Queer Homes. 41 



made by others is often quite sour. The inse6ls gene- 

 rally make their nests in hollow trees, but on one occasion 

 in rambling through the bush on the Upper Essequebo 

 River I saw a nest in rather an unusual situation. It was 

 placed on the top of a stump and appeared so like a wood 

 ants' nest, that I gave it a prod with a stick to see 

 what kind of termite was there. Out flew a swarm of 

 little yellow bees, which getting entangled in my hair, 

 buzzing about my ears, and at the same time attempting 

 to nip with their mandibles, produced such an unpleasant 

 sensation, that I made a precipitate retreat and got out of 

 their way as quickly as possible. These little bees are 

 well-known to all who have travelled in the forests of 

 Guiana as inveterate robbers of everything sweet, 

 often falling into the traveller's tin of milk, scalding 

 themselves to death in his coffee, and stealing away 

 his sugar and jam. In Brazil one of the species pro- 

 ducing the best honey is known by the name of "John 

 D'Abreu." 



A bee which I have only observed on the Rupununi 

 River is at times a regular pesL It is hardly larger than 

 the " Nunca" sandfly of the same district, and on account 

 of the habit it has of flying into one's eyes the Indians 

 call it Eng-gyka (eye bee). I have never seen the nest, 

 but it would be interesting to know what it is like. 

 This pigmy is the smallest of the bees found in Guiana 

 if not in the World, 



Our spiders as far as we are aware, make nothing re- 

 markable in the way of nests, though some are often of 

 exquisite geometrical patterns. I can only record three 

 examples of curious spider's webs. One was the largest 

 I have e^^er seen. It covered a tree of about twenty feet 



