Insects. 7217 



Capture of Hallomenus fuscus near Lee. — Accident the other evening led my 

 friend Douglas to lay his finger on an example of Hallomenus fuscus, and for a few 

 more uights (wet or dry) we visited the locality, on the outlook for more. Fortune did 

 not condescend to reward me until two nights ago, when spying one sitting in a new 

 place I examined it thoroughly, shouted for Douglas to come, and I think we took 

 about one hundred between us, and nearly as many last night. — John Scott; 13, Tor- 

 rington Villas, Lee, S.E.; August 31, I860.— From the ' Intelligencer.^ 



Capture of Mycelophagus multipunctatus near Lee. — Whilst in search of a little 

 Ceutorhynchus the other evening I happened to lay hold of a boletus containing a 

 number of Mycelophagus multipunctatus, as well as a lot of the larvce, — active little 

 fellows who, every one, chose a different path across the paper on which the boletus 

 was laid during examination, so that their capture again was rendered somewhat 

 difficult.— /</. 



Habits of Bledius tricornis. — The oozes here now, after the tide has gone down, 

 and particularly if it should be a warm day (a thing which, I am sorry to say, is of 

 rare occurrence this season), are literally swarming with Coleopterous insects, among 

 which the showy Bledius tricornis is the most abundant : one can easily see where 

 there is a colony of this insect, as each of them throw up little mounds of wet sand 

 about half an inch high, before the mouths of their burrows; directly the sun appears 

 they come out in thousands, and run from burrow to burrow. They look very con- 

 spicuous, owing to the bright colour of their elytra: as soon as the sun becomes 

 obscured or the ground disturbed they run off as fast as they can to their habitations ; 

 on the re-appearance of the sun they emerge very slowly and cautiously, and if 

 frightened then, or, when but a short distance from their burrows, they invariably run 

 backwards into them. Some of them are brown, with pale straw-coloured elytra; 

 these are, in all probability, individuals just arrived at maturity. If I had felt 

 inclined to T am quite certain I might have filled several bottles with them. How 

 they contrive to live I cannot imagine, as they must, during the high tides we have 

 had for the last few days, have been covered with the tide for at least six hours each day; 

 they appear, however, to thrive rather than otherwise, as directly the tide goes out they 

 may be seen busily engaged reconstructing their burrows, which they do with marvel- 

 lous rapidity and neatness. They first of all make, with their anterior legs and 

 mandibles, a small hole sufficiently deep to contain their abdomen ; after that is 

 accomplished they work backwards in some extraordinary manner, shovelling out the 

 wet sand with their posterior legs to the mouth of the hole ; this they continue to do 

 till they get down to a considerable distance: the sand which they throw up forms a 

 barrier in front of their burrows, and is, I suspect, a short time prior to the rise of the 

 tide, made use of to cover their holes, and so prevent the water from reaching them ; 

 this, however, I have never yet seen them do, so I cannot write positively. The insect 

 which ranks next in abundance is Bembidium laterale, which, when the sun shines, 

 runs in thousands over all parts of the sands far below high-water mark. Under sea- 

 weed B. pallidipenne hides, but is far from common ; also in the same locality Aleo- 

 chara obscnrella, Phytosus nigriventris and Cercyon litorale ; the latter insect has 

 some remarkable varieties. — Gervase F. Mathew ; Raleigh House, near Barnstaple, 

 September 20, 1860. 



On the Musical Powers of the British Species of the Genus Acalles. — In the July 

 number of the ' Annals and Magazine of Natural History ' appeared a most delightful 

 paper " On Certain Musical Curculionidaj," by T. V. Wollaston, Esq. The musical insect 



XVIII. 3 I 



