186 CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES [Proc. 4th Ser. 



synonymy of the former species, or that B. kincaidii (Cockerell) 

 is not restricted to the Pribilof Islands. If the latter alternative 

 is correct, the species is to be expected on other outlying islands 

 near the Alaskan mainland and even on the mainland proper. 



The descriptions of this species by Cockerell and Franklin 

 agree very well, except in regard to the statement of length of 

 the malar space in the queen. Cockerell says "area between eyes 

 and base of mandibles about as broad as long," whereas Franklin 

 states "malar space about one-half longer than wide at apex." 

 The queen before me agrees with Franklin's statement, which I 

 believe is to be regarded as the correct interpretation of the 

 comparative length of the malar space in the queen of this species. 

 Otherwise the specimens before me agree perfectly with Cockerell's 

 original description. That Cockerell and Franklin were dealing 

 with different species is very improbable. The bumblebee fauna 

 of the Pribilof Islands is necessarily extremely limited, and be- 

 sides an instance of two bumblebees paralleling each other in 

 color characters and in every other way excepting in the length 

 of the malar space is a rarity, if it ever occurs. The discrepancy 

 between the two descriptions may better be explained as due 

 to a variable character. Cockerell says, "This Bombus (B. 

 kincaidii) was the only bee to be found on the Pribilofs, not- 

 withstanding that there is a tolerable extensive series of bright- 

 flowered plants, as enumerated by Dr. Merriam in Proc. Biol. 

 Soc. Wash. July 1892." The fact that Dr. Hanna took only 

 the one species of bumblebee, further indicates that only one 

 species of this genus occurs on the Pribilof Islands. 1 



The bumblebees collected by Trevor Kincaid on St. Paul 

 Island in 1897 were all taken between August 1 and 25. Three 

 of the queens and one worker were collected August 1. The 

 capture of the queens on this date is suggestive of some of the 

 characteristics of the biology of the northern Bremidae. Either 

 the queens in such northern latitudes never produce a worker 

 offspring sufficient to relieve the old queens of the labor of for- 

 aging, as is usually the case in more temperate climes, or these 

 August queens were those destined to hibernate through the 



l In this connection it might be well to record the fact that bumblebees are 

 confined solely to St. Paul Island of the Pribilof Group. During seven summers 

 spent up there I have never seen one elsewhere and the natives, who are quile 

 familiar with the bees, are positive in their assertions that the facts are as stated. 



(G. Dallas Hanna.) 



