162 . [July, 



just below the ground-line. Phloeophthoms rhododactifhis Marsh, occurred 

 sparingh- with the last named. — E. C. Bkdwell, 13riigg-en, Brighton lioad, 

 Coulsdon, Surrey : May 1918. 



Silpha m'l/rita Creutz. in Co. Durham. — On April 27th a sino-le speci- 

 men of this beetle was captured walking- on a pathway by the side of the 

 River Derwent, and a second example was turned up from grass-roots. The 

 insect had previously been recorded by Bold (" Transactions of the Tyneside 

 Naturalists' Field Club," i, p. 80) as the commonest species of the genus, 

 although I have by no means found it so. However, i.n the 4th and tlie 

 18th of May, the beetle occurred in fair numbers, accompanied bv one or two 

 S. granidata Thunb. Without exception, all were taken running on paths, fre- 

 quently hauling at dead insects or devouring diied-up worms, on the bodies of 

 dead bees [Andrena, Halidus), oil beetles [Melo'e proscarahaeus Liim.), or 

 even of members of their own species. Not a single specimen occurred in the 

 carcases of two dogs, which nevertheless contained numhers of T/iayiafopkilus 

 rugosus Linn., as well a3 of Hisfer cadaverinus Hoflin , H. siriola Sahib., and 

 Creophilus maxillosus Linn., both type and variety ciliaris Steph — Geo. B. 

 Walsh, 166 Bede Burn Road, Jarrow-on-Tyue : June 1th, 1918. 



The embryonic period of Melo'e proscarabaens Linn. — On April 27tli this 

 beetle occurred in large numbers on the banks of the Derwent, copulation 

 readily taking place in the brilliant sunshine. A few pairs were taken home 

 and placed in a large glass trough containing damp soil and some growing 

 plants ; this was kept in a warm sunny place without any covering. 

 No further copulation was observed to take place, but during the night of 

 April 30th-May 1st three large batches of yellow sausage-shaped eggs were 

 laid in small cavities, about the size of a filbert, at a depth of one inch. The 

 parents were then removed, and the plants were, for ease of observation, 

 replaced by a number of upright sticks. The eggs gradually showed signs of 

 development, and on May 31st all the triungulin larvae emerged, thus giving 

 a period of embryonic development of thirty-(me davs. At first the larvae 

 remained huddled together, but after a while they became extremely active, 

 crawling up the sticks in enormous numbers and forming large yellow masses 

 at the top. While I was removing specimens for preservation and micro- 

 scopic preparation, numbers crawled up my hands and wandered over 

 my anatomy, giving me for some time a kind of imitation "trench feeling." 

 The specimens left alive remained active for five days, after which I .-aw no 

 more of them. Their bodies were at first packed with oil globules which 

 showed up clearl}' under the microscope, this doubtless serving as a supply of 

 food during the long period a larva must often have to wait before a bee comes 

 within reach. — G. B. Walsh. 



1 ophocateres pusiUits Klvg, a cosmopolitan beetle, i^i London. — The above- 

 named insect, not previously recorded, 1 believe, as having been found here, 

 Ijas occurred in several samples of the butter-beans of commerce, in company 

 with other destructive beetles. The infested beans may be known by a minute 

 hole in or near the hilum. The other species found were Lasiodenna serriconie 



