224 



A.VIDM. 



ment of the abdomen, on its apical segment, and on the femora, tibiae, 

 and first joint of the tarsi above black. (A. rossiella, Kirby.) B.M. 



Var. /3. The thorax yellow anteriorly, the scntellum obscnrely so ; 

 the two basal segments of the abdomen with black pubescence, the 

 following with fulvous-yellow ; a little black also at the apex, and 

 also a little black in the middle of the third segment. (A. leeana, 

 Kirby.) B.M. 



Yar. y. The pubescence entirely black, except the fourth, fifth, and 

 sixth segments of the abdomen, which have a deep-yellow pubes- 

 cence, which is usually more or less interrupted ; the collar has 

 also frequently a mixture of obscure yellow hairs, as is the case in 

 Kirby's type specimen. (A. francisana, Kirby.) B.M. 



Yar. 3. The pubescence entirely black, that at the apex of the abdo- 

 men being slightly fuscous. (A. subterranea, Kirby.) B.M. 



Kirby, in his remarks upon his Apis francisana, observes, " I 

 suspect one of the three species that I have described last (A. rossi- 

 ella, A. leeana, and A. francisana) to be the male of that which I 

 am next to notice ; but as I know not which to fix upon I must 

 leave that point undecided till I can meet with the nidus." The 

 first and the last of these have been taken in coitu with the bee that 

 Kirby suspected to be the female of one, of them {Apathus campes- 

 tris) ; and the four varieties given of this species are so linked 

 together by intermediate examples that no doubt of their being varie- 

 ties of the same insect can possibly exist. The black variety of 

 the female is rare ; but I have met with it five or six times, as well as 

 with intermediate varieties that link the whole to the normal form. 

 The black variety of the male closely resembles the corresponding 

 variety of the male of Bombus subterranea, but it is readily distin- 

 guished by its shorter and rounder head, and by its very convex 

 pubescent posterior tibiae. 



This species is generally distributed, being very plentiful to the 

 south of the Thames ; all the specimens of the black variety of the 

 female were taken in Kent and Surrey. The species has been found 

 also in Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. 



Genus 18. APIS. 



Apis (pt.), Linn. Syst. Nat. i. 953 (1766). 



Communities consisting of males, a single female or queen, and 

 working bees. 



Worker. — Head as wide as the thorax ; eyes lateral, oblong-ovate 

 and pubescent ; ocelli in a triangle on the vertex ; labial palpi 4- 

 jointed ; the basal joint three times as long as the second, the two 

 apical joints minute and attached to the second near its extremity, 

 outside ; maxillary papi consisting of a single joint ; anterior wings 

 with one marginal and three submarginal cells ; the anterior and 

 intermediate tibiae with a spine at their apex, the posterior tibiae 

 not spined, externally smooth and shining, the edges longitudinally 

 fringed with long hair curving inwards and forming the sides of 



