^^^ BEES OF GREAT BRITAIN. 



bees avail themselves of such materials as are most readily found 

 and suitable to their purpose, I may instance a very remarkable 

 nest found near a farm-house. One of the brown species of 

 Humble-bees was observed frequently flying into a stable 

 through the latticed wmdow ; the bee was busily en-a^ed in 

 collecting bundles of short horse-hair accumulated from th. 

 cuiTymg of horses ; this she flew off with to a short distance 

 and settled down with it amongst some grass ; on examining the 

 s})ot, a nest composed entirely of horse-hair was discovered • 

 tins interesting nest was destroyed before the bee had quite 

 completed its construction. Another very interesting devia- 

 tion trom the usual economy of the moss-building bees was 

 observed by Dr. William Bell: during the summer^of 1854 

 robin built its nest m the porch of his cottage at Putnev • some 

 time after this had been observed, a Humble-bee took possession 

 ot the nest and adapted it to her own purpose : he was unfortu- 

 nately unable to identify the species by capturing a specimen, 

 the nest having been destroyed ; but Dr. Bell saw the bee on 

 one occasion, and observed that it was black with yellow bands 

 probably Bomhus pratorum. < 



1. Bombus muscorum. 



B. hirsuto-flavescens ; thorace fulvo ; abdomine plus minusve 

 atro-fasciato. 



^^o'.n™'!fT™' ^'''"- ^''"^- '^"^^- P- 425. 1714 ; Syst. Natl 

 9G0. 46, &( type in Cab. Mus. Linn. Sac. ? . 



Apis agrorum, Fabr. Ent. Syst. ii. 321. 29 ? 



Kirby, Mon. Ap. Angl. ii. 326. 81 ? . 

 Apis floralis, Kvrby, Mon. Ap. Angl. ii. 321. 76 ? . t. 17. f. US. 

 Apis Beckwithella, Kirby, Mon. Ap. Angl. ii. 323. 78 2 

 Apis Sowerbiana, Kirby, Mon. Ap. Angl. ii. 322. 11 $ ' 

 Apis Curtisella, Kirby, Mon. Ap, Angl. ii. 324. 79 $ 

 Ap.s Francillonella, Kirby, Mon. Ap. Angl. ii. 319. 75 (worker), 



Apis Fosterella, Kirby, Mon. Ap. Angl. ii. 325. 80 (worker), 

 liremiis agrorum, Panz. Faun. Germ. 85. 20 ? . 

 Bombus agrorum, Fabr. Syst. Piez. p. 348. 30 2 fvar ) 

 Dahlb. Bomb. Scand. 48. 28. ' 



Drews. S( Schiudte, Bomb. Denm. Kroy. Tidsskr. ii. 108. 2. 

 Nyland. Ap. Boreal, p. 228. 4. 

 Bombus muscorum, Smith, Zool. ii. 545. 2$ Q A 



Bombus senilis, Fabr. Syst. Piez. p. 352. 50 (worker) (Mus. Acad. 

 Hafnice). ' ^ 



Female. Length 6-8 lines.— Black ; the face clothed with ob- 

 scure yellow pubescence ; the clypeus naked and shining, the 



f 



Ti 



?! 



^^ 



