Page:VCH Essex 1.djvu/139

 INSECTS S. ferruginatus being the most noteworthy species. At sallow flowers in the spring Andrena bimaculata, A. rosa var. spinigera, A. dorsata and many others are found. The scarce and local A. fasciata has occurred at Dovercourt, but only one example was seen. 'Its near relative, A.ful- -uicrus, was for many years scarce near Colchester, but recently extensive colonies have been found, and it is now quite a common insect. A. pilipes also, which was for long represented by a single specimen, has during the past two years been turning up in all directions. The beautiful A. cineraria, one of the early spring bees, is found near Walthamstow. A. hattorfiana, the finest species of the genus, has been met with at Alresford, Donyland and Lexden. As a rule only the black form is found, but one year nearly all the specimens seen were highly coloured red ones. A. cetii is another very local and extremely variable insect, though in this the red forms predominate. It is occa- sionally found at Aldham and Alresford, but more frequently at Colches- ter. It seems to be somewhat uncertain in its appearances, and may often be looked for to little purpose. A. rosce is also generally scarce in its summer form, but during the past year or two has occurred pretty freely at bramble flowers, while A. nigriceps has been far from scarce on ragwort. Of the rare A. tridentata only a single specimen has so far been found, but A. fucata and A. fufaago seem to occur regularly. A. fafwfiirwM seen in prodigious numbers in 1898, especially on the sea walls at St. Osyth, where its males were observed congregating together after the manner of Colletes succincta, their bright yellow faces rendering the masses they formed very noticeable and curious objects. The genus Nomada, which is largely parasitic on Andrena, is naturally also well represented, N. armata and N. obtusifrons being its most noteworthy species as regards rarity; but N. sexfasciata seems also to be strangely rare in north Essex, seeing that the Long-horned Bee (Eucera longicornis) to which it is attached is abundant. Only a single specimen of the parasite has been discovered, at Walton-on-the-Naze. Mr. Smith how- ever formerly found it in some numbers near Southend. The little Blue Bee (Ceratina cyanea) seems to be seldom met with in other parts of the country ; it is not infrequent on daisies in the spring and on composite flowers later in the year. The Rose-cutter Bees are well in evidence throughout the summer. Megachile maritima is principally a coast species, while M. circumcincta and M. ligniseca are found inland. The scarcer M. versicolor, which has only recently been reinstated in our list, was also met with in August, 1900. Osmia pilicornis is a rare species ; two females were captured in 1883, but others have since been sought for in vain. O. bicolor, which forms its cells in empty snail-shells, is occasionally met with at Lexden but more frequently at Aldham, where there is a fairly strong colony. The genus Stelis, which is parasitic on Osmia, is represented by 5. ater- rima and S. phceoptera, the latter being much the rarer. Melecta luctuosa, which is the ' cuckoo' of Anthophora retusa, is very rarely met with, though its 'host' from being a rarity has recently become quite 101