REVIEW. 95 
something wonderful, adapting itself to the shape and size of the 
cavity in which it happens to be, and thus it is that one of these 
insects can go through any hole that is large enough to admit 
its head. When it is fairly out of the tree it endeavours to 
escape—if a female—by jumping away about three feet at a time 
and seeking concealment amongst the various litter on the 
ground; but if a male it is much more ferocious, thrusting its 
hind legs up in the air, clinging firmly to the tree with the other 
two pairs, and biting very violently anything presented to it; 
and both sexes emit a peculiar grating sound when disturbed. 
These insects evidently leave their tunnels of a night and roam 
about the trees, as 1 found the crop of one I dissected for 
stuffing full of particles of green leaves; in the lower parts of the 
alimentary canal I found half-digested wood. I should mention 
that these insects make their tunnels always in living trees, and 
are not found in rotten wood, as some imagine. ‘The above 
are sketches from the habits of Hemideina capitolina and 
megacephala, these being the only species I have as yet seen.— 
GrorGE V. Hupson; Karori, Wellington, N.Z., Dec. 30, 1882. 
REVIEW. 
Catalogue of British Coleoptera. By Rev. W. W. Fowirr and 
Rev. A. Marruews. West, Newman & Co. 1883. 
WE have read with great satisfaction this catalogue of British 
Coleoptera. However far it may fall short of perfection, a point 
perhaps impossible to attain, there can be no doubt that it is an 
improvement upon all previous ones, and a long step in the right 
direction. For many years past we have been accustomed to 
hear from every quarter complaints of the faultiness of our 
present systematic arrangement, but until lately no one has had 
the courage to inaugurate any decided improvement. During 
the past year, however, Dr. Horn, on the other side of the 
Atlantic, commenced the attack by his revision of the Carabide, 
a work which only requires careful study to be well appreciated 
by every entomologist, and we are glad that Dr. Horn’s system 
has been adopted in the present Catalogue. Again, it appears to 
us that a great improvement in classification has been effected 
by following the views of Dr. Leconte, and removing the 
