254 [November, 



but in neither case is any considerable distortion of the abdomen to 

 be noticed. 



Mr. Pierce, whose work will in future be indispensable to any one 

 interesting himself in this subject, gives a veiy full list of the previously 

 recorded occurrence of Strepsipterous parasites in various groups of 

 Hymenoptera , and also in insects belonging to other orders. Most of 

 his records are of exotic or American (not Palsearctic) insects, but I 

 extract from them such as refer to species of Bees and Fossors 

 occurring in our own Region. 



Of Fossors (Palagarctic spp.) he enumerates the following : — 



(1) Parasjihex alhisedns, Lep., and viduatus, Christ. 



(2) Sj.^hex (= Amnwphila, Kirby and authors) holosericea, F., 



sabulosa, L., and fydei, Guill. 



(3) SfizKs sp. ? (Stizomor2)hus group) and peregrinus, Sm. 



(Bembecinus group) ; 



and of Paltearctic Bees, apart from Halidus and Andrena (besides 

 Biareolina neglecta, which I cannot consider distinct generically from 

 Andrena) the following : — 



(1) Prosojns hipunctata, F.(=si<jnata, Pz.) — gihba, S. S. Saund. 



ridjicola, S. S. Saund. — and variegata " Saunders " (^sic, 

 but Fabricius is the author of this species). 



(2) Halictoides sp. ? (Innsl)ruclv). 



(8) Melitui-ga SY>.? (Hiuigary). 



There can be little doubt that the above List will be largely 

 increased if the subject be ever taken up seriously by European 

 specialists. 



Brmiswick, Woking' : 



October 21st, 1913. 



Insects caught by an Orchid. — While I was at Pont de I'Arche in Normandy 

 this summer, I was greatly pleased at findin<^ numerous examples of that great 

 rarity in Britain, Orchis hircinu, L. (the Lizard Orchis). On examining a 

 specimen for botanical jjurposes, 1 found a species of Halictus (kindly determined 

 for nie by the Rev. F. D. Moi'ice as H. ijuadrinotatus, Kirb.) firmly caught by 

 the head by the sticky disc of the pollinia; it was quite unaVile to withdraw the 

 latter and seemed already much exhausted by its efforts. On my pulling it out 

 of the flower, of coiu-se the pollinia came with it. Fiu-ther search resulted in 

 the finding of a small black ant, Tapinoma erraticum, Latr. (also named by 



