94 [September, 
On the gi'ound where Cryptocephalus 10-punctahi,s occurred, I looked for that 
insect in vain after the first days of my stay, the brood evidently being passd ; but 
near the same place the handsome Trichius fasciatus began to be met with sitting 
on thistle-liowers and orchids after four o'clock, p.m., while Strangalia 4^-fasciata 
might be found flying about the rotten birch stumps. 
Near Pitlochry, Diacanthus wneus occurred. Besides many of the species 
mentioned by Mr. Rye, I found at the sawpit at Dall, Hallomenus humeralis some- 
what commonly, in the fungoid growth under a large log. Quedius fulvicollis 
occurred on the damp margins of ponds and streams ; and to the fauna of the 
" modest bedroom" I can add Cryptophagus cellaris. 
On " Grayvel," I captured two specimens of Bolitohius inclinans hiding under 
stones, about a thousand feet apart in altitude, — a little higher still, Oxypoda 
aterrima (besides most of the species already mentioned as occurring there), and 
on the summit Amara alpina, a species new to Britain. (See ante.) 
Near the foot of Cross Craig is a birch wood, which I found very productive. 
On an old rotten birch stump a specimen of Athous undulatus occurred, and agarics 
produced (in addition to the species of Cis mentioned by Mr. Rye) Epuroea variegata, 
a species new to Britain. (Sec ante.) 
I also found, in similar situations, some very interesting specimens of E. 
deleta, many of them being double the size of an average Southern type ; and the 
series which I how have in my cabinet proves E. deleta to be, in point of size, one 
of our most variable beetles. So singular, indeed, was this variation, that till I 
brought my insects home, and the truth was forced upon me, I considered the 
larger specimens specifically distinct from the smaller. 
In the above list I have carefully avoided repeating the names of species men- 
tioned in Mr. Rye's list, otherwise mine would be much longer than it is. — Id. 
Masses of Biptera collected on twigs of alder. — Dr. McCullough brought home 
with him, from a fishing excursion, a small branch of alder on which was collected 
a solid mass of flies about eight or ten inches long by three to five thick, and 
containing probably several thousand individuals. He said that he observed on the 
twigs numerous similar collections, but the one brought was much the largest. 
These twigs, though four or five feet above the water, were so placed that they 
might bo drawn into it when the stream was very full. On examining the mass, I 
found it contained nothing but flies, some few still alive, but most of them dead ; 
and small bundles of their eggs, but nothing to serve as a point of attraction, nor 
any dShris, to indicate that they had been collected from the surface of the water. 
The eggs were obviously laid, as we often see iusects lay their eggs, simply because 
the parent fly was unable to extricate itself, and must deposit them there or not 
at all. 
What I should like to know is, were the flies gathered from the surface of the 
stream, or were they collected in some other way, and is the phenomenon well 
known ? The date of the observation was about June 9th. I send specimens of the 
fly for determination. — Algeknon Chapman, M.D., Joint Counties Asylum, 
Abergavenny, July IQih, 1866. 
[The insect is AtJi.erix ibis. Vide Tnsccta Britannica, Biptera, Vol I., p. 70, 
where Mr. Walker states as follows : — 
