1 68 THE HUMBLE-BEE 



I have only once found a colony ; this was in a 

 squirrel's nest in the top of a Scotch fir. It fre- 

 quents heaths and is very partial to the flowers of 

 Erica. Mr. Nevinson tells me he takes it also on 

 bilberry. I have taken the males in October in 

 Connemara on the fuchsia that grows wild there. 

 Mr. Nevinson says that the hum of this species 

 is almost as shrill as that of B. sylvarum. 



B. jonellus, variety nivalis, Smith. 



This variety, which is found in Shetland, is larger 

 than the ordinary form (length of the queen 17-18 mm., 

 expanse 31-33 mm.) and has the yellow bands wider 

 and of a deeper tint, and the tail tawny instead of white, 

 also the coat is longer and more shaggy. In the queen 

 and worker the hairs of the corbicula are black, not 

 reddish. 



This variety, or one approaching it, also occurs 

 in the Outer Hebrides, a tawny-tailed male having 

 been taken in Harris by Dale. 



Specimens of jonelhis that have recently been 

 sent me from Stromness, Orkney, resemble the 

 ordinary English form, except in being slightly 

 larger, in having a rather longer coat, and, in the 

 case of some of the queens and workers, having the 

 hairs of the corbicula black. 



