248 [March, 
| 
Note on the occurrence in Great Britain of Meliée cyaneus, Muls.—I possess — 
a? specimen of a Melée, recently given to me by the Rey. R. P. Murray (who took | 
it last year in the Isle of Man), and which I think must be referred to the M. 
cyaneus of Mulsant (Col. de France, Vésicants, p. 47) ;—with European specimens | 
of which in the British Museum collection it agrees tolerably well in all essential 
points. From Mulsant’s description, M. cyaneus is usually smaller than M. pros-— 
carabeus, with a purplish-violet metallic head and thorax, the punctures of which 
are not so coarse, the base of the thorax feebly emarginate at most, a more or less 
evident longitudinal depression on the thoracic medial line behind the middle, and _ 
less rugose elytra. The thorax itself, according to Mulsant, * semble un peu plus 
long que large ;” but in this Manx specimen it is decidedly quadrate : otherwise, 
the insect accords well with the description of cyaneus; and its brightly metallic 
(in some lights slightly coppery) and remotely punctured head and thorax, and 
the broad and very evident basal longitudinal channel of the latter segment, give 
it quite a different facies from the bluest specimens of proscarabeus. 
From WM. violaceus, its decidedly shorter thorax (of which the base is not 
nearly so deeply emarginate, and has no transverse channel), black elytra and 
body, and more metallic head and thorax, at once distinguish it. 
There seems some slight doubt as to M. cyaneus being held as thoroughly | 
distinct from proscarabeus: but, however that may be, this Manx insect, which is 
apparently an extreme of the former, is certainly not to be reconciled with any 
proscarabeus ; and its structure prevents its being confused with any other of our 
species.—H. C. Ryn, 10, Lower Park Field, Putney, S.W.: February, 1872. 
Note on the capture of Nitidula flewwosa.—As I believe this species is to some 
extent looked upon as doubtfully indigenous, I may note that I beat it in the 
spring of 1871 out of some rams’ horns, collected from the butchers here during 
the preceding summer, and laid in a yard near a bone mill. These horns still 
remained in stat@ quo the last time I was at this place, and I again found the 
beetle.—Roxsert Lawson, 58, St. Thomas Street, Scarborough: January, 1872. 
Note of recent capture of Platydema violacea, Fab.—Looking over some coleop- 
terous odds-and-ends belonging to my friend Mr. James Allen, I found, amongst 
some New Forest captures, two specimens of this somewhat scarce insect, taken 
last July, from a decayed bough of oak. The late Charles Turner, I believe, found 
several of this species in a similar situation. 
Through the kindness of the captor, one of the specimens now serves to fill a 
gap left in my collection for that species.—JouNn Gro. Marsu, The Sycamores, 
842, Old Kent Road, S.E., February, 1872. 
Natural History of Leucania straminea.—After waiting many years, I haye at 
length had the satisfaction of figuring the larva of this species, and breeding the 
moths; and now have the pleasure of offering some account of the larva, and returning 
my thanks to the three friends who have helped me, viz., to Mr. Howard Vaughan, ~ 
for the first examples, June 21st, and July 5th, 1870, and again in June, 1871; 
secondly to Mr. Charles G. Barrett, for larva in vais and May; and thirdly to » 
Mr. Henry Laver, in June, 1871. | 
The chief food of the larva consists of the leaves of Arundo phragmites, though 
