PREFACE. 



Thk First Part of the 4 Catalogue of British Hyraenoptera,' pre- 

 pared by Mr. Frederick Smith, aud published by order of the 

 Trustees in the year 1855, contained an account of all the species 

 of British Bees then known, with notes on their distribution and 

 habits. Since that time the interest felt for the insects of this 

 family has continued, and consequently many important additions 

 to our knowledge of the species and their economy have been made, 

 so that the issue of a second edition of this part in the form of 

 a separate volume seems to be fully justified. 



ALBERT GUNTHEE, 

 Keeper of the Department of Zoology, 



British Museum, 

 Dee. 187b\ 



P.S. — Although since the publication of this volume fourteen 

 years have elapsed, during five of which it has been out of print, 

 the demand for copies continues so as to justify a reprint. No 

 doubt, if the author's life had been spared, he would have brought 

 the contents of the volume to the level of the latest advance of our 

 knowledge of the subject. As it is, it was considered preferable to 

 leave Smith's work without making any additions ; entomologists 

 may readily supplement it by consulting Mr. Edward Saunders's 

 papers published in the ' Transactions of the Entomological Society ' 

 for 1882 and 1884. The present issue of the volume, therefore, is 

 an exact reprint of that published in 1876, with the exception of a 

 few misprints in the original, which were pointed out to me by 

 Mr. W. F. Kirby, and which have been corrected. 



A. G. 



British Museum (X. H.), 

 Feb. 4. 1891. 



