COLEOPTERA. 291 



had great hopes of coming across it, but somehow managed to get astray 

 and did not hit the tree, so we had to come away without this insect 

 and Trichius, although almost all the other specialities were found in our 

 six days' work. On Friday morning after I had left, Mr. Donisthorpe 

 managed in the two or three hours he had for working, before starting 

 to catch a later train at Struan, to find Quedius xantliopus, Er. 



Asparagus beetles in Canada. — In the report (On the experimental 

 farms) for 1899, presented by Mr. W. Saunders to the Minister of 

 Agriculture, there is included, as usual, an interesting report by the 

 entomologist to the Department, Mr. James Fletcher, dealing with 

 insect plagues of the year 1899, and the remedies suggested. It 

 appears from this report that the two asparagus beetles — C'rioceris 

 asparagi, L., and C. 1^-punctata — have at length worked their way up 

 from the United States into Canada ; in the former country they were 

 introduced in 1856 and 1881 respectively, and since then have spread 

 over the eastern states, often causing immense damage to the asparagus 

 crops. Much injury was caused in the invaded districts of Canada last 

 season, and it is to be feared they must now be expected as an annual 

 plague to be watched for and guarded against. In this country we 

 have only C. asparar/i, and it does not appear to often occur in 

 numbers sufficient to cause any serious injury to the asparagus crops. — 

 T. Hudson Beare, B.Sc, F.E.S., King's Eoad, Kichmond, Surrey. 

 September 2Srd, 1900. 



Notes on the copulation of Hydrophilus piceus, L. — On August 

 14th, 1899, I took a dozen specimens of HijdropJnlns piceus in Wicken 

 Fen. I brought home several pairs alive and kept them in a glass 

 bowl in my study, feeding them on cabbage, lettuce, vegetable marrow, 

 &c., which they devoured greedily. All soon died off, except a single 

 pair which have lived till this month, the ? dying on the 14th, 

 having existed for over twelve months in captivity. I may mention 

 that most of the others which died had one or both of their antennae 

 bitten off, the cause I suspect of their death, and the handiwork of this 

 ? . It was not till July 22nd of this year that copulation was noticed, 

 when I then made the following notes. The anterior legs of the ^ 

 clasp the rim of the elytra of the ? , with the large claws, about one-third 

 from the anterior margin. The head rests on the middle of the back 

 just below the scutellum, the intermediate legs rest on the back of the 

 ? , and the posterior legs are drawn up under the body. The <? rubbed 

 the back and sides of the 5 rapidly with the intermediate legs as if with 

 the intention of exciting her, the posterior legs being moved at the same 

 time and with sufficient force to jolt both beetles considerably, stridulat- 

 ing loudly. The stridulation of this beetle has not been recorded 

 before. I was unable to ascertain how the noise was made. Mr. Gahan, 

 who has paid considerable attention to the subject of stridulation inCole- 

 optera, and to whom I gave specimens of the male to examine, thinks 

 that some small ridges he found on the underside of the pronotnm 

 may be the cause, though not like ordinary stridulating organs. The 

 penis which is three-pronged, and very large, has to be bent round 

 considerably to reach the female organ. It is first exserted and then 

 as it is pushed out further it twists once completely round and is then 

 further advanced till it reaches the female organ, untwisting again 

 when it resumes its original position. True copulation (penetration) 



