fiiK COLEOfXERA Ol- A LONDON GRANARY. 77 



The Coleoptera of a London granary. 



By HORACE DONISTHORPE, F.Z.S., F.E.S. 



Having visited a London granary for the purpose of obtaining 

 Coleoptera for the last nine years, and having for some time past noticed 

 that I could find nothing fresh, I conclude that I have obtained all 

 the species there are to be got from it, and I thought it might 

 prove of interest to publish a complete list, with a brief account of my 

 iiiodns operandi. 



It will be seen that I have obtained no less than fifty-nine species, 

 some of which are very rare, and others can only be found in such 

 places. One or two are, no doubt, of accidental occurrence, being 

 introduced in hay, etc., but the majority are thoroughly established, 

 turning up year after year. 



The means I employed to find the beetles were : — Searching in the 

 cellars in dark corners, and under old sacks, and round the edges of 

 the walls where they were damp ; looking regularly on all the windows 

 whenever I called ; sifting old flour, grain, etc. ; searching in the 

 lofts on the beams and walls ; and always taking away a little bag- 

 ful of siftings to be carefully gone through at home. 



There Avere, kept in one of the cellars, unpleasant-looking blocks 

 of stuff" called " graves," which consist of kitchen refuse boiled down 

 and pressed into cakes. In these I found the two species of Dermestes 

 and Xccrobia. There Avas also a stock of old biscuits, in which Trogosita 

 niauritanira and Anobium panicewii abounded. Of other species worth 

 mentioning — SiiJiddrm lencophf/ialiiius, avery l-Avge black fellow, which 

 is only found in cellars, and is widely distributed, but decidedly rare 

 in Great Britain, occurs here regularly, as I obtain a few specimens 

 every year, and have been able to supply many of my friends with it. 

 Dendruphilus pwictatus and Gnathonrus punctidatus were found 

 together running on the bottom, and hiding in the chinks of a damp 

 cellar wall, the former in some numbers. 



M[/ret(iphaiim ijuadrii/Httatus is one of the rarest of the Mi/cctophai/i. 

 I generally found it in the bags of refuse. Hlaps stimilis only occurred 

 in one cellar, and was found very sparingly, but Blaps imicraiiata, the 

 common species, swarmed in all the cellars. 



Rye, in his Ih-itish Beetles, says that mealworms from the East- 

 end of London usually produce Tenehrlo obsciirm, and those from the 

 West-end Tenebrln violltor. I found both species in this granary, and 

 also reared them from the larva. 



I was also fortunate enough to take the little Latheticus onjzae, 

 Mr. Waterhouse's species. 



The following is a complete list of the species taken : — 



Sp/iodru-s leiicophthaliniis, L., Prlstoni/chu^ terricnla, Hbst., UalatJnis 

 clsteloldes, Pz., Aiiiara acuininata, Pk., Harpalus ruficornU, F., Quedlus 

 fnh/ldus, Gr., Q. fuUf/inosafi, Gr., Creophllns wculllosu!^, L., (hiialium 

 drplanatum, Gyll., 0. conclnnuin, Marsh., Dendrup/iilHs jninctatus, Hbst., 

 LTnathoncm jiunctulatm, Th., Tro(/oslta maurltanlea, L., Laeninpldoeu^ 

 fernti/liieHs, Steph., L. inisillus, Sch. , Sllranjls fmrlneDuem^ls, L., 

 Cri/ptophaiiHs saf/lnatiis, Sturm., ('. badius, Sturm., C. ajfinis, Sturm., 

 C. cellaris, Scop., Lath rid ins nific(illlf<, Marsh., L. niinntus, L., L'ortlearia 

 fidra, Com., Mi/cetop]ia;iHs quadririHttatHs, 'Mi'ill. , Mycetacu lilrta,l^lnriih., 

 Dermestes viilpinus, F., D. lardarlus, L., Atta>ienHt> pelllo, L., Mei/atuiua 



