BEES OF GREAT BRITAIN. 47 



the food, and leaves the larva of the bee to perish ; but to this 

 I do not assent : it appears so contrary to all natural laws, that 

 I cannot think it even probable : nature I have never observed 

 to be thus wasteful of animal life such a proceeding is unne- 

 cessary, and therefore unlikely : where a destruction of animal 

 life is observed, it can usually be traced to some reasonable 

 cause, as the destruction of the larvae of certain Lepidoptera, 

 being a check upon their superabundance : a parallel to this 

 doe's not appear to me to exist in the case of the bees : I am 

 more inclined to believe, that when the parasite has depo- 

 sited her egg upon the store of pollen, the industrious bee at 

 once deserts it, and proceeds to construct a fresh burrow ; and 

 that the parasites which may be observed constantly entering 

 different burrows, do so in order that they may find the requisite 

 quantity of food, which will usually be much less than that re- 

 quired for the industrious bee ; having found which, they deposit 

 their egg, and the nest is then possibly deserted by its legitimate 

 owner. 



The Andrenidce are also subject to the attacks of other ene- 

 mies, if so t!:ey can be called; we have seen that in the first 

 place their food is attacked by Nomadce, we are now to find their 

 larvae attacked by insects belonging to the Order Coleoptera ; 

 these belong to the genus Stylops, which several distinguished 

 entomologists of the present day agree in placing amongst the 

 Heteromerous parasitic beetles. These insects were placed in a 

 new order by Mr. Kirby, named Strepsiptera, and as such they 

 are still regarded by many entomologists ; we have at present 

 only to do with them as enemies to the bees, and briefly to nar- 

 rate the manner in which the latter are attacked by them. These 

 insects are diminutive in size, the largest known species not ex- 

 ceeding a quarter of an inch in length ; we are now speaking of 

 the winged males ; the females are apterous grub-like insects, 

 which never leave the bodies of the bees. If the abdomens of a 

 number of Andrenidce 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. I have several times bred the larvae of Stylops in the fol- 

 lowing manner : on finding a bee infested as described, place her 

 in a box 5 or 6 inches square, cover it with gauze, and supply 

 the bee with fresh flowers such as the Andrenida frequent ; exa- 

 mine the bee every day, and it is most likely that in eight or ten 

 days she will appear as if her abdomen was covered with dust ; 

 examine it, and in all probability she will be found to be covered 

 with an innumerable quantity of exceedingly minute animals ; 



