INSECTS 



quenting insects, and all are easily recognizable, and therefore not likely 

 to have been overlooked if they existed elsewhere north of the county. 

 Five species which have a more or less boreal distribution have been 

 observed ; they are : Gyrophcena manca, Corymbites cupreus, C. tzneus, 

 Phyllobius viridicollis and Barynotus schonherri. The occurrence of Corymbites 

 cupreus may have been accidental, as but one specimen was picked up in 

 the churchyard at Tring some years ago. When the distribution of our 

 native Coleoptera has been more fully investigated, it will probably be 

 found that that portion of the Chiltern range situated in the county 

 constitutes an interesting natural limit, roughly speaking, to the advance 

 northward of several of our British beetles. Altogether 1,542 species 

 have been recorded for Hertfordshire, but I am confident that this figure 

 represents very incompletely the total number likely to be found. Some 

 proof of the truth of this statement is afforded by the fact that nearly i oo 

 additional species have been noticed by myself in Buckinghamshire within 

 three or four miles of the Herts border, and in localities which have 

 their exact counterpart in Hertfordshire. My thanks are due to the 

 following gentlemen who have kindly given assistance : The Rev. 

 Canon Fowler, M.A., F.L.S., Rev. Theodore Wood, F.E.S., Mr. G. A. 

 Lewcock, Mr. E. A. Newbery, and Mr. A. Piffard, all of whom have 

 furnished lists of captures made in the county. Canon Fowler has 

 collated a number of records, chiefly from Stephens' works. The Rev. 

 Theodore Wood's list consists entirely of species noticed in the vicinity 

 of Baldock, where he took Barynotus schonherri^ the capture of which 

 so far south is noteworthy. Mr. Lewcock's captures were made during 

 an excursion to Bricket Wood and Watford ; he reports some scarce 

 insects from both places. Mr. Newbery has made but slight entomo- 

 logical acquaintance with the county, but still several species stand in 

 the list on his authority alone. Mr. PifFard has collected at several 

 Hertfordshire localities, but principally in the neighbourhood of Box- 

 moor ; to him belongs the credit of having made an addition to our 

 British list in the discovery of Orocbares angustata at Leverstock Green. 

 He has contributed many other important records, among them being 

 several species for which only two or three British localities were known 

 previously. 



Of the records to be found in Stephens' Manual which apply to 

 Hertfordshire, only those have been quoted about which there seems to be 

 little or no doubt as to the identity of the species. Possibly some records 

 of importance may have been omitted from this source, but considering 

 the confused state of the nomenclature of Stephens' work, it seems best 

 to err on the side of overcarefulness. Where no name is attached to the 

 localities, the record must be understood to be my own. The nomen- 

 clature of Sharp and Fowler's Catalogue of British Coleoptera has been 

 adopted, except in a very few cases where recent research has necessi- 

 tated an alteration. 



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