104 NOTES ON THE COLLECTING AND 



ing beneath them, especially after dewy nights and in showery 

 weather. Nor must we omit to urge the importance of ex- 

 amining the undersides of stones in the vicinity of ants' 

 nests (though particularly those of the Formica flava and 

 fasca, in chalky districts), in which positions, during the 

 spring and summer months, many of the rarest of our native 

 Coleoptera may be occasionally procured. 



The muddy banks of rivers, and the alluvial deposits of 

 marshy grounds, are pre-eminently rich, and must be care- 

 fully searched. On warm still days, when the sun is bright, 

 such spots are often alive with the Bembidiades and Staphy- 

 Unidce, which may be brought in still greater numbers to the 

 surface by treading down the earth amongst the rushes and 

 coarse grass with which such localities abound ; whilst in 

 fenny districts the heaps of sedge which, after being cut, are 

 permitted frequently to remain in such situations, will never 

 fail to afford beneath them a tonne bouche for the Coleop- 

 terist. 



Felled timber (particularly in the woodland countries) 

 should never be overlooked, a host of species occurring be- 

 neath bark (especially when in a rotting state) which we shall 

 in vain search for elsewhere ; and where wounds in trees 

 (uncut) have caused the sap to exude, and the bark to have 

 become loosened from disease, a passing investigation will 

 seldom fail to reap its reward. 



The waters, moreover (both stagnant and running), teem, 

 especially during the autumnal months, with life, from the 

 edges of the mighty river rolling in its pride, to the mere 

 footprints of cattle stamped on the undrained soil. Moun- 

 tain rills, however, small limestone pools, and deep ditches 

 (in fenny and brackish spots), will best repay examination ; 

 whilst the stones and pebbles which are more or less im- 

 mersed along the margins of streams and lakes present the 

 most promising conditions for the Philhydrida. 



