A FEW NOTES ON MYRMECOPHILOUS COLEOPTERA. 178 
with the same two species of ants. Wasmann records it with I’. rufa 
from January to December, but with Lasius fuliginosus from April to 
October or December. I have taken it with F. rufa in January, May 
and June, and with L. fuliginosus in April and May.  Atemeles 
emarginatus has been recorded with Myrmica scabrinodis, lacvinodis and 
ruginodis; Formica fusca and F’. rufa with us. According to Wasmann 
it goes in February from Myrmica to Formica, where the larve are bred, 
and in summer or autumn the newly-hatched beetles go from Formica to 
Myrmica, where they pass the winter. Staphylinus stercorarius is recorded 
by Mx. Walker as occurring with Myrmica ruginodis at Rannoch (Ent. 
Mo. May., February, 1900). Fowler mentions “a fine series taken by 
Mr. Bold in nest of a Myrmica” (Col. Brit. Isles, ii., p. 251) and I 
have twice taken it with Lasius flavus. Iam of opinion that it should 
be considered to be a Myrmecophilous insect, and it ig just a question 
whether it should not be placed in Class III of the table, instead of 
Class LY, where I have put it. Of course it is difficult to lay down a 
hard and fast rule, and several species might be placed in either of two 
classes. 
Medon bicolor, Ol.—Of this insect, Fowler says (d.c., p. 318) 
“We also appear to possess as British the closely allied species J. 
bicolor, Ol. The differences, however, between this and the preceding 
(MZ. imelanocephalus, F.) ave so slight that it would hardly seem to be 
more than a variety; it is proportionally broader and a little more 
thickly punctured, and the head is a little less parallel; these difte- 
rences, howeyer, are extremely slight ; the elytra are very slightly 
longer, and the head and thorax are evidently more thickly punctured 
at the sides. This species or variety appears to be rather uncommon 
on the continent; it occurs under stones and moss in company with 
ants; there are specimens in Dr. Power’s collection, from the London 
district which seem to agree with descriptions of this insect, and it 
may be somewhat widely distributed in the midland and southern 
districts.’ JI have examined the specimens in the Power collection, 
which certainly bear out what Canon Fowler says. I have a specimen 
which I took in anest of Lastus flavus at Eastbourne, which thoroughly 
agrees with them. It will be seen in the table that Dale records it 
with Lasius flavus and Myrmica ruginodis. 
Claviger testaceus, Preyss.—I took several specimens of this beetle 
ina nest of Lasius alienus at Blackgang, Isle of Wight. This is the 
first record here of it occurring with this ant. 
On reading the description of how Cossyphodes bewichti behaved when 
mixed up with a number of the ants with which it occurs (see The Guests 
of Ants and Termites, ante., p. 89), Lwas struck with what [had observed 
of the habits of the ‘‘ladybird,”’ Coccinella distincta, which occurs with For- 
micarufa. At Weybridge, where the beetle is fairly common, when it was 
walking about among too many of the ants on the hillocks, it would now 
and again duck down flat as described of Cossyphodes. I introduced into 
the nests some of the common Coccinella T-punctata from which C. 
distincta differs very slightly. The ants which had paid no attention to 
C'. distincta endeavoured to attack C'.7-punctata. The latter ducked down 
also, and as the legs and antennew in the Coccinellidae can be packed 
close to the body, the ants had nothing to lay hold of, their jaws 
shpping off the smooth surface of the elytra. When unmolested again 
the beetle walked on a little, and eventually got away. I am now sure 
