THE HYMENOPTERA OF ESSEX
65
The literature on Hymenoptera in Essex appears to be very
limited. The only paper which attempts to cover the entire Order
is that published in The Victorian History of the County of Essex,
Harwood (1903), and this is not much more than a mere list of
species, which have been recorded in the county. 893 species are
recorded in this paper, and for many of them not even the exact
locality is given. A paper on the galls of Essex was published by
Fitch (1882), and in this he records 43 species of Cynipidae and
Tenthredinidae. A short section of a paper on the entomology of
Essex, Nicholson (1926), is devoted to Hymenoptera, but this
merely mentions a few of the rarer insects. The paper states that
Essex claims some two thousand species out of about five
thousand, which are on the British list. The solitary bees and
wasps of Essex were reviewed by Nicholson (1928), and he records
140 species out of the 230, which had been recorded for the
British Isles. As far as is known, these are the only papers which
have been published on Hymenoptera in Essex.
In this series of papers it is intended to review the entire
Order as a preliminary stage in a more thorough investigation of
Essex Hymenoptera. The social Hymenoptera include the ants,
bumble-bees, and the 'ordinary' wasps. This paper will consider
only the last two sections; the ants will be considered in part ii.
There is a small collection of social Hymenoptera in the Cole-
Fitch Collection, which is in the Passmore Edwards Museum at
Stratford, London, E.15. Many of the specimens are not labelled
and a number are named incorrectly. Most of the insects appear
to have originated from the collections of either W. H. Harwood
or W. White. The Harwood collections (W. H. and P. Harwood)
are in the British Museum (Natural History), London, S.W.7, and
contain many specimens from Essex.
Records from the literature are indicated by giving the author,
and date in parentheses. The origin of records, where the speci-
mens have been seen by the author, are indicated by giving the
name and initials of the collector; all other records are those of
the author. Nomenclature is that of Kloet & Hincks (1945).
The social bees and wasps comprise the following four genera:
Bombus Latreille, Psithyrus Lepeletier, Vespa Linnaeus, and
Vespula Thomson, C. G. The number of species on the British
list is 32, and of these 23 have been recorded in Essex, together
with one doubtful record.
VESPA Linnaeus 1758
Vespa crabro Linnaeus 1758 (Hornet). Not common, but
probably occurs over most of the county. It was reported as very
common at Assington near Colchester in 1897, and was common
also in the Epping Forest area in the years 1944-5. Vere (1946)
reports nests from Buckhurst Hill, Chigwell, Epping, Epping
Green, Loughton, Theydon Bois and Waltham Abbey. Other
recent records are Buckhurst Hill, 22.8.1947, Shillito (1947); one
♀ Epping Forest, 8.4.1953; Thrifts Hall Wood near Theydon Bois