Insects. 



6219 



always found it attracted by any large animal or bird, sometimes in 

 great numbers. 



Necrophorus Vesiigaior. Stephens gives the London district, but 

 although I have searched under birds, moles, &c., in many parts of 

 the suburbs of the metropolis, I never met with it, nor do I remember 

 any collector of my acquaintance who has been more fortunate ; the 

 only locality with which I am acquainted is the neighbourhood of 

 Lowestoft, in Suffolk. 



Necrophorus i^r/s.^or, Erichs. Of this species I obtained six ex- 

 amples under dead adders, at Southend, in the month of August; I 

 never found it elsewhere, but Stephens gives the London district and 

 other localities, showing it to be very w^idely distributed ; it must be 

 much less abundant than most of the species, or I think 1 must have 

 either met with it or seen it in other collections more frequently. 

 This is the N. interruptus of Stephens. 



Necrophorus Ruspator. Stephens says, Generally distributed : " 

 as far as my experience has enabled me to judge, it is far more nu- 

 merous in some situations than in others : 1 have only once or twice 

 taken it near London, whereas about Southend, Deal and Low^estoft, 

 it is plentiful. 



Necrophorus Moriuormn, This is certainly widely distributed, 

 although I did not find it in Suffolk. 



Necrophorus Vespillo. Generally distributed. 



Necrophorus Obrut or Hiichs. Given in Stephens' 'Manual' as 

 British ; I have not seen any British example : said to be taken at 

 Hertford. 



Frederick Smith. 



Megachile centuncularis. — At the bacl< of tins house two rose trees grow up the 

 wall, one of which is selected by this bee for her operations, the leaves being larger 

 and thinner than those of the other tree, which are never touched by her. She comes 

 in a direct line over the tall trees at the bottom of the garden, and soon selects a leaf. 

 On this she settles, generally, but not always, with her head to the footstalk, and taking 

 the leaf between her legs, rapidly cuts out a piece in the manner often described, 

 sometimes circular, but often oval, her operations being no doubt guided by the 

 requirements of ber nest, the oval pieces being for the outside walls, and the circular 

 ones for the partitions. It has been said that she poises berself on her wings in 

 order to av oid tearing the leaf or to hinder her and the piece from falling to the ground 

 when the latter is cut off, but I narrowly watched this one, and in every instance her 

 wings were motionless. As the cutting proceeded, she curled the piece under ber, 

 and when the piece was separated both she and it fell downwards for a short 



