they migrated during the day to a large crack, formed by the dryness of the weather, about a yard from their old nest."

This description is accompanied by a sketch of a portion of the dwelling. Five chambers are shown, two large and three small, communicating with the gallery by very short corridors.

It is a noteworthy fact, that the ant will always avail itself of any accidental circumstances that may assist it in building. For example, one of these industrious little beings has been observed to take advantage of some straws that happened to cross one another, and to convert them into beams, wherewith the ceiling could be supported. It began the work by depositing the little clay pellets in the angles formed by the straws, and then laid several rows of the pellets along the sides of each straw. The ceiling rapidly grew under the jaws and feet of the ant, and on account of the extemporized beams, was necessarily of much greater strength than those which were constructed in the usual manner.

The common YELLOW ANT (Formica flava), so abundant in marshes and gardens, is also a good burrower, though its habitation is not so large or so elaborate as that of the Brown Ant. This species is very fond of making its subterranean houses under stones or similar substances, and I have found hundreds of the nests under flat stone tiles that had once been employed in edging the walks of a large kitchen garden, and had been pressed aside or sunk flat upon the earth. It is a curiously sociable species, for it is often found occupying one side of a little hillock, while another species of ant, Myrmica scabrinodis, has possession of the other. This latter species is sometimes extremely abundant, and it is a rather remarkable fact, that some of our rarest British beetles are only to be found in the nests of the ants.

As is well known, the ants do not retain their wings for any lengthened period, and after these members have served the purpose for which they were intended, they are broken off by the insect by means of a transverse seam near the base. There are, however, many of the permanently winged hymenoptera which possess very great powers of burrowing, and are able to excavate soil so hard that a knife can scarcely make its way through the solidly impacted mass of earth and stones.

The mining bees, which belong to the genus Andrena, are admirable burrowers, and in spite of their small size, drive their

K

little tunnels into the earth with astonishing ease. I once came on a whole colony of the Andrena, in a peculiarly hard and stony path near Dieppe. The ground was full of little holes, from which the bees were continually issuing, and into which others were as continually passing; their bodies yellow with the pollen of the flowers which they had been rifling, and which was intended to serve as a provision for the future brood.

An ordinary pocket-knife could make no impression on the ground, mixed as it was with stones, trodden by daily traffic, and baked by the heat of summer, into a mass nearly as hard as brick, harder perhaps than the bricks that are employed for modern houses. I was obliged, therefore, to return to my room and fetch a great, rude, thick-bladed clasp-knife that was reserved for rough work, and with much labour succeeded in tracing several of the burrows. They were sunk, on an average, about eight inches into the ground, and near the end they took a sudden turn, and were ended by a rounded chamber, in which was almost invariably a ball of pollen about as large as a pea. No larva was found in any of the burrows. The whole of the labour falls upon the female, the fore-legs of the male being unable to dig, and the hind-legs unable to carry the pollen.

The genus Andrena is of enormous extent, for in 1855, not less than sixty-eight acknowledged species had been discovered in England, and the number is probably increased after a space of nearly ten years.

ONE of the most interesting members of this family is the pretty insect known by the name of Eucera longicornis, and believed to be the only British representative of its genus. The name longicornis, or long-horned, is derived from the very long. antennæ of the male, which is also remarkable for a notch on the first joint of the fore-legs. The use of this notch we shall presently see. Like the bees which have just been mentioned, the Eucera digs a rather deep burrow, but prefers a clay soil. The extremity of the burrow is widened into an oval cell, the walls of which are beaten and pressed by the insect until they are quite hard. The reason for this precaution is, that the cell is stored with a mixture of honey and pollen, which is of a semi-fluid consistency, and would be absorbed by the earth if the walls of the cell were not "puddled," as engineers call the operation.

Within the cell is placed the egg, and in due time the larva is hatched, and feeds on the soft sweet mixture with which it is surrounded. It then changes into the pupal condition, and is remark able for being enveloped in a very thin pellicle, something like the slough of a snake. Even the antennæ are enveloped separately in the pellicle, and the male would find great difficulty in divesting itself from the membrane, were it not for the notch in the forelegs. As soon, however, as it is partially free, the insect bends down its head, lodges successively each antenna in the notch, closes the joint upon it, and then, by drawing the antenna through the notch, strips off the pellicle with perfect ease.

Among these insects, the females are treated much as the wives of savages are treated. All the work falls to their lot, and the males do nothing but amuse themselves, circling about the nests in graceful undulations, while the females are hard at work, digging the burrows and fetching home the food. Still, there is no doubt but that this disparity is only in appearance, and that the one sex feels as much enjoyment in following the instinct which teaches her to dig, as does the other in following the instinct which teaches him to fly about.

AT the right-hand side of the illustration on page 128 may be seen a figure of a remarkable burrowing bee, called Scolia flavifrons, a native of Europe, but not as yet proved to be British. In common with other fossorial bees, this insect is carnivorous in its larval state, and is supplied by its mother with the creatures on which it feeds.

Some bees feed upon larvæ, others upon full-grown insects. Some eat beetles, some devour bees, some prefer spiders, and others flies, while a very great number of species are caterpillareaters, and are in consequence extremely useful to the gardener and farmer. This particular insect has a curious predilection, and stocks its nest with the grub or larva of a beetle, belonging to the genus Oryctes. At the bottom of the cell may be seen certain grubs, the smaller of which is the larva of the Scolia, and the larger that of the beetle. As may be seen from the illustration, the grub of the beetle is very much larger than that of the creature which feeds upon it. The species which is here represented is a large and remarkably striking one, the four conspicuous spots at once distinguishing it from any other insect.

In the middle of the illustration another example of a beeburrower is given, in order to show the manner in which the insect takes its prey into the nest. The technical name of this species is Ampulex compressa, and its nest is stocked with cockroaches, one of which is being dragged into the hole, wherein. it will be shortly eaten by the inhabitant.

As space is valuable, I will merely give the names of our most conspicuous burrowing bees, together with a brief notice of their habits.

All the species belonging to the genus Pompilus are burrowers, and stock their nests with spiders. Sandy soils are favoured spots with these bees, some species preferring the dry, hard sand-banks, while others choose soft and loamy sand for the site of their habitation. The Sand Wasps, belonging to the genus Ammophila, are always mighty burrowers, and set about their task with a fiery zeal that never fails to excite the admiration of the spectator, their antennæ quivering and their wings flirting with excitement. When the burrow is completed, the mother insect flies off in search of a caterpillar or spider, according to the species, and conveys it to the bottom of the tunnel, where a small chamber is excavated.

She always enters the burrow backwards, grasping her prey in her jaws and dragging it after her. It is so large that she can scarcely force it along the tunnel, and were it not for the comparatively wide chamber, she would not be able to make her way out again. When she has fairly lodged it in the chamber, she creeps round it, deposits an egg upon it and crawls out again, taking care to stop up the entrance with some small pebbles. She then flies away in search of a fresh victim, and after some four or five caterpillars have been placed in the nest, she closes the entrance carefully, flies off and dies, the great duty of her life being then at an end.

There is an allied insect residing in India, which measures about three-quarters of an inch in length, and is of a fine polished green colour. Scientifically, it is known as Sphex scutigera. The habits of this insect have been carefully watched by Sir J. Hearsey, K.C.B., who gave me much information respecting the method by which it prepares a habitation for its young. This species preys upon large spiders and cockroaches, and sometimes displays a wonderful amount of ingenuity in achieving its object.

One of these insects had captured a spider, which was too heavy to be carried through the air. The Sphex then dragged it to a little bank, dropped it into the water, and perched upon it, sitting there until it had been carried some distance down the stream. Finding that the spider was sinking, the Sphex left it, and sat on a straw, which was floating down the stream, still, however, keeping company with its prey. After a while, the spider struck against the shore, and the Sphex then grasped it afresh, and tried to drag it along. The steep bank, however, baffled all its endeavours, and at last the industrious creature was obliged to leave the spider on the ground, and to go off in search of another.

The dark and sombre little bee called Mellinus arvensis is an excellent example of the burrowers. This insect preys on various flies, and packs away a large number of its victims in the burrow. The flies which it chooses are all swift of wing, whereas the Mellinus is rather a slow flier, so that it cannot take its prey by open assault, but is obliged to trust to craft. In order, therefore, to obtain its victims, the Mellinus watches some spot where flies most love to congregate, and walks to and fro as if it were quite unconcerned. It continues to run about in this manner until it comes close to a fly, when it springs upon the luckless insect, trounces it in its claws, and carries it off like a falcon with a partridge.

Six or seven flies are generally taken by the Mellinus, and as soon as the larva is hatched, it begins to devour the fly which is nearest to the bottom of the cell. It eats them in succession, usually devouring six of the victims, consuming the softer parts only, and leaving the head, shell of the abdomen, part of the thorax, and the limbs. Ten days suffice for the completion of its feeding, and it then spins a tough, dark-coloured cocoon, wherein it remains during the winter and part of the spring, changes into the pupal condition in the summer, and attains its perfect state at the beginning of autumn.

Another species of burrowers, Oxybelus uniglumis, has similar habits. Mr. F. Smith writes of it as follows: "I once observed several females running amongst the blades of grass which shot up from the surface of a little hillock upon which the sun shone and tempted various diptera, occasionally to alight. The Oxybeli continued to run about, apparently unheedful of the flies,