( Ixxii ) 



contraction that takes place in dryingit miglrt be worth while 

 exhibiting in situ on the bee. 



" The <J Stylops is in lateral view, the legs are omitted, 

 only the left antenna and maxilla (or palp), the clavate (rudi- 

 mentary) front wing or elytron and the hind-wing being 

 shown." 



April 24. — '" This morning, though changed in position from 

 great contraction of itself and also partly from that of the 

 Andrena, the J Stylops was still attached to the $. To-night, 

 on taking it out of the box, it became detached, no doubt 

 from the slight jerk caused by withdrawing the bee's pin 

 from the cork. I have therefore mounted it on card in such 

 a way as to give a good enough view of the pick-like aedeagus 

 in some aspects. I have no other specimen of this Stylops 

 so satisfactory for examination, though I shall not have time 

 to make preparations of parts till after you exhibit it, if this 

 is now worth while. 



" The bee from which it emerged contains the $ with which 

 it copulated, so they may be brother and sister. 



" When the fog cleared at midday to-day and the sun 

 shone brightly, I went up to the Stylops locality. I did not 

 get any <$ S. aterrima, indeed it is now late for that here, but 

 immediately I got to the place, where (it being entirely shel- 

 tered from the E. wind) it was very hot indeed, I saw 2 o 

 Stylops hovering close to a very dense and stiff flowering 

 head of gorse. I netted these, hitting the bush in doing so, 

 and found a number of Stylops in the net ! While I was 

 boxing the first (they were extraordinarily wild and active in 

 the net and difficult to box), I distinctly saw one or two get 

 out through the meshes of the mosquito net which I use for 

 bees, and I know not how many escaped. Anyhow I secured 

 4 fine specimens. I cannot doubt these <3 3 were ' assem- 

 bling,' for in two long hours along that hedge of gorse I saw 

 no other specimen, and in the thousands of bees that were 

 out I saw only 3 stylopised individuals. 



" One of these 4 ^ paired with a $ on my return borne, 

 but it parted or the bee got lid of it before 1 could kill them. 

 This species was Stylops wilkellae, Perkins, a, species exces- 

 sively close to S. melittae, Kirby, that llamm investigated- 



