The Donacige are elegant in form and brilliant in colour : they 

 walk slowly, fall when approached, and take wing in hot wea- 

 ther. From recent observations, it is supposed that the larvae 

 live in the stems of acjuatic plants. A contributor to Loudon's 

 Magazine of Natural History has found egg-shaped transpa- 

 rent brown cocoons of D. micans?, containing the perfect 

 beetle, in the stems of A7'undo Phragmites^ close to the root, 

 and immersed in the water or mud ; and Messrs. Kirby and 

 Spence observe that "the cocoon of D.fasciata'^ (probably 

 D. Tyi^hcc) is fastened by one side to the roots or surculi of 

 Ti/pha latifoliar 



The Donaciae are confined to northern latitudes, and this 

 country is very rich in species. 



A. Posterior thighs toothed near the apex. Gyl. 



1. crassipes F. — micans Mar. — On Sagittaria sagittifoUa. 



2. cincta Germ. — clavipes F. — B. August, Bungay Common, 



Suffolk, on Njqjhar Intea. 

 2. dentata Hoppe, J'. 2. — bidens Gyl. — B. August, Bungay 

 Common, Suffolk, on a Potamogeton. 



4. angustata Ktmz. — bidens 01. 4. No. 75. pi. 2. J". 12. — 



" Wandsworth Common, and banks of the Thames." 



5. melanocephala Mar. 348. 18. — Sparganii Ahr.? — May, 



aquatic plants; common in Norfolk. 



6. Lemnas F. — Pz. 29. 11 & 12. — June, on Iris Pseudacorus 



and Sallows, Norfolk. " Mr. Jeffreys has observed it 

 on the leaves of Typha latijolia, feeding on a black spe- 

 cies of Aphis." 



7. dentipes F. — Pz. 29. 5. — June, upon the Iris and Salix 



viminalis : also on flowers of Caltha, and grasses. 



8. Sagittarise F. — Pz. 29. 7 & 8. — June, on the Iris, in Norf. 



9. brevicornis Kiinz. — Gyl. 4. 674. — " Near Bristol." 



10. obscura Gyl. 3. 654. — "Near Windsor, and in Somerset." 



1 1 . thalassina Ger.—Gyl. 4. 675. — " Near Bristol." 



12. impressa Gyl. 3. 655. — " Kensington Gardens, New Fo- 



rest, and Suffolk." 



1 3. sericea L. — Pz. 29. 2. 3. 4. 6 & 9. — Everywhere in ditches. 



14. micans Ahr. in Nov. Act. Hall. 1. 3. 28. 11. 



15. rustica Schu. — Hojjj). /. 8 8i,9.(S ? . — Plants, in ditches, 



Halvergate, Norfolk, and Greenwich. 



16. nigra F.—Pz. 29. 10.— M. June, on reeds, Isle of Wight. 



B. Thighs unarmed. Gyl. 



17. Menyanthedis i^.— P;s. 29. 13. — On Iris, Norfolk; June, 



rushes, side of canal, Oxford. 



18. simplex i^. — Pz.29. 14. — June, July, ditches, Norfolk. 



19. linearis Hopp. — Pz. 29. 15. — May and June, Norfolk. 



20. Typhae Ahr.— Curt. B. E. pi. 494.— Taken by S. Suli- 



van, Esq., at Fulham; b. July, Rougham, Suffolk, E. Ben- 

 net, Esq. ; and b. June, off leaves of Typhcc. 



21. Hydrochieridis F. — Pz. 29. 16 & 17. — B. June, rushes, 



New Forest, and on a bank in Suffolk, J. C. 

 The Plant is 7j/;3^a/fl'i?//o/i!a( Great Cat's-tail or Reed-mace). 



