44 [Februaiy, 



HINTS ON COLLECTING MYRMECOPHILOUS COLEOPTERA. 

 BY HORACE ST. JOHN DONISTHORPE, F.E.S. 



Many entomologists having asked me, personally and by letter, 

 " How do you find the beetles in ants' nests ?," I thought a paper on 

 this subject might be useful, and also interesting to your readers, as 

 probably some collectors have not seen the late E. W. Janson'a 

 " Observations on the Myrmecophilous Coleoptera, or Ants'-nest Beetles 

 of Britain " (Ent. Ann., 1857, pp. 85—96 ; and 1858, pp. 78—84), or 

 any of the various other scattered records on these insects. 



I have tried to describe as clearly as possible the methods I have 

 found most effective, and vphich with me have proved very successful, 

 as in a short space of time I have succeeded in taking over two-thirds 

 of our Myrmecophilous Coleoptera. 



Patience and perseverance, with a determination not to be dis- 

 couraged by frequent failures, are necessary, as it often happens that 

 the day and situation you select as most propitious prove the contrary, 

 and you return home without a single specimen. 



The best times of the year for working ants' nests are the spring 

 and autumn, and always in the morning, as when the sun has been 

 shining for some hours the beetles appear to seek the interior of the 

 nest. 



The implements required for working ants' nests are a medium- 

 sized linen bag, a newspaper, and a bark ripper ; a sieve, sweeping 

 net, and umbrella are also necessary at times. The two first mentioned 

 are indispensable, in fact, little can be done without them. 



The three best species of ants to work, and the ones with which 

 the most beetles are found, are Formica rufa, fuliginosa, and Jlava, 

 though beetles are to be found in company with other ants, such as 

 Formica nigra, fusca, and sanguinea, Myrmica rnginodis, Icevinodis, 

 and scabrinodis, and Tapinoma erratica. 



In this paper seventy species of Myrmecophilous Coleoptera will 

 be found to be mentioned, which I believe embraces the whole number 

 at present known as British. 



EouMiCA RUFA. — As is Well known, this ant makes large hillocks 

 in woods and on heaths near pine trees, composed of pine needles, bits 

 of stick, and small fragments of any material handy. Several nests are 

 generally found together, and having selected a locality which is con- 

 venient to work, the nests should be prepared by placing two or three 

 bricks, or large rough stones on the sloping sides of each, and a log or 

 clump of old wood on the top. This should be done about the beginning 

 of March, the ants may then be seen massing on the hillocks in the 



