Insects. 7091 



There is a large black dipterous fly, a species of Milesia, banded with 

 pale yellow, so closely resembling Vespa maculata in size, colour and 

 markings that I have several times been misled by it. The females of 

 this wasp remain in a semi-torpid condition under the bark of dead 

 stumps, &c., till so late as the middle of May. It is extremely fond 

 of" honey-dew," and may be frequently seen about plants infested by 

 Aphides, scaring away their attendant ants by its large size. 



Polistes pallipes, St. Farg. I found this insect very numerous at 

 St. Hilaire, on the flowers of the beautiful golden-rods, in August, 1857, 

 but I have never met with it elsewhere, and I know nothing respecting 

 its habits. 



Family Andrenid.e. 



Colletes incequaliSf Smith. I observed great numbers of the males 

 of this species flying backwards and forwards over a damp spot by 

 the side of a road near Montreal, on the 26th of July, 1857. 



Sphecodes ephippia^ Linn. Not very common. Montreal, July. 



Agapostemon tricolor, St. Farg. Common about Montreal in 

 August. 



Auxochlora lucidula, Smith. On the 24th of August, 1856, 1 found 

 a nest of this beautiful little bee under the bark of a decayed stump 

 on Montreal mountain. There were thirteen cells arranged perpen- 

 dicularly in a single row, and composed of particles of decayed wood, 

 very slightly agglutinated together : the four uppermost cells contained 

 larvaB ; in the next eight were pupae in different stages of development, 

 the last having partially acquired its brilliant green colour ; and in 

 the thirteenth and lowest a bee fully formed and active, as I found to 

 my cost, for it stung me acutely, and effected its escape from my 

 fingers. I only succeeded in rearing two of the pupae, which were 

 full-formed on the 4th of September following, the rest and all the 

 larvae having died and dried up. 



A. viridula, Smith. I took a specimen of this species on the flowers 

 of the golden-rod {Solidago altissima ? Linn.) on Belaeil Mountain, on 

 the 30lh of August, 1857. 



Halictus parallelus, Say. Common in August about Montreal and 

 St. Hilaire. 



Andrena nubecula, Smith. Montreal, August. 



A. varians, Rossi. On willow catkins at the beginning of May, 

 near Montreal. 



Family Cuculin^e. 



Nomada. Several unnamed species are numerous about Montreal 



