THE ENTOMOLOGIST 



Vol. XXXVIIL] FEBRUARY, 1905 [No. 501. 



SOME AMERICAN HALICTINE BEES IN THE 

 BRITISH MUSEUM. 



By T. D. a. Cockerell. 



After being long neglected, the Halictinse of America have 

 come to receive a good deal of attention. Mr. Charles Robert- 

 son has lately published tables (Can. Ent., Sept., 1902) for the 

 separation of the Illinois species ; while Mr. Crawford has pre- 

 pared, and I believe will shortly publish, a synopsis of all those 

 inhabiting the United States. Mr. J. Vachal, in ' Miscellanea 

 Entomologica,' 1903-1904, has in course of publication a synopsis 

 of all the American Halictines seen by him, very many being 

 regarded as new. All this activity is rapidly increasing our 

 knowledge of these insects, but the value of some of the results 

 obtained is seriously impaired by the difficulty of recognizing 

 many of the numerous species described years ago by E. Smith, 

 of the British Museum. Mr. Vachal, in the majority of cases, 

 practically abandons the attempt to identify the Smith species, 

 and gives new names to a great many bees, some of which must 

 certainly be Smithian. I should be more ready to condemn this 

 proceeding, had I not discovered that some of my own iden- 

 tifications of Smithian species, made by the most careful use of 

 the descriptions, were quite erroneous. 



The present paper is the result of an examination of the mate- 

 rial, including most of Smith's types, in the collection of the 

 British Museum. This collection, although it has been scarcely 

 touched since Smith's death in 1878, is probably still the most 

 valuable collection of bees in existence, and it is remarkable 

 that it has not received more attention from students. 



The following abbreviations are used: — (T.) -^ type specimen 

 examined ; s. m. = submarginal cell ; r. n. = recurrent nervure ; 

 b. n.=^ basal nervure ; t. c.=- transverso-cubital nervure ; t. m.= 

 transverso-medial nervure ; hind spur— hind spur of hind tibia ; 



ENTOM. — FEBRUARY, 1905. D 



