A season's collkcting in the alpss maritimes. 15 



amongst a number of smaller black flies, I thought a more 

 careful examination might be of interest. 



I collected the contents of eight cells, and as far as I could 

 determine from the very fragile and intermixed remains, the 

 species contained were the following : 



Cell 1 : 3 StfrpJiua luniger, 3 S. halteatas. 



Cell 2 : 3 S. ribesii, 1 S. liuiiger, 1 Liogaster metallina. 



Cell 3 : 5 Syrphus Innicier, 1 S. halteatua. 



Cell 4 : 2 Nemopoda ci/lindrica, 1 Dolichopiis (a rather large 

 species), 3 Be7-is vallata, 3 B. chalybeata, 3 species of Antho- 

 myidsB (1 Ophyra leiicostoma and the others either Hydrotea or 

 Hyedotesia), 1 Chyliza {probably cnmulijies), 1 Microchrysa polita. 



Cell 5 : 8 Chyliza, 1 Ophyra leucostuma, 1 species Dolicopodida 

 (grey, medium size). 



Cell 6 : 1 Hyedotesia, 1 Microchrysa polita, 9 Chyliza, 1 Neuri- 

 goma (?), 1 Phorhia, 1 Medeterus (the smallest specimen found). 



Cell 7 : 3 <S. ribesii, i Phdychirus (? scutatus), 1 P. albimanus, 

 2 Melanostoma ambiguum. 



Cell 8 : The flies partly demolished, the abdomen in every 

 case being missing. The remains appeared mostly to be Chyliza. 



The SyrphidcE in all cases were in the larger burrows and 

 the smaller flies usually in the smaller, but in one instance 

 I found two cells containing small flies in a large burrow in 

 front of a cell containing Syrphidce. 



The large burrows seem to have been drilled straight into 

 the trunk for an inch or two, then turning to follow the grain 

 of the wood. In each case there were three or four branches 

 from the main gallery but only one cell in each branch. 



The smaller burrows had two or more cells in the same 

 gallery but there seemed to be no short f-ide branches. 



Newton, near Kettering. 



A SEASON'S COLLECTING IN THE ALPES-MAEITIMES. 

 By Charles E. Morris. 



St. Etienne-de-Tinee, in the Alpes-Maritimes, is situated 

 86 kilometres N.E. of Nice, near the Italian frontier, at an altitude 

 of 3740 feet. I arrived there with my friend Mr. E. Tucker on 

 June 1st last year, and we remained until October 9th. We 

 much enjoyed our long stay in this sub-alpine resort. The 

 Hotel de Eabuons was fairly comfortable and clean, the food 

 good, well cooked and served, and plenty of it. The weather was 

 naagniticent, the flora superb, and, most important, the butter- 

 flies were also numerous, and in many cases very interesting to 

 us, as they showed, especially in the Melitseids, considerable 

 variation. 



The spectacle of thousands of gentians and pansies, studded 



