COLEOPTERA. 291 
had great hopes of coming across it, but somehow managed to get astray 
and did not hit the tree, so we had to come away without this insect 
and Trichius, although almost all the other specialities were found in our 
six days’ work. On Friday morning after I had left, Mr. Donisthorpe 
managed in the two or three hours he had for working, before starting 
to catch a later train at Struan, to find Quedius wanthopus, Er. 
ASPARAGUS BEETLES IN CanapA.—In the report (On the experimental 
farms) for 1899, presented by Mr. W. Saunders to the Minister of 
Agriculture, there is included, as usual, an interesting report by the 
entomologist to the Department, Mr. James Fletcher, dealing with 
insect plagues of the year 1899, and the remedies suggested. It 
appears from this report that the two asparagus beetles—Crioceris 
asparagt, L., and C. 12-punctata—have at length worked their way up 
from the United States into Canada; in the former country they were 
introduced in 1856 and 1881 respectively, and since then have spread 
over the eastern states, often causing immense damage to the asparagus 
crops. Much injury was caused in the invaded districts of Canada last 
season, and it is to be feared they must now be expected as an annual 
plague to be watched for and guarded against. In this country we 
have only C. asparagi, and it does not appear to often occur in 
numbers sufficient to cause any serious injury to the asparagus crops. — 
T. Hupson Bears, B.Sc., F.E.S., King’s Road, Richmond, Surrey. 
September 23rd, 1900. 
NotEs ON THE COPULATION OF HypropHitus piceus, L.—On August 
14th, 1899, I took a dozen specimens of Hydrophilus piceus in Wicken 
Fen.. I brought home several pairs alive and kept them in a glass 
bowl in my study, feeding them on cabbage, lettuce, vegetable marrow, 
&c., which they devoured greedily. All soon died off, except a single 
pair which have lived till this month, the ? dying on the 14th, 
having existed for over twelve months in captivity. I may mention 
that most of the others which died had one or both of their antenn 
bitten off, the cause I suspect of their death, and the handiwork of this 
?. Itwas not till July 22nd of this year that copulation was noticed, 
when I then made the following notes. The anterior legs of the $ 
clasp the rim of the elytra of the ? , with the large claws, about one-third 
from the anterior margin. ‘The head rests on the middle of the back 
just below the scutellum, the intermediate legs rest on the back of the 
? ,and the posterior legs are drawn up under the body. The g rubbed 
the back and sides of the ? rapidly with the intermediate legs as if with 
the intention of exciting her, the posterior legs being moved at the same 
time and with sufficient force to jolt both beetles considerably, stridulat- 
ing loudly. The stridulation of this beetle has not been recorded 
before. I was unable to ascertain how the noise was made. Mr. Gahan, 
who has paid considerable attention to the subject of stridulation in Cole- 
optera, and to whom I gave specimens of the male to examine, thinks 
that some small ridges he found on the underside of the pronotum 
may be the cause, though not like ordinary stridulating organs. The 
penis which is three-pronged, and very large, has to be bent round 
considerably to reach the female organ. It is first exserted and then 
as it is pushed out further it twists once completely round and is then 
further advanced till it reaches.the female organ, untwisting again 
when it resumes its original position. ‘True copulation (penetration) 
