would be glad of a good series for their collections. Tliis is the first time that I 

 have ever heard of it as being destructive, nor do I know of any record of its life- 

 history ; hitherto it has been found in Britain very locally under stones, in moss, 

 flood refuse, &c. I have never taken it except in Bretby Wood, near Ripon, Burton- 

 on-Trent, where it occurred somewhat commonly in early summer on bracken. The 

 beetle might have been introduced with ferns fi-om Wales, but it is more probable 

 that it came in the lily roots, as these seem to be attacked much more than the fei'ns. 

 The eggs are probably laid, as in the case of Otiorrhynchus sidcatiis, a little below 

 the surface of the ground. The last named beetle sometimes attacks strawberry 

 plants ; in this case Miss Ormerod (Manual of Injurious Insects, 2nd Edition, p. 

 363) recommends that the kind of shelter preferred by the insect should be dis- 

 covered, and that by placing some of this (whether slates, tiles, odd bits of thin 

 turf, or morsels of old waste sacking) on the ground by the plants, they would 

 probably form excellent traps, which might be cleared daily with very little trouble. 

 The destruction of the full grown insect will of course diminish the larvae, but 

 as larvae they are very hard, if not almost impossible to get rid of, as applications 

 that will destroy them will also kill the plants ; watering, however, with a " strong 

 solution of amnioniacal liquor and common agricultural salt " has been found of 

 service in like cases. The only real method of getting rid of them is to root up all 

 the affected plants and those in their neighbourhood, and then to treat the ground 

 with a strong dressing of gas lime, and allow it to be fallow for some time before 

 replanting. — W. W. F.]. 



Otiorrhynchus sulcaius destructive to ferns, Sfc. — Your editorial comment on 

 Mr. Wood's note on Otiorrhynchus sulcatus, in the July No. of Ent. Mo. Mag., 

 reminds me of an incident in my experience which has hitherto puzzled me, but 

 which may perhaps find a solution in a similar way. I have for some time past 

 grown large numbers of plants of tlie little saxifrage, known popularly as " Mother 

 of Millions," on an imitation rockery made of virgin cork. I have often noticed 

 that here and there plants have suddenly begun to wither, and on examining them, 

 I invariably found the plant completely severed from its root, a hollow being exca- 

 vated in the stem at the junction with the root just below the rosette of leaves, and 

 in this cup -like hollow was a fat white grub. I have never succeeded in rearing 

 them, as they always died when thus disturbed. But a few days ago I found an 

 Otiorrhynchus sulcaius in the conservatoi-y in whicli the rockery is situated. Is it 

 likely that the larva was that of the beetle, and, if so, do you know of any other 

 instances of a similar damage ? I have not found maidenhair or other ferns 

 attacked in this way, but always the saxifrages. — E. A. Butler, 39, Ashley Eoad, 

 Crouch Hill, N. : June 20th, 1891. 



Notes on Coleoptera in the North of Ireland. — Since my last note (2nd series, 

 vol. i, p. 295) I have the following additions to the Irish list -.—Hydroporus vm- 

 brosus, taken on Carlingford Mountain, Co. Louth, and in the Mullinure meadows 

 here. Homalota luteipes, in moss from Mullinure ; H. atricolor, in moss from the 

 Palace Demesne; S. pygincea, in moss from Lowry's Lough ; H. luridipennis, in 

 flood rubbish from Mullinure. I am indebted to Mr. A. C. Horner, of Tonbridge, 

 for kind assistance in determining these KomalotcE. 3Iycetoporus lucidus, in moss 



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