338 Beautiful Exotic Bees. 



specific name "pulchra" (No. 4). The colour of the "face" 

 is rich metallic apple green, contrasting finely with the ruddy 

 brown of the large eyes. The thorax is of the finest velvety 

 purple, appearing deep black in the parts which do not receive 

 a direct light. The two upper segments of the abdomen are 

 of a bright red violet, inclining to' crimson ; the remaining seg- 

 ments being of a vivid metallic straw colour, resembling the 

 colour of electrum — that is to say, gold paled by an admixture 

 of silver, a natural combination anciently found in the sands of 

 the celebrated Pactolus, and from which some of the most 

 ancient gold money of Sardis was coined. This new Euglossa 

 is certainly the mest beautiful of the genus, and at the same 

 time the largest. 



Many other exotic bees of very remarkable appearance 

 might be described ; some of the genus Chrysantheda being 

 perhaps more beautiful than any insect figured in our plate. 

 But in looking over various collections, the embarras de richesses 

 became at last so great, that perhaps the very best choice was 

 not always made. However, to choose eight as the most beau- 

 tiful, out of several hundreds, was no easy task ; yet, the selec- 

 tion may fairly be accepted as pretty complete for its extent. 



A drawing, made at the same time, of another very fine bee 

 (Centris denudans) is, however, now lying before me, which 

 I may briefly describe, as our last specimen of Bee beauty. It 

 is indeed extremely interesting on account of its curiously close 

 resemblance to one of the great bee-flies described in a former 

 paper, and is one # of the very largest of the bee family. It 

 has semi-opaque brown wings, a deep brown abdomen, and the 

 legs are of the same colour ; but the thorax is covered with a 

 rich fur, resembling a deep plush velvet of a rich glossy tone, 

 which might be denned as scarlet-brown, taking a flash of 

 orange in a strong light. 



The dipterous insect which so closely resembles it, even in 

 its large size, is asilus ardens, which, even to the colour and 

 character of the fur of the thorax, is so like the bee as to be 

 easily mistaken for it at the first glance. This bee was re- 

 ceived from the river Tapajos, a branch of the Amazon ; and 

 the great bee-fly, its counterpart, was taken near Para, not far 

 distant — so that there is but little doubt that they will even- 

 tually be found together ; the fly counterpart being, possibly, 

 a parasitic attendant on the bee. 



