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country ; the largest was half an inch in length ; the 

 smallest were extremely minute, some kinds being not 

 more than one-twelfth of an inch in size. These tiny 

 fellows are often very troublesome in the woods, on account 

 of their familiarity ; they settle on one's face and hands ; 

 and, in crawling about, get into the eyes and mouth, or up 

 the nostrils. 



The broad expansion of the hind shanks of bees is 

 applied in some species to other uses besides the convey- 

 ance of clay and pollen. The female of the handsome 

 golden and black Euglossa Surinamensis has this palette 

 of very large size. This species builds its solitary nest 

 also in crevices of walls or trees ; but it closes up the chink 

 with fragments of dried leaves and sticks cemented to- 

 gether, instead of clay. It visits the caju trees, and 

 gathers with its hind legs a small quantity of the gum 

 which exudes from their trunks. To this it adds the other 

 materials required from the neighbouring bushes, and 

 when laden flies off to its nest. 



Whilst on the subject of bees, I may mention that the 

 neighbourhoods of Santarem and Villa Nova yielded me 

 about 140 species. The genera are for the most part 

 different from those inhabiting Europe. A very large 

 number make their cells in hollow twigs and branches. 

 As in our own country, the industrious nest-building 

 kinds are attended by other species which do not work or 

 store up food for their progeny, but deposit their ova in 

 the cells of their comrades. Some of these, it is well 

 known, counterfeit the dress and general figure of their 

 victims. To all appearance this similarity of shape and 

 colours between the parasite and its victim is given for 

 the purpose of deceiving the poor hard-working bee, 

 which would otherwise revenge itself by slaying its 

 plunderers. Some parasitic bees, however, have no 

 resemblance to the species they impose upon ; probably 

 they live together on more friendly terms, or have some 

 other means of disarming suspicion. Many Dipterous 

 insects are also parasitic on bees, and wear the same dress 

 as the species they live upon. That the dress of the 

 victimizers is arranged with especial reference to their 

 prey, I think is proved by what I observed at Santarem. 

 The genera of the parasites here are not the same as in 

 Europe ; and when they counterfeit working bees, it is 

 the peculiarly-coloured species of their own country that 



