112 
BRITISH BEES. 
for it, but all are unsatisfactory. The Order consists of 
three genera (Sty lops, Elenchus ,and Halictophagus) found 
in England, and other parts of Europe; indeed, the genus 
Elenchus has been also discovered in the Mauritius. 
The Continent possesses the genus Xenos, of the same 
order, and parasitical upon a wasp, neither of which occur 
with us. 
Mr. Kirby, in studying the bees for his invaluable 
‘ Monographia Apum Anglise,’ first came across this 
extraordinary creature. His description of his discovery 
is highly interesting. He says, at page 111 of volume ii. 
of the above work, that having observed a protuberance 
upon the body of the bee, he was anxious to ascertain 
whether it might be an Acarus, and goes on : “ What was 
my astonishment when, upon attempting to disengage it 
with a pin, I drew forth from the body of the bee, a 
white fleshy larva, a quarter of an inch long, the head of 
which I had mistaken for an Acarus. How this animal 
receives its nutriment seems a mystery. Upon examining 
the head under a strong magnifier, I could not discover 
any mouth or proboscis with which it might perforate 
the corneous covering of the abdomen, and so support 
itself by suction; on the under side of the head, at its 
junction with the body there was a concavity, but I 
could observe nothing in this but a uniform unbroken 
surface. As the body of the animal is inserted in the 
body of the bee, does that part receive its nutriment 
from it by absorption ? After I had examined one 
specimen, I attempted to extract a second, and the 
reader may imagine how greatly my astonishment was 
increased, when, after I had drawn it out but a little 
way, I saw its skin burst, and a head as black as ink, 
with large staring eyes, and antennse consisting of two 
