March, 1901.] Smith : On Some Digger Bees. 3t 



Andrena vicina Smith. 



Specimens of this species were collected about flowers early in 

 May and examples came to hand from time to time during that month. 

 May 28th the insects were noticed at work and plaster casts were made 

 on that and next day, May 29th. In the first cast there was only a 

 perpendicular less than a foot in length, without lateral, indicating 

 that the specimen had but recently begun digging operations. In the 

 second there was an empty cell 14 inches below the surface and no 

 filled cartridge could be found lower down. It was evidently the first 

 lateral from the burrow. Another cast was deeper and very crooked, 

 but was no further advanced. Here also there was no appearance of 

 a loaded cartridge below the lateral. 



May 31st received five specimens of bees, all females, taken two 

 days before. The ovaries were examined in each case and were found 

 to be undeveloped. They were yet covered or encased in one com- 

 mon sheath and none of the tubes showed either developing or miss- 

 ing ova. 



June 4th a number of burrows made by this species were cast. 

 They proved to be very much like Colletes in type, but somewhat 

 larger in diameter and decidedly more twisted. They go down a 

 little deeper, also, on the average. A. vicina is really a much larger 

 and more bulky insect than C. compacta, yet the diameter of the bur- 

 row is very little greater. 



The cell-making habit seems to be like that of compacta ; there is 

 the same membraneous pouch, filled with the same honey paste, less 

 than half full, with the same sort of egg. What was not noted was 

 whether there were more cells than one from a single main burrow. 

 This species made its burrows on higher ground, more among trees 

 where the soil is filled with roots. This makes their borings more 

 irregular and adds to the difficulty of digging them out. 



I have the species from Newark, Jamesburg and somewhere in 

 Burlington County, dated May and June. The Newark locality is in- 

 definite, the specimen was given me and I have no information as to 

 the kind of locality inhabited there. The other specimens were taken 

 by myself in locations generally similar to that at Lahaway. 



Andrena viola Rot^f. 



This is a small species resembling C. compacta and at first mis- 

 taken for it. It was first seen coming out of a hole May 28th and 



