162 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



their peculiar plants, so that some knowledge of Botany, it may 

 be easily seen, is absolutely necessary for a collector. 



Very heavy rain is apt to spoil cliff-collecting by washing out 

 many of the insects. This is very annoying if one only has a 

 limited time by the seaside. If, however, the rubbish and long 

 grass at the bottom of the cliffs be pulled about and examined, it 

 will be found that many species will have gathered there. Sandy 

 cliffs are verj^ productive ; clay cliffs not nearly so much so. The 

 clay cliffs, however, have some good species peculiar to themselves, 

 as Nebria livida, which I have obtained in abundance in the cracks 

 of the clay cliffs at Bridlington, Yorkshire ; its congener Nebria 

 comjjlanata is found hardly anywhere except on the flat burrows 

 near Swansea. Usually there are sandy spaces in the middle of 

 the clay cliffs, and these produce numbers of insects : in such a 

 spot, near Bridlington, I once obtained, among a number of 

 commoner species, Harpalus tenebrosus, Dyschirius angustatus, and 

 Bledius erraticus, all entirely new to that part of the country. 

 The names of these two latter beetles make me mention the fact 

 that the two genera have some affinity, for they are usually found 

 together ; wherever therefore a good Dyschirius is found, a good 

 Bledius should be looked for, and vice versa. 



In conclusion, I would say that the estuaries of tidal rivers, 

 where the water is half salt and half fresh, are exceedingly pro- 

 fitable localities to work, and occasionally on a hot day in summer 

 enormous quanties of Carabidce (among them good species like 

 Pogonus luridijjennis, which is a true estuary beetle) may be found 

 running actively on the mud reaches, or resting under the heaps 

 of seaweed and refuse that always gather in such localities. 



This paper might be extended to a much greater length, and 

 there yet remains something to be said about sweeping in the 

 neighbourhood of the coast ; but sufficient hints have been given 

 to enable a worker at the sea-coast to find something at all events, 

 and, as he goes on collecting, he will be sure to gather fresh ideas 

 from his own experience. 



Many people at this time of year go to the seaside for a holiday, 

 and when they get there are entirely at a loss how to occupy them- 

 selves. If such would only take up the study of some branch of 

 natural history, they would find their enjoyment greatly increased, 

 and would further find, in the objects they have collected, a pleasure 

 that would endure long after their holiday had come to an end. 

 The School House, Lincoln, June 6, 1882. 



