HYMENOPTERA-ACTTLEATA. 423 



Until comparatively late years the bee kept 

 everywhere in the country was the true A. 

 melliftca, commonly known as the native " black 

 bee." Recently, however, queens and colonies of 

 the var. ligustica, the bee of which Yirgil wrote, 

 have been largely imported into our district, as 

 elsewhere in England, from Italy. In the same 

 way the Cyprian and Carniolan races have been 

 introduced. These foreign strains have become 

 much mixed by inter-breeding with our primeval 

 race, so that the native " black bee " in its 

 original purity is in some places becoming more 

 or less rare ; it has a wonderful power, neverthe- 

 less, of asserting its individuality again, and of 

 absorbing the foreigner in course of comparatively 

 few generations, if left to itself. 

 This completes our list of the Hymenoptera-Aculeata 

 hitherto observed in the counties of Lancashire and 

 Cheshire. On reference to the map it will be noticed that 

 the records are at present confined to a comparatively 

 limited portion of our district, and there is little doubt 

 that the investigation of new neighbourhoods will afford 

 material additions in the future. Several easily over- 

 looked but common species, which, though found in North 

 Wales, have not yet been recorded here, probably also 

 occur. 



In conclusion, it may not be uninteresting to compare 

 the above results with the two orders of insects of which 

 faunas have up to the present been compiled for 

 Lancashire and Cheshire, viz., Lepidoptera and Coleop- 

 tera, as follows : — 



Species recorded. 

 Hymenoptera Aculeata - 166 ; or 44 % of total British species (374). 

 Lepidoptera- - -1,355; ,,65% ,, „ ,, (2,079). 



Coleoptera - - - 990; „ 30% „ ,, ,, (3,227). 



