154 Staten Island Association of Arts and Sciences 



Rhypobius marinus Lee, a tiny member of the family Phalac- 

 ridae, is perhaps the most abundant insect on the salt meadow, 

 excluding mosquitoes. It is found on pieces of wood and at all 

 seasons by sifting. 



Several Rhynchophora live on the meadow. A number of 

 Sphenophorus, living on the roots of the salt meadow grasses, are 

 abundant and easily found on turning over rubbish. Lissorhop- 

 trus simplex Say, a very pretty little weevil, is also not uncommon, 

 and Smith mentions other species of Sitones, Barini, and others. 

 It would be interesting to connect each of these with its food 

 plant. The high tide bush {Iva frntescens L.) must be respon- 

 sible for some of them. Bruchus hibisci Oliv. is found on the 

 marsh mallow with large pink flowers. In addition to those 

 mentioned, other beetles in Staphylinidae, Chrysomelidae, etc., are 

 credited to the salt meadow and I hope that sufficient interest may 

 be aroused by these remarks to cause Staten Island collectors to 

 specially note and record salt meadow insects with ecological data. 



The following references to Staten Island beetles may be re- 

 corded in our Proceedings : 



Conurus imbricatus Casey, Staten Island type locality. 



Oligomerus obtusus Lee. and Petalium seriatim Fall are both 

 mentioned in Fall's monograph of the Ptinidae as occurring on 

 Staten Island. 



Philhydrus hamiltoni Horn by its name recalls the labors of the 

 late Dr. John Hamilton on the Brigantine marshes and seems to 

 be peculiar to such localities. I have taken other water beetles on 

 the meadows and especially in the pools locally called salt holes, 

 but I hardly think they are other than accidental inhabitants of 

 the meadow. 



Br y axis abdominalis Aube, its name suggesting the remarkable 

 sculpture of the abdomen above in the males, was described from 

 the salt meadows near Cambridge, Mass. ; it is with us the most 

 common Pselaphid on the salt meadow and is not found else- 

 where. Early in April, on the Old Place meadow, nearly every 

 bit of wood, bark, and other tidal refuse has one or more of these 



