IIYMENOPTERA- ACULEATA. 411 



construct their cells inside straws and reeds, in 

 deserted snail shells, or sometimes even instal 

 themselves in keyholes. 0. bicolor, when nest- 

 ing in snail shells, has the curious habit of cover- 

 ing the shell with a pile of stalks, &c, making it 

 look like an ants' nest in miniature. Several 

 of the species are gregarious, forming large 

 colonies. 



The nests of Osmia are attacked by inqui- 

 line bees of the genus Stelis, and sometimes by 

 Ccelioxys. Certain Chrysididce and Monodonto- 

 merus dentipes also prey upon the larvae of Osmia. 



0. tufa, Linn. — Fairly common ; specially noted at 

 Hoylake, "West Kirby, and Oxton ; Cheshire 

 coast, B.C. ; Chester, E.C.T. ; Bowden, J.R.H. ; 

 Eainhill, H.H.H. 



0. xanthomelana, Kirb. — fusciformis, Grerst, nee Sm. — 

 atricapilla, Curt. — This rare species was taken in 

 tolerable abundance upon a " perpendicular bank 

 by the riverside, near Liverpool," in 1835, by 

 Mr. Gr. E. Waterhouse, and its interesting life 

 history worked out, v. " Zoologist," Vol. II., p. 403. 

 The female makes a nest composed of from three 

 to six beautifully constructed pitcher-shaped cells 

 of mud and grit and closed with lids, which she 

 usually places in light dry soil at the roots of 

 grass ; sometimes the cells are partly exposed, 

 while occasionally they are in a little chamber 

 underground. The imago frequents Lotus cor- 

 niculatus. 



None of our recent collectors have been able to 



discover this species near Liverpool. Its old 



habitat of 1835 has probably long been destroyed 



by building. The writer has taken it, under 



CC 



