54 ENTOMOLOGICAL NOTES, ETC. 



have belonged to a very young whale of nearly 20 feet in length, 

 and which could only have yielded about a ton, or 252 gallons of 

 oil. In fact, it was a mere infant at the breast, its mouth presen- 

 ting as was evident before maceration, a^ tubular opening in 

 front, a mould, in short, of the teat on which this sucking whale 

 had been habitually hanging. Scoresby states that the true whale 

 at birth is from 10 to 14 feet, and in its adult state from 50 

 to 65 feet, and very rarely, if ever, 70 feet in length. 



VII. — Entomological Notes, and a Record of Insects added to our 

 Local Fauna during 1857. By Thomas John Bold. 



[Read October 29th, 1858.] 



The year 1857 will long live in the memory of Entomologists. 

 Since 1826 we have not had a season so favourable for collect- 

 ing. From the 1 st of March up to the end of August we had 

 an almost continued succession of splendid weather. An inter- 

 val of wet occurred in September, after which it became fine and 

 dry, and continued so without interruption up to the close of 



the year. 



Of course this glorious season produced insects in abundance, and 

 although this plenty was more apparent in the southern counties 

 than with us, still a fair proportion fell to our share, and I am 

 enabled to record some captures of considerable local interest. 

 Thus, of Coleopterous Insects, or Beetles, we have as novelties : — 



1. Bemhidium scutellare, Dej. I caught on the sands near 



South Shields, in July, a minute pale insect, which 

 appears to me referrible to this common southern species. 

 Could it have been brought there in ballast ? 



2. Bemhidium Schiqjpeli, Dej. Taken sparingly by the side 



of Wooler Water, in August, 1857, by Mr. James 

 Hardy. Mr. G. Wailes also found a single specimen near 

 Gilsland. 



3. Agabus arcticus, Tayk. Taken in some plenty, by Mr. G, 



Wailes, near Whittingham, in June and September. It 



