( xliii ) 



all — seem to have been derived from G. R. Waterhouse's 

 observations near Liverpool in 1835 (" Zoologist," vol. ii, 

 1844, pp. 403, 404). Inasmuch as the copied descriptions are 

 greatly contracted and omit important details, it appears 

 desirable to append a full account in the words of the discoverer. 



G. R. Waterhouse states that he found only females of 

 atricapilla at the beginning of June, 1835, " in tolerable 

 abundance, flying about a high bank by the riverside, near 

 Liverpool." He then found a bee constructing a cell in a tuft 

 of dry grass on " a projecting part of the nearly perpendicular 

 bank, where the soil was of a light nature. Most of the cells 

 were deposited at the roots of dry grass, the lower part of each 

 cell being generally inserted in the soil, and the upper part 

 exposed. In a perfect nest the cells were never detached, 

 but always two or three, and sometimes five or six, were joined 

 side by side. In some instances I have found the cells about 

 an inch under ground, in a little chamber, which had appar- 

 ently been excavated for their reception ; the entrance to this 

 chamber was only sufficiently large to allow free access to the 

 bee. 



" The cells are constructed of mud ; the outer surface is 

 irregular, the inner perfectly smooth, reminding one of a 

 swallow's nest. Each cell is about five lines in length, and 

 nearly egg-shaped; there is, however, a slight approach to 

 the cylindrical form towards the upper end, which is truncated, 

 and is closed by a lid, the upper surface of which is concave. 



" In the newly-formed cells, which could be distinguished 

 by the upper part being damp, there was always a small round 

 hole in the lid, about the size of a pin's head. This I imagined 

 was left by the insect, that it might insert additional food 

 previous to the final closing of the lid ; they already had some 

 food in them. 



" The food deposited in the cells for the larvae, consists, 

 as in most of the Apidae, of honey, with but a small admixture 

 of pollen. The honey must have been chiefly collected from 

 Lohts corniculafus, that being almost the only plant on which 

 I observed the bee to settle." 



It will be observed that the usual description of the form 



