COLLETID^. 175 



less extended membranous wing ; these terminal segments 

 and armature afford excellent specific characters ; posterior 

 femora and tibiie in the ? densely clothed beneath with long 

 pollinigerous hairs ; tibia3 without a patella. 



The species of this genus burrow in the ground^ mostly 

 choosing hard sand-banks and sometimes forming extensive 

 colonies ; they make straight simple tunnels, and line their 

 cells with a sort of membranous material. F. Smith in his 

 " Catalogue of the British Bees," 1876, says that their 

 burrows are from eight to ten inches in depth, that the 

 cells are usually five to eight in number, and that there is 

 little doubt that the same bee constructs more thau one 

 tunnel. The hairs of the bees of this genus are amongst 

 the most beautifully-branched of any of the Anthophila. 

 The species of Epeolus, a genus of the Acutilingaes, are 

 parasitic upon certain of the species of this genus. There 

 are six British species which may be thus tabulated : — 



(10) 1. Small species, 8-10 mm.; abdomen 

 with distinct pale apical bands on the 

 segments. 



(9) 2. Basal segment of the abdomen closely 

 punctured. 



(4) 3. Sixth abdominal ventral segment in the 

 ($ with a small, well-defined deep 

 fovea on each side near the apex ; ? 

 with the abdomen shining, basal seg- 

 ment finely punctured ; all the seg- 

 ments pale at the apex . . . succincta. 



(.'?) 4. Sixth abdominal segment in the cJ simple 

 or with large shallow depressions ; ? 

 with the basal segment dull and ^ 



coarsely punctured, or with tlie 

 apices of the segment black. 



(8) 5. (J with the sixth ventral segment im- 

 pressed on each side and subfoveated ; 

 $ with the thoracic hairs bright brown, 

 abdomen scarcely shining. 



(7) C. Sixth ventral segment in the (J shining, 

 not deeply punctured, the other seg- 

 ments beneath depressed and shining, 

 their apical fringes interrupted in the 

 middle; $ with the abdomen dull, first 

 segment clothed on its basal half with 

 long pale hairs fodiens. 



