BEETLES, &C.—COLEOPTERA, &c. 59 



Dun, and other favourites, and yet take the Water 

 Cricket freely even with drag on. 



Of beetles generally, I should say they are 

 most useful on sunny days, when there is no particular 

 rise of flies going on, and when fishing still glassy 

 water. I have at times done exceedingly well with 

 them— to be successful, however, they must be dressed 

 small, except for very deep water. They float well, and 

 shy old trout which know the appearance of many artifi- 

 cials will, at times, fall a prey to one of the beetles. 



It may be that even trout tire at times of the 

 succulent dun, and are then tempted to their undoing by 

 the opportunity of indulging in a more substantial morsel. 



If, when trying a beetle, the result is a number of 

 wild splashing rises, it shows that interest has been 

 excited, and a change to a smaller beetle, or even to a dun, 

 and going over the same water, will frequently achieve 

 success where before not a rise was to be obtained. 



The artificial Coch-y-bonddu has been a favourite lure 

 from time immemorial, there is, however, considerable 

 confusion amongst anglers and writers alike as several 

 species in different localities are known by this name, if, 

 however, we discard the Welsh name and simply speak of 

 a red and black beetle, the various accounts given by differ- 

 ent authors are clear. At present obviously several species 

 are described, of different habitats and appearing at 

 different seasons. Rather curiously the beetle frequently 

 claimed as the original proto-type is Phyllopertha 

 horticola which in a few localities appears in June or July 

 in countless thousands amongst the bracken, it is not 

 red and black really, but has ruddy brown Elytra and 



