73 



lines in expanse of wings. Its head is yellow. The body and wings are grey witbjt a 

 satiny gloss. The fore-wings are rounded at the tip. There are two broods of the insect 

 in the year. 



The English naturalist who would see A. grisella to advantage should take his stand 

 in the apiary at the close of the day. There he may see the female moths hovering with 

 a bee-like motion near the entrances of the hives. Their object is to dart between the 

 guards, and win their way to the interiors. Notwithstanding their amazing agility they 

 do not always succeed in this. I have more than once seen grisella seized by the beeB 

 and torn in pieces with the utmost fury. When the door of the hive is passed, however, 

 the chief danger is over, and the moth proceeds to lay its eggs in suitable places within 

 the hive. The larvse as soon as they burst from the egg begin to spin silken tubes or 

 covered ways, sheltering themselves under their work, and pushing it forward through 

 the hive to the brood-comb on which they thrive most. 



Aphomia Colonella. 



This enemy of the humble-bee is found both in Europe and America (See Packard's 1 

 Guide to the Study of Insects, p. 329). The moth is an inch or more in expanse of 

 wings. The fore-wing is of a pinkish grey, having a tinge of green along the front edge, 

 it is marked with two serrated transverse lines, and between these with two black dots. 

 Ths hind margin is entire. In the male insect the basal half of the fore-wing is whitish. 

 The female moth, in the month of June, deposits her eggs, in great numbers, amongst 

 the cells of the humble-bees nest ; and the larva? that emerge from them soon bring dis- 

 comfiture to the rightful owners. 



GrALLERIA CEREANA. 



The moth that is dreaded by the bee-masters of this country is Galleria cereana. In 

 Langstroth's book on bees this insect is misnamed Tinea mellonella. It is true that 

 Virgil uses the term tinea in speaking of the bee-moth ; but, since the days of Fabricius,. 

 it has been applied to a genus to which the bee-moth does not belong. In England the 

 moth is called Galleria cerella ; and Wood in " Insects at Home " tells us the reason why. 

 He says : — " The specific name cerella (from the Latin word cera, wax) has been given to 

 this insect in consequence of the wax-eating propensities of the larva. Linnaeus being 

 deceived by the structure of the palpi* gave to the male the specific name of cereana, 

 and to the female that of mellonella (from the Latin mel, honey). So in order to avoid 

 confusion, both these have been rejected, and the present specific name accepted in their 

 stead" (page 500). By American naturalists, however, the name cereana is retained. 



Galleria cereana in its perfect state is a brownish moth, measuring, when its wings 

 are expanded, about an inch across. In repose the wings hang down like the sides of a 

 table. The fore-wings are longer than the under-wings, and appear as if they had been 

 roughly squared off. The female has a beak-like formation of the head, and a remark- 

 able ovipositor, which works with a telescopic motion, enabling it to deposit eggs in 

 crevices out of harm's way. 



The insect is wonderfully tenacious of life. Langstroth tells us that Mr. Tidd, of 

 Boston, cut a female in two, and the abdomen went on thrusting out its ovipositor, and 

 depositing eggs in some slits which had been made with a pen-knife in the board on 

 which it lay. 



There are two broods of G. cereana in the year. The former of these appears in 

 May, and the latter in August. 



The larvte are larger and plumper than those of Achroia grisella. In appearance 

 they are waxen grubs, having their heads and second segments horny. Like those of A. 

 grisella, they construct silken tunnels ; and, like them also, are slightly hairy. I imagine 

 that the hairs serve as feelers. At any rate the larvae are extremely sensitive, darting 

 back into their silken galleries at the slightest touch. 



*The terminal joint in the palpus of the male is short and conoid : in the palpus of the female it is 

 ong, tapering, and slightly forked at the end. T. W. F. 



