Insects. 7013 



Azotes on the more common Species of the Genus Bomhas. 

 By Col. H. W. Newman. 



Bombns suhterraneus. The female is nearly ten lines in length ; 

 the male between six and seven lines ; and the worker nearly six lines, 

 but varies very much in size. This bee is very numerous throughout 

 England and Scotland : it builds its nest deeper than any other of the 

 genus, generally a foot to eighteen inches under ground, and, on this 

 account, is difficult to get at. I mistook this bee for the Bombus 

 Hortorum for some years, until 1 became better acquainted with 

 it. It is to be found in meadows, especially among drains and in 

 banks. The number of individuals in one nest varies from ten to fifty, 

 but is generally between ten and thirty only. The male is very like 

 the worker, except in being more uniform in size, in having longer 

 antennae, and in being more hairy towards the anus, and the abdomen 

 not so sharp pointed. This was the first bee of the genus in which I 

 discovered the freaks of the drones. The males of this species fly very 

 near the ground, and with a short dodging flight. On fine days, after 

 leaving the nest, they amuse themselves in flying from place to place 

 at short distances, paying visits to tufts of grass, to holes in the ground, 

 to banks, ditches, walls, &c., and these rounds of visits are continued 

 to the same spots on warm days for several hours, that is, between 9 

 A. M. and 2 p. M. I mentioned these movements to ray friend Mr. 

 W. H. L. Wallcott, of Clifton, who imagines these males have never 

 been mated with the young queens. Males, females and workers fly 

 near the ground, and the males have a more unsteady flight than the 

 workers. I have both watched and taken many nests of this bee, and 

 have never seen a male return to the nest, nor do the males make any 

 observations when leaving the nest, as is the case with the worker. 

 This species is not pugnacious or irritable ; I have never been attacked 

 by them when taking their combs ; indeed, bees of this genus only 

 become irascible in proportion to their numbers. Bombus suhter- 

 raneus prefers the larger flowers, such as the foxglove, dead nettle, 

 snapdragon, and other similar sized flowers. It is very late before the 

 queens make their appearance in the spring. The males may be seen 

 in great numbers, in September in a dormant state, on the common 

 thistle blossoms in cool showery weather. 



I have never found the black cuckoo bee {Apathus rupestris) ; I have 

 taken the nests of this bee, but the queens of this species are generally 

 infested with Acari, which attach themselves to the body of the bee, 



