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198 APID^J. 



had taken possession of the nest, and had, as I found, constructed its 

 waxen cells amongst the eggs of the wren." A very remarkable 

 account of one of the brown bees was related to me by a lady, 

 who observed it frequently flying into a stable through a latticed 

 window ; the bee was engaged in collecting a bundle of horsehair 

 from a heap accumulated from currying the horses. Having made 

 up a small parcel the bee flew oif with it a short distance, and 

 settled down with it among some grass. On examining the spot 

 a nest constructed entirely of horsehair was discovered. This very 

 interesting nest was unfortunately destroyed before the bee had 

 quite completed its construction. 



An interesting feature in the history of the Bombi is the varied 

 temperament of the different species, and the degrees of pugnacity 

 with which some species will resent any attempt to invade their 

 domiciles. Nests of the surface-builders may be taken almost with 

 impunity, whilst such an outrage on the underground ones would 

 be a dangerous undertaking. No species is more courageous than 

 B. lapidarius, and B. virginalis is equally formidable. This relates to 

 such attempts being made in the height of the season ; later, in 

 . the autumn, the bees lose their courage, and offer little if any re- 

 sistance to attack on their habitations. 



The Bombi have several parasites that invade their nests, and 

 some of these must considerably reduce their numbers. The dipte- 

 rous genus Volucella contains two or three species that feed upon 

 their larvae ; a species of the genus Conops is also said to do so, but 

 I have never found them in the nests. The larvae of Volucella some- 

 times destroy the greater part of the brood ; the same species ( V. 

 bombylans) also feeds upon the larvae of Yespidae. The larvae of 

 Conops were found by Audouin in the intestines of B. lapidarius ; 

 and Latreille states that Conops rufipes lives in the larva state in 

 the abdomen of various species of Bombi, and that it there passes 

 through its stages of transformation, and, on arriving at its perfect 

 condition, it escapes between the segments of the abdomen. E,o- 

 bineau-Desvoidy and also Leon Dufour have recorded similar obser- 

 vations. Mutilla europcea is parasitic in this country and through- 

 out Europe on various species of Bombus ; in England it has been 

 found in nests of B. muscorum, B. lapidarius, and B. latreillellus. 

 Hr. Drewsen, of Copenhagen, found it in the nest of B. scrimshi- 

 ranus, obtaining from a single nest no less than seventy-six indivi- 

 duals. Prof. Edward Brandt, of St. Petersburg, informed me that 

 he had found Mutilla in the nests of B. hortorum, B. lapidarius, and 

 of B. muscorum. Although Mutilla is a parasite of Bombus, many 

 species of that genus must infest nests of other genera of insects. About 

 three hundred species, of Mutillidae are known, many of which inhabit 

 countries where Bombus is not found. Numerous species of Mutilla 

 are found in Australia, but Bombus is not found there, neither is it 

 found in tropical Africa, where Mutilla is by no means uncommon. 



A few species of Coleoptera are common in nests of Bombi ; they 

 probably resort there for the purpose of feeding on the wax or the 

 honey. Anther ophagus nigricornis &R(ipaUens are frequently found 



