1009.] 247 



slightly immature, and the colour-differences are not important, I 

 think they all belong to one species, which is probably the B. mutila- 

 ius of Beck, though his description and figure are both poor. The 

 British habitat for this insect, it may be noted, is, " under beech 

 bark," on the North Downs in Surrey — between Mickleham and 

 Guildford —and Cobham Park, Kent. 



J am very much obliged to Mr. Champion and to Dr. Sahlberg 

 for the loan of valuable specimens that have enabled me to form an 

 opinion as to the characters and distinctions of these rare Coleoptera. 



Brockenhurst : 



October \.st, 1909. 



A BUPRESTID AND OTHER COLEOPTERA ON PINES INJURED 

 BY " HEATH FIRES " IN N. W. SURREY. 



BY G. C. CHAMPION, F.Z.S. 



The frequent heath and bush fires in the Woking district annually 

 destroy or injure a large number of pines (P. sijlvestris), and as a 

 matter of course these trees, when left, as is often the case, for a 

 year or more, are soon attacked by various species of Coleoptera. 

 This year, the fires having perhaps been more numerous than usual, I 

 made it my especial business to carefully examine from time to time the 

 charred pines in various localities, with the result that, during the very 

 hot dry weather in the latter part of August. I was fortunate enough 

 to find two very interesting insects, viz., Melanophila acuminata, De Gr., 

 and Crioceplialusferus, Muls., both new to the district, the Buprestid in- 

 deed not having been previously recorded as British. Since the discovery, 

 in 1900, of Ancliomenus quadripunctatus, De G., in a pine-wood injured 

 by fire, I have occasionally searched such places for beetles; but it 

 was not till the present year that I continued my investigations 

 through the greater part of the summer, at times when everything is 

 very dry and little could be expected. The appended list gives 

 all the species seen by me on burnt ground near Woking (including 

 By fleet, Pyrford, Chobham, &c.), but I have not thought it worth 

 while to enumerate the numerous common Coccinellids or the insects 

 that were obviously merely resting on the trees. It may be observed 

 that the usual species found on felled sappy pines, such as various 

 Hylastes and Epitriea, Bhar/ium, Thanasimus, &c., do not frequent the 

 dry trees. There can be little doubt that Pissodes notatus, Grioceplia- 

 lusferus, and Asemum striatum have been gradually spreading on the 



