1 6 [January, 



Button, Cheshire. The bed or nest was at the end of a biuTOw 24 feet from the 

 surface. On careful examination the nest yielded the following species of 

 Coleoptera and Dipt era -. — 



CoLEOPTERA : Quedius vexans, 2 specimens ; Q, mesomelinus, 1 ; Aleochara 

 succicola,!; Homalota fungi, 2; Cryptophagus distinguendus, 2 ; Liosoma oca- 

 tuhmi, 1. The last named had probably wandered into the nest acci- 

 dentally. I have the nest still enclosed in a biscuit tin with several larvae 

 of Coleoptera alive and hope to breed them out. 



DiPTERA : The flies have been submitted to Mr. G. H. Verrall, who deter- 

 mines them as belonging to two species of the genus Sciara. There was also 

 present a specimen of Cricotopus bicinctus, which Mr. Verrall thinks would 

 have no connection with the badger. — G. A. Dunlop, Municipal Museum, 

 Warrington : November 2'3rd, 1909. 



Rhopalomesites tardyi. Curt., in Lancashire. — In Aixgust last I captured a 

 female specunen of Rhopalomesites tardyi at Bardsea, on Morecamlje Bay, 3k 

 miles from Ulverston. The insect was taken when sweej^ing long grass under 

 beech trees and was the only one found. Mr. Jas. Button tells me that it is a 

 new record for Lancashire. — Jas. Armstrong, 74, Legh Street, Warrington : 

 November 23/-(Z, 1909. 



Platystethus alutaceus, Thorns., a^ul other additions to the Isle of Wight list 

 of Coleoptera. — A fine specimen of the above insect was found by my friend 

 Mr. John Taylor, of Sandown, in the marshes near that place in May last. This 

 insect, brovight forward as British by Mr. Champion in 1897 (Ent. Mo. Mag., 

 xxxiii, p. 98) appears to have comparatively few recorded localities. In addi- 

 tion to those given by him (lac. cit.), eight specimens were taken by Mr. de la 

 Grarde in the marshes near Sittingbourne in Septemlier, 1906 (Ent. Mo. Mag., 

 xliii, p. 136) ; one by Mr. E. Saunders at Chobham in 1878 (Ent. Mo. Mag., 

 xxxiv, p. 232) ; several by Mr. J. J. Walker at Oxford in 1908 (Ent. Mo. Mag., 

 xliv, p. 136), and commonly by Mr. Champion in lf)09 at Woking (Ent. Mo. Mag., 

 xlv, J). 258). T know of no other notices of its capture. Although given as a 

 var. of P. cornutus, Grav., in the last (1906) European Catalogue, P. alutaceus 

 appears to be a good and distinct species, with many constant characters to 

 separate it from P. cornutus. 



Other additions to the list of Coleoptera recently published in Morey's 

 " Guide to the Natural History of tlie Isle of Wight " are : Ocalea castanea, 

 Er., Tachinus marginellus, F., Cercyon quisquilius, L., Ephistemiis globulus, 

 Waltl, and Microcara livida, P. — E. A. Nbwbert, 13, Oppidan's Road, N.W., 

 November 13<7i, 1909. 



[P. alutaceus was found by me not rarely in flood-rubbish at Brockenhurst 

 last June.— J. J. W.] 



Leisius montanus, Steph., on Skiddaw. — The Transactions of the Carlisle 

 Natural History Society for 1909 state that Leistus moiitanus, Steph., has not 

 been taken recently on Skiddaw. I am, therefore, pleased to be able to record 



