1886.] 131 



Sydnolius strigosus* Anisotoma caJcarata, Cyrtusa pauxilla* and Colon brun- 

 neum : rarely, by evening sweeping on the edge of the cliffs. 



Syncalypta hirsuta : rarely, by evening sweeping. 



Throscus carmifrons* and ohtusus : the first-named not uncommonly, the latter 

 rarely, by sweeping just before dark (not earlier) along the edge of the cliffs. The 

 four British species of the genus are now known to us from the island. 



Xylophilus populneus :* rarely, by evening sweeping. 



Salpingus ater :* two examples, evening sweeping on the edge of the cliffs. 

 This insect seems to occur sporadically in widely separated localities. Visiting 

 Sittingbourne a short time after, we again met with a pair of the species. 



Sagoils suhcarinatus audj'rit : not uncommonly, beneath " traps " {Eaniinctdus 

 aquaticus, Lemna, &c.) on the banks of fresh water ditches. Of the hundreds of 

 specimens we have captured of the five species of Bagoils inhabiting the island, by 

 far the majority have been found by this method or in flood refuse ; it is only on 

 rare occasions we have found them by sweeping or in the water net. B. suhcarinatus 

 can always be identified amongst its British allies by its long and slender tarsi. 



Trachyphloeus alternans :* rarely, in a little sandy spot. This is another species 

 occurring more or less sporadically (though often found in numbers) in very many 

 localities in the South of England, both on the chalk and on the sand. 



Apion limonii : in profusion, in a new and distant locality, at Leysdown. This 

 species had long since disappeared from its old locality near Sheerness ; it selects 

 saltings not covered by high tides. The withered state of the leaves of its food- 

 plant will generally indicate its presence. 



Apion Schonherri : a single example, by sweeping. This species was formerly 

 found by us in profusion in moss, &c., on the banks of fresh water ditches, in winter ; 

 very rarely in the summer months single specimens have occurred by sweeping. 



HcBmonia Curtisi: rarely, in slightly brackish ditches, on Fotamogeton pectinattts. 



Engis humeralis : rarely, in fungus on elms, in company with swarms of Myceto- 

 pTiagus quadripustulatus and Triphyllus suturalis. In the New Forest, I have only 

 found this species in fungoid growth on beech. 



Just before sunset on calm evenings, or, better still, when there is a slight 

 breeze from the land, enormous numbers of the commonest beetles may be found by 

 sweeping along the extreme edge of the cliffs, and amongst these now and then 

 rarer species are to be met with, the difficulty being to detect amongst such a strug- 

 gling mass of life any small or obscure forms. The most abundant species belong to 

 the genera Sitones, Apion, Atomaria, Bradycellus, Trechus, Oxytelus, Somalium, 

 Lagria, Meligethes, Phalacrus, Cercyon, Typhcsa, Aleochara, Olibrus, Orthoperus, 

 Lathridius, Stenus, Bruchus, Somalota, Ceuthorhynchus, Lithocharis, PsyUiodes, 

 Corticaria, Philonthus, Philhydrus, &c., &c. ; more rarely, Leucoparyphus, Helo- 

 phorus ; we have obtained, in addition to those already mentioned, Haploglossa, 

 Hylohius (!), Autalia rivularis, Apion puiescens, Clonus blattaricB (for the first time 

 in Sheppey), Ochina, &c. Many visits in search of Baridius scolopaceus were quite 

 fruitless ; the insect appears to have become extinct in its old locality. 



11, Caldervale Road, Clapham, S.W. : 

 September 2oth, 1886. 



