Vlll 
PREFACE. 
the descendants inevitably resume the economy of the 
ancestor. 
The merit that attaches to the discovery of such facts 
is due merely to patience and diligence, very common 
attributes; and the repeated mention of the supposed 
first observer must, necessarily, in a work of this kind, 
which is far from being of a strictly scientific cha¬ 
racter, diminish the interest of the narrative by in¬ 
terrupting its connection, and thus making it an incon¬ 
gruous mosaic. The omission to cite authorities mav 
also take place without any wish to detract from the 
merit of the discoverer, which is patent to all by his own 
record in the archives of science. 
Before concluding, I wish to express my best thanks 
to Thomas Desvignes, Esq., for the kindness and willing¬ 
ness with which he lent me, for the purposes of this 
work, my own selection from the Bees of his choice col- 
lection of British insects. 
I now dismiss the book—truly a labour of love— 
with the hope that it will fall into the possession of 
many, who may be sufficiently interested in the subject 
to induce them to become ardent entomologists, by 
showing them within how small a compass much agree¬ 
able instruction lies. 
June, 1866. 
