74 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST 



(B. morrisoni may be added, for it has been taken by the Rev. 

 W. M. Roger at Ashcroft, B.C.), while no less than eleven of these 

 have not been taken south of Canada. It can almost be said that 

 no part of this vast country is without the bumble-bee, for the 

 author mentions that B. kirbyellus Curtis has been taken at Port 

 Foulke in 7834 North Latitude. The same species has been met 

 with on a high peak in New Mexico. In the Andes B. opifex has 

 been taken at an altitude of 4000 metres and B. coccineus at 13,600 

 feet. Franklin says these are the highest New World records. 



Like other modern workers on the Bombidse, Dr. 'Franklin 

 founds his classification mainly upon the structure of the genitalia 

 of the males and finds that the New World species of Bomb us fall 

 into seven groups: 



1. The Terrestris group, containing four species, the best 

 known being terricola Kirby of the east and occidentalis Greene of 

 the West, both energetic and prolific forms, as is terrestris in the 

 palearctic. Terricola is probably heavily parasitised — it might 

 more truly be said dragooned — here, as terrestris is in Europe by 

 Psilhyrus vestalis (sens, lata), of which the American form ashtoni 

 Cr. has a similar distribution to that of B. terricola, though, as 

 Franklin states, "there is not yet a single true New World account 

 of a Psithyrus having been found in a Bomb us nest." 



2. The Borealis group, better known in Europe as the Subter- 

 raneus or Distinguendus group, comprising bor.ealis Kirby in the 

 northeast and apposiius Cr. in the northwest. 



3. The Dumoucheli group, containing four species north of 

 Mexico, including the common Eastern species pennsylvanicus De 

 Geer (= americanorum Fab.), which does not extend far into 

 Canada, and the widely distributed fervidiis Fab. 



4. The Kirbyellus group, including five arctic and sub-arctic 

 species. 



5. The Pratorum group, containing no less than 23 species, or 

 apparently distinct forms, in Canada and the United States. 



The remaining two groups are made up of the species in which 

 the males have bulging eyes, for which Robertson in 1903 erected 

 the genus Bombias; (6) The Auricomus group comprising auri- 

 comus Robt. and nevadensis Cr. and (7) The Fraternus group, con- 

 sisting of seven species, of which only three have occurred in 



