APID.^. 337 



Ruthin, Denbighshire; cojimon in May, 1891, nouo in 

 1892; {Gardnrr). 



Mr. V. R. Perkins, Ent. Mo. Mag., xxvii. p. 193, gives 

 an interesting account of his discoveries respecting the nest- 

 making methods of this little bee in his neighbourhood. 

 He says that after filling a snail shell with its cells, it covers 

 it up with short pieces of " bents " until a little mound is 

 formed two or three inches in height, and " from four to six 

 inches round the bottom," somewhat resembling a nest of 

 Formica nz/d in miniature, each mound containing hundreds 

 of pieces. 



0. aurulenta, Panz. {tunensis, Kirb. ?). — Black, with 

 a slight metallic tint in the c?, head and thorax closely 

 punctured, clothed in the c? with greyish hairs tinged 

 with fulvous, in the ? with bright fulvous, paler on the 

 face and underside ; wings slightly dusky, especially across 

 the top of the marginal cell, propodeal area dull ; abdomen 

 slightly shining, closely punctured, clothed with greyish hairs 

 in the (J, with short fulvous in the ?, the second and 

 following segments with apical bands of golden hairs, those 

 of the third and following wider and denser in the cJ, sixth 

 segment in the c? dentate and sinuate at the sides, slightly 

 rounded at the apex, seventh sharply bidentate ; beneath 

 punctured, third segment visible at the apex, emargiuate, 

 the emargination fringed with long golden hairs, fourth 

 segment entire, rather angular at the apex, fifth sinuate, 

 sixth entire, stipites of armature narrow, slightly dilated 

 and convergent at the apices, nearly enclosing tho 

 sagittse ; ventral scopa of ? red; legs clothed with 

 greyish hairs in the J', with fulvous in the ? , calcaria pal". 



L. 9-11 mm. 



Deal; Heme Bay. Dover; {Marshall). Isle of Wight; 

 {Rothney). Wotton-under-Edgc ; (F. E. Perlins). Dart- 

 month ; (7?. C. L. Perkins). Yorkshire ; Llanberis ; Bristol ; 

 (Smith). Slapton, bred from whelk shells; {HigiirU). 

 Wallasey, breeding in snail shells ; {licr II. U. llKj'iihs). 



