150 THE entomologist's RECORIi. 



from Scotland, and is said to be very rare. Since then, however, Mr. 

 Blatch has recorded it from Knowle {Ent. Ma. Ma;)., 1890, p. 37), Mr. 

 Day has recorded it from Cumberland (Ent. Mo. Man., 1902, p. 268), 

 Mr. Champion from Guildford {Ent. Mn. Ma;/., 1903', p. 279), and Dr. 

 Joy from Bradfield {Ent. Mo. Ma;/., 1904, p. 40). I have a specimen 

 which I took at West Mailing, in Kent, on a dead hedgehog, in 

 September, 1893, and now record for the first time. — Horace Donis- 

 THORPE, 58, Kensington Mansions, S.W. A/iril 24th, 1904. 



Peritelus griseus, Ol., in Surrey. — I took a specimen of this 

 very rare beetle at Purley, in 1888. At the time I did not know what 

 it was, and it stood in my collection for some years as Tropipliont.s 

 iiu;rci(Halis, until I took it to the Museum and identified it as Peritelus 

 linaeiis. It has only been recorded from the Isle of Wight before in 

 Britain, where it was said to have been taken by Sidebotham and 

 Wainwright at Ventnor and Sandown. — Ibid. 



Experimental proof as to the distastefulness, or otherwise, 

 OF certain Coleoptera. — In my paper on " Cases of Protective 

 Resemblance, Mimicry, etc., in the British Coleoptera " {2'rans. Ent. 

 Sor. Lond., 1901, Part III.), I write of Meloe, " These beetles are called 

 oil beetles, because of the yellow fluid which exudes from their limbs 

 when handled, and which no doubt possesses distasteful properties. 

 They are large, heavy creatures, and crawl about regardless of danger. 

 Their colours are doubtless aposematic." Having captured Meloe 

 riolaceiis in some numbers this month, at Richmond, I took specimens 

 to the Zoological Gardens on April 27th, to otter to insectivorous 

 creatures. I first dropped a specimen into a cage which contained two 

 lizards, when an Australian lizard at once seized the beetle by the body 

 but quickly rejected it. He again attacked it, this time at the head 

 but promptly let go. Froth was seen round his mouth and he wiped 

 it many times on the pebbles which formed the ground of the cage. 

 All the time the beetle " feigned death," exuding the oil from its 

 joints. The keeper thought the lizard had killed it, but this was not 

 the case, as before I left the gardens I went to have another look at it, 

 and the beetle was crawling unhurt up the side of the cage. The 

 keeper told me the green lizard had also attacked it twice, but neither 

 would have anything more to do with it. A specimen thrown into the 

 aviary which contained a plover and other birds, was unhurt, and 

 escaped, as the other birds would not go near it. A missel-thrush- 

 pecked the beetle several times, but eventually rejected it and would 

 not touch it again. Two marmosets were afraid of the beetles and 

 would not touch them, but a Capuchin monkey seized one greedily and 

 endeavoured to eat it, throwing it down, however, in evident disgust. 

 A grand Galago also seized a beetle, and made several attempts to eat 

 it, looking in evident surprise at his keeper for giving him so nasty a 

 morsel, he also threw it down and would not touch it again. I put 

 two specimens into my observation nest of Eormira n<fa, and, although 

 slightly attacked, the ants soon left them alone, and being left in 

 the nest all day and night, they were alive and unhurt next day when 

 I removed them. Finally, 1 painted an ant with some of the oil 

 caught on a paint-brush, when the ant died in a few minutes. It is, 

 therefore, certain that Meloe are very distasteful. I tried similar experi- 

 ments with l>eniiestex iiiKiiuiis last year, which beetle I had taken in 

 some numbers in Pamber Forest. In the paper befoi'e referred to, I 



