1890.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 67 



■ ' I am of course speaking of the insects found in N. America, 

 as I am not very familiar with exotic or oriental forms. 



"In family Vespidae there are none; in Eumenidae none; in 

 Masaridae none; in Crabronidae only a few species in the genera 

 TryPoxylo7i and Oxybelus show any and then usually confined 

 to the pubescence; in Pemphredonidae all are black or ornate 

 with white and yellow; in Mellinidae and Mimesidae the same, 

 although sometimes the pubescence is silvery or golden; in the 

 Philanthidae they are highly colored, but are not metallic, or but 

 seldom show any metallic splendor; in Nyssonidae and Bembicidae 

 the same; in the Larridae some of the forms do, but strictly speak- 

 ing they are not brilliant, and the metallic coloring is usually 

 confined to the vestiture; the family Ampulicidae has but one spe- 

 cies in America, and that is dark colored. In the family Sphecidae 

 a large percentage show metallic colors, but only a few are very 

 brilliant; in Pompilidae only a few; the Sapygidae are highly col- 

 ored, but not metallic; in the Scoliidae only a few forms, while in 

 the Mutillidae and Formicidae none that I know of 



' ' So now you have the showing, the North American Aculeata 

 make, in a nutshell (W. H. Ashmead iyi Hit. Feb. 5, 1890)." 



From which summary it becomes evident that, as a whole, the 

 aculeata do not compare in brilliancy with very many of the non- 

 stinging kinds. Nor is it clear that the stings altogether protect 

 the bees and wasps from birds, or render them inedible. Dr. 

 Wallace remarks (Darwinism, p. 239): "We see that even the 

 powerful stings of bees and wasps only protect them against some 

 enemies, since a tribe of birds, the bee-eaters, have been devel- 

 oped to feed upon them, and some frogs and lizards do so occa- 

 sionally." 



Dr. Riley records that sparrows {Passer domesticus) feed on 

 Halidus, Tiphia, Myzine and ants. In no less than thirty cases 

 was Myzine sexcinda found in the sparrow's stomachs, and this 

 is a brightly marked (though not metallic) species, which, per- 

 haps, theoretically should not have been eaten. I have found 

 ants in the stomach of Sialia arctica, shot in Custer County, Col. 

 The stomach of a woodpecker, shot by Rev. A. Wright in the 

 same locality, contained a great number of ants; the majority 

 apparently Formica fusca, with a few F. int/sgra. In England 

 the tom-tit {Parus) is known to wage constant war against 

 Bombtis. 



