ACULEATE HYMENOPTERA AND ICHNEUMONIDiE. 297 



JPolistes. These are smaller and much less powerful and vigorous 

 than the Eumenidae. They build small stalked nests of eight or 

 ten hexagonal papery cells, with a few outer imperfect ones. 

 These are generally attached to the underside of leaves, or to a 

 dry twig, and they seem to remain always open and exposed. Icaria 

 impetuosa, Polistes Sagittarius, and P. multipictus were observed 

 to have nests of this character. The large species Polistes 

 Picteti has a nest consisting of a much larger number of cells ; 

 and in the island of Goram I observed the natives eating the 

 pupae as a great luxury. Vespa doryloides is a curious species, 

 of weak structure and nocturnal habits, since I only took it when 

 attracted to the lamp at night. 



Among the Eastern Kstdm the most abundant and charac- 

 teristic genus is Megachile. These are bees of a black colour, 

 with a flattish body and a very large head. They have a very 

 acute sting, and often enter houses. They seem to vary in their 

 habits. M. scabrosa bores holes in posts of houses. M. laehesis 

 makes a small round hole in hard clayey ground. If. tubercu- 

 lata? makes cells of very sticky black wax. In Borneo it an- 

 noyed me much by getting in among my books and forming its 

 cells on the edges, in the groove formed by the projecting covers. 

 Others filled up the grooves in my setting-boards, and day after 

 day persevered in rebuilding what I had cleared away. They 

 fly very quickly and buzz loudly. M. fulvifrons and M. termi- 

 nalis were taken about houses in Macassar. The giant Mega- 

 chile Pluto was only seen once, in the island of Batchian. It 

 was obtained during an excursion to a tract of mountainous 

 forests, and was watched flying round and round with a loud 

 humming noise like that produced by a Geotrupes, till at last 

 it was fortunately captured on the wing. 



Ceratina viridis was taken at low herbage near Macassar. 

 The Xylocopas are abundant everywhere in the forests, and espe- 

 cially about cultivated grounds. The smaller species bore holes 

 in posts of houses. X. latipes makes long round holes in dead 

 trees. The beautiful X. ccerulea is common about the town of 

 Singapore. 



True honey-bees are found in the western half of the archi- 

 pelago, and in the south-east as far as Timor, where, however, it 

 is possible they may have been introduced. A. dorsata and A. tes- 

 tacea both construct large combs suspended from the underside 

 of the branches of lofty forest-trees. They sting very severely ; 



