December, 1885.] -£45 



NOTES ON THE ACULEATE nYMENOPTERA OF 

 aLOUCESTERSniRE. 



Bt Y. R. PERKINS, F.E.S. 



During the past season I have, with the exception of about three 

 weeks at the end of June and beginning of Julj, devoted a good deal 

 of my spare time to the Aculeate iTyme^iOj^^er^ of this immediate district, 

 and although I have been a great portion of the time single handed, I am 

 glad to say that since the holiday season commenced I have had a very 

 active companion in one of my nephews, and with his assistance we 

 have made a very respectable collection, and if we have not added a 

 new species, which is as yet doubtful, we have JB-Ued up several gaps 

 I among the rarer and more local kinds, concerning which I here send a 

 few notes which, possibly, may be of interest to other collectors of 

 these interesting insects. 



Taking the season through I certainly consider it to have been a 

 good one. In the early spring, when the blackthorn was in blossom, 

 some of the Andrenidce were in immense profusion, and I got nice 

 fresh series of almost all the commoner kinds, together with Nomada 

 alternata, Kirb., which was also plentiful at the same blossoms, while 

 at the same time AnthopJiora and Melecta were here, there, and every- 

 where, about the fields and gardens. I will not take up space by giving 

 a catalogue of the insects captured, but will simply enumerate some of 

 the more interesting species, and add a few remarks upon them. 



Among the Fossores I have captured the following : — Myrmosa 

 tnelanocephala, Fab., Pompilus niger, Fab., spissus, Schiodte, and pec- 

 tinipes, V. d. L., Agenia variegata, Linn., Ceropnles maculatus, Fab., 

 Mimesa Dahlhomi, Wesm., Crahro tibialis, Fab., clavipes, Linn., gonager, 

 Lep., and varius, Lep. 



Pompilus niger. Fab., is confined to the woods, but spissus, Schiodte, 

 is all over the place ; wherever we find the larger Sphecodes there we 

 are sure to meet with spissus ; can the wasp have any connection with 

 the bee?, its prey consists of a large brown spicier considerably larger 

 than itself ; pectinipes, Y. d. L., is rare. 



Agenia variegata, Linn., a wood insect and fairly common, but 

 most diflacult to catch, a net is next to useless, and the collector had 

 much better rely upon his own nimble fingers if he would secure 

 it, it frequents the decaying stumps of beech trees, whose bark has 

 been warped and cracked with the rain and sun ; under this bark it 

 darts with the usual rapidity of these insects, and in a short time it 

 will emerge just at the very place where it is least expected, and if 



