12 1 t [September, 



Coleoptera in Scotland. — After leaving Ullswater I went on for a fortnight in 

 Scotland ; but the weather was not propitious, and beetles were far from plentiful. 

 My only captures worthy of mentioning were tlie following : — 



In the neighbourhood of Dunoon, Cryptohypnus maritimus (5) and C. dermex- 

 toides, the latter in numbers, under shingle on the borders of a stream ; Mgialia 

 sabufeti, one specimen ; Bemhidium atroccBrtdeum, two specimens. 



In the neighbourhood of Tarbet, Loch Lomond, Carabus arvensis, one speci- 

 men ; Tachinus elongatus, one specimen, on the summit of Ben Reoch ; Meloe 

 violaceus, a huge female, crawling on the road to Loch Katrine, July 3rd seems a 

 very late date for this species. Only three examples of Nebria Oyllenhali turned 

 up on the mountains, and beetles generally were very scarce — partly, I think, on 

 account of the abundance of spiders, and partly owing to the fact that there was a 

 mole run under almost every large stone. Aphodius lapponum was plentiful above 

 the 2500 feet level, but I did not find a single example lower down. — Id. 



Sleeping habits of a Bee, Crocisa ramosa. — An example of Crocisa ramosn, one 

 of the " Cuckoo Bees," was observed for several nights roosting on a dead twig 

 projecting from a bank near my bungalow. The peculiar attitude affected by many 

 Hymenoptera was particularly noticeable in this case. The extremity of the twig 

 was grasped by the jaws of the insect ; the legs were folded close against the body, 

 which was extended almost horizontally, supported by the jaws alone; the antennae 

 were brought together and extended in front. This particular bee spent most of its 

 time in slumber : it took up its position every afternoon as nearly as possible at 2.45 

 p.m., and remained in the same place until after 9.30 a.m. next morning. It slept 

 very soundly. On one occasion I picked off the twig to which it was attached 

 and accidentally dropped it on the ground without disturbing the sleeping insect in 

 the least. — E. Ernest Geeen, Ceylon : February, 1899. 



The Cambridge Natural History, Vol. vi. Insects, Pt. ii : by David 

 Sharp, M.A., M.B., F.R.S. Pp. 626, 8vo. London : Macmillan and Co., Limited. 

 New York : The Macmillan Company, 1899. 



The first part of Dr. Sharp's important work appeared in 1895, and was 

 noticed in this Magazine, 2nd series, vii, pp. 21-22. After considerable delay (for 

 which the author is not responsible) the complete work is now before us. In our 

 former notice we took occasion to give a short outline of the classification or sequence 

 of Orders adopted, and the general method of treatment, with a glance at the special 

 portion {Aptera, Orthoptera, Neuroptera and part of Hymenoptera) there noticed 

 in detail. While feeling compelled to criticize the adopted scheme to some extent, 

 it was with pleasure that we then commended tlie book as " indispensable to all who 

 seek to extend their general knowledge." Now that we have the whole work before 

 us we reiterate all that we said in its praise on the former occasion, and believe that 

 few works on general entomology will be more frequently consulted for a long time 

 than this. The amount of time expended on research must have been enormous, 

 and the judgment exhibited in condensing the various recorded statements and 

 observations is above all praise. We do the author no injustice when we say ho is 

 known to possess strong opinions on certain points, but he has given in this book 



