6038 



Entomological Society, 



lay motionless, but the suckers of its feet stuck fast, the wasp then had to stop to 

 loosen them ; this it did very cleverly hy curving its abdomen like a hook under the 

 belly of the caterpillar, using its point like a lever ; the stoppages occurred so 

 frequently that the wasp got tired of ihem, so, turning the caterpillar on its back, all 

 further obstruction was avoided. 



" Large spiders and caterpillars become immediately motionless on being stung, 

 and I cannot help thinking that the poisonous acid of Hymenoptera has an antiseptic 

 and preserving property ; for caterpillars and locusts retain their colours weeks after 

 being stung, and this, too, in a moist situation under a burning sun. 



Anthidimn cordatum. This insect forms its cells of vegetable down, glued toge- 

 ther with a balsam or resin, which it procures from a flower which exudes a brown 

 balsam ; with this it glues the hair together. I have frequently seen the Anthidiura 

 in the middle of the flowers, and have no doubt this is the plant which supplies the 

 materials for its nest. I think the plant belongs to the Euphorbiaceae ; it is described 

 by Thunberg in ' Flora Capensis.' 



" PdnpcEus chabjbeus. A number of this insect annually make their nests under 

 my verandah ; these they construct in the hollow tubes of the bamboo. Having 

 stored up a number of spiders, they resort to the forest, where I have seen them scrape 

 the white birds' dung off* the leaves of plants; this they moisten with saliva into a 

 pulp, shape it into a lump, and carry it off*. With this material they construct the 

 divisions between the cells. 



Anthophora ? This bee infests the walls of my house inside and out; 



there is not a single hollow or hole that is not tenanted by one of these industrious, 

 tame and stingless little bees. The hotter the weather becomes the harder they work. 

 They appear twice in the season, November and February. When prevented from 

 going abroad they are not idle, but busy themselves in enlarging and cleaning out 

 their nests; this I have frequently heard them doing in the middle of the night. This 

 bee has a parasite; it is a Crocisa ; it inserts its antennae into the cells to ascertain if 

 there is a store of pollen collected; if it finds the owner at home it tries to squeeze 

 past it; if the passage is too narrow it lays hold of the poor bee, and pulls him out of 

 his own door ; the bee, without taking any notice of the intruder, flies away after its 

 own business. This Crocisa has the same habit as many other species of Apidae, 

 namely, that when at rest it does not sit down, but lays hold with its mandibles of the 

 outermost points of a twig or shrub, keeping its body out in a horizontal position. A 

 number of species, probably all males, may be found every evening, occupying similar 

 situations, attached to twigs, blades of grass, &c. It is a strange sight to see a grass 

 or shrub bearing a number of gray, brown or black hairy bees in the place of seeds or 

 flowers. 



" The large (Sphex) Pompilus preys upon a very large hairy spider, which lives 

 in thatched roofs, under verandahs, Sec. I have seen this spider fly in the greatest 

 terror from the Sphex, who, however, soon overtook him ; the spider kept his enemy 

 at a distance with his long legs for some time, until, exhausted at last, it drew its legs 

 close to its body and remained motionless; the Sphex, like a tiger, was soon upon him, 

 and, thrusting his sting into his thorax, soon rendered him motionless; the Sphex 

 then, walking backwards, dragged his victim out of doors. 



" I have noticed two large species of Xylocopa ; the first black, with a ferrugi- 

 nous thorax, the male of which closely resembles the female ; the second black, with 

 Ion" white hairs on the margin of the abdomen; both excavate dead branches, posts, 



