British Hyvienoptera. 245 



beyond the tegulte ; 2ncl and 4tli joints of the flagellum subequal ; 

 3rd a little more than half as long as the 4th. Thorax with the 

 pubescence coloured as above, the yellow varying from pale lemon- 

 yellow, var. lucorum, to brownish yellow, var. virginalis. Wings 

 only very slightly dusky. Abdomen variable in colour (see general 

 description above), the yellow varying in depth and tint like that of 

 the thorax ; genital armatiu-e of the 3" unlike that of any other 

 species ; the sagittae slightly divergent, very deep and much flat- 

 tened laterally ; squama produced inwardly at right angles to the 

 stipes ; lacinia short, scarcely projecting beyond the squama (see 

 PI. XII., fig. 13). Legs clothed with pale hairs ; posterior metatarsi 

 narrowed towards the base. 



5 and 5 • With the pubescence coloured as stated in the general 

 description, the tint of the yellow varying as in the ^ ; cheeks 

 short, shorter than their apical length ; tongue reaching to about 

 the base of the abdomen. Length, 3" and ? 16— 22 mm., ^ 12 — 

 14 mm. 



Hah. Very common and generally distributed. 



There can be little doubt that the two forms which 

 used to be considered distinct, viz., lucorum and virgi- 

 nalis, are only colour varieties of one species ; there is 

 no structural difference, and the genital armatures of the 

 males agree exactly. 



Apis, Liiin. 

 Linn., Syst. Nat., ed. x., i., p. 574, 218. 



Labial palpi 4-jointed ; maxillary palpi 1-jointed ; J" with the 

 eyes approximate on the vertex ; anterior wings with three sub- 

 marginal cells ; abdomen trmicate at the base ; <y with the anal 

 opening inferior, and with the armature not polished and shining 

 as in the other genera of the Aculeates, but of the same consistency 

 as the other abdominal segments, the sagittae lying apparently de- 

 tached, and only obtainable by dissection. 



Communities of males, female, and workers. 



1. Apis melUfica, Linn. (PI. XII., figs. 15 — 15 h). 



Linn., Syst. Nat., ed. x., i., p. 576 ; Smith, Cat. Brit. 

 Hym., 2nd ed., p. 226. 



Brown, clothed with pale brown hairs ; margins of the abdo- 

 minal segments paler. 



(J . Eyes meeting on the vertex ; the pubescence of the thorax 

 very dense. Abdomen broad and bhmt at the apex (for genitalia 

 see PL XIL, figs. 15 — 15 h) ; tibiiS and metatarsi convex exter- 

 nally. 



