94 HOW CAN AN " ACULEATE " BE RECOGNIZED ? 



flower, it is almost certain to be a fly. Most of 

 the little bees (Halicti) which visit dandelions 

 and such like " composites " fly in to them with 

 some rapidity, attack them sideways, and move 

 round the " flower ", no doubt getting pollen from 

 each floret in succession and with a business- 

 like action about it all, which is very different 

 from the behaviour of any fly. The flies which 

 really closely resemble bees in their flight are 

 those which lay their eggs in the burrows of 

 various bees and sandwasps. They are really 

 deceptive. Last summer on the sandhills at 

 Southbourne, near Bournemouth, I again and 

 again was deceived by a small fly with a red belt 

 across its body, thinking it was a red-bodied 

 sandwasp. These it really only resembles on 

 the wing. After having been taken in once or 

 twice one felt ashamed of oneself for not recog- 

 nizing it. The flies also which associate with 

 the humble bees are often coloured very much 

 like them, and could easily be mistaken for small 

 specimens of the bees were it not for their be- 

 haviour and wings, which show a dark spot on 

 the upper margin, not existing in the wing of the 

 bee. 



