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PubUsht Weekly at IIS Michigan St. 



George W. York, Editor. 



$1.00 a Year— Sample Copy Free. 



38th Year. CHICAGO, ILL., SEPTEMBER 22, 1898. 



No. 38. 



Bee-Eating Insects — Cow-Killers, Etc. 



BY PROF. A. J. COOK. 



Mr. J. H. Heiipel, of Louisana, writes as follows : 

 "By this mail I send you in a queen-mailing box two in- 

 sects, which species are plenty among the bee-hives. I think 

 they kill bees and eat honey, as I see them frequently going 

 into the hives. Of course I kill them when I see them, but 

 they are difficult to kill, as they have red scales over the body 

 wiilch are as hard as a hickory-nut; so of course the bees can- 

 not sting them, and they do what they please in the hive. 

 Please let me know the name of this insect, and all you know 

 about it. They also have a terrible sting, and 1 am informed 

 that their sting is far more painful than is a bee's sting. They 

 may be alive when they reach you." 



This is a "cow-killer," "cow-killer ant," or "solitary 



ant," all of which names are applied to the species. They are 

 known to kill bees, and one is figured and described in my 

 Bee-Keepers' Guide, page 427. They are found from Illi- 

 nois to the Gulf, and through Texas to this coast. They are 

 comparatively common here. The most common ones here 

 are like the ones sent by Mr. Hempel-red, with a black band. 

 Others here are gray. The females are wingless, but the 

 males usually possess wings. The insects look much like 

 ants, but are solitary, not living in colonies. They are fosso- 

 rial. That is, they dig holes in the earth in which, like many 

 of the wasps, they rear their young. They belong to the 

 family UntillidiB. They have a very hard crust, which serves 

 as an armor. It is this crust, not the hairs — red or gray — 

 which makes them so hard to kill. It is often quite difficult to 

 pierce them with a strong pin. As Mr. H. says, they are pos- 

 sest of a powerful sting. I suppose this gives the name " cow- 

 killer." 



They do kill bees, surely. I should like to know if they 

 ever do eat honey. I have never had proof of that, but it may 

 be true. Wasps and ants of similar habits possess a sweet- 

 loving tooth. As I have never seen these off the ground, that 

 is, in trees or shrubs, where they could glean nectar or honey- 

 dew, I surmise that they are simply predaceous, and kill and 

 eat other insects, and do not feed on honey. 



Like most insects that kill bees, I think these do far more 



Company Gathered in Mr. Kreuizlnger^8 Apiary to witness the " Honey Harvest," Aug. ^7, ISHS. — See page 596. 



