306 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



As far back as the year 1842 Dr. Thwaites proved the 

 species belonging to the genus Piosopis were not parasitic 

 insects : he discovered the burrows of these insects excavated 

 in the pith of dead branches of the common bramble : by 

 splitting such sticks he exposed the rows of cells. The bur- 

 rows were coaled with a thin layer of gluten, the cells arranged 

 regularly end to end, divided from each other by a thin par- 

 tition, the outer ones producing males, which came out first. 



A new species was reared from the bramble-sticks, and 

 specimens were sent to myself, and subsequently described 

 as Prosopis hyalinatus. This species is very abundant at 

 Walmer, in Kent, where, at the beginning of June, 1866, 

 I observed it entering perforated bramble-sticks : these I 

 possessed myself of, and, on splitting them open a few weeks 

 afterwards, found a full-grovi'n larva in each cell : these have 

 remained in a lethargic state through the winter months, and 

 will probably undergo their final change about the month of 

 May. 



A few years ago Mr. Douglas collected some perforated 

 stems of the common dock, from which I reared the rare 

 Prosopis dilatata : I collected similar stems near Lowestoft, 

 in the month of August, 1858, and reared the same species 

 from them in June of the following year. This rare bee 

 also occurs at Walmer, in Kent. 



I take annually P. signata in my own garden, entering 

 holes in the mortar of a brick wall. These bees occasionally 

 use any ready-made hole or crevice adapted to their require- 

 ments. 1 have recorded one instance of a nest being dis- 

 covered in a hollow Hint, which contained a number of 

 cocoons or cells, ranged irregularly in the hollow space. 



No Entomologist has more carefully studied the habits of 

 these bees than Mr. Sidney Saunders : in Albania he formed 

 a most interesting collection of their nests, which he sub- 

 sequently presented to the British Museum. The species 

 whose habits were investigated were P. rubicola, P. versi- 

 color and P. gibbus, none of which are found in this country. 

 In one slick three separate tunnels were excavated, one of 

 which was divided into six cells : the tunnels were coated 

 with a transparent membrane, separable from the sides of the 

 burrow. A careful examination of numerous sticks appeared 

 to prove that ready-formed tunnels are occupied by these 



