1897.] 229 



CILISSA 3IELANURA, Nyl., A SPECIES NEW TO THE BRITISH 

 LIST, AND OTHER BEES AT ST. MARGARET'S BAY. 



BY F. W. L. SLADEK. 



A few visits to St. Margaret's Bay this year have been productive 

 of some rare bees, which may be worth recording. 



Halictus quadricinctus , Fab. — This species occurs over a small area in company 

 ■with H. rubicundus. It is partial to the heads of Centaiirea. In the first week of 

 Angust I met with the males on C. scabiosa, also a few young females in the early 

 morning before the males were about. Towards the end of the month the females 

 appeared in some numbers on C. nigra, which was growing close to the burrows. 



Andrena simillima, Smith, was taken on Eupatorium, large clumps of which 

 grow at the foot of the clilf. I also saw worn females at bi'amble flowers. The 

 females burrow into the chalk. A. nigriceps occurs further along the coast, but I 

 have not yet taken it at St. Margaret's Bay. 



CiLISSA MELANURA, Nyl. 



Closely resembles C. leporina, but the <J has the hairs of the face white, with 

 one or two black hairs on the inside of each eye, antennae in that sex entirely black ; 

 thorax in the $ with the hairs above pale, with a slight fulvous tinge in front in 

 fresh specimens, in the $ shining, the hairs pale fulvous, in both sexes the hairs are 

 intermixed with black in the centre of the mesonotum ; fore-wings in both sexes 

 slightly broader than in C. leporina, their apices less acute, nervures dark piceous ; 

 abdomen subtriangular in both sexes, in the S with the first and second segments 

 clothed sparingly with pale hairs, the remaining segments sparingly with black hairs, 

 the second, third, and fourth with a narrow apical band of short white pubescence, 

 narrower on the fifth ; in the ? shining, the first segment with a few pale hairs, 

 second, third, and fourth segments with a narrow apical band of short white 

 pubescence, apical fringe black, not very dense ; terminal joint of the tarsi in both 

 sexes nearly black ; scopce in the ? greyish-white, turning into black at the apex of 

 the metatarsi. 



The males of this insect were first noticed on August 10th, coursing up and 

 down a small strip of Bartsia odontites, which was then coming into bloom. Mr. 

 Saunders has kindly examined a specimen of each sex, and finds them to be referable 

 to this species, which is new to the British list. Unfortunately I met with only one 

 good specimen of the female. The species is closely allied to C. leporina, but it is 

 distinguishable in both sexes by the more triangularly-shaped abdomen with nar- 

 rower bands of shorter white pubescence, by the dark piceous nervures of the wings, 

 and by the terminal tarsal joint of each leg, which is black, not testaceous as in C. 

 leporina. The male has the antennae longer, entirely black, lacking the ochreous 

 hue so characteristic of fresh specimens of male leporina, and their joints much 

 more arcuate. 



Among other local bees taken at St. Margaret's Bay, but which 

 I have met with elsewhere along the coast, may be mentioned the 

 following : — Prosopis Mnsoni, Saund., appears at the foot of the 

 cliff, first on mallow, attracted afterwards to Achillea and other 



