286 BRITISH BEES. 



maxillosa, Linnaeus. 

 maxillosa, Kirby. 

 2. campanularum, Kirby, $ ? . 2-2^ lines. 



GENEUAL OBSERVATIONS. 



These insects are named from xn^V> a forceps, and 

 aTOfia, a mouth, — in allusion to the forcipate form of 

 the mandibles, which are strong, and cross each other in 

 inaction. 



They and the next genus are styled carpenter bees, 

 but they are not more consistently thus called than 

 might be Anthophora furcata and the genus Cera- 

 tina ; they, in fact, like the latter, just as often avail 

 themselves of an empty straw to form their cells in, or 

 the cylinder that has been drilled by some xylophagous 

 beetle of their own size, as they themselves drill into 

 palings and solid wood for the purpose, but when they 

 do this, it is facilitated to them by their powerful man- 

 dibles and their square and strong head. They are cer- 

 tainly very compactly formed, their structure being in- 

 dicative of great power, of course relatively to their size. 

 When they drill their cylinders themselves they are 

 extremely persevering in its execution, and in the pro- 

 cess, the material they extract, which is like fine sawdust, 

 they withdraw from the depth of the cavity by passing 

 it beneath them, and pushing it out at the orifice by 

 means of their posterior legs and the apex of the abdo- 

 men, for they are too long to be able to turn within the 

 cavity they have formed, its capacity not being sufficient 

 to permit this, as it is very little larger in diameter than 

 themselves. I have repeatedly watched them in these 

 operations. 



Having found or drilled a suitable cylindrical tube, they 



