GEOGRAPHY OF THE GENERA. 73 



in species, for, as far as they may be estimated from the 

 contents of collections, its numbers do not reach twenty. 

 Our own species occur throughout the whole of Europe, 

 north and south. Others are found in Sicily, Albania, 

 the Morea, and show themselves at Bagdad. The genus 

 has been sent from the Canaries, and crosses the tropics 

 into Chili, but does not seem to have occurred elsewhere 

 in either North or South America, although one of the 

 genera (Eucera) on which, with us, it is parasitical, is 

 found in the latter country, and the other genus (Antho- 

 phora), which it also infests, is found throughout the 

 world, excepting in Australasia. In all those countries, 

 the closely- allied exotic genus Crocisa, which is very 

 numerous in species, may supply its place. 



The elegant genus EPEOLUS occurs in our own species 

 throughout northern Europe, as high as Lapland, and 

 is found also at the southern extremity of the continent 

 of the Old World, at the Cape of Good Hope. It has 

 been brought from Sicily, and other species come from 

 Siberia. The genus in America passes down from the 

 United States, by way of Mexico, to the Brazils, where 

 it crosses the southern continent, having been trans- 

 mitted from Chili. It is very limited in the number of 



tt 



its species, considering its wide diffusion, for not more 

 than twenty are registered. It is almost identical in 

 distribution with the genus Colletes, upon which it is 

 with us parasitical. The species are never so large as 

 those of the preceding genus, Melecta. 



The genus STELIS is limited both in number of 

 species and distribution, although the spots whence 

 it has come are wide apart. Our own species are 

 found throughout France and northern Europe, as far 

 as Finland. Other species occur in North America, and 



