BEE 
long hairs of a cinnamon colour : and diofe of the 
croflet are brown. The fpecies which fhews a pre- 
diledtion for the leaves of the chefnut, is red above> 
and of a whitifti-grey underneath. 
There are two or three more fpecies of the Leaf- 
Cutting Bees; the trunks of all which are con- 
ftru6ted like riiofe of the common Bees, except 
that they are covered above, as well as on the fides, 
with a ftrong fhelly cafe, which ferves to prevent 
the attrition of their trunks by the edges of the; 
leaves while they are dividing them. 
The males are fomewhat lels than the females, 
and more pointed behind; and, when prefled by 
the fingers, fix fmall horns proceed from them, 
three on each fide. Each of their teeth is termi- 
nated by a hook, iliarp at the end, and ferrated on 
the fides. 
When the female of this fpecies has finifhed her 
nefV, fhe fills it up with pafte, lays her egg, and then 
clofes it up. When the egg is grown to a proper 
fize, the infedl weaves a filken fliell, which adheres 
to the fides of the leaves ; the exterior part of the 
filk is coarfe, and as brown as coffee ; but the in- 
fide is very fine and white, being fmooth and 
fhining like fattin. 
Bee, Wall. The Wall Bees make their nefts 
of a kind of filky membranes, with which they fill 
up the vacuities between the ftones in walls. They 
confift of feveral cells, placed end to end, in the 
fhape of thimbles. Though the webs of thefe 
membranes are yerv clofe, they are tranfparent, and 
cf a whitifh colour. It is fuppoled that the Bees 
fpin thefe webs with a glutinous fubftance ex- 
tracted from their bodies, almoft in the fame 
manner as filk- worms. They are rather lefs than 
common Bees; but, like them, have a croflet of 
redhair J and the rings of their bodies are of a brown 
colour bordered with white hair. They refemble 
the leaf-cutting Bees in fhape; and their trunks are 
Ihort and thick, but largeft at their extremities, 
and a little cloven : n-a^fverfe rays or ftreaks 
are formed by fhort hair on the upper parts, and a 
kind of longifh hair borders the turn of the hollow 
ones- With refpedt to fize, the males and females 
are exaftly the fame ; hm the former are deftitute 
of ftings. The feet of thefe Bees feem adapted for 
digging the earth ; for they have two points, one at 
the end, and another fomewhat fhorter; forming 
together a kind of fork with unequal prongs. 
Bee, Tapestry. The Tapeftry Bees obtain 
their name from the circumfiance of their lining 
their nefts with a fpecies of tapeftiy, colle£led 
from the flowers of the wild poppy when newly 
blown, bits of which they place at fmall intervals 
from each other. They generally build their nefts 
by the fides of highways and paths in corn-fields. 
They are fliorter in proportion than the common 
Bees, but nearly of the fam.e colour. Like feve- 
ral other fpecies already mentioned, they fill their 
nefts vv^ith pafte for the nutrition of their young. 
BEE-EATER. This bird is of the fhape of 
a king's-fifher, and about the fize of a blackbird. 
The bill is like that of the halcyon tribe, except 
that it is a little more incurvated ; and the feet are 
exaftly like thofe of the king's-fifher. The tongue, 
which is flender, rough, and jagged towards the 
end, appears as if it were lacerated. The eyes, in 
ibme of thefe birds, are of a hazel colour, and in 
others of a beautiful red. The head is large and 
oblong; and the feathers at the bafe of the up- 
per-chap are white, fhaded with green and yellow. 
The back part of the head, in fome, is of a deep 
BEE 
red; and in others there 15 a mixture of greets 
among it. From the corners of the bill, aion^ 
each fide of the head, runs a black ftreak, which 
extends beyond the eyes ; and near it, on the up- 
per-part of the head, the feathers are of a pale yel- 
low. The belly, neck, and breaft, are of a blueifh 
green ; and the feathers on the fhoulders, in Ibme, 
are blue ; on the under-wing, in others, green, with 
an admixture of red. The large wing-feathers are 
of a colour inclining to orange, with black tips, 
intermixed with fome which are green. The tail 
is upwards of three inches in length; and confifts 
of about twelve feathers, the two middlemoft be- 
ing longer than the reft, and terminating in fharp 
points. The colour of the tail varies ; being green 
in fome, in others blue, and of a dai-kifh brown 
underneath. This bird is a native of Bengal in 
the Eaft Indies, and feveral other countries. 
In the Eaft, and particularly in Bengal, there is 
another fpecies about the fame fize; with a black bill, 
thick at the bafe, bending downwards, and nea? 
two inches long. The eyes are of a fine red; and 
on each fide of the head is a black ftreak, which, 
beginning at the corner of the mouth, extends 
beyond the eyes; the bafe of the upper-chap, as 
well as that part which is under the chin, is cover- 
ed with bright pale blue feathers ; the upper part 
of the head, and the back and wings, ai'e of a dufl<y 
yellow; the tips of the quill-feathers are brownj 
the breaft .and belly are green; and the under-part, 
near the vent, is of a pale yellow, with a fmall mix- 
ture of green. The outermoft- featliers of the tail 
are variegated with green and yellow; the twomid- 
dlemioft feathers being twice as long as the reft, 
and terminating in fliarp points of a brown co- 
lour. T he legs and feet are like thofe of the king's- 
fiflier. ■ 
Bee-Eater, Indian. This bird is only half 
the fize of the European Bee-Eater, or the merops; 
and the middle feathers of it's tail are confiderably 
longer. The bill is pretty long and fharp-point- 
ed, with a downward incurvation ; the upper man- 
dible is black or dufky, and the lower whitifh 
at the bafe; the beginning of the forehead next 
the bill is blue, of which colour likewife are the 
throat and fides of the head beneath the eyesi 
and the crown and hinder parts of the head and 
neck arc of a red or orange colour. On the upper 
part of the breaft there is a tranfverfe mark in the 
form of a crefcent, with the horns pointing upwardsj 
the back, and lefiTer covert feathers of the wings, 
are of a parrot-green colour; the rump, or coverts 
of the tail, are of a blueifh green ; the breaft and 
belly are of a light green ; the thighs are of a red- 
difh brown ; and the coverts beneath the tail are of 
a dirty green. The greater quills of the wings are 
duflcy at their tips, having a little green on their 
edges tov/ards the bafe ; the centre quills are of an 
orange colour, bordered with green marked with 
black f pots a little within their tips, the extreme tips 
being orange; the interior quills next the back 
are wholly green; the firft row of coverts above the 
quills is orange in the centre, and green on the 
edges. The tail is green ; the fhafts of the fea- 
thers are brown; tlie two centre feathers projetSt 
more than two inches beyond the reft, are bro^vll 
■ at the tips, and very narrow, being little more 
than the naked fliafts; the under-nde of the tail is 
of a dufky green; the legs are fhort; the three 
forward toes are partly conne6led together; the 
claws are pretty ftrong; and the leg^ and feet are 
of a duflcy brown colour. 
.1 BEET-. 
