Common Beetles of our Countryside 



northern, and does not seem to stray from the gravel 

 of its native brook side. 



Among the heather there are plenty more large 

 stones, and here \ve shall meet \vith beetles that are 

 more distinctly of the moorland fauna than those we 

 have been taking hitherto. Calathus micropterus (the 

 small winged Calathus, the wings being really atrophied), 

 Fig. 13, Plate V., may be the first. It will be remem- 

 bered we have already met with a species of this genus 

 on the downs C. flavipes (Plate IV., Fig, 19), and referred 

 to this C. microptcrus as a moorland species ; it is one 

 which has never been taken in the south of England, 

 but is not uncommon in Wales and Scotland. Super- 

 ficially this beetle very much resembles C. flavipcs] 

 it is a little smaller 7 mm. instead of about 9, rather 

 narrower in proportion and more shining, but the same 

 pitch-black colour with yellow-red legs and antennae, 

 and on the third otria of the elytra there are three 

 distinct punctures. We must be careful not to mistake 

 for this species another form of Calathus, which is 

 very common over the whole of England, called C. 

 mdanoccphalus. In the usual lowland form the thorax 

 is a clear red, but there is a mountain form or variety 

 (the var. nubigena) in which the thorax is pitchy 

 black and shining like the elytra ; as the size is also 

 slightly smaller than the lowland form it becomes 

 exceedingly like C. micropterus. Two points will, 

 however, always distinguish it the thorax is quite 

 straight sided behind and not slightly contracted as 

 in micropterus, and the legs are darkened, almost black, 



44 



