1902.] -L33 



to give much hope of successful collecting, still an opportunity for si two or three 

 days' visit to York, long hoped for hut (ill now never obtained, was too enticing to 

 be neglected. The weather unfortunately only too accurately maintained the evil 

 reputation March has so long held, it was not only wet most of the time, but very 

 cold and windy, not the kind of conditions which make the use of the water-net 

 agreeable or profitable. However, though beetles were scarce and required much 

 patience to find, 1 was quite satisfied with the results, as I added a number of new 

 species to my collection, and had the pleasure of seeing alive for the first time 

 several of the bog specialities. 



By working the pools in the field south of Chandler's Whin I obtained, after 

 much labour, a nice series of Agabus uliginosus, L., the dull form of the female 

 being the commoner ; the companion insect, however, in this part of the bog, Hy- 

 droporus rufifrons, Duft., was conspicuous only by its absence. In the pools in 

 Chandler's Whin I secured Agabus abbreviatus, F., A. unguivularis, Thorns., I/ybius 

 guttiger, Gryll., and Hydroporus oblongus, Steph., the first mentioned was common, 

 the other three very scarce, all of them arc very characteristic of the bog ; on the 

 other hand Cut/ambus decoratus, Gyll., so often recorded from this locality, though 

 I persistently worked for it, failed to put in an appearance ; during a return journey 

 from London on April 30th I spent another couple of hours again searching un- 

 successfully for this insect. Amongst other insects seen or taken may be mentioned 

 Agabus Sturmii, Gryll., A. bipustulatus, L., lihantus Grapii, Gyll., R. exoletus, 

 Forst., Copelatus agilis, F., Noterus clavicornis, De Gr., Hydroporus umbrosus,GyU., 

 and many common species of this latter genus. Of the Hydrophitidte several of 

 the most widely distributed .species were fairly abundant, but I did not manage to 

 find either Limnebius picinus, Marsh., or Hydrcena palustris, Er., though the 

 former is usually common there. I am inclined to think the very cold nights and 

 want of sunshine in the day kept many beetles in the soft mud at the bottom 

 of the pool, and they thus evaded my water-net. Still, with every allowance for 

 bad weather, I am afraid my observations, bearing in mind past records, and what 

 1 have been told about the locality, point unmistakably to the conclusion that the 

 insect fauna of the bog has undergone a change for the worse. Possibly the Tery 

 dry summer of the past few years may be the cause, or the ponds themselves may 

 be in process of gradually silting up, from the accumulation of the decayed vegeta- 

 tion which llourishes in them — that this is going on there is little doubt. — T. 

 Hudson Beake, 2, Heriot Road, Edinburgh : May 7th, 1902. 



Anthicus scoticus, Rye, in the Isle of Man. — During a short visit to Dcrbyhaven, 

 Isle of Man, in the middle of August, 1899, I obtained five specimens of a black 

 Anthicus amongst shingle and seaweed on the shore. Mr. G. C. Champion has 

 kindly determined the species as being Anthicus scoticus, Rye, and states that it 

 " is not confined to Scotland, as I have it from the Manchester district." As 1 have 

 recently taken up my abode in the Isle of Man I hoped to have the opportunity of 

 obtaining further examples of the species, and while collecting near Poolvaish on 

 April 14th, 1902, I found it in considerable abundance running in the sunshine on 

 the sand and shingle, and under dried seaweed on the shore. The following day I 

 found it freely on the shore at Kentraugh, running on the sand at the roots of bent 



