198 



24) ; and a female was taken from the flowers of Silphium integri- 

 folium (Sta. I) Aug. 13 (No. 48). According to Robertson (Trans. 

 Acad. Sci. St. Louis, Vol. 6, p. 468. 1894) this bee is the most abun- 

 dant bee visitor to the cone-flower, and it also shows a marked prefer- 

 ence for this plant. 



Megachilid^e 



Megachile mendica Cress. Leaf-cutting Bee. 



A single specimen was taken on flowers of the swamp milkweed, 

 Asclepias incarnata (Sta. I, g), Aug. 8 (No. 1). 



The habits of our leaf -cutting bees have received little attention, 

 although the circular areas which they cut from rose leaves are a fa- 

 miliar sight. Putnam (Proc. Essex Inst., Vol. 4, pp. 105-107. 1864) 

 describes the nests of Megachile centuncularis Linn., and Packard, one 

 of its hymenopterous parasites (idem, pp. 133-137). 



Megachile brevis Say. Short Leaf-cutting Bee. 



A single female was taken by T. L. Hankinson (Sta. I) July 3, 

 191 1 (No. 7665). This species is known to use plum leaves for its 

 nest. Its habits have been briefly described by Reed (Sec. Rep. Ent. 

 Soc. Ont., pp. 24-26. 1872; Can. Ent., Vol. 3, pp. 210-21 1. 1871). 

 The nest is formed of a leaf which is wrapped about the disks cut from 

 the leaves, and is not in the ground or in cavities in wood as is the case 

 with many species. Packard (Jour. N. Y. Ent. Soc, Vol. 5, p. 109- 

 iii. 1897) describes and gives figures of the immature stages of what 

 is possibly M. centuncularis Linn. See also Packard ('73)> Ashmead 

 ('92), and Howard ('92a). 



Some of the species of this genus are parasitized by bees of the 

 genera Stelis and Ccelioxys as has been shown by Graenicher ('05) ; 

 some also are parasitized by certain flies (Howard, in Proc. Ent. Soc. 

 Wash., Vol. 2, p. 248. 1893). 



XyLOCOPIDvE 



Xylocopa virginica Drury. Carpenter-bee. (PI. XLIX.) 



Only four specimens of this bee were taken, and these were found 

 on flowers of the swamp milkweed, Asclepias incarnata (Sta. I, c/), 

 Aug. 8 (No. 1) and 24, (No. 156). 



The carpenter-bee has much the appearance of a large bumblebee. 

 The female cuts tunnels' in wood to make a nest for the young Pack- 

 ard has described the larva ( Journ. N. Y. Ent. Soc, Vol. 5, p. 113. 

 1897). The same author records observations by Angus on the boring 

 habits of this species (Our Common Insects, pp. 21-24. l &72>)- He 

 found the larva of a bee-fly, Anthrax simwsa Wied., parasitic on the 



