J 2 4! [November, 



est noir, comme chez le male, tandis que chez le C. varius cet eperon 

 estjaune dans les deux sexes." 



Mr. E. C. L. Perkins first called my attention to this, as in a 

 series of specimens whicli lie took oi palmipes {^ ?) this year the 

 females had the front calcaria pale. I am, therefore, anxious to point 

 out that this character, like most other colour characters, can not be 

 trusted. Another distinguishing mark is said by Wesmael to be the 

 yellow spot on the scutellum of varius ? , which never occurs in 

 palmipes ? . I have, however, a varius J with that spot so small that 

 I have little doubt that a spotless variety must occur. Under these 

 circumstances I think the only safe distinctions to rely upon are the 

 following, also pointed out by Wesmael, viz., the deeper, wider meta- 

 thoracic sulcatures of jynhnipes, and consequently the rather more 

 restricted areas enclosed by them, the rather wider joints of its front 

 tarsi, the basal one being slightly bent at the base, and the more 

 prominent spines on the sides of the mesopectus. Still the two species 

 are exceedingly closely allied, and the characters are nearly all charac- 

 ters of degree (unfortunately neither species is very common), but I 

 should very much suspect that long series would contain some inter- 

 mediate forms. 



Andeena vaeians, Eossi, heltola, Linn., and fucata, Sm. 



These three so-called species have always been more or less of a 

 difficulty to Entomologists. In my Synopsis of our British Hymen- 

 optera I tried to give distinguishing characters to each, and I hoped 

 I had succeeded ; but information which I have gleaned this season 

 has considerably upset the conclusions which I then arrived at. 



During the spring of this year I was at St. Leonard's, and on 

 April 23rd met with a large colony of A. varians, so that I was able 

 to stiidy that species pretty carefully. The specimens which I found 

 were in lovely condition, and I was able in several eases to dig both 

 sexes out of the same hole, so that no reasonable doubt could exist as 

 to their belonging to the same species. I was surprised, however, to 

 find that the females hardly varied at all, all having only black hairs 

 on the face and abdomen, and none of them showing any tendency 

 towards the pale hairing of Jielvola, and that the males were all of the 

 large headed form, with simple mandibles, which in my Synopsis is 

 referred to Itelvola. This experience of mine exactly corresponds with 

 that of Mr. E. C. L. Perkins, who has taken varians at Oxford this 

 spring ; all his females he tells me " are true varians with dark face, 

 the males all simple mandibled and quadrate headed." I am, therefore, 



