320 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



the names Hyperantiis, Climene and Tithonius, with all their 

 primitive defects. 



The rejection of Hiibner's genera is a piece of tyranny that 

 ought not to be suffered ; for surely, if we have a right to 

 judge of the amount of description necessary to the consti- 

 tution of a genus, it will become merely a matter of opinion 

 as to which genera are sufficiently characterized and which 

 are not: if we now reject Hiibner's descriptions, as not being 

 complete enough to suit the views of the present generation, 

 there can be no guarantee that our own descriptions will not 

 be objected to by our posterity on the same score. 



Lastl}', Mr. Kirby has quite misunderstood my remark 

 concerning Arge : I do not myself think there is sufficient 

 reason for rejecting it as a generic title ; my observation only 

 referred to the fact that Esper is usually quoted as the 

 author of the genus, whereas he only applied the name 

 specifically. 



A. G. Butler. 

 Zoological Department, 



British Museum, Aug. 5, 1867. 



A Revision of the Characters and Synonymes of British 

 Bees. By Frederick Smith, Esq. 



(Continued from page 311). 



Fam. Andrenid.e, Leach. 



Section 2. Acuttlingues, Westw. 



Genus Sphecodes, Latr. 



In the 'Monograph on the Bees of Great Britain,' I gave 

 a somewhat detailed history of this genus : it became neces- 

 sary to do so, in order to establish the opinion that I enter- 

 tained of their being working bees, and not, as had been 

 previously supposed by many hymenopterists, parasites on 

 the genus IJalictus. 



My opinion has been recently adopted by Dr. Sichel, who 

 has most assiduously investigated their habits, and who has 

 confirmed every particular which I had recorded in proof of 

 their industrial habits. The author of the work on the 

 * British Bees,' recently published, doubts the sufficiency of 



