Insects, 63 



the insect introducing her intrusive progeny to evade the instinctive 

 apprehension of the laborious mother, and nature has furnished addi- 

 tional means to foil the latter, in the parasite's resemblance to her- 

 self." This, Mr. Shuckard observes, "appears plausible, but it is not 

 yet substantiated, nor is it general;" and certainly Coelioxys is an in- 

 stance of great discrepancy between the two insects. Now, I would 

 observe that in the case of a solitary bee, like Saropoda, I do not see 

 that a resemblance could be of any great service to the parasite, for I 

 doubt not the bee would repel the intrusion even of one of her own 

 species ; and where the nests are left without any sentinel to guard them 

 resemblance is unnecessary. But the case is different amongst the 

 social Hymenoptera ; and here we find the resemblance complete, as 

 between Apathus and Bombus, and even of the Diptera parasitic on 

 them the resemblance is very close, as between Bombus terrestris and 

 Volucella bombylans, but I cannot call to mind any very strong simi- 

 litude amongst the solitary species and their parasites. I this year 

 bred Nomada SchsefFerella from the cocoons of Eucera longicornis, 

 between which there is a vast discrepancy ; as there also is between 

 Andraena fulva and Nomada ruficornis, which I have seen entering 

 its burrows, and have no doubt is its parasite ; and to instance but 

 one more, Chrysis dimidiata and Epipone spinipes. 



Much of the history of these Hymenopterous parasites still remains 

 a mystery. Do the bee and the parasite both deposit an e^^ in the 

 same store of food? This I should infer must frequently be the case, 

 nature has therefore wisely provided that the parasite shall be first 

 extruded from the e^^, when it consumes the store provided for the 

 bee, which consequently perishes. This inference I have no doubt is 

 correct, as I dug up a number of the cocoons of Eucera longicornis, 

 and on opening some of them I found two specimens of Nomada 

 Schsefferella perfectly developed and active, whilst the Eucera?, in 

 many instances, appeared to have but recently changed to pupae, and 

 did not attain their perfect state until the beginning of June. I shall 

 probably at a future opportunity refer to the interesting subject of pa- 

 rasite bees. During the last seven years, whilst assiduously collect- 

 ing, I have carefully investigated the habits and economy of this in- 

 teresting family, and hope my notes and observations made during 

 that period may prove acceptable to the readers of ^ The Zoologist.' 



Coelioxys umhrina. — Dark brown: abdomen with five uninter- 

 rupted fasciae : the face covered with longish pale fulvous hair ; the 

 mandibles and cheeks with silvery hair : thorax densely clothed with 

 fulvous hair above, and with silvery hairs beneath ; the scut'ellum ha:* 



