110 LOctober, 
Notes on British Hemiptera.—In a recent expedition to Cornwall and Devon- | 
shire I found specimens of the following two species of Hemiptera, which may be | 
worth recording in your Magazine :— 
Cydnus nigritus, Fab. (Aithus levis, D. and 8.) tolerably plentiful under Erodiwm 
and stones, in the north-western part of Whitsand Bay, the locality where it was 
found some years ago by Mr. Dale. I have carefully compared the specimens! took | 
with continental ones of nigritus, and find that the only difference discernible is a 
rather greater convexity in those from Cornwall. Both foreign and English speci- 
mens appear to be very variable, especially in the punctuation of the thorax, but 
the spots of the membrane are almost identical in both. I mention this,as it isone | 
of the characters given by Messrs. Douglas and Scott to distinguish nigritus and 
levis. The question of the generic name to be used is, no doubt, a difficult one; but 
the fact that Fabricius begins his genus Cydnus with two species of what is called 
Aithus by Mr. Dallas, tends to show that he had Athus in his mind rather than 
Brachypelta, for which genus Mr. Dallas retains the Fabrician name. Besides this, 
Brachypelta has the apical margin of the corium curved, and in this respectit stands 
alone in the genus Cydnus, as employed by Fabricius. 
Dieuches luscus: I found this pretty insect in three localities, four specimens 
among stones, by the side of a little stream in Kynance Cove, near the Lizard, one 
larva in Whitsand Bay, with the Cydnus, and seven specimens at the roots of grass, 
&c., near Teignmouth, Devonshire ; in the last locality I found a pair of Henestaris 
laticeps.—Epwarp Saunpers, Hillfield, Reigate, 13th September, 1871. 
Note. on Crambus alpinellus, Hiibner, a species new to Britain.—My friend, 
Mr. Howard Vaughan, has just shown me two examples of Crambus alpinellus, 
which were taken by Mr. Moncreaff at Southsea; these agree perfectly with speci- 
mens of the insect in my collection, received some years ago from Professor Zeller. 
Alpinellus (which, I presume, was named on the principle of ‘‘lucus a non 
lcendo,” since Zeller remarks “in alpibus nunquam inventus est”) is most nearly _ 
related to our cerusellus, though it is not in the least like that pygmy. It may be 
described as, for a Crambus, Phoxopterygiform; of an ashy brown colour, with a 
white, longitudinal, middle streak. This streak sends out a branch towards the 
inner margin before the middle of the wing; beyond the middle it is intersected 
by an obliquely placed mark of the ground cclour; towards the apical margin there 
is a strorely angulated zig-zag line.- 
The species inhabits sandy, grassy spots, especially in fir woods. It is on the 
wing in July and August. 
I am informed that this very distinct Crambus had been returned to Mr. 
Moncreaff as geniculeus. Staudinger, very properly, places about 70 species 
between them, and Zeller at least a hundred.—H. G. Knaaes, Kentish Town, 12th 
September, 1871. 
Vanessa Antiopa near Norwich.—On the 29th of August, about nine miles from 
Norwich, I saw a specimen of Vanessa Antiopa seated on the bole of a Cossus-eaten 
alder tree, and feeding on the sap exuding from the burrows, but it flew away 
swiftly on my attempting to approach it, and did not return that day. 
As the insect was sitting with its wings extended, so as to give me an excel- 
lent view of it, there could be no mistake as to the species.— I’. D. WHEELER, Ches- | 
ter Place, St. Giles’ Road, Norwich. 
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