COLEOPTERA. 



2Sd 



abdominal the forks are right and left, not front and back. Tubercle iii is a 

 two-haired wart, and shows well the evolution of the branching horn, as 

 the two hairs are each on tall, fleshy, cone-shaped tubercles, and the 

 raised skin area which they occupy in common is already developed 

 into a circular mound or low horn ; iii is, of course, not nearly so 

 large as i is normally on the abdominal segments ; iv and v are both on 

 the lateral flange ; iv almost as directly beneath the small white spiracle, 

 as iii is above it ; iv is a two-haired tubercle, similar to, but not quite so 

 large as iii ; v is slightly prespiracular, but still very close to iv ; v is 

 single-haired, but larger than ii. There are a few additional hairs 

 present, notably one between i and iii, and another at about same level 

 or slightly lower behind it. There are two small hairs some distance 

 apart on lateral flange in front of v and another behind iv, also a very 

 small slender hair above lateral flange just over v. These extra 

 tubercles are all single-haired and very small. As the 1st skin of Ai/lia 

 tan is evidently, on the face of it, far removed from a primitive one, and 

 is almost certainly a highly specialised adult (larval) development 

 forced back to an earlier ontogenetic stage, these few extra tubercles, 

 though not without significance, must not be used as if of the same 

 value as additional set* in a generalised first stage. 



(To be continued.) 



<irOLEOPTERA. 



Abundance of Lytta vesicatoria near Dover. — -When in the 

 country near Dover last June, I noticed hundreds of examples of L. 

 i-exicatoria flying in the hot sun round and settling on the outer leaves of 

 an ash tree [Fraxinm excehior). The tips of the outer leaflets all round 

 the tree (which was a large one) were in shreds, eaten by the beetles. 

 The ground underneath the tree was covered with frass, and the air 

 was impregnated by the odour emitted by the beetles, and noticeable 

 some yards away. There were other ash trees in the vicinity, but it 

 was only round this particular one that the beetles seemed to assemble. 

 — H. D. Stockwell, 2, Albert Koad, Dover. 



Protective coloration of Chrysumela cerealis. — The distinctive 

 coloration of Chnjsoinela cerealis must be of considerable protective value 

 to it, from birds, in its natural habitat. Mounted in the cabinet it appears 

 unduly conspicuous, but insects kept in captivity in a seed-pan of wild 

 thyme are exceedingly difficult to find. The insects feed in the very 

 early morning for the most part, sometimes at night, and when 

 the thyme is freshly sprayed their bright colouring exactly har- 

 monises with the little glistening drops of water (i.e., dew in their 

 native habitat) on the bright pink stalks and rich green leaves of the 

 food-plant. In fact, until you hunt the roots of the thyme or move the 

 stones and thus disturb them, the beetles are generally safe from 

 observation even in so restricted a space. — J. Burgess Sopp, 104, 

 Liverpool Road, Birkdale. 



A FEW notes on Coleoptera in thk west coast of Ireland. — In 

 June last my friends, Messrs. Douskell and Kaye, and myself, took one 

 of the lodges at Rossbeigh, Dingle Bay, co. Kerry, for that month and 

 as far as the weather would permit, we explored the surrounding country 

 for insects (Mr. Kaye being after lepidoptera only). The full account 



