I 



Bibliographical Notices. 125 



generally obscure and often wholly uninteresting, whilst the insects of 

 the large order of Hymenoptera, which present so many points of in- 

 terest in the almost infinite variety of their oeconomy, attract scarcely 

 anybody's attention. In the case of the Bees this is the more remark- 

 able, as we have for many years possessed a work upon the British 

 species of those insects (the * Monographia Apum Anghse ' of Kirby, 

 published in 1802), which has generally been regarded as a model of 

 an Entomological monograph, and which, notwithstanding the lapse 

 of more than half a century since its publication, still holds its place 

 as a standard work. 



Nevertheless even in this neglected department of Entomology, 

 this interval of fifty years has added considerably to the list of Bri- 

 tish species, and shown that the learned author of the work above 

 mentioned, was, as might be expected, not unfrequently in error with 

 regard to the species known to him, and especially that in some cases 

 he has placed together as males and females of the same species 

 insects which are truly distinct, whilst in others the two sexes of the 

 same insect have been described as distinct species. Most of these 

 errors are now corrected, mainly by the exertions of Mr. Smith, 

 whose numerous and interesting papers on British Bees, published 

 in the * Zoologist,' have done much for the extension of our know- 

 ledge of this subject. The scattered nature of these notices, how- 

 ever, renders the appearance of the present little work particularly 

 welcome, as in it Mr. Smith has given in a systematic form the en- 

 tire results of his study of the British Bees, pursued assiduously for 

 more than twenty years, and in many instances with the advantage 

 of having corrected his previous notions by the more extended inter- 

 course with continental entomologists, which his present position at 

 the British Museum has opened up to him. 



Although brought out as one of the series of Catalogues published 

 by the Trustees of the British Museum, this little book is certainly 

 far more deserving of the title of a monograph than a great majority 

 of the things that commonly make their appearance under that 

 name, many of which indeed are little more than catalogues ; — Mr. 

 Smith's Catalogue contains full descriptions of all the genera and 

 species, accompanied by observations on their habits and oeconomy, 

 which are rendered particularly valuable by the author's long expe- 

 rience, and will be found very interesting even to the general reader. 

 Of this the following account of the oeconomy of the Bees of the 

 genus Osmia may serve as an example, and the reader will find many 

 other passages of equal interest in other parts of the book : — 



" If I were asked," says Mr. Smith, " which genus of bees would 

 aiford the most abundant materials for an essay on the diversity of 

 instinct, I should without hesitation point out the genus Osmia. I 

 propose to notice in this place all that has occurred to me during an 

 attentive observation of their oeconomy for the last twenty years. 

 The most abundant species is Osmia hicornis ; its oeconomy is varied 

 by circumstances ; in hilly country, or at the sea- side, it chooses the 

 sunny side of cliffs or sandy banks, in which to form its burrows ; 



