200 [September, 



the many hundred H. nigra taken from the moles' nests I have not 

 seen one specimen of H. prcsvia. I think that this proves beyond 

 doubt that the two forms never develop from the one brood, and so 

 are perfectly distinct. The life history of the two must also be very 

 different, a point which the Coleopterist generally seems to regard of 

 far less importance than a slight difference in punctuation or pubes- 

 cence. R. qimdripunctula (which of course may have occurred in 

 Britain, although I have not seen a specimen of it) differs from 

 H. nigra in having a narrower and more ovate head, more slender 

 antennae, and more diffusely punctured elytra. 



JI. nigra is undoubtedly peculiar to moles' nests and the nests of 

 other mammals building underground ; it is only found accidentally 

 elsewhere. The larvc^e are often quite common in the nests, and the 

 pupfe may be looked for in the earth around. T have taken the insect 

 in moles' nests from Berkshire, Devonshire and Kent, and in a rabbit's 

 nest and a badger's nest in Berkshire. 



QuEDius YEXANs, Epp. — This insect is not so common as the 

 last, but like it is a characteristic mole's nest species, and I have 

 taken some thirty specimens of it altogether. The larva often occurs 

 in some numbers in the nest, and the pupa in the surrounding earth. 

 It belongs to the group of species with red elytra and unicolorous 

 antennse, and is most nearly related to Q. hrevicoi^nis, Th. This little 

 group has apparently always been rather a stumbling-block to the 

 student, yet the species are easily distinguished, and are of great 

 interest, as each one seems attached to its special habitat. The four 

 British species are, Q. fulgidus^ F., which inhabits cowsheds, rotten 

 straw in cellars, &c. ; Q. puncticoUis, Th., which breeds in wasps' and 

 bees' nests (but is sometimes found as an accidental visitor to cossus 

 trees, &c.) : Q. brevicornis, attached to birds' nests ; and Q. vexans, 

 only accidentally found in flood-rubbish, under bark, &c. On the 

 Continent, Q. variabilis, Eey (with dark elytra), is regarded as a 

 variety of Q. puncficoUis, and Q. nigrocoeruleus, Eey (also with dark 

 elytra), as a variety of Q. fidgidus, but I believe there is no biological 

 evidence, which I show above is so important, to support this opinion. 



I append a table which I think will help any one to identify the 

 four species named, and it will be noticed that I have purposely left 

 out any mention of the punctures at the sides of the disc of the 

 thorax and near the eyes, most unreliable points which have been the 

 cause of the chief confusion in the group. 



I 



