11. MEGACHILE. 177 



Div. II. Anterior tarsi of the males dilated. 



7. Megachile circumcincta. 



M. pallide flavo villosa, capite anoque atris ; antennis maris articulo 

 ultimo subdilatato, tarsis anterioribus dilatato-ciliatis. 



Megachile circumcincta, St.-Farg. Hym. ii. 335 £ . 



Smith, Zool. ii. 693 tf $ ; Bees Great Brit. 180. 



Nyland. Notis. tir Stilish. pro Faun, et Flo. Fenn. ii. 103 2 • 



Schenck, Nass. Bien. 330. 



Thorns. Hym. Scand. ii. 224. 

 Apis circumcincta, Kirby, Mon. Apum Angl. ii. 246 $ ; var. y. A. 

 willughbiella <$ . 



Female. Length 5-5J lines. — Black; the pubescence on the head 

 brownish black, that on the cheeks paler. The thorax and three 

 basal segments of the abdomen clothed with pale fulvous pubescence, 

 on the disk of the thorax it is fuscous ; the legs have a pale ful- 

 vous pubescence, on the tarsi beneath it is rufo-fulvous ; the claws 

 of the tarsi ferruginous ; wings subhyaline, their apical margins 

 clouded, the nervures black. Abdomen, the pubescence on the 

 three apical segments black, as well as on the two apical ones beneath ; 

 the rest is bright rufo-fulvous. B.M. 



Var. (3. The abdomen with pale fulvous pubescence on the two basal 

 segments. 



Yar. y. Only the basal segment with pale fulvous pubescence. 



Male. Length 4^-5^ lines. — The pubescence on the face pale ful- 

 vous, on the vertex it is thin and more or less fuscous ; the apical 

 joint of the antennae compressed and slightly dilated. Thorax: 

 the pubescence above is rufo-fulvous, on the sides, beneath, and on 

 the legs it is pale fulvous, frequently inclining to cinereous ; the 

 anterior coxae armed with blunt spines ; the apex of the tibiae and 

 the tarsi pale flavo- testaceous, beneath a minute black spot ; the 

 first joint as broad as the tibiae, slightly widest at the apex, the three 

 following joints each gradually decreasing in width ; all the joints 

 fringed with long whitish pubescence. Abdomen oblong, blunt at 

 the apex, with pale pubescence on two or three of the basal seg- 

 ments ; on the rest it is shorter and black; on the apical margin 

 of the fourth and fifth a narrow fringe of white pubescence, some- 

 times more or less obsolete ; the sixth segment with its apical margin 

 emarginate, the inflexed margin beneath with one angular tooth 

 on each side ; the seventh with a central obtuse spine. B.M. 



This species appears in June; it is rather local, and, as far as has 

 been ascertained, always constructs its burrow in the ground. Oc- 

 casionally I have met with large colonies, especially in Surrey and 

 Hampshire. This bee usually lines its burrows with cuttings of rose- 

 leaves ; St.-Pargeau says he observed it using those of Bhamnus 

 frangula (the alder buckthorn) : all the species vary in their choice 

 in this respect. 



