62 The Irish Naturalist, 



In company with the A^idreucc we observe crowds of the 

 brightly coloured Nomada: or wasp-bees, wath gaud}^ stripes 

 of black and 3'ellow, belonging to the large group of inquiline 

 or " cuckoo "-bees. Thej^ are so called because they do not 

 make nests for themselves, but use the nests of other species, 

 their young being reared upon the food stored up for the 

 grubs of their hosts. Amongst them we notice the common 

 Noviada altcniata, N'. rujico7'nis, and A^ siiccificta ; we may also 

 meet A^. bijida and N". ftavoguttata. At the upper part of the 

 glen I have taken an example ot the rare A', fcrntginata, a 

 rather sober-coloured insect. 



Here upon a Hawkweed is a bee of curious appearance, 

 dark-coloured, with a sharpl}^ pointed tailpiece, ringed with 

 narrow greyish bands. This is another inquiline, Ccelioxys 

 clongata, and we shall not have far to go for its host. There 

 are several .species of the latter, but the commonest, Megachilc 

 ccntunciilaris, is abundant in many places. It is about the 

 size of a hive-bee, but stouter, and lines its burrow ver}' 

 neatly with cuttings of Rose and Sweetbriar leaves. Nor does 

 it confine its attention to the rose family only, for I have seen 

 it cutting the leaves of such shrubs as Symphoricarptis. An 

 allied species, M. lignisccca^ lines its nest with cuttings from 

 the Elm and the Beech. 



Another genus of wild bee, Halictus, cannot possibly 

 escape our notice, from the great abundance of some of its 

 species. One of the commonest of these is a very pretty 

 insect, Halictus mbicnndiis, the females being easil}- known 

 by their ashy-grey banding and golden-yellow pile. The male 

 Halicti have rather a peculiar appearance from their elongated 

 bodies and slender antennae. The males of H. riibictrndtis 

 and H. cylindricus often congregate in a common burrow 

 where they pass the night, and spend the time when the day 

 is wet or cloudy. We shall probably meet with some of these 

 "bachelor's clubs" by exploring the cla}' banks as sunset 

 approaches. Most of the Halicti ^.re small black or brassy 

 insects, and all are remarkable for their fu.ssv activitv. 



Flying about the burrows of the Halicti, but of less active 

 habits, we observe other little 1)ees, prettily marked with 

 black and scarlet. These belong to the genus Sphccodes, 

 fonnerly, but wrongly, thought to be inc|uiline like the 



