23 



1900,] 



took a fine series under the very dry loose bark of a number of felled 

 larch trees on the north shore of the Loch, in company with Bhizo- 

 phagus nitiduJus (rare), Calathus micropterus (in plenty), &c. ; Q. 

 lateralis was found, with some rather puzzling forms of Q. mesomelinus, 

 under logs in the Black Wood, where BhyncoUs chloropus was common 

 in old fir stumps, and Gis punchdatus in fungoid growth under fir 

 bark. Pytho depressus was not observed in the perfect state, but its 

 curious horny-looking fork-tailed larva was common enough, and I 

 found a few pupse, which unfortunately did not produce very satis- 

 factory specimens. After a constant and unsuccessful search for that 

 special Rannoch Longicorn, Acanthocimis csdilis, I thought myself 

 lucky to find four specimens in a small fir log on my last visit but one 

 to the Black Wood; but the larva, and the very curious pupa, were 

 constantly in evidence. I brought back several of the latter, but they 

 seemed too delicate to bear removal from their singular nidus of wood- 

 fibre under the fir bark ; and the two or three perfect insects reared 

 happening to come out together when I was away from home promptly 

 proceeded to devour each other. With the pup^e of Bhayium indagator, 

 which were rather common, I had somewhat better success. 



In a small saw-pit on the Struan road, a little more than a mile 

 from Kinloch, was some tolerably fresh timber, and one pine log 

 yielded me a short series of the pretty wood-borer, Trypodendron 

 lineatum-uot obtained without difliculty, as it drills neat round 

 tunnels two inches and more deep, perpendicular to the surface of the 

 wood, and sits in them hinder end outwards, ready to retreat far out 

 of re'ach at the least alarm. The common IlyelophUus and Sylasfes 

 were here in swarms, with a few Tomicus acuminatus ; and under the 

 looser bark I found Nudohius lentus (2), Leptusa analis, Homahum 

 pineti (not rare) and pusiUum, Bhizophayus ferrugineus and dispar in 

 plenty, and one or two Thanasimus formicarius. Not far ofF were the 

 only two recently felled fir trees I could find during the whole of my 

 stav and by beating the cut-off tops of these I obtained Cryptophagus 

 cyiindrus, Ernohius nigrinns, Pissodes pini (common) and notatus 

 (rare), Magdalis pMegmatica, Pityogenes Udens, PityopUhorus pu- 

 hescens {.ncrographus, Brit. Cat.) in plenty, &c. Several of these 

 species, with Salpingus castaneus in numbers, were also beaten out ot 

 the broken-off top of a large Scotch fir in the Black Wood. 



Decayed birch was less productive, but from a half-dead tree 

 near Carie I got one of my best finds, Epurcea silacea, unfortunately 

 only singly ; the same tree yielded Orchesia micans (most of which 

 escaped by means of their well-developed powers of jumping), Tnpla:. 



