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VII. A Contribution to the History of Stylops, with an 

 Enumeration of such Species of Exotic Hymenoptera 

 as have been found to be attacked by those Parasites. 

 By Freder[ck Smith, Esq. 



[Read Jan. Sid, 1859.] 



The principal object of the short communication which I now 

 offer to the Entomological Society, is to make known tlie genera 

 and species of such exotic Hymenoptera as have been obsei'ved to 

 be infested by Stylops, or species belonging to allied genera. 



I am not aware of any attempt having been recently made to 

 collect materials for the purpose of ascertaining the geographical 

 range of these interesting parasites ;* and having myself obtained 

 additional material for that purpose, I have thought it might prove 

 interesting to the Society if I laid it before them in a collected 

 form. 



The first specimen on record of the genus Stylops was found 

 by the Rev. William Kirby on Andrena nigro-cenea, and it appears 

 remarkable that, as that species is very plentiful in the London 

 district, and stylopized Andrenidce by no means rare, that I should 

 never have observed a specimen of Andrena nigro-cenea infested 

 by the parasite. 



In the neighbourhood of London, according to my observation, 

 the species of Andrena, most commonly attacked, is A. Trimme- 

 rana, the female most frequently, but the male also occasionally. 

 1 possess twelve stylopized individuals of this species, four of 

 which are of the male sex. By diligently collecting the bees 

 belonging to the genus Andrena, I should expect to obtain nine 

 or ten infected bees in a season, but should consider it quite pro- 

 bable that not one would produce a male Stylops — I should say, 

 judging from my own experience in collecting in the neighbour- 



* Mr. Westwood, in his Introduction to the " Modern Classification of Insects," 

 published in 1842, has, in his valuable History of the Slrepsiptera, brought toge- 

 ther all that had been observed up to that period, and has added a great amount 

 of new and interesting information. 



