340 THE JOURNAL OF ROTANT 



1911, and the following visitors were observed : — Bombylius discolor 

 Mik., B. major L., Anthophora pilipes Fab., Gonepteryx rhamni L., 

 Meligethes picipes Sturm., M. dij/ieilis Sturm., Meta segmen- 

 tate Clk. 



I have not included a pollen-collecting bee which visited the 

 flowers on April 7th, as no specimen was sent; it may have been 

 Andrena Gicynana. There were relatively few insects flying about 

 for the first fortnight or so, during which period the flowers seemed 

 to be chiefly visited by Thrips and small Coleoptera {Meligethes). 

 The warmer and sunnier conditions in April caused a rapid increase 

 of insect life, and many Bombylii and occasional " Humble-Bees"- — 

 the term is here used in a wide sense, as Miss Bray did not dis- 

 criminate between bees of the genera Anthophora and Bombus, 

 several specimens sent were pilipes — came to the Primroses. Only 

 one example of Gonepteryx rhamni was seen taking nectar on 

 April 20 — a very warm day with bright sunshine. Miss Bray writes, 

 " I was much impressed with the frequency of the visits of Bom- 

 bylius beyond the visits of other winged creatures. Bombylii are 

 much more frequent visitors than humble-bees, for while the latter 

 commonly favour other flowers, the former visit the Primrose almost 

 exclusively." On April G, a very favourable day, observations were 

 made (12.45-5.0 p.m.) on a practically dry pond-bed in Tile Hurst 

 Wood. There was a wealth of Primrose bloom, and an abundance of 

 Cardamine pratensis was interspersed with them. Numerous Bom- 

 bylii frequented the Primroses, while humble-bees made occasional 

 visits. Hive-bees were plentiful, and swarmed on the flowers of 

 Cardamine, while they ignored those of Primula. 



The following is a systematic list of various visitors to the 

 flowers of the Primrose, based on the foregoing observations in North 

 Wales and Sussex : — 



Arachnidia. Trombidium sp., Araneida (not identified), Meta 

 segmentata Clk. 



Coleoptera. Adrastus limbatus Fab., Barynotus obscurits Fab., 

 Epurcea longula Er., Meligethes dijficilis Sturm., M. erythropus 

 Gryll., M. exilis Sturm., M. flavipes Sturm., M. maurus Sturm., 

 M. picipes Sturm., M. viridescens Fab., M. sp., Otiorhynclius ligneus 

 Oliv., O. picipes Fab., Bhagonycha fitscicornis Oliv., Sciaphilus 

 muricatus Fab., Tachyporus chrysomelinus L., T. hypnorum Fab., 

 T. solutus Er. 



Diptera. Bombylius discolor Mik., B. major L., Hyetodcsia 

 lucorum Fin., Lucilia Caesar L. 



Gastropoda. Helix hispida L., H. sp., Limax agrestis L. 



Hemiptera. Dry mas brunneus Sahib. 



Hymenoptera. Andrena Gicynana Kirb., Anthophora pilipes 

 Fab., Bombus hortorum L., B. terrestris L., B. sp., Hal ictus leu- 

 copus Kirb. 



Isopoda. Oniscus asellus Linn., Borcellio scaber Latr. 



Lepidoptera. Gonepteryx rhamni L. 



Orthoptera. Forjicula auricularia N., Thrips sp. 



Tin; various Arachnida can hardly be regarded as of importance 



