HYMENOPTEEA-ACULEATA. 369 



disappear entirely from former favourite breeding places ; 

 this will be noticed more particularly later. 



On the whole, however, the Aculeate Hymenoptera pos- 

 sess greater power of adaptability to circumstances than 

 insects of other orders. The Lepidoptera, for instance, 

 with their many special-plant-fed larvae, certainly depend 

 more upon the flora, and consequently upon the geology 

 of a district, for their distribution than the Aculeata. The 

 connection between the fertilising bees and the honey and 

 pollen yielding flowers is of course great ; but the relation- 

 ship is usually a broad one between families or genera 

 respectively, and is only occasionally confined to the limits 

 of species. Many bees undoubtedly show a marked pre- 

 ference for certain flowers, but, in their absence, they 

 usually find other nearly-related species to suit their 

 tastes. Hence the Aculeate-Hymenopterous fauna of our 

 district seems to be more ubiquitous in its distribution 

 than our flora, or than several of the other sections of our 

 insect fauna.* 



HYMENOPTERA-ACULEATA. 



PR^EDONKS. 



Insects both solitary and social in their habits, com- 

 prising the Ants, and the various kinds of Wasps. 



HETEROGYNA. 



Social Ants, consisting of males and females, both 

 usually winged, and also workers, or imperfect females, 

 which are apterous. They dwell, with few exceptions, in 

 large communities, constructing for themselves very elabo- 

 rate nests; in these they rear their larvae, which are fed 

 upon honey by the worker ants. The economy and 

 instinct of these insects is very remarkable and wonderful, 



