138 f-^""^' 



Gryllotal'pa vulgaris. — With the exception of (151) which bears the written 

 No. "63," all six si^eciniens (147-152) are without data. 



Acheta campestris. — This interesting species is represented by 8 examples 

 (153-157) being males, (158-160) females. (153, 154) bear a label which 

 appears to be " Christchurch " followed by the date " 3885" (C. W. D's writ.). 

 (155) is labelled "Christchurch July 1885" (C. W. D's writ.); by its side is 

 also a printed label " Christchurch," whicli may however refer to tlie first four 

 (153-156). (156) bears the printed date "May (8). 186 (8)," the two 8's in 

 brackets being filled in in writing. (157-160) are withovit data. 



Nemohia sylvestris is represented by nine examples (161-169). (163) is 

 labelled "New Forest" and (166) " Brockenhiirst 1874," the 4 being filled in. 

 The rest are unlabelled. Below (168) occurs the locality "New Forest," which 

 perhaps is intended to i-efer to all nine insects. 



(To he continued). 



28, Knight's Park, 



Kingston-on-Thames : 

 May, 1911. 



Note on -the methods used to obtain minute blind Staphylinidx. — The account 

 given by Signor A. Dodero in his jiaper on the genus Leptotyphlus, Fauvel [Ann. 

 Mus. Civ., St. Nat. Genova (3) iii, pp. 631-640 (1908)], cannot fail to interest 

 British Coleopterists, some of whom may like to try his modus operandi in this 

 country. 



" From the preceding account [of what is known about the few recorded 

 species of this genus] it can easily be seen how rarely one meets with these 

 minute creatures, which (with the exception perhaps of L. sublsevis) were con- 

 sidered to be rarities of the first order. Indeed, their very small size, which is 

 almost unique in the family, added to the extreme slowness of their move- 

 ments, makes capture by ordinary metho'ls almost impossible. I foimd the first 

 specimens of L. perpusillus only by examining with a lens the earth collected 

 by myself dm-ing several years, and which I had sifted and then placed in 

 special receptacles. The insects came to the surface to die about a month after 

 the earth had been put into the boxes and wliere it was qiiite dry. Recently, 

 however, after several attempts, I succeeded in finding a method which makes 

 their capture very much easier, so that in a few months I can sometimes 

 procure, in fairly large numbers, several of the known species, as well as new 

 ones. The following is my method : Having dug out the earth, as one usually 

 does to obtain subterranean forms, at the foot of old tree trunks (to a deptli of 

 10-15 centimetres at least), or from beneath deeply bvu'ied large stones (taking 

 care to scrape the sides and bottom of the hole), one sifts it with wire sieves 

 (with a niesli of |, |, or 1 millim). The earth remaining in the sieve is jjut 

 aside for furtlier examination, and that wliicli has passed through is replaced in 

 the same sieve and flattened down a little, care being taken not to shake it. 



