154 



of the nest of one of the social Vespidse, formed entirely of sandy loam, (Trans. Enl. 

 Soc. n. s. i. 176). He has also published a note on the habits of the genus Abispa, 

 (Ibid. 180). 



Some interesting notes on the economy of the hornet, have been communicated by 

 Mr. H. W. Newman, (Proc. Ent. Soc. 72). 



A note by Mr. H. W. Newman, on the habits of British wasps, appears in the 

 ' Zoologist,' 3164. 



A paper by Mr. F. Smith, on the specific distinctions between Vespa vulgaris and 

 V. germanica (which he had previously regarded as identical), appears in the ' Zoolo- 

 gist' (p. clxxiii.) In addition to the characters derived from external markings, the 

 writer has had recourse to the differences in the structure of the male generative or- 

 gans, in which he finds still more decisive proofs of the specific difference of the two 

 insects. The superiority of these organs, as affording fixed specific characters, had 

 been so long ago pointed out by Kirby (Mon. Ap. Ang. i. 39) and MacLeay (Horae 

 Ent. i. 1), that it is surprizing they are not more frequently had recours3 to. Mr. 

 Smith has also arrived at different results from Reaumur, as to the number of indivi- 

 duals composing the wasp-nest in a season. 



Andrenid^e. 



A note by Mr. Meade on the habits of Andrena albicans, and ou the occurrence 

 of a pupa of Calathus Cisteloides close to its burrow, appears in the ' Zoologist,' 3221. 



ApiDiE. 



Mr. Smith has communicated a very interesting note to the ' Zoologist ' (p. 3253), 

 on the habits of Osmia parietina (= Anthophora inermis, Zett.), 230 cocoons of which 

 were discovered on the under side of a stone, 10 inches by 6. The parasitic Chrysis 

 austriaca was found in some of the cocoons. Mr. Smith adds notes on the distinction 

 of the females of the different species of Osmia. 



The nest of Chalicodoma Sicula, a mason bee of Sicily and North Africa, has been 

 described by M. Lucas, (Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr. ix. p. xliv.) 



A remarkable account of the proceedings of a wild bee in British Guiana, publish- 

 ed in Dickens's ' Household Words,' has been brought under our notice by Mr. F. 

 Smith, (Proc. Ent. Soc. 76). 



Mr. F. Smith has published some observations on the Australian genus Lestis, with 

 the description of a new species, (Trans. Ent. Soc. n. s. i. 179). 



Mr. E. Newman has published a notice of the mode in which bees open the blos- 

 soms of the snapdragon, (Proceedings, 37). 



The habits of various species of humble bees have formed the subject of several 

 notices, communicated by Messrs. H. W. Newman, F. Smith, and Walcott, (Proceed- 

 ings, pp. 86, 93, 109, 111). 



Dr. Von Frantzius has described a small Acarus-like parasite, apparently allied to 

 Triungulinus, in the nest of the Javanese Xylocopa amethystina, in the Natur. Ar- 

 chiv. v. Neerlands Indie (iii. Jaarg.), reprinted in the Stettin 'Zeitung,' p. 237.* 



A new edition of Richardson's ' Hive and the Honey-bee,' with additions by my- 

 self, has appeared; also, a new edition of Milton's 'Practical Bee-keeper,' of Golding's 



* Dr. Schilling has described, in his ' Beitrage,' a curious Gamasus, G. cerapus, 

 found on Xylocopa violacea. 



