COLKOPTKRA NKAR LONDON IN JUNE. 233 



eistufi beneath beech, and a few Apinn j)iinrti(/erHi)i and lifi from other 

 plants. In a marshy spot not far from Wimbledon Common, on 21st, 

 Crcpidodcra /lel.viut'f; and chloris were found not uncommonly upon 

 poplar, Orchestes rusci upon birch, while, by sweeping meadow grass, 

 PlnjlhAreta ochripes and Ceiithorrhijnchus cijanipennis occurred ; of 

 course, cum multis aliis. I caught nothing from the crowd on 22nd ! 



We had better luck at Ealing on 23rd, Dasijtes phimhacuH occurring 

 not uncommonly on the dog-roses, ^«rts7j/.s mhteatacca Q,xi(\. jiava \diV. 

 thoracica in damp places, and Uhi/ncolm lii/narius and Ptilinus pectini- 

 coniis in a dead stump. I should like to here state my opinion that 

 the so-called "var." fcrrui/ineiis of Orchesti's aim is nothing more than 

 an immature form, since I have never found it at any time of the year 

 but this — when the insects have just emerged from the pupte, and 

 have not quite developed their normal coloration. In a long series, 

 taken from June 15th to July 15th, the elytra will be found made up 

 of almost every grade, from pure rufo-testaceous to the typical alni, 

 with black spots strongly developed. Fowler says it is " found in 

 company with the type." Of course it is, the latter being merely 

 more fully developed examples. The former were common at Ealing. 

 The best thing taken during the whole ten days was a single 

 specimen of LasioJerma serricorne, which fell to my net near Twyford 

 Abbey. 



Betchworth, in Surrey, was our next locality, and the chalk proved 

 productive of Melii/ethes murimi.s and Ctmthorrlii/nc/nis aspcrifolianan on 

 Ecltiwii vuhiarc, Bruchua ctsti and CalamJria oryzac on Ileliantlumvm, 

 while Athoufi lounicullis, Batophila acrata, Mantura matt/wnw' and 

 Oedemera lurida disported themselves among the herbage. Antldais 

 jioralis would appear to be a cosmopolitan, since it occurred in both 

 brick-and-plaster Stoke Newington, and upon the breezy clifl's to the 

 east of ]}righton, where we found ourselves on the 28th, among such 

 nice things as -ili/rt;».s///Tn»/;»'.v, apparently on Hdianthcmum, Poda;irica 

 f'liscicnniis on Malva, Braclnjptcni^ [iravidua abundant on Linaria, 

 Hi/prra plantai/bm, Amalns scortillum and Blc^-Iirns ma2(n(.<i on the 

 chalk, Mdnli'llistcna piimila, Domjtes plumbaem and Malachim rirt'dis, 

 which simply swarmed upon every conceivable kind of plant, on 

 flowers, with a single specimen of Hnmaloplia niricola. 



It is surprisingly refreshing (though the former arc in Lady Henry 

 Somerset's county!), after a long spell on 'the "heavy lands " of 

 Suffolk, to wander across the chalk of the North and South Downs, 

 and note, both in the flora and fauna, things abounding which are 

 simply unknown on the former soil, things that the " habitue " would 

 pass over as not worthy of notice, but which one boxes with avidity 

 and labels " sp. n. to my collection." 



j^CIENTIFIC NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 



Pairing of Smeeinthus tille ( $ ) with S. populi ( 3- ). — On June 

 16th, at 11 a.m., I took a freshly-emerged $ of S. tiJiae, with wings 

 not quite dry. It is just possible that she had already paired with "a 

 3 of her own species, but the chances are distinctly against it. I 

 kept her alive with the hope of attracting some males of the same 

 species, but without success. On June 18th, early in the afternoon, 

 a male of S. populi emerged from a pupa in one of my breeding-cages. 



