Page:The naturalist on the River Amazons 1863 v2.djvu/59

 sting, but they bite furiously when their colonies are disturbed. The Indian who plundered the hive was completely covered by them; they took a particular fancy to the hair of his head, and fastened on it by hundreds. I found forty-five species of these bees in different parts of the country; the largest was half an inch in length; the smallest were extremely minute, some kinds being not more than one-twelfth of an inch in size. These tiny fellows are often very troublesome in the woods, on account of their familiarity; they settle on one's face and hands; and, in crawling about, get into the eyes and mouth, or up the nostrils.

The broad expansion of the hind shanks of bees is applied in some species to other uses besides the conveyance of clay and pollen. The female of the handsome golden and black Euglossa Surinamensis has this palette of very large size. This species builds its solitary nest also in crevices of walls or trees; but it closes up the chink with fragments of dried leaves and sticks cemented together, instead of clay. It visits the cajú trees, and gathers with its hind legs a small quantity of the gum which exudes from their trunks. To this it adds the other materials required from the neighbouring bushes, and when laden flies off to its nest.

Whilst on the subject of bees, I may mention that the neighbourhoods of Santarem and Villa Nova yielded me about 140 species. The genera are for the most part different from those inhabiting Europe. A very large number make their cells in hollow twigs and branches. As in our own country, the industrious nest-building kinds are attended by other species which do