136 SAWFLIES AND BEES 



and its wings clear, with a large blotch on 

 each forewing. 



The two sirices have, as I said before, 

 a borer in place of a saw. 1 They are in- 

 habitants of pine forests, and, as they fly, 

 hum like bees. They are not common in 

 Britain. Their larvae remain concealed in 

 solid timber for years, and the flies have been 

 known to come to maturity and emerge after 

 a tree has been sawn into planks, and the 

 planks have been laid as flooring. The Giant 

 Sirex (Sirex gigas), Plate XII., Fig. 8, is 

 fourteen lines in length, yellow, with two 

 black spots on the abdomen. The male 

 may be distinguished by observing that its 

 abdomen is triangular and the tip black. 

 The Pine Sirex (Sirex juvencus), Plate XII., 

 Fig. 9, is fifteen lines in length, violet black, 

 shot with blue a very handsome insect. 

 Both may be sought for in pine woods, or 

 near woodyards, as they are often introduced 

 to this country in foreign timber. 



Next to the white butterflies, the humble 



1 The name wood-wasp, improperly, but not unfrequently, 

 given to these insects, is most misleading, as they are not rekted 

 to the wasps in any sense, except that both are Hymenoptera. 



