globular, pendent side by side from the roof, and not, as far as I 

 could see, arranged hexagon ally. 



" The honey was very dark in colour, but excellent in flavour ; 

 and I was told by the natives that it possessed medicinal quali- 

 ties. It had a slight astringency ; and, considering the size of 

 the insect, the quantity stored was very large. I was also told 

 that these insects commonly use hollow trees, in which they store 

 astonishing quantities of honey, which is diligently sought for 

 and prized. They call them " Bhonga," which appears to me to 

 be a generic name for all Bees in the North-west Provinces. 

 Large bricks prevented my digging further, so that I cannot 

 describe their breeding- cells. 



" The Bees continued to fly in the manner before described till 

 dark, and did not desert their nest." 



The species which is figured in the illustration is a Brazilian 

 insect. Its colour is shining black, with the exception of the 

 thighs of the hind pair of legs, which are bright red. It is a 

 very common insect, and is generally to be found in sandbanks 

 in the virgin forest. 



'O' 



I HAVE had some doubt as to the place in which I should 

 treat of the insect which will presently be described ; and, after 

 consideration, have determined to place them at the end of the 

 Hymenoptera, and not among the Ichneumon Flies. 



If there be in the world insects which look like anything 

 but insects, such are the extraordinary beings, one of which is 

 shown in the accompanying illustration. So strange are they 

 that although a practised entomologist would at once detect them 

 tn be insects, he would need careful investigation before he could 



