42 
INSECTS. 
black spots on a yellow clypeus. V. vulgaris presents a longitudinal black line 
dilated at the extremity. V. rufa is rare in Northern Europe. V. media has the 
yellow markings of the abdomen darker than in the other species. The wood- 
wasp, V. silvestris, hangs its nest on the bough of a tree or shrub. Such brief 
notices are, of course, wholly inadequate 
for a student of the group; and reference 
must be made to writings devoted to the 
special points of difference between these 
closely allied species. Among other forms 
space only admits mention of the South 
African wasp ( Belonogaster ), of which 
the comb is shown in the annexed figure. 
Common in houses at the Cape, this 
insect is much dreaded on account of the 
severity of its sting. 
Solitary Bees, —Family AndrenidjE. 
These insects may be recognised by 
the fact that the pollen-collecting organs 
are situated on the femora and coxae of 
the liind-legs, and the neighbouring sides 
of the thorax. The genera Andrena and Hylceus comprise the greater part of all 
the wild bees of Central and Northern Europe. The perfect insects appear in 
the early spring, making their nests in sandy soil. In the first genus figures of 
three species (A. schenclci, A. cineraria and A. fulvicrus) are given in the accom¬ 
panying illustration. H. grandis, figured on the same illustration, flies in July 
and August, and forms a large number of holes—a kind of colony—in some sunny 
slope. The species of both Andrena and the allied Halictus are parasitic, and 
display a very curious habit. When retiring to rest they fasten upon a twig or 
the edge of a leaf with their mandibles, fold their wings, draw up their legs, lay 
the antennae neatly along their backs, and, having induced a temporary lock-jaw, 
hang securely until the morning, when they loose their hold and hurry off once 
again to play the parasite on their relatives. Another species figured in the same 
illustration is the hairy-legged bee (Dasypoda hirtipes ), which appears on the wing 
in July, and constructs a nest of about six cells in sandy ground. The burrow 
runs obliquely at first, afterwards descending perpendicularly. Another well- 
known type of the family is exemplified by the mason-bees, of which one 
species (Clialicodoma muraria) is represented in the annexed illustration. These 
insects make their appearance in Europe during May, when the female forthwith 
sets about constructing her nest. This includes not more than ten simple cells, 
and is attached to old walls or houses; the cells being formed of grains of sand 
glued together with the saliva of the builder. In 188G some bees of an allied 
genus ( Osmia ) constructed their nests in the locks of a door at Deptford. The 
cells had completely choked the works of the locks, and in one case a portion of 
the nest was forced out by the insertion of the key without driving away the bees. 
SOUTH AFRICAN WASP AND ITS NEST (nat. size). 
