British Bees: An Introduction into the Studies of the Natural History and Economy of the Bees Indigenous to the British IslesShuckard, William Edward
Science
British Bees: An Introduction into the Studies of the Natural History and Economy of the Bees Indigenous to the British Isles
Shuckard, William Edward
Bees; Hymenoptera -- Great Britain
parasites, whose abnormal and eccentric structure required an Order to
be established for their admission. Strange creatures! more like
microscopic repetitions of antediluvian enormities than anything within
the visible creation, and to whose remarkable peculiarities I shall have
occasion to return. Amongst the _Diptera_ and _Lepidoptera_ also they
have their enemies.
Bees are sometimes exceedingly pleasant to capture, for many of them
emit the most agreeable scents; some a pungent and refreshing fragrance
of lemons; others the rich odour of the sweetest-scented rose; and some
a powerful perfume of balsamic fragrance and vigorous intensity. These
have their set-off in others which yield a most offensive smell, to
which that of garlic is pleasant, and assafœtida a nosegay. These odours
must have some purpose in their economy, but what it may be has not been
ascertained.
They present very frequently remarkable disparities of structure and
appearance in the sexes, so much so that its infrequency is rather the
exception than the rule, and nothing in many cases but practical
experience can associate together the legitimate sexes. Differences of
size are the simplest conditions of these distinctions, for they occur
also in individuals of the same sex. Differences of colour, consisting
in increased intensity in the males, are also usually easily recognized;
but the relative length and structure of the antennæ is a more marked
disparity, and the development is always in favour of the male. The
differences in the compound eyes are conspicuous in our native genera
only in the drone, where they converge on the vertex, and throw the
stemmata down upon the face. I have before alluded to special
peculiarities in the legs when treating of those limbs. In the wings
there are occasional differences, but so slight as not to require, in a
general survey, special notice; but wherever they occur it is always in
the male that the greatest extension of those limbs is found. The
differences in the termination of the abdomen I have noticed above, and
these sexual peculiarities in some genera are very marked. The spines
which arm it in _Anthidium_ and _Osmia_, and its peculiar structure in
_Chelostoma_ we can account for; but we have not the same clue to their
uses in _Cælioxys_, in which the action of the abdomen is upward, and
not downward, as in the others.
The association of the legitimate partners of our native species has
been to a great extent already accomplished and recorded; therefore, in
this case, with the requisite guides to further instruction at hand, the
commencing entomologist will find no obstruction, but may register the
observations of his own experience to verify the discoveries of his
predecessors.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account