188 THE CA.NADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



occurrence is periodically habitual, or accidental from some local cause, is 

 not known. I obtained nearly an ounce bottle full of them on the night 

 of Sept. 28th. 1883, and could easily have procured half a pnit. The 

 evening was warm and sultry, and exceptionally calm. When the central 

 chandelier in the parlor of the hotel was lit, my attention was directed to 

 a fall of small insects from the lights to a marble-topped table beneath. I 

 saw they were brachelytra, and in a couple of hours (the duration of the 

 flight) had taken from this table the quantity stated. They invaded all 

 the lower parts of the hotel where there were lights, occasioning no small 

 annoyance. They proved to be of this species. No one connected with 

 the hotel had ever noticed them before ; none occurred the next, or sub- 

 sequent evenings. This year I left on the 26th without having observed 

 a single one, though they were doubtlessly present in millions. 



Rhypobius mar inns Lee. is met with abundantly on the elevated places 

 on the meadows under debris that lies on dryish sand. It is interestmg 

 chiefly on account of being so minute. The only other species of the 

 genus known to me is found here on leaves, generally hickory and walnut ; 

 it is much larger and as yet undescribed. With marinus is found in great 

 abundance Anthicus formicarms and Bembidium comtrictum. 



Amsostida striata Mels. is usually taken about the remains of dead 

 animals, but not plentifully. Whether it is carnivorous, or only resorts to 

 such places for shelter, is not known, but I never found it elsewhere. The 

 ornamentation of the elytra is a little variable. Normally there are three 

 large common sutural spots connected by a line, and three marginal spots 

 slightly connected on the margin, black ; these spots, however, may all be 

 isolated ; or the marginal ones become confluent, and also unite with the 

 posterior sutural spot which usually extends to the margins of the elytra. 

 The amphfication of Melsheimer's description by Mr. Crotch in the Trans. 

 Am. Ent. Soc , vol. 4, p. 369, is quite misleading. 



Dermestes Frischii Kugel occurs on the sandhills among the refuse of 

 fish. This year only a few specimens were obtained on account of the 

 food supply having been minimized. 



Hister arcuatus Say. Specimens of this beautiful species are occasion- 

 ally taken on the sand, but I could never find its habitation. 



Monotoma producta Lee. occurs in the same situations as R. marinus, 

 where it is difficult to see, as it feigns death, and then resembles fine par- 

 ticles of the debris. A good way to obtain it is to examine the underside 



