140 (June, 



used to be taken at Sandown, Isle of Wight, on sandy cliffs, and is 

 recorded from Byfleet, Surrey, but it has not been found, though 

 carefully sought for, for many years. Oxyhehxs uniglumis, which is a 

 very common species in sandy localities, hunts flies, and may be 

 constantly seen dragging its victims towards its burrows ; it will sit 

 sunning itself on a bank, its silver-haired face shinning with an extra- 

 ordinary lustre in the sunshine, it also frequents thistle-heads and other 

 flowers. There are three other British species, but all are rare: 

 mandihularis is a Woking insect, but has occurred also in several 

 places along our coast ; mucronatus has occurred to me at Hayling 

 Island on Senecio, &c. ; and nUjripes has not been found for very many 

 years, and sadly wants looking for. The Gral}ro-\\VQ neuratiou of the 

 wings, the spotted abdomen and spinose scutellum will distinguish an 

 Oxijhelus from the species of any other genus. 



Running about on the bare patches, &c., of sandy heaths, the 

 apterous females of the four British Mutillidcs are to be occasionally 

 found, they are all more or less rare, Mutilla rufipes is the least so, 

 Myrmosa melanocephala is rarer, and Methoca ichneumonides and 

 Mutilla europcea are both of considerable rarity. The first two I 

 take at intervals every year at Woking, and I believe they occur 

 generally on sandy commons ; Methoca is far rarer, but occurs at 

 Chobham and Oxshott and Bexhill ; the last I have only seen at 

 Bournemouth. The winged males of the species frequent flowers, 

 that of Metlioca being exceedingly difiicult to meet with. 



Of the habits of the MutilUdcB very little is known ; they are, 

 doubtless, parasitic insects, and occur sporadically. If their hosts 

 were better known, it would, of course, be easier to give directions as 

 to where to look for them. Among the species of Crahro several are 

 distinctly sand-loving ; the rare scuteUatus is fond of burrowing into 

 the sand where it is level, I have caught the females entering their 

 burrows. The males bask on leaves, &c., and probably on the hot 

 sand also, but I have rarely met with them ; they would most likely 

 occur in June, the females I took on the ]5th July, when I could see 

 no signs of males : pahnnrifin and Wesmneli occur on the Woking 

 heaths, but I do not think they are exclusively heath species, in fact, 

 many of the insects mentioned above occur elsewhere, but if a 

 collector wants a good chance of meeting with them he should visit a 

 sandy heath or sandy seashore ; sandhills such as those at Deal, 

 Sandwich, Lowestoft, Hayling Island, &c., yield very excellent results, 

 and, doubtless, those on the less frequented parts of our shores still 

 harbour species that do not figure in our list. 



{To he continued). 



