INSECTS 



The county of Bucks does not present any features, such as an exten- 

 sive coast line, any especially fenny district, or very large old woods, 

 which might be expected to render it a favoured region for the collecting 

 of insects ; yet very large and interesting catalogues have been formed 

 for those orders to which attention has been given. The Coleoptera, for 

 instance, are well represented, as will be seen by the extensive list 

 furnished by the Rev. Canon Fowler well known as the author of the 

 greatest recent work upon the subject in these islands. He has also 

 supplied a list of Hemiptera, representing the work which has been done 

 in this order. 



For the catalogue of Lepidoptera I am under obligation to many 

 indefatigable workers, to whom I have referred in due course, and whose 

 records seem to be thoroughly trustworthy. 



COLEOPTERA 



Very little has been known until comparatively recently with 

 regard to the Coleoptera of Buckinghamshire : at first sight it would 

 hardly be regarded as a county productive of beetle life. There is of 

 course no coast line, nor is there any forest land as in Nottinghamshire, 

 and the Chiltern Hills which run across the county do not appear to be 

 very productive. The stretch of the Thames, which bounds the county 

 on the south for some 20 or 25 miles, has not yet been properly worked 

 and may produce more species. It must however be allowed that the 

 list which we give below is a very satisfactory one, and it proves that 

 all counties are productive of good Coleoptera if only they are diligently 

 worked. The chief share in the list belongs to Mr. E. G. Elliman of 

 Chesham, and I am also much indebted fto Mr. Philip Harwood and 

 Mr. W. E. Sharp. It will be noticed that many of the rarer species in 

 certain groups and genera are wanting, but the list will in time be largely 

 added to. Among the Carabidas Eadister pe/tafus, Lebia cyanocephala and 

 Dromius nigrvventris are perhaps worthy of notice, while Hydroporus mar- 

 ginatus and Helophorus dorsalis deserve mention among the Dytiscidae and 

 Hydrophilidae, but it is among the Staphylinida? that we find the best 

 work has been done. The long list of Aleocharinas, including nearly 

 100 species of Homalota, is due to the indefatigable work of Mr. 

 Elliman, who has added two new species, Homalota pruinosa and H. clavigera 

 to the British list, and has discovered several of our scarcest species in 

 numbers. The following are among the chief rarities in the family : 



