404 [Proc. B.N.F C, 



smaller species, and one not quite so common, D. punctulatus, 

 has been found by Mr. Haliday and Mr. Templeton. Both in 

 the larvae and perfect state these beetles are very fierce, and, 

 being large and powerful, are formidable enemies to the weaker 

 inhabitants of the waters. The genus Gyrinus is familiar to 

 most people under its English title of Whirligigs, so called from 

 the habit of whirling about on the surface of the water in a 

 kind of mazy dance. There are three species in the Belfast list 

 — G. minutus, G. natator, and G. marinus. A close ally to 

 the Gyrini is Orechtochilus vz/Zosus, the chief difference being 

 that the latter is dull and pubescent, while the former are 

 glabrous and shining. The Hydrophilidce are not well repre- 

 sented on the Belfast list. They are subaquatic in their habits, 

 but cannot swim like the Hydradephaga, instead of which they 

 crawl up and down the stems of water plants. The rarest is 

 Helophorns dorsah's, recorded by Mr. Haliday. It is a small, 

 oblong beetle, with head and thorax iridescent, and the elytra 

 dark bronze with testaceous markings. We now come to the 

 Staphylinidce, one of the largest divisions of the Coleopiera. 

 They are all of much the same shape, being long and narrow, 

 with short, truncate elytra. Mr. Haliday records Callicerus 

 obscurus as having occurred plentifully at Holywood under the 

 shelter of furze bushes on the fresh grass of sunny banks in 

 spring. It is a small beetle, 2§mm. in length, dull black or 

 pitchy brown, with lighter-coloured elytra. Bryoporus cemuus 

 is a small beetle about 45mm. in length, shining black, with 

 the elytra and apical margins of the hind body red, legs reddish 

 testaceous. Canon Fowler, in his work on the Coleoptera of 

 the British Islands, says of this insect, " Recorded by Stephens 

 as found near London, and in the New Forest ; also mentioned 

 by Haliday as from near Belfast. I know of no recent captures. 

 It occurs in several parts of France on both forest and moun- 

 tainous localities under moss, refuse, &c." The rediscovery of 

 this beetle would consequently be exceedingly interesting. 

 Pcedei'us riparius is a very pretty insect, head black, thorax 

 red, elytra blue, hind body red, with the apex black. This 



