﻿254 
  Mr. 
  R. 
  C. 
  L. 
  Perkins 
  on 
  

  

  Scotland 
  and 
  Ireland. 
  It 
  is 
  entirely 
  absent 
  from 
  large 
  

   areas, 
  where 
  the 
  soil 
  is 
  of 
  a 
  heavy 
  nature 
  or 
  of 
  clay, 
  and 
  

   is 
  very 
  much 
  at 
  home 
  on 
  some 
  coast 
  sand-hills. 
  It 
  forms 
  

   enormous 
  compact 
  colonies, 
  often 
  choosing 
  hard, 
  trodden 
  

   footpaths 
  or 
  bare 
  places 
  on 
  sandy 
  commons 
  to 
  burrow 
  in. 
  

   It 
  freely 
  visits 
  daisies 
  and 
  buttercups, 
  but 
  its 
  favourite 
  

   flowers 
  are 
  the 
  yellow 
  Compositae. 
  Less 
  often 
  it 
  collects 
  

   pollen 
  from 
  bushes 
  or 
  trees 
  of 
  taller 
  growth, 
  such 
  as 
  the 
  

   hawthorn. 
  The 
  males 
  also 
  freely 
  visit 
  flowers, 
  but 
  spend 
  

   much 
  time 
  flying 
  over 
  the 
  sand, 
  in 
  which 
  the 
  colonies 
  are 
  

   placed. 
  This 
  and 
  the 
  following 
  species 
  are 
  probably 
  

   representative 
  of 
  a 
  fauna 
  found 
  in 
  sandy 
  wastes, 
  the 
  pale 
  

   silvery 
  hairing 
  of 
  the 
  males 
  being 
  characteristic 
  of 
  many 
  

   desert-loving 
  bees, 
  and 
  adapted 
  to 
  their 
  habits 
  of 
  flying 
  

   over 
  the 
  sand.* 
  I 
  should 
  think 
  that 
  a 
  good 
  many 
  species 
  

   allied 
  to 
  our 
  two 
  are 
  likely 
  to 
  be 
  found 
  in 
  such 
  places 
  in 
  

   continental 
  lands, 
  ours 
  being, 
  as 
  it 
  were, 
  highly 
  successful 
  

   forms, 
  which 
  have 
  been 
  able 
  to 
  occupy 
  regions 
  beyond 
  

   the 
  ordinary 
  limits 
  of 
  their 
  natural 
  environment. 
  Also 
  in 
  

   such 
  places 
  one 
  may 
  expect 
  that 
  many 
  species 
  of 
  other 
  

   groups 
  will 
  superficially 
  resemble 
  them. 
  

  

  With 
  us 
  A.sericea 
  has 
  no 
  Nomada 
  parasitic 
  upon 
  it, 
  but 
  

   on 
  the 
  Continent 
  of 
  common 
  occurrence 
  is 
  N. 
  alhoguttata, 
  

   this 
  being 
  either 
  a 
  race 
  of 
  the 
  smaller 
  N. 
  baccata, 
  which 
  

   infests 
  A. 
  argentata 
  both 
  here 
  and 
  abroad, 
  or 
  else 
  a 
  very 
  

   closely 
  alhed 
  species. 
  

  

  On 
  the 
  other 
  hand, 
  Sphecodes 
  pilifrons 
  is 
  the 
  constant 
  

   parasite 
  of 
  this 
  Andrena, 
  and 
  I 
  believe 
  attacks 
  no 
  other 
  

   species. 
  I 
  have 
  seen 
  examples 
  named 
  as 
  pilifrons 
  from 
  

   localities 
  where 
  sericea 
  is 
  certainly 
  wanting, 
  the 
  nature 
  of 
  

   the 
  soil 
  indeed 
  rendering 
  the 
  possibihty 
  of 
  its 
  occurrence 
  

   extremely 
  small, 
  but 
  these 
  were 
  always 
  wrongly 
  deter- 
  

   mined, 
  being 
  giant 
  examples 
  of 
  S. 
  similis. 
  

  

  As 
  to 
  A. 
  argentata, 
  this 
  bee 
  is 
  in 
  this 
  country 
  of 
  very 
  

   restricted 
  range, 
  being 
  abundant 
  locally, 
  however, 
  on 
  the 
  

   commons 
  in 
  Surrey, 
  Berkshire 
  and 
  Hampshire, 
  and 
  no 
  

   doubt 
  is 
  to 
  be 
  found 
  in 
  one 
  or 
  two 
  of 
  the 
  other 
  southern 
  

   counties. 
  It 
  visits 
  the 
  flowers 
  of 
  Erica 
  and 
  Calluna 
  and 
  

   probably 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  yellow 
  Compositae, 
  and 
  apparently 
  

   has 
  no 
  spring 
  brood 
  in 
  this 
  country. 
  N. 
  baccata, 
  its 
  para- 
  

   site, 
  seems 
  to 
  occur 
  in 
  all 
  localities, 
  where 
  the 
  host 
  is 
  

   common, 
  and 
  I 
  think 
  in 
  most, 
  if 
  not 
  all 
  of 
  these 
  Sphecodes 
  

  

  * 
  Mr. 
  Morice 
  has 
  informed 
  me 
  that 
  his 
  captures 
  in 
  hot 
  desert 
  

   countries 
  more 
  resemble 
  A. 
  fulvicrus, 
  etc. 
  

  

  