502 BOMBYLID.E 



Loew says occurs a little earlier in the year ; my continental representatives 

 of B. venosus have two distinct black prpesutural bristles on each side of the 

 thorax of which I can find no trace in B. cancsccns, and my continental 

 males have a broader more puffed-out blackish grey frons ; B. venosus is 

 also said to be distinguished from B. canesccns by the presence of black 

 hairs on the pleura) between the humeri and the wing-base, but I am not 

 sure that this is a constant character. I give these details at some length 

 because B. venosus is very likely to occur in Britain. I cannot satisfactorily 

 distinguish light colored specimens of B. variabilis through their description, 

 but it is not likely to occur here as it has a more southern range. B. 

 canesrens varies very much in size, and probably B. fiujax was introduced 

 by me as British on a very large specimen of B. canescens before I knew of 

 its great, variation in size. 



B. canescens is by no means common in Britain though it is widely 

 distributed and sometimes occurs in fair numbers. I have records 

 from Cornwall (where I found it in some numbers near Penzance on 

 July 11, 1871) Devon (Stowford Cleevc), Herefordshire, Worcestershire 

 (Wyre Forest), Monmouth (Abergavenny), and Pembroke (Saundersfoot), 

 while in Scotland it has occurred in Perthshire (Pitlochry), Kinross, and 

 according to Duncan near Edinburgh ; in Ireland Colonel Yerbury took 

 it in 1901 commonly at Glengariff and Kenmare, and his remarks in the 

 Irish Naturalist of March, 1902, are worth quoting. He says, "As nothing 

 " has ])een put on record regarding the hosts, ovipositing habits, etc., of 

 " this Dipteron the following notes may be of interest : — Eoughty Bridge, 

 " near Kenmare, June 27. A female was observed hovering over a bit of 

 " bare ground containing numerous burrows of small Hymenoptera ; she 

 " was hovering about 12 inches above the surface of the ground, and every 

 " now and again brought the point of her abdomen round under her 

 " thorax, and gave a sort of ' flick,' which gave one the impression that 

 " she was throwing off an egg ; if such was the case, the eggs must be cast 

 " about at hazard, the larvse finding their way after hatching to the nest 

 " of the Hymenopteron, either by clinging to the hos.t, or else by crawling 

 " about until a suitable burrow is found. The above female Bombyliiis 

 " was caught, and also several bees, the apparent owners of the burrows 

 " over which she was hovering. The bees have been kindly identified for 

 " me by Mr Saunders as Halictus rubicundus and H. nitidiuscidus." 



"July 10th — South Bank of the Kenmare Eiver, about one mile below 

 " the Suspension Bridge." 



" On this occasion Bomhylivs canescens was flying in some numbers 

 " over a bank running alongside of a country road (a rough estimate of the 

 " numbers made at the time was forty specimens). In order to ascertain 

 " what was going on, a length of about 4 yards was selected and a watch 

 " kept on the insects working this stretch. The regular frequenters 

 " appeared to be eleven Bombylii, numerous bees, and a few Anthomyidte. 

 " The Bombylii were, however, acting in a manner quite different from the 

 " female observed on the 27th June ; several times one of them was seen 

 " to settle on the ground near the burrow of a Hymenopteron and to 

 " remain quite still, and it was assumed that she was ovipositing, but 

 " though the spot was carefully marked and the neighbourhood searched 

 " with a lens, no sign of an egg could be found, and the conclusion 

 " eventually arrived at was that they were not ovipositing, but were all 



