154 [July. 



TWO ADDITIONAL BRITISH SPECIES OF ANDRENA. 

 BY EDWAHD SAUNDERS, F.L.S. 



Andeena ruficrus, Nyl., Adn. Mon. Apum Bor., p. 217 (1847). 



(J . Black ; apex of, and sometimes the entire, posterior tibite, and the posterior 

 metatarsi, ferruginous ; head densely clothed with long white hairs, intermixed at 

 the sides of the face and on the vertex with black ones ; antennae with the 3rd joint 

 slightly longer than the 4th, 4th and 5th subequal ; mandibles simple at the base ; 

 head and thorax dull, with the surface rugulose and shallowly punctured, the latter 

 and legs clothed with greyish-white hairs ; propodeum finely rugose ; wings almost 

 clear, nervures testaceous ; abdomen with a fine alutaceous surface, with very vague, 

 shallow, scattered punctures ; apices of the segments with a few white hairs, more 

 abundant laterally ; apical segment and all the segments beneath clothed with whitish 

 hairs. 



? . Black, posterior tibiae and metatarsi bright ferruginous ; face clothed with 

 pale fulvous hairs, margined with black hairs at the sides ; 3rd joint of the antennae 

 rather longer than the 4th and 5th together ; thorax clothed with fulvous hairs, 

 those of the under-side much paler ; surface dull, finely rugulose and punctured, 

 posterior tibiae and tarsi clothed with bright fulvous hairs ; abdomen rather shining, 

 finely alutaceous, the bases of the segments with a fine shallow, rather remote, 

 puncturation ; the apical margins narrowly piceous, clothed with a few pale hairs at 

 the sides ; apical fimbria brownish ; apices of the segments beneath fringed with 

 pale hairs. Long., 8 — 10 mm. 



Three males of tbe above species were taken by Mr. W. Evans, 

 of Edinburgh, in dandelion flowers at Aberfoyle, Perthshire, in April, 

 189G. It is said by Continental writers to be one o£ the earliest 

 spring bees, and April in so northern a locality as Aberfoyle quite 

 bears this out. Mr. Evans has very kindly given me one of the 

 specimens, and from this and a continental female I have drawn up 

 the above diagnosis : — 



The (J looks like a small Glarkella, as Nylander remarks, or a 

 prcBCox, the former may be known at a glance by the longer third 

 antennal joint, the latter by the large mandibular tooth. It should 

 follow angustior in the list. 



Andrena niveata, Eriese, Term. Fiizetek, vol. xi, 18S7, p. 25. 

 I have for years had some specimens in my collection of a species 

 closely allied to nana^ Kirby, but which I had doubts as to the dis- 

 tinctness of ; they were caught at Worthing in 1888, and I separated 

 them off from nana by the conspicuous white fringes to the abdominal 

 segments, but saw no other distinctive character to depend upon. 

 Lately, on reading over Friese's description of his niveata, I think my 

 specimens must be referable to that species ; it is true that he says. 



