PEEFAGE. 



The fcillowing work was originally takon in hand in order to provide 

 a .want that has been much felt by J>ritish Coleopterists, namely, a short 

 account of our indigenous ' Coleoptera, with some reference to their 

 localities and habits, and, where possible, to their life history : since it 

 was begun it has somewhat increased in scope, as it was found impos- 

 sible to reduce it witliin short limits, and at the same time not detract 

 from its usefulness. At the outset I was promised valuable assistance by 

 the late Dr. Power, Mr. Champion, Dr. Sharp, Rev. A. IMatthews, Mr. 

 jVFason, and other leading Coleopterists, who have most kindly placed 

 the requisite material at my disposal, and in many ways helped me. I 

 must also express my great obligations to Mr. Bates for his valuable 

 assistance in the classification of the Carabidre, and to M. Bedel for 

 his kindness in placing his structural plates of Dijtiscua and Pterostir]ia>i 

 at my disposal, as also to the Rev. A. Matthews for the two structural 

 figures which he has drawn iov me, which are most valuable as coming 

 from one M'ho has of late years bestowed esj^ecial study on the 

 external skeleton of Coleoptera. 



I have endeavoured to make an especial point of the distribution of 

 our British species, and have been much interested in this part of tlie 

 Avork by finding how very few beetles are really common in the sense of 

 being generally distributed, and, on the other hand, how very few are 

 really rare ; the majority of the so-called scarce species are locally abun- 

 dant, and may be found in numbers if their habits are discovereil. It 

 is obvious that the question of distribution is one that can only be 

 settled by the aid and co-operation of many collectors, and I therefore 

 tak(! this piiportunity of saying that T shall be very grateful for any lists of 

 local captur(!s, more especially in Wale's or Ireland : the latter country 

 has been very little worked for Coleoptera, but I have ncvertlielcss 

 obtained much valuable information from Haliday's Belfast list, McXalVs 

 Dublin list, and Dr. Power's list of species taken near Waterford, and 

 also from the Rev, W. F. Johnson of Armagh, who is doing very good 

 work at the Irish Coleoptera : tlie Scotch localities are admirably worked 

 out in Dr. Sharp's catalogue published in the Scottish Naturalist. ^Vith 

 regard to the English localities, I have had the advantage of the use of Afr. 

 Cliampion's most complete Kent and Surrey list (which is especially 



