COLKOPTEKA. 151 



said of this beetle, that it was just one of those cases where experi- 

 ment is required, to prove its edibility or otherwise. In these 

 experiments the beetle was eaten readily by birds, lizards, monkeys, 

 etc., in fact by everything it was offered to, and so proved to be 

 undoubtedly edible. — Ibid. 



Stereocorynes truncorum. Germ., at Cobham Park, Kent. — 

 Among a few unexamined insects left over from my 1902 captures, a 

 specimen of this rare beetle has turned up. I can find no record of its 

 appearance within recent years, and, therefore, think it well to notify 

 my capture in the Knt. Record. Moreover, as the insect, according to 

 Canon Fowler, appears to have hitherto only occurred in Epping Forest, 

 and its presence in Kent is not noted on the Victorian County History it 

 forms an addition to the fauna of the county as well as to Mr. J. .7. 

 Walker's list of the coleoptera of Cobham Park. — E. C. Redwell, 

 " Elmlea," Cleved m Road, Norbiton. 



Immi«ration Fi.iGHT OF Aphodius inquinatus. — In strolling along 

 the shore between Birkdale and Ainsdale on the afternoon of April 

 16th, I came across Aphoditist in(iuinatm, Fab., in great numbers flying 

 in from seawards. They gradually became less numerous as I 

 progressed southwards, and after I had gone about five hundred yards 

 further scarcely any were to be seen. Continuing my walk, I was 

 surprised to meet with a still larger swarm, the insects being, however, 

 rather more dispersed, and extending for a distance of over half a mile, 

 stragglers being encountered, in fact, all the way to Seaside Railway 

 Station, a quarter of a mile further still. The direction of the flight 

 of both swarms was from the northwest, the wind at the time being 

 light and almost due west. The main meteorological disturbance 

 which had lain over the Atlantic earlier in the week had nearly filled 

 up, but the fitful occurrence of shallow secondaries had imparted 

 somewhat local and "patchy" conditions to the type of weather 

 experienced over the western portions of England and Wales, at 

 Birkdale, on the date in question, the general conditions being weak, 

 both local and diurnal variations were traceable. Detached, but 

 heavy clouds, which formed a distinctive feature of the morning, 

 speedily cleared about eleven o'clock after slight precipitation caused 

 by the flow of the spring tide, which reached its maximum at 11.33. 

 A steady and rather cold wind from the southwest gradually veered 

 during the day, moderating considerably towards the later afternoon, 

 when the sun became scorching. I at first thought that both the 

 columns of insects belonged to the same general flight, but found on 

 closer observation that, in spite of their common direction, they almost 

 certainly constituted two distinct swarms. In the first and narrower 

 column the insects were flying low down and closer together, more 

 especially along its northern border. Many alighted on the wet sand 

 immediately on reaching land, others higher up on the shore or on the 

 adjacent sandhills, and but few appeared to pass far inland. In the 

 second and broader column the insects were more scattered, and flew 

 at a greater elevation, scarcely any settling on the shore and few 

 alighting on the bordering dunes, the vast majority passing over the 

 railway and away landwards. On returning to the scene of the first 

 swarm, after about an hour and a quarter's absence, I found very few 

 chafers on the wing, and I think the njajority of these were msects 

 which, having first rested on the wet sands further out, were now 



