AIi(mfa.] staphylinip^. Go 



Male with the seventh segment more rounded at apex above ami below 

 than in fcinnlo aecnrdinjT to Dr. Sharp, less rounded according to 

 ]\lulsaiit and Key : i)r. iSliavp (i. c. p. ll-J) ]X)ints out the uncertainty us 

 regards the sexes, and says that as the antennae are longer in the 

 specimens with the apex of seventh segment slightly emarginate, they 

 may prove to he the males. 



A coast species ; cominon in tlie soutli under sea weed and amon^ sliijigle ; Dover, 

 Folkestone, Weymouth, Shorcliam, Isle of Wight, Exmoulli, Falmouth ; I have 

 found it commonly at Ventnor on warm diiys in April, Hying and settling on the 

 rocks and pebbles. Bold records it as '* rare, sea-coast near Hartley, Nortliutiihcrland 

 distiict," but this may be iu error, as there is no olher northerii recor.l, und it does 

 not occur in Scotland. 



HOIiSAZiOTA, Mannerheim. 



This very large genus comprises 600 or 700 species already described 

 from various parts of the world, 200 of these being found in Europe ; 

 there are no doubt a very large number of others yet unknown ; Dr. 

 Sharp has quite recently described nearly fifty new species from Central 

 America : the difficulty of dealing with so large a genus is obvious even 

 where the species present some striking characteristics, but the Homalot£P, 

 taken as a whole, are so very closely allied that it is often extremely 

 hard to separate the species, even those found in dillerent parts of 

 the world ; for instance H. spergula and H. dcspecta found in Guatemala 

 and the Volcan de Chiriqui at a height respectively of 3000 and 

 4000-6000 ft. are exceedingly like our common British H. nirira. 

 Mannerheim's type of the genus Avas H. 23lima ; this is now considered 

 a separate genus — Epij^eda, !Mulsant and Rey ; some authors (as 

 C. G. Thomson) therefore apply the name Homalota to H. plana 

 alone, and break up the rest of the species into numerous other genera : 

 Thomson establishes about thirty different genera on the various 

 individuals of the genus, but JMulsant and Rey, if we include their 

 sub-genera, all of which bear distinct names, bring the number np 

 to between fifty and sixty ; these latter authors devote nearly 900 pages 

 of their " Histoire JSTaturelle de Coleopteres de France, Brcvipennes" to 

 the Homalota group ; their work on the various divisions, like Thomson's, 

 is most valuable, but is exceedingly confusing, and it is obvious that 

 many of the genera are founded on such slight distinctions that, if 

 adopted, they must ultimately be again fused Avith othei-s. By far the 

 best work on Homalotse that has yet appeared is the Revision of the 

 British species by Dr. Sharp, published in the Entomological Society's 

 Transactions for 1869 : if we follow his arrangement we may Avith 

 patient Avorking determine almost any British Homalota, but the task, 

 ahvays a hard one, is rendered almost impossible by the minute sub- 

 division into genera and sub-genera, Avhich in many cases are of 

 extremely doubtful A'alue ; Dr. Sharp's system has therefore been in the 

 main adopted in this Avork ; I have, however, after consultation Avitb 



VOL. II. F 



