202 [September 



to make these corrections). The Dipterous puparia found in the 

 Colletes hurrows produced the Tachinid ^j MlUogramma punctata Mg., 

 a well-known bee parasite. These flies, also emerging from loose 

 puparia, had their wings crippled, hut several puparia that I fixed 

 with a drop of gum to the bottom of the box produced perfectly 

 developed flies. 



Also free in the Colletes burrows were found a few naked, white, 

 hard-shelled larvae, curved a little ventrally, and cpiite firm and motion- 

 less : the structure of the head was typically Hymenopterous, but they 

 Avere \eY\ different from the fat, soft-bodied bee-larvae awaiting pupa- 

 tion within the cells. In fact, they bore a curious resemblance to the 

 2:)seudocluysalis state of the Melo'e of which I was in search, and for 

 particularly small specimens of which I at first mistook them. The 

 spiracles were very large, heavily chitinized, and projecting consider- 

 ably above the level of the body. Of three larvae found, two were 

 obviously damaged ; the remaining one was aj^parently uninjui'ed, 

 but otherwise exactly like the damaged larvae, and showed no sign of 

 life. Eai-ly in June this larva had pupated, the cast larval skin, pre- 

 viously so hard and shell-like, being all crumpled up as it had been 

 shuffled off, not left almost intact like that of a Meloe pseudochrysalis. 

 On June 26th the bee had emerged, and proved to be JEpeolus varie- 

 cjatus L. {productus Thoms.), a well-known parasite of Colletes.* 



In close association with the Colletes cells were also found three 

 smaller cells of a brownish colour and of a different nature, being 

 evidently spun by the larvae they contained. Two of these eventually 

 produced Chrysis cyanea F. ; the third an Ichneumon-fly, Semiteles sp. 

 Chri/sis ir/nifa is a w'ell-known parasite of various Aculeate Hymeno- 

 ptera, particularly of the solitary wasps of the genus Odi/iierus, and it 

 is probable that in this case C. cj/anea was parasitic on the Colletes 

 (laviesaiuf. The larva of C. ignita usually spins its cocoon within the 

 host-cell, but in the present instance the C. cyanea cocoons were certainly 

 KDutside the cells of the Colletes, but, unfortunately, at the time I failed 

 to notice whether there were any rifled cells in the immediate vicinity. f 

 The Heiniteles was presumably parasitic upon the Chrysis. 



Aiupid Ot/i, 1920. 



* See Dr. Perkins's note in the August number of the Ent. Mo. Mag. p. 184. He sufigests that 

 amons-t my colony of C. daviesava, C. picUtigma or C. J'odiens may have occurred rarely, thus 

 .accounting for the Epealus and its comparative rarity. 



t Dr. Perkins suggests that the Chrysis was probal>ly parasitic upon the Prosopis. 



