140 [November, 
He states that there were but two or three nests in which he did not find the beetle, 
out of 30 that he examined ; and that some contained 20 or 30 specimens. His 
remark that this extremely active beetle may easily be overlooked, on account of 
similarly formed and coloured Acari occurring in similar places, reminds me of the 
only occasion of my seeing it alive, viz., at Mickleham, in a nest of Formica fuligi- 
nosa at the root of a beech-tree, when I was particularly struck by its Acaroid 
facies and rapid motion. My friend Mr. J. Scott once took it in some numbers out 
of a little round hole in an otherwise apparently sound oak at Parley, high up from 
the ground, and full of rotten vegetable mould. 
Herr Eichhoff also notes that he mostly found Cryptophagus setulosus (in 
great plenty) and C. pubescens in the same nests ; the latter being still commoner 
in those of Vespa vulgaris. He adds that in the bee-nests Antherophagus nigricornis 
almost never failed to apjjear, and that A. silaceus and pallens occurred by single 
specimens. 
Another interesting observation of Herr Eichhoff is that he took S of the form 
fla/vicollis of Oonopalpus testaceus in copula with the type ? . 
Herr Gerhardt (loc. cit., p, 296) gives Teesdalia nudicaulis (a cruciferous plant 
allied to the candytuft, and found in sandy places in England and Scotland) as the 
plant for Ceuth.pv/milio, GyU. (Poweri, mihi) ; and records the capture of iVecro^Tiorws 
gallicus in company with N. fossor (intemiptus), a, somewhat significant occurrence, 
considering the specific relations of the two insects, which I do not believe are any 
more distinct from each other than are N. ruspator and N. microcephahis, taken 
together by me at Eannoch. 
He also mentions that many mountain Otiorhynchi, including septentrionis, 
were common on Vaccinium myrtillus about ten o'clock at night ; and gives Petasites 
officinalis as the plant for EntomosceUs adonidis, heretofore reputed British. — Id. 
Note on ovoid substances adhering to water-frequenting Curculionidce. — A few 
seasons since, while dragging the ditches near Winchester for Water-beetles, I came 
upon a thriving colony of Bagous tempestivus ; and, as it was the first time I had 
met with it in plenty, I took home about fifty specimens, killing them, as usual, 
with hot water. On examination, I found adhering to the greater number of 
examples from two to six small objects, resembling on a reduced scale the egg of 
the silkworm, which I conjectured accordingly to have been deposited there by some 
insect. Some of the shells were broken, others still full ; but, unfortunately for 
further development, all were boiled in the process of killing above-mentioned. 
Having had an opportunity lately of forwarding specimens to Mr. D. Sharp, 
that gentleman has been at the trouble of detaching one of these objects, and 
examining it under a microscope ; and has favoured me with his opinion, which I 
take the liberty of transcribing : " I have come to the conclusion that it is either 
an egg or a case of eggs (owing to its being so dry, it is impossible to say which) : 
under a power of 250, and treated with acetic acid, it is evident that it consists of 
a capsule and granular fatty and albuminous matter ; — ^just what is found in all 
eggs." 
I should be glad to know if any of your correspondents have observed any 
similar occurrences, and to have the opinion of experienced entomologists on the 
subject. — W. Tylden, Stanford, near Hythe. 
