134 THE ENT0M0L0<3HST. 



chief part of my collection as a beginner was made up of beetles 

 taken from these floods : PhUhych'idcB, Stajyhijlimda, and small 

 CarahidcB are most frequent, but beetles of all families may be 

 found. On one occasion at Eepton I took Euplectus minutissimus, 

 Aube, in numbers : this beetle is very rare on the Continent, 

 and has never been taken before or since in Britain ; but I have 

 no hesitation in saying that it must have been brought down by 

 the flood on that occasion in thousands, to judge from the 

 amount that we found in our bags. I mention this beetle, as 

 showing how likely it is for anyone to find new beetles by this 

 method of collecting ; for a flood empties out many localities 

 where a collector would not think of searching, or which perhaps 

 he could not get at. 



The refuse should be collected while the flood is still rising, 

 or just as it has reached its height : it is astonishing how soon 

 the beetles make their escape when once it has ebbed and left the 

 rubbish behind ; stray specimens of course are left, but these are, 

 as a rule, not worth the carrying home. The most successful 

 flood-collectors of late years have been Messrs. Wilkinson and 

 Lawson, of Scarborough : they generally used to get their refuse 

 from the small mountains and moor-streams, and their takes 

 were astonishing. Most coleopterists will remember Mr. Lawson's 

 capture of some three hundred examples of Anisotomidce and allied 

 groups, comprising representatives of Hydnohius punctatissimus, 

 H. punctatm, and H. strigosus ; Anisotoma rugosa, A. dubia, 



A. ovalis, A. scita, A. lunicollis, A. calcarata, A. litura, A. hadia, 

 and A . parvula ; and also of Cyrtusa minuta, Liodes orbicularis, 

 and Amphycillis globus. 



If anything else were needed to prove that the rejectamenta 

 of small streams, and even of ditches, should never be neglected, 

 we might mention Mr. J. J. Walker's take of Bagoiis inceratus, 



B. frit, and B. subcarinatus, from rubbish collected from the 

 sides of a ditch, and Mr. Champion's capture of Bryoporus and 

 Hydroporus celatus from refuse of Scotch mountain-streams. 



In examining the flood-refuse at home the windows should be 

 kept shut, as many species will fly to them and so be easily 

 captured : the examination should be made very carefully, and 

 not hurried over, as the best species often turn up just as one 

 thinks that nothing is left, and is about to throw the rubbish 

 away : the reason of this is that many species curl up their 



