82 



KNOWLEDGE. 



[Apeil 1, 1898. 



BRITISH BEES.-II. 



By Fred. Enock, f.l.s., f.e.s., etc. 



IT is a well-known fact that many people are remem- 

 bered by their "impressive manner"; so also are 

 certain kinds of bees by their most impressive sting. 

 The name Ccelioxys is quite suflRcient to recall to my 

 mind the capture of my first specimen, which I saw 

 flying very quietly past a prickly bramble, and then, being 

 met somewhat unceremoniously by my net, it commenced 

 to act on the defensive in a most vigorous way. Laying 

 back its antennas and opening its mandibles, it twisted about 

 its very sharply shaped abdomen in such an active manner 

 that I found it an impossibility to avoid its long and 

 powerful sting ; but I preferred the sting to injuring the 

 delicate pubescence, which, if roughly handled, robs this 

 bee of its beauty. Like the bloodthirsty " clegg " or grey 

 gad-fly, this bee is almost silent in its flight. It is 

 parasitic, and may frequently be caught hovering near the 

 burrows of Megiicliile and Sampmhi. The males have a 

 peculiar bifurcate appendage on the apical segment. I 

 have often swept these bees up from meadows, and in days 

 gone by it was possible to obtain specimens of C^. simplex at 

 Hampstead ; but those days, like the sandbanks there, have 

 passed away. 



Of the next genus, Stdia, I have had no personal 

 experience, though frequently directed to its quarters by 

 the late Fred. Smith, who adx-ised me to collect all the 

 pierced bramble stems I came across. 



The genus Melecta contains but two species, both most 

 beautifully marked, the abdomen of M. luctuosu being 



Fig. 1. — Rose Leaves cut by Megachile. 



adorned on each side with tufts of silvery white hairs on a 

 shining black ground. The flight of this bee is slow and 

 gentle, and so far as my experience goes, it seldom wanders 

 far from the burrows of Aiithophorn, in whose cells it is 

 parasitic. Last year I was delighted to find that a small 

 colony had not been quite turned out from Hampstead 

 Heath, though more than half the bank had been cut 

 through for " improvements." M. Iwtuosa was then 

 enjoying a sluggish flight in the bright sunshine, and, 



quietly alighting on the sandy ground close to an Antho- 

 phora's burrow, sat pluming itself, patiently waiting for its 

 mate. It is very easy to capture when so basking, but 

 painful and powerful and far-reaching is its sting. 



The bees forming the genus (Jsmin exhibit an immense 

 amount of intelligence in the selection of situations for 

 their burrows. Some of these are made in sandy banks 

 or in the decaying trunk of an old willow tree, and in such 

 situations the boring of a deep hole is comparatively an 



easy matter to these 

 busy insects, which 

 are such patterns of 

 industry. A short 

 time ago a brother 

 entom ologist showed 

 to me a number of 

 cells which some bee 

 had made in the 

 space between two 

 section boxes in a 

 hive. These I 

 quickly recognized 

 as those of an (ismia. 

 Many times have I 

 watched ( >smia rufa 

 gomg in and out at 

 a small bolt-hole in 

 one of the tombs at Highgate Cemetery. No doubt this 

 had become the family mansion of these beautiful bees, 

 which have a great love of locality. 



We now pass on to the genus Meffarhile, the leaf-cutting 

 bees, which are without doubt the most intelligent insects. 

 All the species (some nine in number) cut pieces from 

 various kinds of leaves, with which they build their cells in 

 burrows formed in sandbanks, old decaying trees, as well 

 as in the crumbling mortar of old walls, and under old tiles. 

 Several species are quite common in London gardens 

 during June and July. There is a considerable amount of 

 businesslike bustle about them, which is most attractive 

 to the naturalist, who is quite willing to allow them to cut 



Fig. 2.— The Leaf-cutter Bee. 



Fig. 3. — Under Side and Side View of Abdomen, showing 

 PoUen-polIeeting Hairs. 



up the leaves of his rose bushes so that he may have the 

 opportunity of studying their habits. Though certain 

 species prefer the green leaves of the rose (Fig. 1), they do 

 not hesitate to cut circles and oblongs from almost any good 

 sound leaf. I have watched them attack those of laburnum, 

 rhododendron, laurel, sweet pea, nasturtium, geranium, 

 laurustinus, etc., etc. Two years ago I saw M. centun- 

 cuhnis cut dozens of pieces from the soft leaves of an 

 edible pea in a London garden which did not possess a 



