The Halicti : Parthenogenesis 



shorn meadow. It is therefore a very much 

 frequented footpath, were it only because of 

 the coming and going of the household: a 

 thoroughfare ill-suited, one would think, to 

 the peaceful operations of a Bee; and never- 

 theless it is such a very warm and sheltered 

 spot and the soil is so favourable that every 

 year I see the Cylindrical Halictus {HaUctiis 

 cyluidncus, Fab.) hand down the site from 

 one generation to the next. It is true that 

 the very matutinal, even partly nocturnal 

 character of the work makes the insect suffer 

 less inconvenience from the traffic. 



The burrows cover an extent of some ten 

 square yards; and their mounds, which often 

 come near enough to touch, average a distance 

 of four inches at the most from one another. 

 Their number is therefore something like a 

 thousand. The ground just here is very 

 rough, consisting of stones and dust mixed 

 with a little mould and held together by the 

 closely interwoven roots of the couch-grass. 

 But, owing to its nature, it is thoroughly well- 

 drained, a condition always in request among 

 Bees and Wasps that have underground cells. 



Let us forget for a moment what the Zebra 

 Halictus and the Karly Halictus have taught 



4-'3 



