72 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



The foregoing includes most of the structural peculiarities of the group 

 Noctuidce, and it will be seen that there is nothing whatever in them that 

 a student moderately familiar with the names of the parts of an insect, can 

 not himself examine with but little trouble, and nothing requiring any 

 higher magnifying power than that afforded by a good Stanhope lens. 



PSEPHENUS LECONTEI. 



BY J. GEO. GEHRING, CLEVELAND, O. 



A few notes as to the habits and whereabouts of this inhabitant of the 

 rapids of Niagara may perhaps be of interest to such collectors as may 

 visit this locality the coming season. This interesting beetle being but 

 rarely represented in collections, I felt induced to make extra exertions 

 during a few hours sojourn there last August, to find it, and was finally 

 rewarded by finding it in numbers. Although my time did not allow me 

 to reap the benefit of my discovery, still if others are enabled to profit by 

 these notes, the result will be the same. 



By turning over the small rocks which lie in the small rapids close by 

 the Goat and Sister Islands, the flat, crustacean-like larvae will be found in 

 great numbers adhering tightly to the under surface in all stages of devel- 

 opment, and it is here one would naturally look for the perfect insect, but 

 only to be disappointed. I spent nearly all of my time in this fruitless 

 search, finding only one specimen on the under side of one of the stones, 

 which proved to be a gravid female, and had well nigh given up in despair, 

 when the sudden appearance and immediate disappearance of several 

 small, shining beetles on the wet surface of a partly projecting stone 

 aroused my attention. Every alternate wave would submerge the stone, 

 when the objects of my anxiety would take flight, only to alight the next 

 moment when the water retreated. After a deal of maneuvering, I suc- 

 ceeded in getting one, but to find that in my anxiety to get it I had 

 crushed it hopelessly, but not so much as to prevent me from recognizing 

 Psephmu% Lecontei. The truth now dawned upon me that the place to 

 look for Psephenus was not under but outside of the water, and accord- 

 ingly 1 closely scanned the neighboring projecting stones. I soon found 



