200 [April. 



The generic name Pachymeriis in Hemiptera. — In the " Bulletin des Seances de 

 la Societe entomologique de France," 1879, p. 206,Dr. Puton has done me the honour to 

 reply to ray remark at p. 23 ante, and says, that " if Latreille has created the genus 

 Pachymerus for a section of Bruchus (Coleoptera) in his ' Families naturelles,' 1825, 

 ia the same volume, p. 422, he cites the genus Pachymerus, Lep. Sery. {Hemiptera), 

 and therefore the latter has priority." What Latreille did, I. c, was to allude to the 

 generic sections of Lygaus, adopted by Lepeletier and Serville in the " Encyclopedie 

 methodique," x, 322 (also 1825), thus — " On pent diviser ainsi les lygees : 1°, appen- 

 dices membraneux des elytres, soit tres-stries, soit arcoles a leur base et termines 

 ensuitepar des ncrvures; 2°, appendices membraneux n'oifrant que quelques nervures 

 longitudinales et souvent meme a peine distinctes. On pourra ainsi en detacher 

 generiquement (Pachymere, de Saint-Farg. et Serv.) les especes k cuisses renflees." 

 That is to say, that Latreille, although approving the generic distinction of the in- 

 sects thus characterized, did not therefore accept the name which the said authors 

 had applied to the genus, merely using it parenthetically in explanation. Indeed, he 

 could not have adverted to the name in any otlier sense, considering he had just 

 before (p. 386) used it for the genus of Coleoptera, for vrhich he had previously else- 

 where originated it ;* and he certainly would not have done this if he had not been 

 sure his name Pacliymerus liad priority over that of Lcpel. and Serv., because otherwise 

 it would ipso facto, and, to his own knowledge, have been at once superseded. So 

 also Amyot and Serville understood the matter, when, for this very reason, they 

 abandoned the name : — " Le nom de Pachymerus donne par I'un de nous (Enc. x, 

 322) ^ un demembrement des Lygceus de Fabricius, devait etre change puisque cette 

 denomination avait ete anterieurement appliquee par Latreille a un genre de 

 Coleopteres " (Hist. nat. des Insectes — Hemipteres, p. 253,1843). This was also 

 my argument, and its validity is not yet afPcctcd ; so that Pachymerus is not available 

 in Hemiptera, unless it can be shown that Latreille, and Amyot and Serville were in 

 error, which is not probable, considering the action the latter authors took in re- 

 linquishing tlie name, and thus confirming Latreille's position. — J. W. Douglas, 8, 

 Beaufort Gardens, Lewisham : January 12th, 1880. 



Early appearance of Borcus.— On February 20th, I caught a fine ^ specimen 

 of Dorcus parallelopipedus crawling on a road close here. Is not this unusually 

 early for the insect ? — Tnos. H. Briggs, Hampton House, Teddington : March 

 I2th, 1880, 



How to catch Cicindelldce. — On the sandy beach at Colombo, I came across a 

 very active Cicindela, and, after some considerable efforts to secure a specimen, gave 

 up the chase, thinking the seaweed, which teemed with life, the more profitable for 

 the half-hour I had for collecting. The species, moreover, was well known to me 

 from a series I have at home from the Andaman Isles. But the waving of the net and 

 the frantic movements of the foreigner, unusual here in the sun, were seen by half 

 a dozen little urchins of a neighbouring liamlet, and down they came to see what 

 was up. A few signs suggested the nature of the sport and instantly four or five 

 commenced pursuit. In a moment handfuls of sand were clenched and dexterously 



* Agassiz gives "Pachynitrut, Latr., Efegne animal, 1817," but this date is an error. The name 

 is still used, as Latreille's, in Coleoptera. 



