184 [August, 



banks of streams. Tclcphorus Darwinianus ; a very dark form, some 

 of the specimens being of a leaden-black colour, occurred ratlier com- 

 monly under stones on the salt-marsb. T. limhatus, common by 

 sweeping. Chri/somela stiiphyl(Bn,va,v. 8harpi,Yov{\. ; this very cui'ioiis 

 form was not scarce under stones on the salt-marsh, and must at times 

 be very common, as the grey larvae, which ap])arently feed on the leaves 

 of sea-thrift {Statice armeria), were to be found by hundreds with 

 the perfect beetle ; the normal type of the insect was not met with. 

 Otiorrliynchus blandus, common under stones on the tops of turf-walls, 

 and extending from the beach to the highest moorland ; O. sulcatus, 

 not rare under stones, and O. picipes, abundant. Sfrophosomus coryJi, 

 by beating broom. Liosonius ooatidns and Rhinoncus pericarpius, by 

 sweeping in damp places. Orchestesfagl, sparingly, under beech trees. 



H.M.S. " Northampton," 



Campbeltown, N.B. : 

 Ju!y 8th, 1895. 



POLYPURUS BETULINUS AS A MATERIAL FOR MOUNTINO 

 SMALL INSECTS. 



BY WALTER F. 11. BLANDFORD, M.A , F.Z.S. 



The method of mounting suiall insects set on flue pins, which is 

 known as staging, has been adopted by most of our leading systematic 

 entomologists. Briefly, it consists in fixing the pin passed through 

 the specimen into a block of soft substance mounted at some height 

 up a stout pin, by means of which the staged insect is pinned in the 

 collection. In this way very fine and short pins can be employed to 

 transfix the insects ; there is no risk of bending them by forcing them 

 into the cork of the drawer, or by subsequent handling ; the insects 

 can be brought as near as desired to the glass and the necessary labels 

 can be put on the stouter pins. 



Staging has been but little adopted by collectors of British insects, 

 who have less often to remove specimens from their collections for 

 comparison, and who are sometimes remiss about labelling their 

 captures. 



Its neglect is perhaps due to the want of a satisfactory material 

 from which to make stages. Pith (usually that of the Jerusalem 

 artichoke), cork, pasteboard and felt have all been tried. 



At a recent Meeting of the Entomological Society of London I 

 exhibited a substance for staging which appears to be entirely satis- 

 factory. My attention was called to it by examining the blocks on 

 which were mounted some Goleophora larlceJla sent out by Herr Fric 



