t 



THE COLLECTOKS' MONTHLY. 



erous specimens of Hydrophilus, Aga- 

 is, and a large Hydrofoaiid waten-bug 

 ere secured here. Gathered in a cluster, 

 ider one large stone, were found about 

 venty specimens of a curious beetle of 

 le family Parnidae. I also made other 

 ch finds of water beetles on the under 

 des of some sticks and boards floating 

 1 the reservoir. In taking these out of 

 le water I reached down carefully — with- 

 ut jarring them— got a good firm hold, 

 nd then threw them high and dry on 

 hore. Scramble as much as they would, 

 got all the beetles before they could 

 each the water again. 

 The spoils were rich, and I grew very 

 uich excited as the chase progressed — 

 oiling over one stone after another, and 

 Topping beside each on my knees, to 

 • peer with bated breath" into the ex- 

 osed cavity. Surely, any one not initi- 

 ted might have supposed me "gone 

 iaft." or a crazy prospector. But the 

 ours fled rapidly by, and the time for 

 eturning soon came. I could hardly pull 

 lyself away, but even as it was, I had 

 aough material to keep me busymount- 

 ag, labeling, etc., for some time 



C. F. Baker. 

 Ft. Collins, Col., April 16, 1892. 



Tiger Beetles. 



Favorites among collectors and liter- 

 ally "tigers" among insects, these bee- 

 les (family Cicindelidae) are the most 

 lighly developed of all Coleoptera. Ex- 

 ceedingly agile, they (with some Sxcep- 

 ions) revel in the hottest sunshine, 

 sporting about over sandy spots (es- 

 tecially those bordering water) and dry 

 oadways, which are exposed to the heat 

 of thesun. Ocean beaches, and the shores 

 of rivers and lakes, sometimes swarm 

 with them. One species,— Cicindela 6- 

 guttata, — has been taken under the bark 



of decaying logs, and is also frequently 

 found along shady roads through deep 

 woods. Tiger beetles are difficult to see, 

 and still more dfflicult to capture. When 

 disturbed, they jump into the air — fly to 

 varying distances in almost a direct 

 line— and then alight as abruptly as they 

 started. 



There are sixty-nine species of this 

 family listed as being found in America 

 north of Mexico. These are included in 

 four genera. Amblyehile has one species 

 (quite rare) cylindriforwis — a curious, 

 large, dark, wingless form found in Kan- 

 sas, New Mexico, and Arizona. The next 

 one — Ornus — has eleven species, all found 

 on the Pacific slope. The species of this 

 and the last genus are nocturnal in hab- 

 its. Tetracha has two species, both found 

 in the Gulf States, one — Carolina — occur- 

 ring as far north as the Middle States. 

 They are larger than the ordinary tiger 

 beetle and have prominent eyes. Iu one 

 species— virginica — the whole dorsal sur- 

 face is deep green, while in the other — 

 Carolina — there are two large light spots 

 at the ends of the elytra. Dimmock says 

 that T. virginica is most active during 

 twilight. Of the fifty-six species of the 

 genus Cicindela, somq are found in every 

 State of the Union. 



Fig. V. Wing covers of tiger beetles. A. 

 —C repanda. B.—C. 12-guttata. C.—C. 

 hirticollis. D.—C. 6 guttata. E.—C. pur- 

 purea, {somewhat enlarged.) 



These beetles, in color, are of varying 

 shades of black, green, or white (or a 

 combination of these), often with a pur- 

 plish reflection, and many are marked 

 with light spots of varying size, shape, 

 and position. Some are of a clear color 

 throughout, that is, dorsally. The aver- 



