107 
CUMBERLAND COLEOPTERA. 
Jig dal, H. DAY, F F.E.S. 

THE extended drought of late spring and early summer probably 
shortened the careers of some species of insects, but the heavy 
and persistent rains of August invested the parched ground with 
new life, and in autumn, insects were more or less abundant. 
The Coleoptera of Cumberland have been closely studied 
during the last twenty years. Nearly 1,800 species have been 
noted as occurring in the county. 
Most of my observations in 1915 were in the immediate 
neighbourhood of Carlisle. I saw no Geodephaga which call 
for comment. A few water-beetles, however, may be men- 
tioned. Haliphlus fulvus F., a local species here, occurred in 
the Nature Reserve at Kingmoor. Hydroport were common, 
including H. nigrita F., abundant very early in the season, 
scarcer later on; H. pictus F., H. lepidus O1., H. lineatus F., 
in ponds of clear water; H. umbrosus Gyll., H. tristus Payk., 
in bogs; #H. rwalis Gyll., H. septentrionalis Gyll., in streams ; 
and most interesting of all, a specimen of H. obsoletus Aubé, 
was taken from flood refuse by the River Eden at Wetheral, 
at the end of December. This is only the second specimen 
I have taken in Cumberland, the first occurring under similar 
circumstances in the autumn of 1903 in the same locality. 
Hydrobius picicrus Thoms., occurred in late autumn on the 
site of a dried-up bog pool, where it was found by scraping 
away the humid vegetable detritus, with other aquatic species 
such as Helochares griseus Fab. (punctatus Shp.) and Philydrus 
minutus F. Laccobius nigriceps Thoms. was found in flood 
refuse; P. alutaceus Thoms. and P. minutus L. in clay ponds 
in the Nature Reserve, where also I again met with Helophorus 
dorsalis Marsh. (4-signatus Bach.). Other species of Helo- 
phorus to be taken were H. arvernicus Muls., common on the 
sandy margins of the River Caldew, and H. affinis Marsh., in 
clear water. Hydrochus, a scarce genus in Cumberland, was 
represented by angustatus Germ. The only other species I 
have met here is H. brevis Herbst., but not for some years now. 
Three species of Ochthebius were obtained by swilling round 
the edges of ponds, viz.:—O. impressus Marsh. (pygmeus 
Payk.), O. bicolor Germ. (rufimarginatus Steph.), and O. 
impressicollis Lap. (bicolon Steph.). 
Numerous Staphylinidae were met with. Aleochara diversa 
J. Sahl (moesta Brit. Cat.) occurred several times. It is always 
a much scarcer species than A. sparsa Heer. (succicola Thoms.), 
with which it was formerly confused in British collections. 
Several species of Oxypoda occurred, the best being O. annularis, 
Mann. and O. brachyptera Steph., the former in moss, the 
latter on the sandy banks of streams. Ocalea badia Er., O. 
picata Steph. (castanea Er.) and O. rivularis Mill. (latipennis 

1916 Mar. 1. 
