Vol. XXvii] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 6l 



destroy all other larvae that attempted to live in such close 

 proximity with them. 



Howard states : "There are observations on record which 

 seem to show that the larvae of the curious American genus 

 Hermetia may live in bee hives, and in the nests of wild bees. 

 At all events, H. illuccns has been seen hovering about bee 

 hives and thrusting its eggs through cracks in the hives. " : 

 The dissimilarity of breeding places as mentioned by Howard 

 and the case which came under my observation would seem to 

 show a considerable diversity in this species in the selection 

 of breeding places. 



I wish to express my thanks to Mr. Frederick Knab, of 

 Washington, D. C., for his kindness in identifying the flies for 

 me. 



The Bee-genus Halictoides in North America (Hym.) 



By T. D. A. COCKERELL, University of Colorado, Boulder, Col. 



The genus Halictoides. as the name indicates, consists of 

 more or less Hal ictus-like bees, which however belong to the 

 Panurgine series. The species are not very numerous, but are 

 often remarkable for their secondary sexual characters. One 

 of the most extraordinary, with the male legs elaborately pro- 

 duced into spines and angles, has been separated by Viereck 

 as a distinct genus, Cryptohalictoides. This species, C. spiiii- 

 ferus Vier. comes from Nevada. Several subgenera have also 

 been recognized. Cockerell and Porter (Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., 

 Dec. 1899, p. 420), after investigating the mouth-parts of a 

 number of species, concluded that typical Plalictoides (type 

 H. dcntivcntris Nyl.) was not represented in America, and 

 placed the American species then available in a new subgenus 

 Parahalictoides; with the exception of H. marginatus, which 

 fell in another subgenus, Epihalictoides. A third American 

 subgenus is Conohalictoides Viereck, based on H. novaeangliae 



* Howard, L. O "The Insect Book," Page 128. Doubleday, Page 

 & Company, New York, 1912. 



