72 OCCASIONAL PAPERS. 



late in the year, there was not much opportunity for 

 discovering many of its peculiarities ; it soon retired 

 from observation, probably burying itself among 

 thick moss or herbage. Early in January, how- 

 ever, it was abroad in the sunshine under the 

 hedges, and my attention was drawn to it. Iii April 

 I noticed another curious creature, very common : it 

 appeared to be some kind of larva. It was about ten 

 lines in length, of a dull metallic green above and 

 pinkish beneath, the whole body very wrinkled, and 

 in general appearance convex. It was feeding on 

 Bed-straw, and, where one specimen was seen, 

 plenty of others were sure to be found. It was not 

 until I had taken up several to look at that some of 

 the well-known fluid appeared, and the thought at 

 once struck me that the creature was the larva of 

 my new friend, the Beetle. It fed, too, on the 

 same food, Galium Aparine, and more rarely on G, 

 molhtyo. I at once collected the larvae and caged 

 them, and after a time found my suspicions correct, 

 for they produced some very fine imagos. 



This was one of my first entomological discoveries, 

 and, like every other beginner, I felt a good deal of 

 satisfaction at having made it myself without the aid 

 of a book. I mention this simply as an illustration 

 of the pleasure awaiting anyone who chooses to 

 search for it in the insect world. A few of the notes 

 I have since made on the same species may, perhaps, 

 prove interesting to some of our readers. 



The Beetle itself is the most plentiful of the larger 

 coleoptera in our neighbourhood, being found on 

 every bank, and under every hedge ; it appears also 

 to be the most hardy, for there is probably no season 



