Enemie-g of Bees — Tachina Fly. 325 



them, when the dipper-shaped mask is dropped or unhinged 

 and the terrible jaws open and close upon the unsuspecting 

 victim, which has but a brief time to bewail its temerity. 



A writer from Greorgia, in Oleanings, volume 6, page 35, 

 states that these destroyers are easily scared away, or brought 

 down by boys with whips, who soon become as expert in cap- 

 turing the insects as are the latter in seizing the bees. One 

 of the largest and most beautiful of these is Anax Junius. It 

 has a wide range in the United States, North and South, and 

 everywhere preys upon the bees. 



TACHINA FLY. 



From descriptions which I have received, I feel certain 

 that there is a two-winged fly, probably of the genus Tachina 

 (Fig. 188), that works on bees. I have never seen these, 



Fig. 188. 



though I have repeatedly requested those who have to send 

 them to me. My friend, Mr. J. L. Davis, put some sick look- 

 ing bees into a cage, and hatched the flies which he told me 

 looked not unlike a small house-fly. It is the habit of these 

 flies, which belong to the same family as our house-flies, which 

 they much resemble, to lay their eggs on other insects. Their 

 young, upon hatching, burrow into the insect that is being vic- 

 tii]fkized, and grow by eating it. It would be difficult to"* cope 

 with this evil, should it become of great magnitude. We 

 may well hope that this habit of eating bees is an exceptional 

 one with it. The affected bees will be found dead at early 

 dawn in front of the hives. 



BEE-LOUSE. — Braula Gceca, Nitsch. 



This louse (Fig. 189) is a wingless Dipteron, and one of 

 the uniques among insects. It is a blind, spider-like parasite, 



