220 [September, 



NOTES ON A FEW DAYS' COLLECTma (COLEOPTURA) AT MADEIEA. 



BY M. CAMERON, M.B. (Lond.), R.N. 



I liave recently liad the p;oo(l fortune to pay a second visit to this 

 interesting island, arriving at Fnnchal, the chief town, on February 

 10th. 



Funchal is situated on the south coast, and is backed by hills 

 over 4000 feet in height. The immediate neighbourhood of this place 

 is densely cultivated, chiefly with sugar cane, bananas, and ordinary 

 garden produce, and the soil is very fertile. The town itself boasts 

 over 20,000 inhabitants. There are several good English hotels, and 

 the English Heading Room is well stocked with books, the most 

 interesting from a beetle-hunter's point of view being WoUaston's 

 work on the CoJeo])fera of the island. In the Portuguese College is 

 a small museum, originally worked up, T believe, by Padre Schmidt, 

 evidently a most practical natnralisi, if we may judge from the 

 beautiful specimens of stuffed animals of all kinds found in the island. 

 There is also a small collection of Lepidopterrr, and a few of the more 

 striking insects, but evidently no great attention has been paid to this 

 group, and it is to be feared that they will not improve, as there 

 appears to be no one to keep alive an interest amongst the students. 



Being built on the slope of a hill the streets are fairly steep ; 

 they are paved with small round cobbles, and the " cabs " are on 

 runners and drawn by a pair of bullocks, a not uncomfortable way of 

 travelling, though somewhat slow. 



An elevator-railway runs up to the Belmont Hotel, which is 

 situated about 2000 feet above the sea level, but as there are very few 

 trains I usually walked along the track, as a certain amount of 

 collecting can be done on the way. 



Under the stones on the bants of this railway Scarites ahhreviaius, Dej., and 

 Hadrus cinerascens, Woll., occur commonly, and in the pine- wood about half way 

 up Eelops covjertns, Woll., is plentiful under the stones and loose bark. A solitary 

 specimen of Oxyomus hrevicollis, Woll., was taken under a stone in this region. 

 Leaving the Hotel below, and taking the road to the right one enters another pine- 

 wood at a level of 2500 feet above the sea. Here the difference in the temperature 

 is quite appreciable, and by searching under the stones the following were taken : — 

 Calathus complanatus^, var. a (this is the slender brownish-red form), in some 

 numbers; 0. wrrfZits, Woll., a single specimen; Zargns Sc/iawrni, Well , not rare; 

 Argvtnr robus/w.s, Woll., several ; A. cwrtKs, Woll., a few; A. gracilipes, WoW., one 

 or two ; Othius strigulosus, Woll., one, and Omias \\'ater]i.ovsei. Well., eight or nine. 

 Under dry vegetable rubbish near a path I found Conurjis puhescens, Payk., Homalota 

 atramentarin, Gyll., H. phiJonthoidea, Woll., 77. ohliquepvv data, Woll., FaJngria 

 ohscura, Er., Xaiitlwlivus piincfnlaiu!', Payk., Ptemdium apicale, Sturm, Anthicus 



