b THE ENTOMOLOGIST S RECORD. 



such papers in stimulating the interest of British entomologists in 

 the distribution of coleoptera on the European continent, and thereby 

 helping to solve many of the difficult problems, which are at present 

 apparently hopeless enigmas, as to the anomalous distribution of our 

 own insular fauna. The discovery of two species of CHocephalus in 

 Great Britain has induced Dr. Sharp to revise thoroughly the 

 synonymy of the species of this genus, and the results of his labours 

 are given in a paper published in the Transactions [loc. cit., p. 145) 

 with notes on the distribution of the genus, taxonomy, &c., and 

 descriptions (illustrated by a plate) of larvae of some of the species. 

 Dr. Sharp describes two new genera Cephalocrius and CephalaUus, and 

 five new species. Jointly with this paper another by Mr. Gilbert 

 Smith was read (loc. cit., p. 165) on the habits of Asemimi striatum, 1j., 

 and Criocephalus ferns, Muls., an interesting and valuable record of 

 field observations in the New Forest on the complete life-history of 

 these two longicorns, and of the author's methods of rearing larvaB 

 and pupffi in captivity. It has long been a reproach that the Trans- 

 actions contain so few papers by British coleopterists on life-histories 

 of British beetles, and of records of accurate field observations ; a few 

 more papers like Mr. Smith's, and this reproach would be a thing of 

 the past. Though dealing with a dipterous insect, I may be permitted 

 to refer here to the extremely interesting paper on the life-history of 

 Psychoda se.vpiinctata, Curtis, by Mr. J. A. Dell {loc. cit., p. 293) ; a study 

 of the living organisms which breed in the sewage tanks employed in 

 the bacterial treatment of sewage, is of the utmost importance to 

 the community, and though an unsavoury subject it is to be hoped 

 that this is to be only the first of a series of papers by Mr. Dell on this 

 subject. 



At a meeting of the Society on October 5th, a paper by Mr. A. M. 

 Lea on " The Blind Coleoptera of Australia and Tasmania " was read, 

 but I have not yet had an opportunity of studying this memoir, as the 

 part of the Transactions, in which it will be included, has not yet been 

 issued to members. 



A paper of great value, by Mr. F. Balfour Browne, on " A Study 

 of the Aquatic Coleoptera and their Surroundings in the Norfolk 

 Broads District," was published in the Transactions of the Norfolk 

 and Norrvich Naturalists' Society (vol. viii., pt. i., p. 58). This paper 

 is the outcome of a scheme of work proposed by its author 

 for the investigation of the bionomical problems of the county of 

 Norfolk. The intention of the scheme was to undertake in the field 

 a systematic investigation into the local distribution, or localisation, 

 of species, and then to enquire into the cause or causes of such 

 localisation. From February to November, 1904, Mr. Balfour Browne 

 collected water-beetles on a thoroughly well-organised and systematic 

 plan, at a selected number of stations distributed throughout the 

 Broads district ; he made in all 1079 collections, each of the so-called 

 collections being an indefinite number of sweeps of the water-net in a 

 pond, or along a selected length of dyke, continued in each case until 

 he was of opinion that no species which occurred at that time in the 

 place worked had been passed over. Mr. Balfour Brown has tabulated 

 the results of this work, he has drawn curves to illustrate the facts 

 which his tables bring out, and he has finally attempted, in the case of 

 certain selected species, to express in definite numerical values the 



