33G THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



A Revision of the Characters and Synofiymes of British 



Bees. By Frederick Smith, Esq, 



(Continued from page 325). 



Genus Sphecodes, Lair. 

 1. Sphfxodes gibbus. 



Sphex gibba, Linn. Faun. Stiec. 413, female j Syst. Nat. i. 

 946 ; Rossi. Faun. Etrus. ii. 63. 



Melitta spbecoides, Kirhy, Man. Ap. Angl. ii. 46, female. 



M. monilicornis, Id. 47, male. 



M. picea, Id. 48, male. 



Spbecodes spbecoides, Smith, Zool. in. 1013, male, female. 



Spbecodes gibbus, Nylatid. Ap. Boreal. 193; Smith, Bees 

 Great Brit. 16; Schenck, Bees Nassau, 302; Sichel, 

 Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr. (1865), 413. 



Sphecodes subovalis, Schenck, Bees Nassau, 303. 



The typical specimens of Kirby's ' Monograpbia' being 

 now in the British Museum, I have again carefully examined 

 them ; I have also re-examined the Linnean and Fabiician 

 specimens ; I possess specimens from Drs. Sichel, Nylander 

 and Schenck : these circumstances enable me to speak with 

 more confidence than I otherwise could. 'l"he synonyma 

 given is restricted to that upon which I feel 1 can rely. This 

 species is generally distributed, and is very abundant through- 

 out Europe. I have on several occasions detected this bee 

 in the act of burrowing in the ground : it is very frequently 

 taken plentifully on the flowers of the ragwort, and also on 

 thistles. 



2. Sphecodes rufiventris. 



Nomada gibba, Fabr. Syst. Piez. 393, and Cab. Mus. Dom. 



Banks. 

 Tiphia rufiventris, Panz. Faun, Germ. 53, 4, female. 

 Melitta gibba, Klrby, Mon. Ap. Angl. ii. 42, female, male. 

 Dichroa analis, Illig. Mag. v. 48; Eversm. Hym. Volgo- 



Uralens, 48. 

 Sphecodes rufiventris, IVesm. Obs. Gen. Sphec. 8 ; Sichel^ 



Mon. Gen. Sphec. ; Schenck, Bees Nassau, 302. 

 S. rufescens, Smith, Bees Great Brit. 17. 

 S. pellucidiis, Smith, ZooL iii. 1014. 

 This is certainly the Nomada gibba of Fabricius. the S. 



