Masterpieces of Science 



the larvae of bees, such as the British genus 

 Volucella and many of the tropical Bombylii, 

 and most of these are exactly like the particular 

 species of bee they prey upon, so that they can 

 enter their nests unsuspected to deposit their 

 eggs. There are also bees that mimic bees. 

 The cuckoo bees of the genus Nomada are para- 

 sitic on the Andrenidae, and they resemble 

 either wasps or species of Andrena; and the 

 parasitic humble-bees of the genus Apathus 

 almost exactly resemble the species of humble- 

 bees in whose nests they are reared. Mr. Bates 

 informs us that he found numbers of these 

 "cuckoo" bees and flies on the Amazon, which 

 all wore the livery of working bees peculiar to 

 the same country. 



There is a genus of small spiders in the tropics 

 which feed on ants, and they are exactly like 

 ants themselves, which no doubt gives them 

 more opportunity of seizing their prey; and 

 Mr. Bates found on the Amazon a species of 

 Mantis which exactly resembled the white ants 

 which it fed upon, as well as several species of 

 crickets (Saphura), which resembled in a won- 

 derful manner different sand-wasps of large size, 

 which are constantly on the search for crickets 

 with which to provision their nests. 



Perhaps the most wonderful case of all is the 

 large caterpillar mentioned by Mr. Bates, 

 which startled him by its close resemblance to 

 a small snake. The first three segments behind 

 the head were dilatable at the will of the insect, 

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