300 Mr. T. V. Wollaston on certain Coleoptera 



to the house in which he was staying as " distinguished by one 

 tree about 6 feet high, and three aloes of very doubtful vitality," 

 adding, " I do not believe there is another shrub or weed of any 

 sort within two miles, except the few flowers grown in officers' 

 verandahs/' In such a locality, therefore, it is not surprising 

 that insect-life (like all other life) should be at its lowest ebb, 

 and that, during his week's sojourn there, and in spite of much 

 perseverance, only eleven species of Coleoptera should have re- 

 warded Mr. Bewicke's careful research. 



In the present paper I propose to enumerate these eleven ex- 

 ponents of the beetle tribe which so signally crowned the labours 

 of Mr. Bewicke. Inasmuch as, however, we may be almost cer- 

 tain, from their general character and modes of subsistence, that 

 nearly the whole of them (if not, indeed, absolutely all) must 

 have been recently naturalized, I may add that they would be 

 totally unworthy of notice were it not as a voucher for the utter 

 sterility of this miserable spot, and to warn naturalists from ever 

 attempting to go there again for the purpose of collecting. 

 Even the " green mountain," as it is called, which rises 2800 feet 

 above the sea, and is covered in parts with introduced shrubs, 

 appears almost destitute of insect-life ; for Mr. Bewicke assures 

 me that three specimens of the common European Philonthus 

 scyhalarius (now in my possession) w ere positively " the only 

 species" he "found during a long day, amongst imported 

 plantations, on the summit of the island"! Indeed, judging 

 from his account, the species which would seem to have esta- 

 blished themselves more completely, and have become really 

 abundant, are the Dermestes cadoverinus, which swarms in the 

 houses and under stones (particularly during the turtle season), 

 and the two universally distributed Alphitobii, which, however 

 (I conclude from the entire absence of their proper food), Mr. 

 Bewicke captured in profusion " out of the dung of sea-birds, 

 miles from habitable parts." 



The only Coleoptera of any interest in the following list are 

 the Attagenus Gloriosce, Oxyomus Heinekeni, Xyletinus ferrugi- 

 neus, Cryplialus aspcricoUis, and the (new) Pentarthrum cylindri- 

 cum; but since it is pretty evident, in Mr. Bewicke's opinion, 

 that the last, at any rate, has been introduced ('' perhaps from 

 the Cape of Good Hope or the Mauritius"), and since it is 

 highly jjrobable that (wherever it came from) the preceding one 

 must have come with it, whilst the first three belong to groups 

 which are readily disseminated through the medium of commerce, 

 there remains nuthing whatever for Ascension to boast of except 

 the six other, more or less ynundane, forms ! In fact, of the eleven 

 species enumerated below, we may safely say that seven of them 

 are certainly, and the remaining four ( Oxyomus, Xyletinus, Cry^ 



