1909.] 277 



the characters given, though it may be fouud mixed up with M. 

 punctatum, which it resembles in practically all those characters not 

 referred to above. All the eight specimens are ? ? .* 



45, Uandswortb Wood Roarl, 



Handsworth, Staifs. : 



November 1th, 1909. 



Sitaris muralis, Forst., n. var.fiava. — During the last three years (1907 — 9) 

 I luive each season taken a few quite mature specimens of Sitaris muralis differing 

 from typical examples, in that the whole of the elytra, wing membrane and abdo- 

 men are clear yellow instead of black. I therefore propose for this apparently 

 hitherto uni-ecorded variety the name Jlava. All the specimens of this form have 

 occurred in the neighbourhood of one village about two miles S. E. of Oxford, and, 

 with a single exception, on one and the same wall $ and ? types are deposited 

 in the Hope Department, Oxfoi'd University Museum — A. H. Hamm, Oxford : 

 November, 1909. 



A note on the habitat of Homalota dilaticornis, Kr., and S. testa- 

 ceipes, Seer. — When examining some truffles sent to me from near Salisbury in 

 the autumn of 1907 for Anisotoma cinnamomea, Er. (which occurred in large 

 numbers), I came across several examples of Homalota dilaticornis. Last year 

 1 only succeeded in finding a single specimen in a larger bag of the rotting fungi, 

 but I think there is no reason to doubt that this is one, at any rate, of the natural 

 habitats of this rare beetle. I have taken it twice at Bradfield, in flood refuse and 

 on a window, but I have not been able to find any trufiles, which undoubtedly grow 

 here, as A. cinnamomea occurs in this district. The only other beetles seen in the 

 truffles were Proteinus ovalis and Colenis dentijyes, both in plenty. 



In 1907 I took about twenty specimens of H. testaceipes, in company with 

 its larva, in an old wasp's nest in the ground. The nest was pointed out to me by 

 a man, who told me that about a fortnight before he had destroyed it by pouring 

 parafiin oil down it, and when dug up it still smelt strongly of paraffin. Mr. P. 

 Harwood tells me he has taken this beetle from rotting wasp-comb wliich he had 

 placed in a flower pot as a trap for Coleoptera It is interesting to note that both 

 these subterranean species have very well developed antennae, distinctly broader 

 than in most members of the genus. — Norman H. Jot, Bradfield, Berks. : Octo- 

 ber 2ith, 1909. 



Phyllobius pyri, L., paired with P. pomonse, 01. — This summer at Clacton I 

 found a (? P. pyri, L., in cop. with a $ P. pomonse, 01. They remained in this 

 state for a long time after being secured in a tube. Some years ago when at 

 Gibraltar, I remember seeing Akis acuminata, F., in cop. with Morica planata, F., 

 on the " North Front." As both species were plentiful, such a coupling could 

 hardly have been due to necessity. — M. Cameron, H.M.S. "Attentive," Home 

 Fleet : November Zrd, 1909. 



* Since writing the above, tlii-ough. the kindness of Dr. Villeneuve, I have had an opportu- 

 nity of submitting my specimen of Sttulio, grisea to him, and he has confirmed my identification. 



