Johnson and Halbekt — A List of the Beetles of Ireland. 539 



in Scandinavia and northern Eiu'ope. In Great Britain the more 

 typical of these species are confined to the southern counties of 

 England, a minority ranging north into Scotland. The following 

 Irish species may be quoted as examples of this group : — 



Calosoma inq^uisitor, ^-''Pcmagceus crux-major^^ Pelolius tardus, 

 Saliplus variegatus, Ccelamlus confluens, Bryaxis Heifer i, ^'' Onthophagus 

 fracticornis, Apliodius constans, Geotrupes typTioeus^ '^^'Cetonia aurata, 

 Psilothrix nohilis, ^Aromi'a moschata, ^•"Strang alia aurulenta, '^''Donacia 

 Iraccata, Mcemonia appendimlaia, Timarcha tenehricosa, "^'Chrysomela 

 varians, Choragus Sheppardi, Sermyla Jialensis, Sitones Waterhousei and 

 Liparis coronatus. 



We find these species very unevenly distributed in Ireland ; some 

 occur only in the east, between the counties of Waterf ord and Antrim, 

 while very many others have established their headquarters in the 

 south and west. The Musk Beetle {Arotma moschata) for instance 

 is rather common in the Kerry woodlands, and has also been found 

 in the county Clalway, and in the north, but we have no record of its 

 occxuTence in the province of Leinster. The Eose Beetle {Cetonia 

 aurata) furnishes another interesting example ; it is most common on 

 the south-west coast from Waterford to Galway (especially on Inish- 

 more in Galway Bay, where it abounds), but it is very seldom met 

 with in our eastern counties. 'Eo doubt this western tendency is in 

 some instances due to the greater prevalence of woods, or boglands, or 

 to the occurrence of local food-plants ; while the destruction of forests 

 in many districts must also have been instrumental in restricting the 

 range of certain wood-feeding insects. Still these considerations do 

 not account for the absence fi'om the eastern counties of Ireland, of 

 such insects as Panagceus, Ontliopliagus, and certain species of Donaeia. 

 Indeed the fact that species common in Eiu'ope should be found in 

 Ireland, only in the south and west, furnishes one of the most interest- 

 ing distributional features of our beetle fauna.^ 



A second group is composed of species that are of northern origin, 

 a good many of which inhabit mountain districts. The following 

 may be cited as examples amongst the Irish beetles : — Carahus 

 clathratus^ Carahus glabratus, Nelria Gyllenliali, Pelopliila lorealis, 

 Bletliisa multipunctata, Bemlidium argenteolmn, Ccelamlus quinque- 

 lineattis, Agahus arcticus, Dytiscus lapponicus, Acidota crenata, Psela- 

 phus dresdensis, Silp>ha dispar^ Arpedium hrachypterum, Apliodius 



^ The species marked with an asterisk (*) range west in Ireland. 

 - Students of distribution will find an interesting paper bearing on this subject 

 by Mr. G. H. Carpenter, B.Sc, in Nat. Science, xi., pp. 375-386. 



