RESEMBLANCE TO BEES. 



757 



yellow clown distributed in bands across the body. The wings 

 are pale yellow. 



There are many species of this genus, some of them exceed- 

 ingly large insects. One of the prettiest is Dasypogon Vica of 

 Northern India, in which the abdomen is shining black, and the 

 wings are beautifully iridescent, with shifting tints of blue, 

 purple, and green. 



The genus Laphria being a very large and important one, we 

 shall take several species, the first of which is Laphria alternans 



Fig. 400.— Laphria alternans. 



(Brown, barred with gold.) 



of Java, its specific name being due to the alternating hues 

 of its body. 



The colour is brown-black, mottled with black, and the 

 abdomen is barred with golden yellow. The wings are rather 

 curiously coloured, being white at the base and changing o- ra - 

 dually to pale yellow. The dark marks upon them are brown. 

 In order to show the markings better, '^the figure has been 

 enlarged to twice the size of the insect. 



Several curious examples of imitation occur in this genus, 

 one of which is called Laphria xylocopiformis, from the extra- 

 ordinary resemblance which it bears, both in shape and colour, 

 to the great wood-boring bees belonging to the genus Xylocopa. 



