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HYMENOPTERA. 



Notes on Hymenoptera. 



By Frederick Smith. 



If the reader were to refer to the pages of " The Ento- 

 mologist's Annuals," for the hist eleven years, he would 

 observe, that year after year we are adding to the list of the 

 British Aculeate Hymenoptera. 



It is true that many discoveries have to be made before 

 our list approaches, in the number of both genera and 

 species, that either of France or Germany. Both those 

 countries possess, independent of the advantages of climate, 

 a much larger number of hands labouring in the vast field 

 of the Aculeate Hymenoptera. If we look over a list of 

 the Hymenoptera of Europe, we notice many genera, that 

 are pretty generally scattered over most parts of the Con- 

 tinent, altogether wanting in the British list; this, to some 

 extent, will probably always be the case ; but of those 

 genera, common to England, as well as to the Continent, it 

 will be found, that year by year, slowly, but I trust certainly, 

 we ai'e approaching the Continental standard. 



In an old list of the British Hymenoptera I find the 

 species, Scolia quadricinctay Pelopceus spirifeXy Sphex 

 Jiavipennis, Larra irhneumoniformisy and Hemhex octo- 

 punctatttj all belonging to the tribe of the Fossoresj 

 Systropha spiralis^ 3Ielitturga clavicornis and Xylocopa 

 violaceaj belonging to the tribe Anthophila, enumerated 



