gg September, 



were : — Tachys sctitellaris, BJedius unicornis, Trogophlceus halophilus, Micralymma 

 irevipenne, and Otiorhynchus amhiguiis. — W. G. Blatch, 214, Green Lane, Small- 

 heath, Birmingham : August \Qth, 1883. 



Diglossa mersa, Sfc, at Weymouth. — During a short visit to Weymouth in June 

 last, on my way to the New Forest, I captured the following amongst many other 

 species of Coleoptera : Aepus Rohini, Phytosus balticus, P. spinifer, Diglossa mersa, 

 Micralymma brevipenne, Otiorhynchus amhiguus, and Rhinocyllus latirostris. The 

 dearth of insect-life was quite extraordinary, the only thing that appeared in any 

 abundance being HomopJihis armeria, of which local species I could readily have taken 

 thousands, had I felt so disposed. — Id. 



Aradus corticalis in the Neiv Forest. — On a fungus-grown beech stump near 

 Brockenhurst, in June last, I found a few specimens of Aradus corticalis, both young 

 and mature. This species seems to be very scarce ; for although I diligently 

 searched a great number of similar stumps in the same neighbourhood and in other 

 parts of the Forest, my labour was, with the above-named exception, entirely un- 

 rewarded. — Id. 



A rain of ivater bugs. — It is known that in Mexico, aquatic Hemiptera of the 

 genus Corisa are so abundant, that a kind of bread is made of their eggs. If, in 

 the Old World, these insects are much lees numerous, they may, nevertheless, be 

 occasionally met with in great abundance under certain circumstances. Thus, in a 

 letter recently received from Captain Balassoglo, I find the following interesting 

 details : 



" During a storm near Fort Irguis (Turkistan) the Corisa, of which I forward 

 examples, fell from the air in thousands, like rain ; they extinguished the fire pre- 

 pared for cooking my meal ; in eifect, there was an inundation of Corisa, and my 

 travelling carriage was filled with them." 



The Corisa in question is assiniilis, Fieber. — A. Puton (translated from the 

 "Revue d'Entomologie," vol. i, p. 23). 



Hymenoptera in Hayling Island. — During the last three weeks I have been 

 staying at South Hayling, and although the season has not, so far as I have been 

 able to judge, been a very favourable one for Aculeate Hymenoptera, still I have 

 taken several species which I think are worth recording, and amongst them I am 

 glad to be able to add a new species of Pompilus to our British list, viz., Pompilus 

 unguicularis, Thoms.,of which I have taken several males and one female ; the male 

 I have taken before both at Chobham and Deal, but without finding the other sex, 

 and I had failed to recognise to what species it belonged. 



The fauna of this little Island, at least as far as the Hymenoptera are concerned, 

 seems to be a curious one, a good many species being represented, but unusually few 

 occurring in any abundance. In the genus Pombus, for instance, ten out of our 

 fifteen British species have occurred, but only two abundantly, one of these (lapi- 

 darius) is common everywhere, and certainly is in most unusual abundance here, 

 nearly every plant of Teucrium having one or many specimens upon it ; the other 



