1914.] yy 



Aphodii, Sec., were taken. Around the so-called Grand Hotel a 

 Tiiinircha was so abundant that it was sometimes difficult to walk 

 in and out without treading on one or more specimens. 



Sfax. — This coast place furnished many beetles, such as a large, 

 convex Crypticus, in numbers, various Pimelia, Erodius, and Option us 

 a Cymmdis, commonly, Graphipterus, and others. Inland but little was 

 to be taken beyond various Mylabrids. 



Gafsa. — The dry river beds (Oueds) and desert places in this 

 district were fairly productive in such insects as Graphipterus, Jtdodis, 

 Mylabris, Erodius, Pimelia (including P. cylindrica, Sol. (?) ), a 

 peculiar Pachybrachys, &c. Here, too we came across many interesting 

 Orthoptera (to which my Swiss companions paid especial attention), 

 some Hemiptera not seen elsewhere, such as Mecidea pallida, Stal, &c. 

 A slender pallid snake was frequently seen in these dry places travelling 

 with great rapidity across the road <>r from one spiny bush to another, 

 and in and about the irrigation channels in the palm-oasis, a soft- 

 shelled aquatic tortoise abounded. In the Oued a Cicindela occurred 

 commonly on the sand. At the indifferent hotel in the town, various 

 small beetles wei'e attracted to light, such as many pallid Aphodii, 

 Anemia sp., Hybosorus illigeri, Reiche, Bledius vitulus, Er., Oncophorus 

 pirazzolii, Epp. (a Staphylinid allied to Acrognathus), &c. 



Tozeur and Nefta. — These desert places on the borders of the 

 great Djerid Chott, and only separated therefrom by the palm-oases, 

 proved to have a different fauna from that of the other places visited 

 during our trip, and recalled that of Biskra, a district investigated by 

 Mr. Morice and myself in 1911. The most interesting insects obtained 

 by us were captured hereabouts, Nefta being quite similar in character 

 to Tozeur, but the small forms found " at light " at Tozeur were 

 probably of greater importance than the rest. Commencing with 

 these latter, the following may be noted : Eremazus unistriatus, Muls., 

 Glaresis becheri, Solsky (?), a pallid Cistelid (unknown to me), Anemia 

 spp. (in great numbers), Hybosorus illigeri, Bledius vitulus, Er., and 

 B. taurus, Germ., var. hsedus, Baudi, and var. skrimshiranus, Curt., 

 and B. unicornis, Germ., Oncophorus pirazzolii, Epp., in abundance, a 

 Beduvius, various Capsids, a Nobis, and others, including such cosmo- 

 politan insects as Mezium sulcatum and Alphitobius piceus. On the 

 sandy places between the saline Chott and the oases a very large 

 hairy-footed Pimelia (probably P. retrospinosa, Luc.) was sometimes 

 to be seen in great numbers, especially in the early morning ; and 

 from 'stercore' hereabouts various Aphodii (including A. comtrictus, 



