250 [November, 



NOTES ON A NEST OF BOMBUS HORTOEUM, EACE 

 SUBTBERANEUS. 



BY EDWAED SAUNDERS, E.L.S. 



I have recently (September 10th) received from Mr. W. H. Tuck, 

 of Tostock, Bury St. Edmunds, the contents of a nest of Bomhus 

 Jiortorum, race suhterraneus. The bees had selected a mole's nest to 

 rear its young in, which was situated " quite five feet away from the 

 entrance hole," and, according to a diagram sent me by Mr. Tuck, 

 about a foot and a half beneath the surface of the ground ; the nest, 

 which was formed of dried leaves, he says swarmed with Dipterous 

 larv83 of all sizes, and also contained two Cryptopliagi, and two other 

 beetles. The bees sent consisted of eight large ? , 20 — 22 mm., of 

 the usual dark variety, having traces of paler hairs on the pronotum 

 and Bcutellum, and the fourth abdominal segment only clothed with 

 dusky whitish hairs ; three large ? , 20 — 22 mm., entirely black (var. 

 Sarrisellus) , fourteen smaller (?) (var. Zf«mseZZt^s), varying much 

 in size from 15 down to 9 mm., and a corresponding series of nineteen 

 $ of the white-tailed form, having, besides the pale hairs on the 

 pronotum and scutellum, a more or less defined band on the apex of 

 the first abdominal segment. All the specimens of this latter variety 

 of the ? have both the 4th and 5th segments of the abdomen clothed 

 with white hairs, differing in this respect from the ? s, which have 

 pale hairs on the 4th segment only, and these hairs of a more yellowish 

 tint than those of the $ ; in looking at the specimens in my collection, 

 I find this character holds good in all I have ; I cannot find any $ of 

 the suhterraneus race which has the 5th segment white, nor any $ with 

 it black. In the nest were two males, one a brightly coloured one of 

 the ordinary Jiortormn and suhterraneus type, and the other a Harris- 

 ellus. Unfortunately, the whole contents of the nest were not 

 secured, as the bees were not stupefied on account of the distance the 

 nest was from its entrance hole. Mr. Tuck had poured in a wine- 

 glass full of turpentine the previous evening, but it had very little 

 effect on the bees, and he had to catch them as they emerged ; he 

 thinks, however, that he secured most of the females and workers, but 

 that many of the males escaped. The brightly banded ,^ was taken in 

 cop. with a Harrisellus, $ ; I have a similar pair in my collection 

 found together by the late Mr. C. Gr. Hall at Dover. It would be in- 

 teresting to ascertain whether the colour difference between the 

 females and workers observed in this nest are always maintained. Of 

 course it is a very variable species, and every shade of variation 



