1912. Browne. — Aquatic Coteoptera of S.E. trela7id. 5 



In Wicklow the best locality I visited was the Mur- 

 roiigh, a marshy region lying inside the railway and 

 extending from a little south of Greystones nearly to 

 Wicklow town. Behind some of the coastal sand-dunes are 

 excellent marshes, especially just south of Arklow. In this 

 latter locality Hydroporits granulans was quite common, but 

 otherwise it appears to be a rarity in Ireland, although I 

 have taken a few specimens in Antrim, Down, East Donegal, 

 Sligo, Roscommon and Westmeath and have seen a specimen 

 from South-east Gal way. In the same place Agahus 

 femoralis was common, another species which is somewhat 

 rare in Ireland. 



Near Rathdrum I visited what appeared to be an incipient 

 peat -moss, where I found a few of the oxylophile species 

 such as Agahus affinis, Philhydrus minutus, etc., and other- 

 wise a few marl -pits in fields near Wicklow town gave me 

 some interesting results. 



Wexford is perhaps the most attractive county — from the 

 point of view of a pond-life student — I have yet seen in 

 Ireland. Ponds of all sizes from small grassy duck-ponds to 

 small lakes occur with great frequency and both north and 

 south of the county town are extensive marshes with here 

 and there excellent drains, both brackish and fresh water. 

 It was in the smaller ponds and ditches where Glyceria 

 formed the dominant vegetation, that Rhantus Grapii chiefly 

 occurred. This species, which has not previously been 

 recorded from Ireland, was comparatively common but very 

 local although occurring in two or three separate parts of 

 the county. One specimen was taken in a sphagnum swamp 

 with such oxylophiles as Agahus affinis, etc., but otherwise 

 the species was entirely helophile, as I always found it to 

 be in East Norfolk. My Irish specimens are rather smaller 

 than my English ones, but otherwise they appear to be quite 

 similar to them. Cymhiodyta ovalis occurred very sparingly 

 in the county, while Enochrus hicolor was only found in one 

 ballast pit by the G. S. & W. Railway near Wexford, where, 

 however, it was common. 



In both Wicklow and Wexford the halophile species were 

 common in the marshes near the sea. I happened to visit the 



