Our Common Insects: A Popular Account of the Insects of Our Fields, Forests, Gardens and HousesPackard, A. S. (Alpheus Spring)
Science
Our Common Insects: A Popular Account of the Insects of Our Fields, Forests, Gardens and Houses
Packard, A. S. (Alpheus Spring)
Insects
The Halictus parallelus excavates cells almost exactly like those of
Andrena; but since the bee is smaller, the holes are smaller, though as
deep. Mr. Emerton found one nest in a path a foot in depth. Another
nest, discovered September 9th, was about six inches deep. The cells are
in form like those of Andrena, and like them, are glazed within. The egg
is rather slenderer and much curved; in form it is long, cylindrical,
obtuse at one end, and much smaller at the other. The larva (Fig. 31) is
longer and slenderer, being quite different from the rather broad and
flattened larva of Andrena. The body is rather thick behind, but in
front tapers slowly towards the head, which is of moderate size. Its
body is somewhat tuberculated, the tubercle aiding the grub in moving
about its cell. Its length is nearly one-half (.40) of an inch. On the
pupa are four quite distinct conical tubercles forming a transverse line
just in front of the ocelli; and there are also two larger, longer
tubercles, on the outer side of each of which, an ocellus is situated.
Figure 30 represents the pupa seen from beneath.
Search was made on July 16th, where the ground was hard as stone for six
inches in depth, below which the soil was soft and fine, and over twenty
cells were dug out. "The upper cells contained nearly mature pupae, and
the lower ones, larvae of various sizes, the smallest being hardly
distinguishable by the naked eye. Each of these small larvae was in a
cell by itself, and situated upon a lump of pollen, which was the size
and shape of a pea, and was found to lessen in size as the larva grew
larger. These young were probably the offspring of several females, as
four mature bees were found in the hole." The larva of an English
species hatches in ten days after the eggs are laid.
Another brood of bees appeared the middle of September, as on the ninth
of that month (1864) Mr. Emerton found several holes of the same species
of bee, made in a hard gravel road near the turnpike. When opened, they
were found to contain several bees with their young. September 2nd, of
this year, the same kind of bee was found in holes, and just ready to
leave the cell. It is probable that these bees winter over.
We have incidentally noticed the presence in the nests of Andrena and
Halictus of a stranger bee, clad in gay, fantastic hues, which lives a
parasitic life on its hosts. This parasitism does not go far enough to
cause the death of the host, since we find the young of the parasitic
Cuckoo bee, in cells containing the young of the former.
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