i89 3 J THE BRITISH NATURALIST. 109 



other along the burrows ; in each of these cells an egg is deposited, 

 with honey and pollen sufficient to feed the grub when hatched. The 

 species usually emerges when the sallows on our sandhills are in full 

 bloom, i.e. about the middle of April, and loves the bright sunshine. 

 It was first discovered at Wallasey, and for many years was thought 

 to be confined to that locality ; subsequently, however, large colonies 

 were found to exist at Hoylake, at Waterloo, and at Crosby, and 

 single specimens have since been recorded from Southport and Black- 

 pool in Lancashire, and Rockferry, and even Chester in Cheshire, 

 pointing to the conclusion that it is really much more widely distributed 

 than was for many years supposed. It would be well, therefore, if 

 observers would keep well on the look out for it further afield, and 

 report its discovery in new localities. 

 HALICTUS ATRICORNIS. 



This is, even more than Colletes cunicularia, the special bee of our 

 district ; when first taken at Hazlegrove, near Manchester, by the 

 late Mr. B. Cooke, the species was quite new to science ; for many 

 years, although it was freely taken there, and well known to Entomolo- 

 gists elsewhere by description, it was not found anywhere else in the 

 world. During the last few years, however, the Rev. F. D. Morice, 

 of Rugby, has discovered the species in his own neighbourhood, and 

 taken it abundantly there ; having, in consequence, obtained an 

 intimate knowledge of the insect, and knowing "what to look for," he 

 was successful in finding a few specimens at Whalley, in Lancashire. 

 Mr. Morice informs me that a single specimen has lately been taken 

 in Gloucestershire, but the insect has not been discovered anywhere 

 upon the Continent ; we may feel pretty confident, however, that, as 

 in the case of many other species, it probably only wants thoroughly 

 hunting for, to have its known distribution in the world much extended. 

 It is unfortunately, not easy to describe in words what you are to 

 keep your eyes open for in the present instance. The insect is very 

 like many others of the genus Halietus, which are chiefly little black 

 or dark coloured bees, of gregarious habits, burrowing several inches 

 deep in banks or flat earth. The 31 species of which this genus 

 consists have been tabulated by Entomologists for convenience of 

 identification in a number of sections; the section to which H. atricornis 

 belongs contains three species, which are black, and very polished and 

 shining ; one, H. minutissimus, is much smaller than the other two, but 

 H. mimitus and H. atricornis are, outwardly, very much alike ; the 

 latter is fractionally the larger of the two ; structurally, however, the 

 males, at any rate, are easily distinguishable by the form of the 

 genitalia ; in H. atricornis the apex of each of the stipites is produced 

 into a curious narrow elongated process or stalk, with a little knob at 

 its end, a peculiarity which at once separates it from any other 



