VARIETIES. 413 



difference — Cercyon scitum* — Aphodius fortunatus. h Allied 

 to A. rufescens, but narrower, smaller, and darker, the thorax 

 more finely punctured, the clypeus black, &c. — Pimelia ra- 

 dula, Dej. — Opatrum tomentosum ? Dej. A species allied 

 to Philax, &c. — Herpysticus IcBsicollis, Germar. — Chryso- 

 mela sanguinolenta, or it may be a distinct species, the fore 

 wings more coarsely punctured, and of a coppery violet colour. 

 — Bembex, n. s. ? — Ammophila, n. s. ? clothed with silvery 

 down, allied to A. argentea, Kirby, but more slender, and the 

 red colour extending over a larger part of the abdomen.— An- 

 thophora, n. s. ? — Bombus, n. s. ? — The universal Cynthia 

 cardui. — Polyommatus, n. s. I nearly allied to P. Acts. — 

 Plusia, n. s. ? with gilded wings allied to chrysitis, aurifera, 

 aurichalcea, braclea, &c. — Eristalis taphicus, Wiedenmann, 

 who describes it as an Egyptian insect. It is very like E. 

 (eneus, but rather slenderer, the stripes on the thorax are less 

 distinct, and the fore and middle tibiae are for the most part 

 yellow. — Jalla smaragdula, Fabr. The above insects were pre- 

 sented to me by Wilson Saunders, Esq. F. Walker. 



29. Nest of one the fossorlal Hymenoptera. — A few days 

 back, as I was walking round one of our fields, I happened to 

 cut off a branch of elder which projected from the hedge ; I 

 noticed that the pith of it was removed, and on examining it, 

 I found that some insect had evidently entered at the top of 

 the branch, which had apparently been broken off some time 

 previous. The pith she must have removed, for the whole 

 length, about eighteen inches, was divided into little cells, in 

 each of which was on oval cocoon, of a brown colour, con- 

 taining a whitish larva. From the many fragments of legs, 

 wings, &c. of Diptera in the cells, these larvae evidently belong 

 to some one of the fossorial Hymenoptera. I think that 

 Reaumur mentions a similar nidus in a dead branch of oak. 



Edward Doubleday. 



Eppbig, Dec. 1st. 



* Cercyon scitum, n. s. Atrum, subtus piceum, Sphtzridii magnitudine et 

 statura : antenna? rufa? : pedes et trophi rufo-picei : proalae subtilissime punc- 

 tate- striata?. (Corp. long. lin. 2\ ; lat. lin. 1^.) 



b Aphodius fortunatus, n. s. Piceus, nitens, fere glaber : caput et thorax supra 

 atra, subtilissime punctata ; hujus margines fulvi : proalae fulvse, subtilissime 

 punctato-striatae : palpi, antenna?, abdomen et tarsi rufo-picea. (Corp. long, 

 lin. 2£.) 



