OCCURRENCE IN SCOTLAND OF ANDRENA RUFICRUS 159 



during the first fine weather in April. Schmiedeknecht 

 ("Apidae Europaeae ") says: "In Europa septentrionali et 

 centrali primo vere volat sed haud frequenter." Mr. Saunders 

 has kindly sent me, for incorporation in this note, copy of a 

 diagnosis of the species which he has drawn up for publication 

 in the July number of the "Entomologists' Monthly Magazine." 

 The description of the male is taken mainly from one of the 

 Aberfoyle specimens, and that of the female from a Con- 

 tinental example. 



$ black ; apex of and sometimes the entire posterior 

 tibiae and the posterior metatarsi ferruginous ; head densely 

 clothed with long white hairs, intermixed on the sides of the 

 face and on the vertex with black ones ; antennae with the 

 3rd joint slightly longer than the 4th, 4th and 5th subequal ; 

 mandibles simple at the base ; head and thorax dull, with 

 the surface rugulose and shallowly punctured, the latter and 

 legs clothed with grayish-white hairs ; propodeum finely 

 rugose ; wings almost clear, nervures testaceous ; abdomen 

 with a fine alutaceous surface, with very vague shallow 

 scattered punctures, apices of the segments with a few white 

 hairs more abundant laterally ; apex of abdomen and seg- 

 ments beneath clothed with whitish hairs. 



9 black; posterior tibiae and metatarsi bright ferruginous; 

 face clothed with pale fulvous hairs, margined with black 

 at the sides ; 3rd joint of the antennae rather longer than 

 the 4th and 5th together ; thorax clothed with fulvous hairs, 

 those of the under side much paler, surface dull, finely 

 rugulose and punctured ; posterior tibiae and tarsi clothed 

 with bright fulvous hairs ; abdomen rather shining, finely 

 alutaceous, the bases of the segments with a fine, shallow, 

 rather remote puncturation, the apical margins narrowly 

 piceous, clothed with a few pale hairs at the sides ; apical 

 fimbria brownish, apices of the segments beneath fringed 

 with pale hairs. 



Length, 8-10 mm. 



Mr. Saunders adds : " The $ looks like a small Clarkella, 

 as Nylander remarks, or a prcecox. The former may be 

 known at a glance by the longer 3rd antennal joint, the 

 latter by the large mandibular tooth. Ruficrns should 

 follow angnstior in our list." 



