74 [April, 



S. ephipjrium L. were placed all the small Sphecodes which were not 

 considered identical with the preceding. These were all sent by 

 Dr. Mason to Saunders, who determined them mostly correctly. A 

 batch labelled " look like pyncticeps but some might be similii', the 

 armature would decide at once" are: 6 jmncHceps Thoms., and 3 similis, 

 but I have not dissected them. The other specimens determined by 

 Saunders are: 1 J" nlyer von Hag. ("nr. Hastings"), and the usual 

 dimidiatvs von Hag., variegatiis von Hag., and affinis von Hag. 



Two specimens of the large S. fuscipeunis Grerm. were obtained 

 from the same source as the Prosopis variegata. The host of this 

 parasite is, I believe, a species of Halictus unknown in England, and of 

 much larger size than any British one, and the Sphecrdes cannot be 

 admitted to our list. Pelerin seems to have had for sale several very 

 desirable bees, as they were then considered, before Leach's supposed 

 Devonshire captures were suspected of being foreign. I believe the 

 " Megachile jjyrina " from "Southampton" was also supplied by Pelerin 

 to Walcott. Smith's collection of Halicins was by no means a good 

 one, and he was at a loss to separate the smaller species. For instance, 

 his series of H. mhiuhis K. contains hardly any of that insect. H. 

 atricornis Sni. — his own species — contains $ nitidinscidus. It should 

 be stated that the males assigned to Jaevigattis K. are a mixture of 

 freygessneri Alfk. and fnlvicornis K. The male of the latter is also 

 described as the J" of longulus Sm., but thei-e is a small cylindricvs F. 

 mixed with these. //. atricornis, captured by himself in Yorkshire, 

 was called suhfasciatus 'Nyl., being mixed with true specimens of 

 Ny lander's species. A single J named H. fasciatus, presumably the 

 one sent to Nylander and returned as being this, is an ordinary and 

 typical tumulorum L., and not at all like the generally accepted 

 fasciatun of that author. It is labelled Deal. In addition to the types 

 of " gramineus " Sm. from Cove Common, Hants, are two much 

 abraded examples, only half the size of these, named subauratvs Rossi 

 by Saunders, and labelled " Ilfracombe." Otherwise of interest are 

 the two 5 9 of wacidatvK Sm., and the very remarkable varieties of 

 the (^ of H. rubicundus, captured on Lundy Island, at first mistaken 

 by Smith for H. 4-cinchis auct. Brit. 



The genus Andrena, containing insects of lai'ger size than those 

 of Halictus, and many of them possessing considerable beauty, is very 

 well represented in Smith's collection. Apart from individuals wrongly 

 placed, no doubt through carelessness rather than ignorance, and some 

 that have previously been examined and referred to either by Saunders 



