958 Natal Bees 
The following insect is to be removed from Osmia : 
MmGACHILE FERVIDA (Smith), Meade-Waldo., 
This is Osmia fervida, Smith, and Megachile intricata, Smith, as 
Meade-Waldo has determined by a comparison of types. Meade- 
Waldo states that the type of Megachile perplewa, Smith, from 
Port Natal, cannot be found. Smith’s description of perplewa is not 
very good, but I feel confident that it is another synonym of fervida. 
Females from Stella Bush, Durban, 31st December, 1916 (C. N. 
Barker), and Durban, 13th February, 1917, nest in wardrobe 
(E. C. Chubb), agree exactly with a female intricata from F. Smith’s 
collection. Males from Malvern, December, 1915 (C. N. Barker), 
evidently belong with the female intricata, but agree essentially with 
the description of perplexa. Unfortunately the description under 
Osmia not only has page-priority over JM. perplexa, but also over 
Megachile fervida, Smith, from Hong Kong. The latter may become 
Megachile perfervida, n.n. 
GRONOCERAS, Cockerell. 
Mr. E. C. Chubb collected females of the fine species G'. bombiformis 
(Gerst.) at Bulawayo, Rhodesia, and sends the note: ‘‘nests in 
projecting banks, makes a long tunnel, almost straight.” According 
to Smith, G. combusta (Smith), common at Durban, makes a nest like 
that of Chalicodoma, but Taschenberg found it nesting in old wasp 
(Synagris) nests. Further studies should be made of the habits of 
this insect. I have a specimen of Gronoceras determined by Strand 
as bombiformis, from ‘‘N. Nyassa-See, Langenburg, 26th November, 
1899, Fiilleborn.” Tt is, however, a female, G. tithonus (Smith), and 
I find that nigrocincta, Rits., as I have identified it, is also tithonus. 
Friese puts nigrocincta in another group, but I think my identification 
is correct, as Ritsema considered it related to the species of Gronoceras. 
MEGACHILE, Latreille. 
MEGACHILE CYANURA, Sp. nov. 
2 (Type). Length 17-18 mm.; of parallel-sided type, black, 
including the antenne, mandibles and legs; head with black hair, 
even on the cheeks below ; mesothorax and scutellum with rather 
long black hair, and shorter greyish hair, so that the thorax does not 
look perfectly black, though it is very dark ; sides of post-scutellum 
