THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 79 



them as yet recorded as British, but which will soon, no 

 doukt, be brought into notice by Messrs. Scott and Douglas. 

 1 had previously taken C. pra^iista at Cowiy ; and Messrs. 

 Douglas and Scott, as well as myself, have subsequenlly 

 taken it, as well as other rare ones, at Lee. 



The second insect is Helophorus nanus, S/nnn. The only 

 notice 1 find of this creature is in Stephens' 'Manual,' as rare 

 near London. 1 believe that the last time it was taken was 

 by myself, in Suffolk, in 1833, and 1 have seen no specimens 

 except those which I have distributed. Within the last fort- 

 night I have again taken it in considerable numbers, in a pit 

 near Blackheath, which has for years been a frequent haunt 

 of mine. It is most singular and most unintelligible that 

 insects should thus turn up every now and then, and that 

 even in profusion, in localities iiom which they were appa- 

 rently previously entirely absent. 



I have for many years ceased to search for my old friends, 

 the water-beetles, around London, imagining tliat nothing 

 fresh was to be obtained ; but during the last six months'! 

 have entirel}^ changed my mind, and suspect that many new, 

 or at any rate rare, insects are to be had for searching. At 

 Esher 1 can always now get Hydroporus celalus, one of Mr. H. 

 Clark's new species ; and in a very limited space near Black- 

 heath I find a species of Hydroporus new to Britain, viz., H. 

 neglectus, as well as llybius sexdentatus (recently added to our 

 list) and Helophorus nanus. All these 1 have taken recently. 

 The same district also affords some fine water Hemiptera, 

 including Corixa piaeusta and other species hitherto almost 

 unique, as Corixa distincta, concinna, &c. Again, ]\lr. Newman 

 sends me, from the neighbourhood of Peckham, an llybius 

 which 1 believe to be 1. subienens, Er., — new to Brilain. It 

 is very nearly allied to L fenestiatus, but is darker in colour, 

 more contracted and lumpy in form, and altogether different in 

 appearance. Whilst examining this insect 1 have observed a 

 sexual character on the under surface of the abdomen, not, I 

 think, hitherto noticed, which will enable us, I fancy, to deter- 

 mine satisfactorily several of the doubtful species of llybius, &c. 

 In the males we find a series of longitudinal plicae, very similar 

 to those observed in the males of the Otiorhynchi recently dis- 

 cussed by Messrs. Smith and llye. In the female we have 

 on the last segment a notch and ridge, upon the relative 



