OF WASHINGTON, VOLUME XVI, UU4 9 



as one could wish, but the conditions there are infinitely better 

 than those in the old quarters. In spite of disadvantages, the 

 entomologists of those earlier times were full of zeal, and gave a 

 remarkable token of this in the collection they formed of beet'es 

 found on the Museum premises, either in the building or (prin- 

 cipally) in the large, paved courtyard in front of it. This collec- 

 tion is still extant, and many years ago, when I was preparing a 

 list of the insects of Middlesex, I was allowed to copy the data 

 for use therein. Shortly after, I left England, and the list of Mid- 

 dlesex insects, which had appeared in part in the Entomologist, 

 was discontinued, with only a very small part of the Coleoptera 

 published. Looking over my old notes, I find I have still this 

 British Museum list, and it occurs to me that some account of it 

 may interest workers in the U. S. National Museum. The very 

 large number of Coleoptera found at the British Museum may no 

 doubt be attributed in part to the rather close proximity of Covent 

 Garden Market. The market close to the National Museum at 

 Washington may be expected similarly to be a source of insects 

 wandering on to the Museum premises. Conditions at Blooms- 

 bury are, however, much more thoroughly urban than those at 

 Washington. Lists of this sort while not exhibiting the insects 

 in their most natural surroundings, are of value and interest as 

 showing how many species are spread by the agency of man, and 

 may be found in the midst of cities and in other apparently un- 

 likely places. When the facts are understood, we may marvel, 

 not that so many insects are spread beyond their original habitat 

 and establish themselves in new countries, but rather that more 

 do not do so. Thus, it is really surprising that more European 

 Coleoptera have not become established in America. 



It is not worth while to give the whole list of British Museum 

 beetles. I give instead the lists for several genera as a good sample 

 of the whole. For each genus mentioned, I give all the species 

 reported. 



Cicindela campestris L. 



Notiophilus aquaticus L., palustris Duft., bigutlatus F. 



Amara apricaria Payk., familiaris Duft., acuminata Payk., trivialis Gyll. 



lunicollis Schiodte, similala Gyll., plebeia Gyll. 

 Cercyon hcemorrhoidalis F., flavipes F., unipunctatus L., quisquilius L., me- 



lanocephalus L., terminatus Marsh., nigriceps Marsh. 

 Choleva furnata Spence. 



Mycetoporus longulusMann., lepidus Grav. angularisHey, clavicornis Steph. 

 Philonthus splendens F., laminalus Creutz, ceneus Rossi, politus F., mart] in - 



atus F., varius Gyll., sordidus Grav., cephalotes Grav., bipustulaius Panz., 



varians Payk., ventralis Grav., nigritulus Grav. 



