220 apid^j. 



humble-bees ; their legs are not furnished with baskets in which to 

 convey the fruits of labour to the nests, as is the case in the laborious 

 Bombi : their race consists of males and females ; workers they have 

 none. 



The Rev. Mr. Kirby was the first entomologist who recorded his 

 detection of the structural differences observable in the Apathi. 

 His statement is * : — " After my ' Synopsis ' was printed I discovered, 

 what had escaped me before, that four different species, one of which 

 had a yellow, two a white, and one a red anus, were deprived of 

 some of the characters of the Bombinatrices, having neither corbicula, 

 nor pecten at the apex of the tibiae, nor auricle at the base of the 

 plantas of the posterior legs, at the same time exhibiting some pecu- 

 liar to themselves." Mr. Kirby does not appear to have suspected 

 their parasitism ; in his remarks on Apathus vestalis he says : — " The 

 posterior tibiae of one specimen in my cabinet is covered from one 

 end to the other with a thin coat of pale earth, mixed with particles 

 of sand ; they probably use this in constructing their nests or cells." 

 He further adds : — "It is remarkable that the females and neuters 

 of these Apes should exhibit those characters which are peculiar to 

 the males of the rest of the family." The mention of neuters in the 

 passage quoted is clearly an oversight, as no description of one is to 

 be found in the ' Monographia,' neither is one to be found in Kirby's 

 type -collection. 



Although these bees very closely resemble the working Bombi, 

 they are much less pubescent, their abdomen being smooth and 

 shining ; they live in perfect harmony together, and issue from and 

 enter the nests without let or hindrance. Shuckard says they have 

 two broods in the year. Upon what data this statement is made 

 does not appear ; my own observations have not led me to adopt 

 this opinion. Like the Bombi, the females hibernate during the 

 winter months in a torpid state, and reappear in spring — usually, 

 according to my experience, a little later than the Bombi, these 

 being consequently the brood of the previous season. JNo males are 

 developed until the middle of summer, their number increasing until 

 the autumn, when they are frequently found in great numbers : at 

 this time the great brood of females appear, which, after beiug ferti- 

 lized, soon retire to winter quarters. The Apathi are principally 

 found in the nests of such species of Bombi as construct their nests 

 underground. Although one species (A. barbutellus) has only been 

 found in the nests of B. pratorum and B. jonellus, it probably 

 frequents other communities ; but it has not been observed to do 

 so. Apathi have not been found in nests of B. venustus or of 

 B. sylvarum to my knowledge ; it is therefore apparent that their 

 presence cannot be necessary for carrying out any phase in the 

 economy of the Bombi. 



* Mon. Apum Angl. vol. i. p. 209. 



