OOLEOPTERA, 108 



to the plants and grass culms near at hand. The larvie hang by a 

 thread if the leaves are in the least shaken. 



OLEOPTERA. 



CoLEOPTERA IN SCOTLAND. — The winter has been an exceptionally 

 wet one in most parts of the northern kingdom, and, as a result, there 

 have been severe floods in many places. On Saturday, March 14th, I 

 took advantage of the first real spring day of the season to pay a visit 

 to Cobinshaw, about eighteen miles from Edinburgh, on the main 

 west coast railway route to England ; at this place there is a large 

 compensation reservoir fed by moorland streams, the immediate neigh- 

 bourhood being mainly unenclosed, heather-clad, boggy land. I soon 

 found in a little sheltered bay a small heap of likely-looking rubbish, 

 which had probably been lying there for some weeks. It was fairly 

 swarming with beetles, and when spread in handfuls over the collect- 

 ing paper, the inhabitants, roused to activity by the warm rays of the 

 bright sun, scampered offin every direction, so that it was noeasy task to 

 pick out of the rushing crowds the better insects one wished to secure. 

 I never remember to have seen so many beetles in such a limited spot 

 — they were to be counted by thousands. As the drainage area is such 

 a bleak, treeless area, naturally they were nearly all members of the 

 great families of Carabidae and Staphylinidae, and mainly the latter. 

 The following is a list of those determined so far : — Anchomenus 

 ericeti, Pz. ; Pterosticfui^ nicjrita, F. ; PatrobuK assi7mlis, Chaud. ; 

 Notiophilus blf/uttatiis, F. ; Bradycdlus cotjnatiis, Gyll. ; B. similis, 

 Dj. ; Bembidium doris, Pz. (this was in hundreds) ; B. femoratum. 

 Sturm. ; HydroporuR erythrocephalus, L. ; Ayabus conyener, Thunb. ; 

 A. alfkm, Pk. (these are certamly different from the A. unyuicularis, 

 Th., I took at Askham Bog, but I have not yet had an opportunity of 

 comparing them with authentically named specimens) ; A. yuttaUis, 

 Pk. ; Rhantus exoletus, Forst. ; Hydrobius fuscipes, L. ; Helophorus 

 aeneipennis, Th. ; Cercyon pygmaeus, 111. ; Homalota yraminicola, Gr. 

 (in profusion) ; H. elongatula, Gr. ; Gymnusa varieyata, Kies. ; Tachy- 

 porus brunneiis, L. ; Meyacronus cinyulatus, Man. (this beautiful insect 

 was fairly common, while, singularly enough, M. analis, Pr., the 

 species one usually finds in Scotland, did not turn up) ; Quedius atten- 

 uatus, Gyll. ; Philonthus niyrita, Nord. ; Lathrobium brurmipes, F. ; L. 

 atripalpe, Scriba (which certainly appears to be only a variety of L. punc- 

 tatmn, Zett.) ; Stenufi juno, F. ; S. binotatus, Ljun. ; S. pallitarsh var. 

 nivem, Fauv. ; ^S. biforeolahis, Gyll. ; Olophruni fuicum, Gr. (quite com 

 mon) ; Arpediumbrachypteruw, Gr.; Phaedon armoranae,Th. ; Galcruca 

 nymphaeae, L. ; and ErirhinHs acridulus, L. Of course, I must have 

 passed over many interesting species, especially amongst the smaller 

 Staphs, but it was impossible under the circumstii.nces to do more than 

 make as quick a selection as possible amongst the scampering insects, 

 and I had no means with me of bringing homo any siftings. I hope 

 to pay another visit in a day or two to some other heaps of refuse 

 which I saw afterwards but had no time to work. — T. Hudson Beaee. 

 B.Sc, F.E.S., 10, Regent Terrace, Edinburgh. Manh 15th, 1903. 



