g^ INTRODUCTORY REMARKS, 



Character uirtificiaUs. 

 Os maxillis, palpis, linguaque inflexaj 



trifida. 

 Maxilla brevis cornea. 

 Labium in medio infiexum, trifiduin 



iacinia media emarginata. 

 jintenna cylindrical. 



The species arranged by Fabricius under this 

 genus belong to three distinct and natural families^ 

 two of which I consider as forming a part of my 

 genus Melitta, (Proabeille, Reaum. &c. Nomada, 

 Scopoli and De Geer) and the species of the other 

 as genuine jipes. Hylaus annulatus belongs to 

 one family of the former; H. cylindricus, quadri- 

 tinctus^Jiavipes, alhipes, &c. are males of another; 

 and H. truncorum, maxillosus, and ^orisomnis are 

 genuine ^pes. Now these three families differ 

 very materially in their Instrumenta cibaria, as may 

 easily be seen by comparing the sets of figures 

 referred to below (a). The question therefore is, 

 from which of them Fabricius drew his characters ? 

 With respect to the anterior or exterior palpi of six 

 articulations, they are one characteristic of the 

 former genus, for in the ^pes included in Hyl^us, 

 they consist only of two{b). The posterior or in- 

 terior palpi, he describes as consisting of four arti- 

 culations, and as springing from the exterior Iacinia; 



(a) Melitta, Tab. 1. -sfr. b. Tab. 2, **. b. Tab. 3, **. b. 

 Apis^ Tab. Q. **. c. 2. r. (h) Tab, g. **. c. 2. y. fig. 4. l>, 



of 



