1919.] 157 



argest forcibly drew my attention to himself by giving my neck a rather 

 painful bite. This habit is, I believe, common to several members of the 

 genus. The attraction of fire and smoke for MdanojMla, though strange at 

 first sight, is natural and comparable to that of their respective food-plants for 

 other species. Our insect is the only Buprestid of its size that has been able 

 to estdblit^h itself in this country. It must therefore possess some advantage 

 not shared by others of the group. This advantage is to be found in the fact 

 that it spends its existence in wood which has recently been subjected to an 

 amount of heat sufficient to kill all competitors. What more natural than that 

 the smell of the larval food whilst cooking should have an irresistible attraction 

 for tlie adults? It is their place of meeting and of courting, as well as the 

 nursery of future generations. Mr. Sharp's suggestion (which he himself does not 

 seem to have credited) that the females may lay their eggs in wood which is 

 on the point of being consumed by fire, I cannot believe. The few I saw gave 

 me the impression that they knew full well what they were about, and I noted 

 two or three dull-coloured specimens (and therefore presumably females) care- 

 fully inspecting the charred stumps well behind the active part of the fire. 

 The exhilaration and delirium of the one great moment of their lives may well 

 give rise to such aberrations of habit as that of attacking a human being. — 

 G. W. Nicholson, Oxford and Cambridge Club, S.W. : June \Q,th, 1919. 



Some Coleoptera taken in Hertfordshire in 1918. — During 1918 I had 

 occasional opportunities of collecting in Hertfordshire, mainly in the neijih- 

 bourhood of Harpenden, and it was thought that a short note on some of the 

 beetles taken might be of interest. In the following list, except where other- 

 wise stated, the insects were taken within a few miles of Harpenden. Among 

 the Geodephaga, the only interesting species found was Cychrus rostratus L. 

 under dead leaves, etc., at the root of a tree-stump in a small wood ; its 

 power of stridulating was very marked. Agahus sturmii Schonh. and Rhantus 

 pulverosus Steph. were taken among many other common Dytiscidae. The 

 Staph ylinidae, unfortunately, had to be almost ignored, owing to lack of time, 

 but a single specimen of Leistotrophus nebulosus F. and a small colony of 

 Proynatha quadricornis Lac. under bark were met with. Several interesting 

 Clavicorns were found — Necrophorus rusjmtor Er. and N. vespillo L., Affa- 

 thidium variant Beck., Anisotoina nigrita Schmidt, Pria dnlcamarae Scop., 

 Cryptarcha iniperialis F. (evening sweeping under trees), Scydniaenus collaria 

 Miill. and Cytilus varius F. in moss at Brickett \Vood, Chiloconi.s sintilis Rossi, 

 also at Brickett Wood, on various species of Sali.vm September (numbers of the 

 very peculiar spiny larval skin, witliin which the pupa remains, were also found 

 on the leaves), Rhizophayus bipustulatus F., R. ferrugineus P&yk., Lae77iophloetis 

 ferruyineKs Steph., Siluunus unidentatus F. (all four species under bark on the 

 same log), and Ips quadripunctata Herbst at Biickett under chips of wood. 

 The Serricorns included Athous longicollis 01. (several J 6 ^nd one 5)> 

 Priohiuni castaneum F., and Dryophilm pusillus Gyll. ; whilst among the 

 Longicorns Grammoptera ruficornis F. and Stranyulia armata Herbst were 

 common, the latter only for a very short season. One specimen of Toxotus 

 ineridianus Paiiz. was seen, and my sister found & Leiopus nebulosus L. indoors, 

 probably brought in with some flowers from the garden. At Brickett Wood, 

 Ijochmaen capreue L. was common on Salix, and Zenyophora siibspinosa F. tm'ned 



