34 SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF YORK AND DISTRICT 



and some of the greatest rarities seem, from the more recent records, to 

 have become quite extinct. 



Of the Carabidae, Carabus monilis is common, and C. nitens occurs in its 

 own type of locality. Blethisa multipunctata is still at Askham Bog, and 

 Miscodera arctica is found at AUerthorpe Common and Stillington 

 Common. Of the Longicornia, Rhagium bifasciatum is very abundant at 

 Strensall, and Strangalia armata is to be found at Askham Bog. Clytus 

 arietis is common at Kirkham. The York plain is very rich in Chrysomelid 

 beetles. Chrysomela graminis is still abundant annually on Clifton Ings, 

 and again at Skipwith Common, while Melasoma populi is to be found in 

 numbers both at AUerthorpe and Strensall. Gastroidea viridula appeared 

 in enormous numbers on the Ings last year. 



It is not surprising that the dragonflies are well represented, when we 

 consider how well supplied with ponds the district is. The Agrionids are 

 abundant about most waters. Both Calopteryx virgo and C. splendem are 

 found. Clifton Ings is their nearest habitat, and there are records for 

 Buttercrambe and Castle Howard. Mschna grandis has been taken on 

 Clifton Ings, and of the other ^schnas, juncea is the most frequently 

 found. Libellula quadrimaculata is in some years exceedingly common 

 on the larger ponds both at Strensall and Skipwith. 



In the Naturalist for years back are very good lists of the insect fauna of 

 Yorkshire, and the reader who consults its pages will be able to appreciate 

 the great amount of systematic entomology which is being carried out in 

 Yorkshire by the members of the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union. 



No account of the natural history of the district would be complete 

 without a reference to the special charms of York itself. Though not at 

 all a small city, its associations are essentially rural. Its older parts have 

 generous gardens, even in the centre of the city, and the extent to which 

 these are frequented by birds is quite unusual. The dawn chorus in the 

 spring and early summer causes comment from the visitor from another 

 town, when he hears it for the first time. 



For several years a pair of kestrels has nested in the main tower of York 

 Minster, a pair of barn owls in the turrets of the Theatre Royal, and 

 another pair in Bootham Bar. A pair of tawny owls frequents Bootham 

 Park, and another pair the Museum Gardens. The kingfisher, which is 

 found along the banks of the Ouse, may be regularly seen on the river 

 within the city boundaries. A few minutes' walk from the houses in 

 Clifton will enable one to put up a snipe, and curlews may often be heard 

 calling when we walk through the streets during the quiet of night. 



A pair of otters has for some years reared young on the river Ouse, and 

 usually they may be seen during the night watches in the vicinity of the old 

 Guildhall and Common Hall Lane — in other words, in the very heart of 

 the city. Otters are often found along the course of the river Foss, and 

 at several other points on the outskirts of the city. The grey squirrel 

 frequently comes into the gardens of the houses in Clifton. 



The Yorkshire Philosophical Society, intimately associated with the 

 foundation of the British Association, has rich natural history collections 

 in its Museum. These include general collections of a very complete 

 nature, and in addition the following special collections of local import- 



