terpillars and nocturnal moths are rare.

There are no true hive-bees (_Apides_) in South America,[174] but
instead there are about one hundred and fifty species of bees (mostly
social _Moliponas_), smaller than the European, stingless, and
constructing oblong cells. Their colonies are much larger than those of
the honey-bee. The _Trigona_ occurs on the Napo. Unlike the _Melipona_,
it is not confined to the New World. A large sooty-black Bombus
represents our humble-bee. Shrill cicadas, blood-thirsty mantucas,
piums, punkies, and musquitoes are always associated in the traveler's
memory with the glorious river. Of the last there are several kinds.
"The forest musquito belongs to a different species from that of the
town, being much larger and having transparent wings. It is a little
cloud that one carries about his person every step on a woodland ramble,
and their hum is so loud that it prevents one hearing well the notes of
birds. The town musquito has opaque, speckled wings, a less severe
sting, and a silent way of going to work. The inhabitants ought to be
thankful the big noisy fellows never come out of the forest" (Bates,
ii., 386). There are few musquitoes below Ega; above that point a
musquito net is indispensable. Beetles abound, particularly in shady
places, and are of all sizes, from that of a pin's head to several
inches in length. The most noticeable are the gigantic _Megalosoma_ and
_Enema_, armed with horns. Very few are carnivorous. "This is the more
remarkable," observes Darwin, "when compared to the case of carnivorous
quadrupeds, which are so abundant in hot countries." Very few are
terrestrial, even the carnivorous species being found clinging to
branches and leaves. In going from the pole to the equator we find that
insect life increases in the same proportion as vegetable life. There is
not a single beetle on Melville Island; eleven species are found in
Greenland; in England, 2500; in Brazil, 8000. Here lives the king of
spiders, the _Mygale Blondii_, a monstrous hairy fellow, five inches
long, of a brown color, with yellowish lines along its stout legs. Its
abode is a slanting subterranean gallery about two feet in length, the
sides of which are beautifully lined with silk. Other spiders barricade
the walks in the forest with invisible threads; some build nests in the
trees and attack birds; others again spin a closely-woven web,
resembling fine muslin, under the thatched roofs of the houses.

[Fo