NOTES ON HYMENOPTERA. 75 



orbits of the eyes; a minute yellow spot on the front of the 

 tegulae and the base of the posterior tibiae yellow ; the apical 

 joint of the tarsi testaceous ; the abdomen very delicately and 

 rather distantly punctured. 



Bred from bramble sticks collected either at Shirley or 

 Ipswich, but supposed to be from the latter locality. 



At Bournemouth, during the first month of June last, I 

 discovered a nest of Tapinoma erraticttf in which I found all 

 the sexes ; the males and females winged, the latter sex was 

 taken by Mr. Grant at Weybridge in 1843, but only two 

 apterous specimens; the male I had not previously either 

 taken or seen. 



At the commencement of the season, in April and May, 

 the aculeate Hymenoptera appeared inconsiderable numbers, 

 giving promise of an abundant season ; early in June how- 

 ever the unprecedented heat of the weather caused a remark- 

 able decrease in their numbers ; at Bournemouth they were 

 becoming extremely scarce during the first week' of that 

 month ; and it is certainly a remarkable fact, that the ma- 

 jority of these insects captured in July, August and Sep- 

 tember, were mere dwarf representatives of their species. 



In the Entomologist's Monthly Magazine, Mr. Bold re- 

 cords the capture of two species of aculeate Hymenoptera ; he 

 also minutely describes both the insects ; one Passalcecus 

 monilicornis of Dahlbom, the other Pompilus melanarius 

 of Vander Linden; both are new to the British fauna. 

 With regard to the latter insect, I am answerable for having 

 misled Mr. Bold, by informing him, that I believed it to be 

 the P. melanarius; I am now quite sure that I was in error 

 in so doing. On a careful examination of the insect, a spe- 

 cimen of which was given to me by Mr. Sharp, who cap- 

 tured it in Dumfries, I observe first, that it is a very close 

 ally of Pompilus niger, from which it scarcely differs, 



