ANDREXID^E. 295 



brown, or with two round brown spots on the disc, segments 

 beneath, brown more or less banded with yellow, eighth 

 in the c? with the apical process long, much curved, not 

 widened at the apex, finely fringed laterally with hairs, 

 and with two strong, reflexed apical spines, fifth segment 

 in the ? with a lateral tuft of black hairs ; legs fulvous, 

 sometimes more or less clouded with black, the base of the 

 femora more or less black, posterior tibite armed round the 

 apex with pale spines of uneven length. 



L. 7-13 mm. 



This species is common and generally distributed, and is 

 of extraordinary variability both in colour and size, so that 

 little dependence can be placed on these characters. It 

 appears in April, and has been taken in July ; it is 

 parasitic on several species of Andi-ena. I have taken var. 

 signata with A.fulva. 



N. bifida, Thoms. — Closely allied to ruftcornis, and 

 almost identical in colour with some of its varieties. In 

 the S the pale abdominal bands are usually entire or nearly 

 so; the ? has generally two large lateral spots on the 

 second segment, a small one on each side of the third, and 

 a transverse basal line on the fourth and fifth. The 

 characters by which it may be known from rujicornis are 

 the bifid mandibles ; these are bilobate in the S ', bidentate 

 in the ? ; the pubescence of the thorax, which is denser in 

 the S'> the conspicuous patch of silvery hairs on each side 

 towards the apex of the propodeum in the 9 > and the 

 dense silvery pubescence at the apex of the posterior tibia), 

 the spines of which in the ? are of equal length. 



L. 8-11 mm. 



Apparently widely distributed, though probably mixed 

 in many collections with rujicornis. Canterbury ; Chobham. 

 Maidstone; (Frisin/). Hanipstead; {Enoclc). Gloucester, 

 shire; {rerhins). Bickleigh ; Cornworthy; Totnes; (Bignell). 

 Colchester; (Harwood). Norwich; {Brlihjmnn). Rugby; 

 (Morice). Perth; (McGirrjor). Fo\hhonc,lri:\and; (CiUhberl). 



