THE YORKSHIRE NATURALISTS UNION AT AYSGARTH. 227 
nothing special to attract the coleopterist, though a little belt of 
trees on the river-bank well repaid the trouble of beating and 
sweeping; but a little further on, a large willow tree which had 
fallen into the river, though still tethered to the bank by its roots, 
produced Melandrya canaliculata, whilst beneath the loose bark, 
_ Clivina fossor, strange to say, was abundant, probably driven to this 
moist situation by the excessive drought of the previous few weeks. 
Near here, the coleopterists were induced to stay some little 
time, owing to the alluring fascinations of a dead dog, but this did 
not provide the rich harvest they expected. Turning off into the 
Strands Pasture they came upon a series of pools, formed in an old 
Tiver-bed, and these, surrounded as they were by reeds, and 
displaying a fair amount of pond vegetation (including Potamogeton 
natans, always a promising sign for the coleopterist) looked like 
producing some ‘good things,’ but here they were signally disap- 
pointed. Elaphrus cupreus, shining like burnished copper, darted 
about over the green weed at the edge of the pool, and was a very 
pretty sight, and numbers of them could have been obtained ; but 
with regard to aquatic coleoptera, for some time not a trace could 
be found, though the larve of one of the caddis-worms (Limnophilus 
rhombicus) was very abundant, and the leaves of the Potamogeton were 
scored by the larve of one of the leaf-miners, but after about half 
an hour’s diligent search a single specimen of Helophorus aguaticus 
was obtained, and shortly afterwards the larva of Dytiscus and 
a pupa of one of the large dragon-flies. | 
From here the members made their way back to the hotel at 
Aysgarth, having spent a pleasant if not remarkably successful day. 
The total number of species obtained on that day by Mr. M. Lawson 
Thompson and the writer was seventy-two, a list of which is 
- given below:— 
Notiophilus biguttatus. Spheeridium scarabeoides. 
