September 23, 1898.] 



SCIENCE. 



399 



nearly six feet underground, and branched. 

 Satisfactory for burrows of bees, wasps, 

 spiders, many coleopterous larvae. The 

 better the plaster the better the result. 

 The best dental plaster mixed with an equal 

 bulk of water is satisfactory. 



Notes on the Habits of some Burrowing Bees. 



By Peofessor John B. Smith. 



Studied by plaster method as referred to 

 above. Several species were studied in 

 Ocean Co., IST. J. 



Colletes compacta appears early in spring, 

 digs almost vertically some IS inches; then 

 a horizontal burrow is sent off 2-5 inches. 

 At the end a thin parchment-like cell is 

 constructed, in which pollen and honey is 

 stored, and the egg is attached about the 

 middle of the cell. One or two additional 

 lateral tunnels and cells may be built. The 

 entire burrow is filled up, so that the j'oung 

 bees have to bore to the surface. 



Andrena hieolor and vicina make burrows 

 of greater diameter and sinuous, extend- 

 ing 40 inches or more below the surface. 

 General habits of breeding as in Colletes. 

 Some smaller species of Andrena line their 

 cells with a sticky fluid; the pollen is formed 

 in a loaf, on which the egg is laid. 



Augoehlora humeralis makes a vertical bur- 

 row nearly 6 feet deep. It sends oif a short 

 lateral burrow, then excavates a chamber 

 l-2i inches across ; 6-20 cells are con- 

 structed from this chamber and lined with 

 clay. Pollen is placed in the form of a loaf, 

 on which egg is laid. Two or three such 

 clusters of cells may be made by one bee, 

 and 30-40 cells may be found in a single 

 cast. When starting the burrow the bee 

 first makes an oblique burrow ; after it be- 

 gins to bore vertically it extends the up- 

 ward burrow to the surface. The opening 

 is concealed, and no earth is piled there. 

 "When the bee is in the burrow the entrance 

 is closed by a ball of sand or clay. The 

 bee does not fill the burrow, so that the 



young make an exit through the parent's 

 burrow. They are also used as hybernating 

 quarters. In early spring the females may 

 be found piled on one another at the bottom 

 of burrows. 



On the Markings of Nodontian Larvce. By 



Peofessoe a. S. Packard. 



As shown by Eimer and Cope, in the 

 markings of lizards, changes from stripes to 

 spots originate near the tail and extend for- 

 ward in waves. Weismann has shown the 

 same feature in caterpillars. The author 

 observed the same in several Nodontian 

 larvae, Lymmeristia albifrons, Dasylophia an- 

 guinea, Schizura concinna. In these the 

 longitudinal bands became broken up into 

 spots on the last 4 or 3 segments, where 

 banded arrangement disappears. The ex- 

 planation is not obvious in lizards ; in 

 caterpillars it may be connected with the 

 fact that new segments originate between 

 the last body segment and the penultimate 

 segment. 



The proposed Attempt to introduce Blastophaga 



psenes into California. By De. L. O. 



Howard. 



Californians, in their attempt to produce 

 a fig equal to the so-called Smyrna fig, have 

 used cuttings imported from the eastern end 

 of the Mediterranean. It was found that 

 trees dropped the greater part of their fruit. 

 It has long been known by Mediterranean 

 growers that figs are fertilized by the insect 

 Blastophaga psenes, which inhabits the wild 

 Caprifig. Branches of Caprifig are col- 

 lected annually and tied on to the branches 

 of cultivated figs. The insects, loaded with 

 pollen, enter the flowers of the cultivated 

 figs and fertilize them. 



In California artificial fertilization has 

 been attempted and has been quite success- 

 ful, the figs having the flavor of the Smyrna 

 product. This has made it seem probable 

 that if Blastophaga could be established in 

 California a fig could be grown quite as 



