NOTES ON COLEOPTERA. 143 
hazels, aspens, oaks, and hawthorns—the latter when in bloom yield a 
very large number of species. The beating net may be also used to very 
zreat advantage in osier beds. Many species of Telephorida, (soldier 
beetles,) Chrysomelidw, (golden-apple beetles,) and Curculionidae, 
(weevils,) always occur in these in abundance. 
The Sweeping Net.—This is of use on any warm day from spring to 
late autumn ; but a sunny day, with a warm south wind after rain, will 
produce a hundred-fold greater result than a very dry day, with the wind 
even a point or two to the north or east. It is often astonishing what 
the beetles do with themselves—they are swarming, perhaps, one day, 
(or even one hour,) and eutirely gone the next. If one finds a good thing 
in plenty it is no good to leave taking more of it until the next day, for 
the chances are there will not be a specimen to be found. The same 
rule applies to beating; moreover, during the heat of the day, from 
eleven or twelve to about four, beetles seem to take a siesta, for trees 
and plants on which they are abundaut morning and evening will be 
found during this time to have not asingle insect upon them, as the 
writer of this article has found by unpleasant experience. It is very 
annoying when one has only a few hours, perhaps, in a good place, and 
has to rush to catch an evening train, to leave a very likely spot just as 
the good things are coming out. 
Damp places are far more productive for sweeping than dry ones. 
The strips of grass on the edges of cliffs, especially if the field they form 
a border to happens to be a corn or vetch field and has just been cut, 
are exceedingly productive. Corners of fields and woods generally 
abound in species, but a great majority of these species have their 
peculiar plants, and so a knowledge of Botany, to a certain extent at 
least, is absolutely necessary for the student of Coleoptera. 
The Water Net.—Stagnant pools and running streams alike produce 
beetles in multitudes, and a little use of the water net will soon give 
experience in their localities; a tiny puddle in summer will often yield 
more in a few minutes than a large pond in some hours’ work. The 
Palpicornia are often found in the mud or weeds just at the margin, and 
should be carefully looked for there; and certain species of Curculionids, 
e.g. Phytobius, are semi-aquatic, and are only to be obtained by searching 
the water weeds. The moss on the edge of waterfalls must also be 
mentioned, as many beautiful species, not found elsewhere, are found 
underneath it. 
The fern trowel is a very useful implement all through the year, for 
digging beetles out of sandy banks, (where many of the Geodephaga, 
especially Bembidia, abound,) for searching at the roots of trees, and also 
as a bark ripper. Many species are found in old wood and under bark, 
and it is often inconvenient to carry a large implement; but if one really 
wants to work wood-feeding beetles, a small strong hatchet is absolutely 
necessary. A tack extractor also makes a very useful bark-ripper. Old 
trees on the ground often contain a great quantity of species, and are of 
course easy to examine ; but many of the best wood-feeding beetles are 
