May 2, 1898.] 



KNOWLEDGE. 



99 



to reach maturity than do the males, which are always 

 produced from the eggs laid last in the cells nearest to the 

 entrance of the burrow. This egg laid last is matured 

 first, and the bee (a male), excavating its way into the open 

 air, leaves its cell empty, so that the bee below it can then 

 eat its way through the cap of leaves and pass out through 

 the empty cell (Fig 21). The third bee does the same, and 



Fig. 21.— Section of Cells and Puddings. 



ao on until the last bee (the egg of which was laid first) 

 is enabled to pass through the whole of the other cells 

 until she reaches the open air. 



The peculiar bee the sole representative in this country 

 of the genus Anthidium is fond of taking to any old hole 

 in a post or tree. It has the habit of collecting the woolly 

 tomeutum from the stems of the hollyhock. The bee 

 runs up the stem and quickly divests it of its covering, 

 which it heaps up into a ball and holds between the legs 

 and mandibles. This material is used in the formation of 

 its cells. I used to take this bee plentifully in my garden 

 near Finsbury Park some twenty years ago, when houses 

 and smoke were not quite so plentiful as now. The male 

 is very much larger than the female, and has its abdomen 

 terminated by an armature of strong spikes. 



Two small bees constitute the genus Chelostoma — the 

 larger one, C. jhrisminn', being particularly fond of the 

 flowers of mignonette, wild and cultivated ; while the 

 smaller, C. campanulai-tim , is plentiful in the delicate hare- 

 bell. 



The bees forming the genera Heriades and Ceratina are 



both strangers to me. The records of the capture of 

 Heriades are somewhat doubtful. Naturalists cannot be 

 too exact in such matters. 



Eiifera longicornis is the only one of the genus and is a 

 very beautiful bee. The male has immensely long antennas 

 that reach right over and beyond the tail when the bee is 

 flying. A large colony used to exist in the bank bounding 

 the horse exercise ground near the Vale of Health at 

 Hampstead. It has long ago disappeared — even before I 

 commenced to work this locality. At Woking it was 

 tolerably plentiful years ago. In company with this bee I 

 generally found its striking parasite — Xnmada sexfasciata. 



Our next bee generally makes itself heard before being 

 seen, for of all notes (and all bees have their special ones) 

 this is the shrillest. They love the hottest and most 

 brilUan sunshine, and they whiz past with lightning-like 



rapidity from flower to flower. The opal eyes of the male 

 render it a most beautiful insect. The bank from which I 

 used to dig these bees at Woking is, I am pleased to note, 

 still in existence. 



We now come to two bees which are also musicians, viz., 

 Anthophora return and neeri-orum — the so-called " mason 

 bees" of certain localities. On February 19th of this 

 year I noticed one of the first-named species basking in 

 the sunshine on a wall at Haslemere, while the ground 

 was almost an inch deep with snow. This is one of my 

 earliest records of this merry bee. At Hampstead there 

 still exists a small colony of A. acen-orum, and few prettier 

 sights can be seen in April than that of the males sitting 

 with outstretched legs at the entrance of their burrows. 

 The intermediate legs have very long fringes of black hairs 

 arranged in the most exact manner. In various parts of 

 Lincolnshire and the south coast these bees absolutely 



Fig. 23.-Pup(E. 



swarm in the mud or mortar between the stones of walls 

 and old buildings. The young natives catch the " white- 

 nosed " ones, and put them into their handkerchiefs for 

 company during school hours ; but even they are wise 

 enough not to catch the " black-nosed " ones (the females), 

 though they are quite ignorant as to the sex, and why one 

 possesses a sting. I once was fortunate in finding a fine 

 specimen of the strange beetle, Sitaris, which is a parasite 

 of this bee. These bees do not loiter about when on the 

 wing, but fly with immense rapidity, coming upon one so 

 suddenly that a nervous person is often startled by their 

 loud hum. 



Oar very old friends the humble bees and their parasites 

 {Psithijrus) are next in order, and so much has been written 

 of these " bumblers " that we can only confirm the praise 

 bestowed upon the beautiful creatures whose hum is so 

 comforting to the tired entomologist. How eagerly do we 

 watch for the reappearance of the hybernated females to 

 the yellow catkins of the sallow. To these bees the 

 farmers of New Zealand owe the fertilization of the clover. 



To the bees comprising the genus Apis every human 

 being is more or less indebted, for what should we do 



Fig. 24.— Five Cells ; two vacated. 



without honey or beeswax ? Perhaps better than our 

 ancient ancestors, who had not the knowledge which we 

 now possess for manufacturing all kinds of things, pure 

 and impure. 



Bees have ever been set forth as the emblems of industry, 



