126 fJ""**' 



in the Sudan as in Egypt, but in addition to the strikingly dimorphic 

 Xylocopa sestnans, Linn., with its very different males and females, five 

 males of Xyloco-pa taschenbergi, Yachal, turned up at Khartum. 



Of the leaf -cutters several species were met with. Two MegacMle 

 Jlavijjes, Spin., were taken in the western suburbs, also at Calotropis, 

 near the rifle ranges ; this is a small species which I afterwards foimd 

 quite commonly in Egypt ; but M. dhocincta, Rad., also an Egyptian 

 species, was the commoner at Khartum, frequenting the flowers of 

 Calotrojns and Tacoma, it is not, however, by any means easy to catch, 

 still I secured three males and five females ; of M. argentata, Fab., 

 I took two males and a female, it also frequented Tacoma ; at Calotro- 

 pis and other flowers I took three specimens of M. ? pateUimana, Spin. 

 ? n. sp. 



There were but two species of Anthidium among my captures, viz., 

 tessellatum, Klug, of which I took two females ; and ? Jcarschi, Friese, 

 of which I took a male, at least a bee which Mr. Morice says is probably 

 the undescribed male of that species. I also got several specimens of 

 both sexes of an AnthopJiora which Mr. Morice says is near himaculata, 

 Panz., and possibly = byssina, Klug, but that there pei'haps may be 

 more than one species among them. Three males of Ceratina tarsata, 

 Morawitz, turned up at Khartum. 



At Abu Hamed (Lat. 19° 30' N.), 331 m. north of Khartum, I 

 took in the station-masfer's garden two females of Nomia latipes, 

 Morawitz. At Khartum I secured a male of N. edentato, Morawitz, 

 and four females of the tiny yellow and black Nomioides rotundiceps, 

 Handl. 



Among those gem-like creatures, the Chrysididse, I was successful 

 in getting some interesting insects, althoiigh I did not find them 

 numerous. The brilliant, but widely distributed Stilbum splendidum, 

 F., was the commonest, and I brought home twelve, some of them of 

 the var. amethyst inum, F. In the garden of the Cataract Hotel at 

 Arwan (Upper Egypt), on January 26th, 1909, at about 5.30 in the 

 afternoon. Miss Stracey called my attention to a number of Stilbum 

 splendidum upon a Parkinsonia (an Australian tree with yellow flowers) ; 

 they formed two clusters, one on a branch, the other on pods, con- 

 sisting of 14 and 34 individuals respectively ; they were sitting close 

 together, quite still, and appeared to be stupid. Mr. Morice was much 

 interested in my account of this observation, which he is not able to 

 account for, and cannot exactly match by any other recorded case 

 among the Hymenoptera. I mentioned the matter to Mr. F. C. Will- 

 cocks, F.E.S., of Cairo, but he said that he had never noticed anything 



