1898.] 211 



COLEOPTERA. 



BY J. N. HAI.BKRT. 



Very satisfactory results were obtained by tlie coleopterists of our 

 party at Keumare. Many important species were taken, of which no 

 fewer than twenty-one, have not been previously recorded from any 

 Irish locality. Probably a most useful incentive to hard work was the 

 great interest of many of the known animals and plants, which led us to 

 expect rarities in our favourite groups. Though the curious Weevil 

 {Khopaloniesites Taniyi) must still remain as supplying the strongest 

 evidence, amongst insects, of former land connections in the south- 

 west, 5'et many of our captures are almost equally interesting from a 

 distributional point of view. Amongst rediscoveries the place of honour 

 must be given to Pyroptcrus affiiiis, Payk. Mr. J. R. Hardy was the first 

 to add this extremely local insect to the British list, on the strength of 

 a single specimen taken near Killarney in the summer of 1866. Since 

 then it has occurred in Sherwood Forest, but nowhere else in Britain 

 Mr. Hardy and Dr. G. W. Chaster made a special search for this insect 

 on the day we were at the Upper Lake, and they were fortunate enough 

 to secure a few more specimens in the old localit}-. The species is re- 

 corded, chiefly from the mountain districts of Sweden, Germany, France 

 and Russia. 



The Longicornia were disappointingly scarce in the Kenmare district, 

 though we carefully searched for them about the woods. The rarity of 

 the species in this and other families was, to a great extent, due to the 

 lateness of our visit, many of the early summer species disappear rapidly 

 once they reach maturit3\ The very rar&.Siraiigalia aurulcnta has occvirred 

 at Glengarriff, but we could find no trace of it about Kenmare. 



I am greatly indebted to Mr. Hardy for the names of several of his 

 best captures. Unfortunately want of time has prevented the working 

 out of all the material collected by himself and Dr. Chaster, but they 

 hope to complete this at a future date. Mr. fl. G. Cuthbert has very 

 kindly handed me all of his captures, and many other friends helped 

 considerably by picking up such specimens as they met with. My own 

 work was carried out for the R.I. A. Fauna and Flora Committee. Out 

 of the appended list, containing more than 350 species, the following 

 do not seem to have been previously recorded from Ireland, i.e, : — Para- 

 cyiiiiis nigroaneus^ Sahl. Bryaxis Helferi, Schmidt. Liodes hunieralis, Kug. 

 Anisosticta xix.- punctata,^,. Thyinalusliuibatus^'B. Corymbttes acnetis^'L. Rha- 

 gonycha tinicolor, Curt. Mallhodes flavoguttatus^ Kies. Hedobia iiuperalis, L- 

 Lyctus canal iciilai us, F. Donacia semicuprea, Panz. Melasoma ceneuin, L. 

 Phytodecta olivacea, Forst. Plagiodeya versicolora^ Laicli. Opatnwi sabidosum, 

 Gyll. Orchesia niicans, Panz. Clinocara luidulata, Kr. Lissodema iv.- 

 pustulata, Marsh. Anaspis Geoffroyi^ Miill. Cmiopsis fissirostris, Walt. 

 Clonus pulchellus, Herbst. The nomenclature used is that of our latest 

 British catalogue (Sharp and Fowler, i893)> and I have to thank Mr. 



