212 BEES OF GREAT BRITAIN. 



bees avail themselves of such materials as are most readily found, 

 and suitable to their purpose, I may instance a very remarkable 

 nest found near a farm-house. One of the brown species of 

 Humble-bees was observed frequently flying into a stable 

 through the latticed window ; the bee was busily engaged in 

 collecting bundles of short horse-hair accumulated from the 

 currying of horses; this she flew off with to a short distance, 

 and settled down with it amongst some grass ; on examining the 

 spot, a nest composed entirely of horse-hair was discovered : 

 this interesting nest was destroyed before the bee had quite 

 completed its construction. Another very interesting devia- 

 tion from the usual economy of the moss-building bees was 

 observed by Dr. William Bell: during the summer of 1854, a 

 robin built its nest in the porch of his cottage at Putney ; some 

 time after this had been observed, a Humble-bee took possession 

 of the nest, and adapted it to her own purpose : he was unfortu- 

 nately unable to identify the species by capturing a specimen, 

 the nest having been destroyed ; but Dr. Bell saw the bee 011 

 one occasion, and observed that it was black with yellow bands, 

 probably Bombus pratorum. 



1. Bombus nmscorum. 



B. hirsuto-flavescens ; thorace fulvo ; abdomine plus minus ve 

 atro-fasciato. 



Apis muscorum, Linn. Faun. Suec. p. 425. 1714 ; Syst. Nat. i. 



960. 46, # type in Cab. Mus. Linn. Soc. ? . 

 Apis agrorum, Fabr. Ent. Syst. ii. 321. 29 ? 



Kirby, Mon. Ap. Angl. ii. 326. 81 $ . 



Apis flora'lis, Kirby, Mon. Ap. Angl. ii. 321. 76 ? . t. 17. f. 14 $ . 

 Apis Beckwithella, Kirby, Mon. Ap. Angl. ii. 323. 78 $ . 

 Apis Sowerbiana, Kirby, Mon. Ap. Angl. ii. 322. 77 $ . 

 Apis Curtisella, Kirby, Mon. Ap. Angl. ii. 324. 79 $ . 

 Apis Francillonella, Kirby, Mon. Ap. Angl. ii. 319. 75 (worker"), 



t. 17. f. 13. 



Apis Fosterella, Kirby, Mon. Ap. Angl. ii. 325. 80 (worker). 

 Bremus agrorum, Panz. Faun. Germ. 85. 20 $ . 

 Bombus agrorum, Fabr. Syat. Piez. p. 348. 30 $ (var.). 



Dahlb. Bomb. Scand. 48. 28. 



Drews, 8f Schiodte, Bomb. Denm. Kroy. TidssJcr. ii. 108. 2. 



Nyland. Ap. Boreal, p. 228. 4. 

 Bombus muscorum, Smith, Zool. ii. 545. 2<$ $ J . 

 Bombus senilis, Fabr. Syst. Piez. p. 352. 50 (worker) (Mus. Acad. 

 Hofnice). 



Female. Length 6-8 lines. Black ; the face clothed with ob- 

 scure yellow pubescence ; the clypeus naked and shining, the 



