31 



Europe into America. It is, as I believe, overlooked that about three-fourths of the 

 insects enumerated are surely not originally European insects. They were introduced 

 into Europe from the East by the advancement and progress of culture, and in the same 

 way by the advancement of culture from Europe to America. The same is the case with 

 the common weeds, and some years ago, by carefully comparing the list of European 

 weeds in Prof. Katzeburg's work with the lists of the described American plants, I found 

 out that two-thirds of all European weeds are common in the United States, and perhaps 

 a part of the last third, of which I was not able to make certain. I myself was at first 

 much surprised to find in the middle of the prairie, near the railway to St. Paul, Minn., 

 common European weeds. I should state that I share entirely in the wishes of the inhabi- 

 tants of N. America to receive and enjoy progress and advancement of culture, with- 

 out the accompanying drawbacks which nature seems to have so closely united with 

 them. 



After all, I should state that it is remarkable that such pests as the Colorado beetles 

 emigrate very exceptionally from the west to the east; so the locust tree is even now 

 entirely free from pests in Europe, though imported a century ago and very common 

 everywhere. There are some American insects imported into Europe which have been 

 overlooked. Blatta Americana is common in all sugar refineries to Archangel, and 

 everywhere in large cities in store-houses. Termes flacipes is probably also imported 

 from this continent. Blatta orientalis was imported from Asia to the west of Europe, and 

 made from there a well ascertained migration to the east again and through Siberia. 

 All insects finding it easier to live in the company of man, or by articles used and needed 

 by man, will of course follow him as well as dogs and rats. 



Mr. Lintner has not mentioned Phylloxera, which has in Europe done more injury 

 and has caused more losses than almost all the other pests together. 



NOTES ON THE HUMBLE BEES. 



BY G. J. BOWLES, MONTREAL, P. Q. 



(Head before the 'Montreal Branch of the Ent. Soc. of Ontario.) 



Packard places the Hymenoptera at the head of the Class Insecta, on account of 

 the completeness of their transformations and the perfection of their instincts. This is 

 also the position assigned to this Order by Dana. Packard ranks the Bees (Apidae) at 

 the head of the Hymenoptera, thus placing them at the very summit of the insect crea- 

 tion. Cresson, however in his "Catalogue of the Described Species of N. A. Hymenop- 

 tera," has them a long way down the list, after the Ants, Wasps, etc. Who shall decide 

 when such authorities disagree ? 



I wish to draw attention to the Humble Bees of this part of Canada, giving, as far 

 as I can, the names of the species found here and some notes on their economy, the lat- 

 ter chiefly taken from Putnam's paper published in 1863. 



The genus Bombus, says Swainson, appears to be a Northern and chiefly European 

 and American genus ; there are very few inter-tropical species, and very few Oriental. 

 Some of the tropical species, however, are very large, much larger than those found in 

 temperate climates. As regards North America, Cresson, in 1863, enumerated 46 spe- 

 cies, oi which the greater number are found in the northern part of the continent. I 

 have carefully tabulated his list, and find that the arrangement of their habitats is as 

 follows, beginning at the south : Mexico 6, Southern States 3, Middle 7, Western 5, 

 Kansas and Utah 8, California 2, New England 8, Canada 7, Hudson Bay 5, Arctic 13, 

 Sitka 3, Greenland 1, unknown 3, and one species from Antigua. The large number 

 from Arctic America is surprising, and would lead one to think that the number given for 

 the more southern parts is not correct. The Arctic species, however, are peculiar to that 



