62 [March, 



indicated, but in the present experiment I did not succeed in my quest. It 

 happened, however, that the pair of Atemeles now under consideration proved to 

 be male and female, and in a very short time they were in copula. Mr. Donis- 

 thorpe's description of this function in Lomechusa (Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond., 1908, 

 p. 416) very well applies to the method of Atemeles. Similarly to Lomechusa 

 the male does not grasp the female with his tarsi, but the latter without restraint 

 remains practically stationary. Then the male, taking up a position almost in 

 line behind her, his head by the side of her upturned anal segments, curls his 

 body high up and forwards tintil the apices of their abdomens meet and coition 

 is effected. Occasionally the female would direct her antenna? back over her 

 body and sti'oke the up-curved abdomen of the male with an undulatory move- 

 ment similar to that observed in the case of the queen ant referred to above. 

 It seems worthy of note that the procedure appears to be quite by mutual con- 

 sent, and that, except there be a synchronous desire for union between the sexes, 

 consummation is not possible. I noted the pair in copula on the following 

 further occasions, viz. : — May 6th, 9 a.m., 3 p.m., 6 p.m., about 15 minutes each ; 

 8.15 p.m., one minute; 10 p.m., two minutes. May 7th, 15 minutes and perhaps 

 much longer as I had to leave them. May 8th, 9th, 10th, I did not observe them 

 in cop. at all. May 11th, about 45 minutes. Soon after this, leaving them by 

 accident exposed to too strong sunshine, the pair were killed. Business demands 

 on my time allowed but a cursory attention to these insects, so that the record 

 is most probably a very imperfect one. Nevertheless it appears clearly manifest 

 that " mate-hunger " is keen in the species, and that there is no partiality 

 towards either sex in its development. Lest by any chance I may not have 

 made myself perfectly clear, I would add that I do not in any way suggest that 

 the females of other species of beetles are without sexual desire, or that they 

 need force to induce it.— James H. Keys, 7, Whimple Street, Plymouth: January 

 14th, 1914. 



A note on deformed antennse in certain beetles. — In August, 1911, a visit was 

 made to that naturalists' paradise, Spurn Point, and among many other species, 

 Sermyla halensis was taken, but of 24 specimens, six exhibited a curious mal- 

 formation of the antennae, in each case only on one side. A number of joints, 

 varying from two to four, while retaining their usual size, had become fused, 

 keeping, however, their usual shape on one side, usually the internal side, but 

 being flattened on the other. Consequently when the antennae moved, these 

 fused joints worked as one, while the remainder remained flexible as usual. A 

 second visit was made in September of the following year to attempt to find 

 more examples of the same malformation, but, though the species was common, 

 no specimens were found. In September, 1913, owing to the drought, very few 

 beetles were to be seen, but one example turned up out of six. 



During these two years I had specially looked for further cases amongst other 

 beetles, and examples were found in Miscodera arctica and Creophilus maxillosus, 

 one in each case. The former occurs not uncommonly at the foot of a huge 

 slag-heap at Grangetown on the Tees Estuary, in company with another moun- 

 tain species, Pterostichus vitreus (there is an interesting problem in distribution 

 here.) The malformed Creophilus was taken in rotten fish sweepings from the 



