i,s:2.j 35 



Readily known from the S. miiiutas not only by its smaller size and still nar- 

 rower outline, but likewise by its paler, or more reddish-brown, hue, and its moi'e 

 opaque surface, — which is more closely and finely punctulated, and more densely 

 clothed with a delicate cinereous pubescence. Its abdominal segments also arc less 

 divided inter se than is the case with those of S. minutus, and its legs arc thinner 

 and less developed, — the feet especially being somewhat shorter. 



(3). I will now consider the third category to which I have called attention, — 

 namely, the species which inhabit the adjoining swampy lands, and the muddy edges 

 of the lake which are in the opposite direction from the sea (and which have a more 

 decidedly marshy character, not being composed of tliat thick bed of sloping shingle 

 which gives so unmistakeable a feature to the long narrow ridge which separates the 

 latter, on its south-eastern side, from the beach). Here sedge and bullrushes reign 

 siipreme, and various marsh plants grow in rank luxm-iance. Yet, despite the multi- 

 tudes of Coleoptera which tenant the decaying detritus, and which are chiefly to be 

 obtained by trcading-out the mud beneath, the species for the most part are of a 

 very ordinary description. Those which at once attract the eye, as more particidarly 

 conspicuous, are the common Elaplirus ciipreus, Blethisa inuUipiinctata, CMcenius 

 vestitus, and Anchomenus marginatus ; and less abundantly the A. viduus (with its 

 y&Yietj mcestus), 2inA the A. piceus. In far greater profusion, however, than any of 

 these, are the Bembidimn assimile and various ordinary Bracheli/tra, — such as the 

 Philonthtis micans iindi qidsqtdliarius {along with, its " ysxy. rubidus "), the P. nigri- 

 tulus, and the Stenus Juno, cicindeloides, plantaris, and canalicidatus. More spar- 

 ingly, three brightly-coloured Pcederi are very showy, — namely, the Uttoralis, ripariiis, 

 and fascipes ; and it is remarkable that the last of them, which Mr. Rye informs me 

 is usually looked upon as scarce, appears (though not exactly abundant) to be the 

 commonest of them at Slapton. The Tacliyusa atra and Homalota graminicola, 

 with the " var. pseudo-ccendea " of the labills, the Xantholinus longicentris, Lath- 

 rohium quadraium, and the Philonthus laminatus, though pretty general, are some- 

 what less obtrusive ; and beneath the occasional heaps of rotten sedge the little 

 Atomaria mesomelas and Bryaxis sanguinea may be seen oftentimes in swarms. 

 I may remark that only one $ of the latter was observed amongst countless females. 

 But what I regard as our best capture in this particular spot is the rare Philonthus 

 ptmctus, of which we obtained a fine series by treading the mud on the northern (or 

 perhaps, more strictly, the north-eastern) side of the Ley. During a former visit to 

 Slapton, I met with a single example only of this well-marked species, and it was 

 not until now that we succeeded in tracking it to its precise quai-ters. 



I will not occupy space, however, by adding more, but will merely observe that 

 the various marsh plants behind, and adjoining, the Ley, harbour most of the ordi- 

 nary Coleoptera of such localities, — as, for instance, the Telmatophilus caricis, the 

 Phgtobius notula and leucogaster, and the Ceuthorhgnchus melanostictus. In an old 

 tree, scai'cely removed from the hinder margin of the lake, I observed, amongst the 

 ravages of Sgnodendron cylindricum and Phlceophagus mieopiceus, the dead remains 

 of Mesites Tardil, — an insect which is widely spread over, and eminently character- 

 istic of, the south-western districts of England and Ireland (in the former of which 

 it was first detected by myself, at Mount Edgecumbe, during May, 1844 : vide 

 'Zoologist,' ii, p. 702), but which has been met with likewise, more recently, in 

 other parts of the country. — T. V. Wollaston, Teignmouth : June 8th, 1872. 



