MEGASTACHYA MELANTHACEvE. 



229 



serves particular notice. Reaumur, to whom we 

 s so much indebted for our knowledge of the pro- 

 idings of insects, thus describes it : When the 

 lale bee has chosen a leaf, she alights upon it, 

 netimes taking her station on its upper surface, 

 netimes underneath it, and at others upon Us edge, 

 that the margin passes between her legs. Her 

 t attack, which is generally made the moment she 

 ,'hts, is usually near the footstalk, her head being 

 ned towards the apex. Now arid then, however, 

 i places herself near the apex, facing the footstalk, 

 soon as she has made a beginning, she continues 

 ting with her jaws, (which are admirably formed 

 the purpose,) and without intermission, till she has 

 shed her work. As she proceeds, she keeps the 

 rgin of the detached part between her legs, those 

 >ne side being above and the other below it, so 

 t the section keeps giving way to her, and does 



interrupt her progress. She makes her incision 

 a curve line, approaching the rachis first ; but, 

 en she has reached a certain point, she keeps 

 eding from it towards the margin, still cutting in 

 urve. When she has nearly detached the portion 



has been employed upon from the leaf, she 

 ances herself upon her wings, lest its weight 

 uld carry her to the ground, and the very moment 

 tarts from the parent stock she flies off with it in 

 imph, the detached portion remaining bent between 



legs, and being perpendicular to her body, 

 rhere are seven or eight British species belonging 

 :his genus, of which the Apis centuncularis of Lin- 

 is may be regarded as the type ; they are generally 

 ut equal in size to the working hive-bee, which 

 y much resemble in their outward appearance. Of 

 se species the habits of all have not been observed, 



is it known that all are leaf-cutter bees, although 

 n the structure of the mouth it is most probable. 

 t there are several other bees nearly allied to these, 



differing in certain structural peculiarities, and 

 onging to the genus Osmia, which are also leaf- 

 ters, or upholsterers, as they have been called, 

 I including a species respecting which a good deal 

 liscussion took place, first observed by Reaumur, 

 I which employs the leaves of the scarlet poppy 

 the linings of its cells. Some species of Mega- 

 'e have also been called carpenter bees, from 

 king their nests in rotten wood ; whilst one of the 

 jest species, Megachile muraria, a native of France, 

 rmany, &c., is a mason bee, forming its nest with 

 y fine earth, which it kneads into a kind of mortar, 

 I which is placed against the sides of walls exposed 

 the sun, and which contains twelve or fifteen cells. 

 HEGASTACHYA (Beaunois). A genus of an- 

 il and perennial grasses, mostly tropical, but much 

 re curious than useful. 



MELALEUCA (Linnueus). A genus of green- 

 ise trees and shrubs, chiefly natives of New Hol- 

 d. The flowers are polyandrous and handsome, 

 I the plants associate with Myrtacece. They are 

 cessfully grown in sandy loam and moor earth, and 



propagated by cuttings in the usual way. 

 vIELAMPYRUM (LinmEus). A genus of Bri- 

 annual weeds, commonly called cow-wheat, 

 oy belong to Scrophularinee. 

 ELANDRYID^E (Leach; SERROPALPIDES, 



reille). A family of coleopterous insects, belong- 



* to the section Heteromera, and sub-section Sten- 

 \m, Latreille, having the maxillary palpi large, 



deflexed, and strongly serrated ; the antennae are in- 

 serted in a notch on the inside of the jeyes, and are 

 short and filiform ; the body is generally oblong or 

 narrowed, and subcylindric, the mandibles notched 

 at the tip, and the tarsal claws simple ; the head is 

 deflexed and small, the thorax trapezoid, the pos- 

 terior legs simple, and the mouth not rostrated ; by 

 which characters they are distinguished from the 

 CistelidcE, Helopidce, CEdemeridce, and other heterome- 

 rous Stenclytru. The penultimate joint of the tarsi 

 is generally bilobed ; in some, however, it is entire, 

 and in these the hind legs are saltatorial ; the ante- 

 rior tarsi are short and dilated. These insects are of 

 a small, or but moderate size, and are found either 

 beneath or upon the bark of trees ; they are generally 

 of obscure colour, more or less varied with fulvous. 

 The genera which Stephens introduces into this 

 family are Lagria, Mcfandnja, Hollorncnus, Scraptla, 

 Phloiotrya, Dirc&a, Hypidus, Abdcra, and Orchcsia, 

 the first of which forms, according to Latreille, a 

 distinct sub-family. In the genus Mclandrya the 

 maxillary palpi are serrated, the tips of the second 

 and third joints being internally produced into a 

 point ; the thorax is abruptly depressed at the sides 

 near the posterior angles, with the posterior margin 

 sinuated. The scutellum is of the ordinary size. 

 There are two British species, Mel. caraboides, being 

 the type, of a blue black colour, and not of uncommon 

 occurrence. It is very active, and flies well. 



MELANIA (Lamarck ; HELIX AMARULA, Lin- 

 naeus). This genus of shells was blended by Lin- 

 naeus with the Helices, and some authors have sup- 

 posed it to possess some affinity to the Lymncea ; 

 but except their both being fluviatile molluscs, and 

 the form of the spire in the Mehmia an oblong oval, 

 with the spire produced or turreted, they are in other 

 respects very dissimilar. The Melania is closed by 

 a horny operculum ; they are rather thick, the exte- 

 rior wrinkled, and the margin of the spiral whorls 

 often surmounted with spines or knobs ; the columella 

 arched and smooth ; the lower part of the aperture 

 entire, constantly wider than the upper ; they are 

 also covered with a brown or black epidermis. Their 

 habitat is India, Africa, and the two Americas. 

 Many species are found in a fossil state. They be- 

 long to the third family Ellipsostomata, of the second 

 order Asiphonobranchiata. 



MELANOPSIS (Lamarck). These molluscs are 

 fluviatile, and are very nearly allied to the Melanics, 

 from which, however, they may easily be distin- 

 guished, by their columella being callous at the upper 

 part, and their base truncated, as in the Achatina. 

 They approximate the Pirena, from which they prin- 

 cipally differ in having only one sinus, or a widened 

 opening at the base of the shell. They are turreted, 

 the aperture entire, oval, and oblong ; the columella 

 callous at the upper end and truncated at the base ; 

 the right side with a sinus ; they possess a horny 

 subspiral operculum. Ten fossil species are de- 

 scribed. This genus belongs to the second family 

 Entomostomata, first order Siphonobranchiata, second 

 class Paracvplialophora. 



MELANTHACE^E. A natural order of plants, 

 comprising above twenty-two genera, and at least one 

 hundred and twelve species. They are mostly bulbous 

 or tuberous rooted plants, and occur in all the four 

 quarters of the globe. They range next to Tulipacetc, 

 but they are inferior to them in the grandeur of their 



