76 BR. J. ENT. NAT. HIST., 7: 1994 



Acknowledgements 



The use of unpublished data included in this paper was due to the great kindness 

 of the late Dr A. M. Easton, who passed his notes and records to me before his death. 

 Mr David Boyce (Countryside Council for Wales), was very helpful in organizing 

 permission to visit SSSIs, and also helped with the collection of specimens at some 

 of the sites. I am very grateful to Mr Gerry Longley (Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust) 

 and Mr Jerry Longford (The Woodland Trust) who both very kindly gave permission 

 to collect specimens on their reserves. Botanical names were checked by Dr George 

 Hutchinson (Botany Department, National Museum of Wales). 



References 



Ansorge, E. 1966. Some Coleoptera from Wales. Entomologist's Gaz. 17: 69-71. 

 Audisio, P. A. (in press). Coleoptera Nitidulidae e Kateretidae. Fauna d'ltalia. Calderini, Bologna, 



Vol. 33. 

 Bacchus, M. E. & Kirk-Spriggs, A. H. 1991. The Meligethes (Col., Nitidulidae) described by 



T. Marsham & J. F. Stephens — changes in nomenclature and type designation. Entomologist's 



Mon. Mag. 127: 209-214. 

 Hyman, P. & Parsons, M. S. (in press). A review of the scarce and threatened Coleoptera of 



Great Britain. UK Nature Conservation 2, Joint Nature Conservation Committee. 

 Kirk-Spriggs, A. H. 1992. 32. Host specificity and seasonality in two species of Meligethes 



Stephens (Col., Nitidulidae), associated with the White Dead-Nettie, Lamium album L. 



In: Harley, R. M. & Reynolds, T. (Eds). Advances in labiate science, pp. 393-398. Royal 



Botanic Gardens, Kew. 

 Kirk-Spriggs, A. H. (in press). Pollen Beetles, Coleoptera: Kateretidae and Nitidulidae: 



Meligethinae. Handb. Ident. Br. Insects 5(6a). 

 Kloet, G. S. & Hincks, W. D. 1977. A Check List of British Insects, Part 3: Coleoptera and 



Strepsiptera, Second Edition. Revised R. D. Pope. Royal Entomological Society of London, 



xiv-i- 105pp. 



BOOK REVIEW 



Insects on cabbages and oilseed rape, by William D. J. Kirk, Naturalists' Handbooks 

 18, Richmond Publishing, Slough, 1992, 66pp, £7.95 paperback, £13 hardback.— 

 Like other books in its series, this one selects a field that can be presented in reasonable 

 detail within a small space. Thus, the author has managed to provide some very 

 interesting background information on brassicas and their special role as insect 

 foodplants, while also outlining the biology of many of the principal foliage 

 and flower-feeding insects. No such work would be complete without a guide to 

 identification, and this is duly supplied in the form of illustrated keys to all the common 

 brassica-inhabiting insects, together with monochrome and colour plates depicting 

 those most likely to be encountered by farmers and gardeners. There is also a short 

 guide to collecting and other techniques. 



One of the nice things about this sort of subject is that it can be studied on one's 

 own doorstep, and this book should therefore help many people whose curiosity about 

 local creepy-crawlies is not matched by a comprehensive knowledge of the many 

 taxonomic groups to which they belong. It also highlights the scope for research, 

 some areas of which could readily be tackled by the amateur. Thus, there is plenty 

 here for entomologists of all persuasions, as well as students, farmers and gardeners. 



D. Lonsdale 



