THiE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST 101 



feet below the surface of the ground, examined on July 26, at Clyman Junction, 

 Wisconsin, I found a queen of Psithyi'us laboriosus Fabr. In this instance also, 

 tlie Psithvnis queen had evidently been stung by the queen bumblebee. When 

 the PsithyH'iis queen was handled, it was barely able to move a leg, and acted in 

 every respect like a bumblebee that had been stung. It was in the nest material 

 near the entrance of the nest, probably having been dragged there by the Brcmiis 

 queen. In the nest at the time, besides these two queens, were twelve worker.s, 

 fifteen eggs, and some larvae and pupae. It was impossible to make a detailed 

 study of the development of this colony in order to learn if any individuals of 

 Psithyrus were eventually produced. 



Whether any of the Nearctic species of Psithyrus are restricted to tht 

 nests of one particular species of Br cm its or not is still to be decided. Sladen in 

 the previously mentioned article, infers that Psithyrus insularis Sm. nuist at leas'i 

 frequent the nest of another species of bumblebee besides B renins flavifrom 

 Cress., as Psithyrus insuloris Sm. occurs at Ottawa, Ontario where Bremus flavt- 

 fron.'i Cress, is not indigenous. From the evidence given above, Psithyrus lab- 

 oriosus Fabr. evidently invades the nests of both Bremus pcnnsylvanicus DeGeei 

 and Bremus auriconius Robt.", species representing the two subgenera of Bremus. 

 If Psithyrus laboriosu.v Fabr. will enter the nests of two such widely separated 

 species as these, it is reasonable to assume that it will frequent the nest of almost 

 any species of bumblebee within its range. About Urbana, Illinois, where Psith- 

 yrn.x variabilis Cress, is very common. I have never found it in the nests of any 

 bumblebee species but Bremus pennsylzwiicus DeGeer, and it remains for future 

 investigation to decide whether Psithyrus variabilis Cress, has riiore than one 

 host. 



Edward Saunders in "The Hymenoptera of the British Islands" says that 

 the species of Psithyrus appear not always to confine themselves to the same 

 host. Hoffer, one of the closest students of the European Bremidae, reports 

 finding P,%ithyrus eampestris Panz. in the nests of Bremus agrorum Fabr.. P 

 silvarum Liim., and B. variabilis Schmied. Psithyrus rnpestris Fabr. and P. 

 vestalis Fouc, however, are apparently very closely associated with Bremus lap- 

 idarins Linn, and B. terrcstris Linn. Even these last two species of Psithyrus, 

 as shown by Sladen in "The Humbhs-bee" occasionally lodge in a nest of another 

 species of bumblebee. 



NOTES ON THE PREPARATORY STAGES OF GNOPHAELA VER- 



MICULATA G. AND R. 



BY F. C. WHITEHOUSE. 

 Red Deer, Alta. 

 Mid-June 191'^ I took some nearly full grown larvae of this species in a 

 tamarack swamp near Red Deer, which pupated about a week later and emerged 

 1 1th to 14th July. The larvae were feeding on the borage Mcrtcnsia virginica. 

 [ wrote Dr. McDunnough inquiring if the life history were known, and received 

 reply that the full grown larvae had been twice described in Entomologica Am- 

 ericana IV, 24 and \'. S7 but that he had no knowledge of any published notes 

 on the Qgg or early larval stages. He was kind enough to send me copies of 

 ihe descriptions referred to. 



