168 AMERICAN HYMENOPTERA. 



scientific work, for his information concerning the habitat of 

 the species. From this, we can safely say that probably 

 Smith merely had the impression that bellicos^is came from 

 either Sumatra or India. He evidently had no certain knowl- 

 edge concerning its habitat. 



For bicoloratus he gives the habitat " Island of Formosa." 

 This seems definite and may be correct. Apparently, in this 

 case, the specimen was labelled. Definite information con- 

 cerning the exact wording of that label would be interesting. 

 Did it really read " Island of Formosa," or did it read simply 

 " Formosa," Smith's opinion or imagination having supplied 

 the remainder of his published habitat ? If the label bore 

 only the word " Formosa," it might have meant Formosa 

 (Formosa Territory), Argentina instead of the Island of 

 Formosa. It seems quite possible that specimens of baeri 

 bearing the label " Formosa " and specimens of thoracicus 

 without label, these two species coming as they do from the 

 same general portion of South America, were added to the 

 British Museum collection at about the same time (possibly 

 also with specimens of other South American species — all 

 perhaps having been collected by the same expedition or the 

 same individual) and were, when in this condition, mixed 

 up with a collection of bumble-bees from Asia, and that 

 Smith relied largely either upon his own memory or upon 

 that of someone else in publishing the habitat of these spe- 

 cies as he did. 



It should be noted in this connection, however, that Prof. 

 T. D. A. Cockerell has recently recorded (" Bees in the Col- 

 lection of the United States National Museum " — Proceed- 

 ings United States National Museum, Vol. 39, page 642, 

 March, 1911) Bombus bicoloratus from Horisha, Formosa 

 (collected by T. Fukai). 



Bombus (Bombias) butteli Friese. 



Bombus butteli H. Friese, Zeitsch. f. System. Hym. und Dipt., Jahrg. 



Ill, Heft 4, July 1, 1903, p. 254, S . 



Types. — Friese described this species from two workers 

 which are still in his private collection. One of these speci- 



