Insects. 1937 



searching closely into the sandy hollows, where it doubtless had been 

 drifted by the wind, and was endeavouring, though to no purpose, to 

 scale the sides. That very local and interesting insect, Omophlus 

 Armeriae, was here in abundance ; though " on the flower of the thrift," 

 which is said to be its peculiar habitat, I could not find a single spe- 

 cimen, although that plant was in great profusion and in full flower at the 

 time. I usually found them crawling rapidly over the grass, and, in 

 many instances, congregated beneath the stones, where, however, they 

 must only have been taking shelter from the heat of the sun, and could 

 not under such circumstances have been in their legitimate position. 

 In one single afternoon I captured about sixty specimens. 



But the most interesting ground is yet to be described. When the 

 tide is out there is a large sandy flat, close to the bridge (above re- 

 corded as passing over the mouth of the long gulph or back-water), 

 and joining on to the commencement of the sand-hills we have been 

 just discussing. Whilst observing the beautiful undulations in the 

 sand, caused by the action of the water as it receded over its surface, 

 I beheld almost an innumerable quantity of minute holes or perfora- 

 tions scattered in every direction around me. This led me to investi- 

 gate their meaning, and, on gently opening one of them with a pen- 

 knife, I discovered a specimen of Cillenum laterale at the distance of 

 about a quarter of an inch below. The sun then began to shine, and 

 in less than a minute I beheld a scene which it will not be easy to 

 forget. I had been accustomed to look upon Cillenum laterale as one 

 of our rarest maritime insects, and had never seen it in a living state 

 before : but here, in almost an instant, as it were by magic, I found 

 myself surrounded by an innumerable multitude of them, running ra- 

 pidly over the sand, from hole to hole, in every conceivable direction. 

 In my ecstacy at such a sight, and in my flurry to secure as many as 

 possible, I grabbed at five or six of them at once, and of course, as a 

 recompense for my avarice, was some time before I could secure even 

 one ! At length, however, becoming cooler, I learned to catch them 

 more scientifically, and in a very few minutes I had above one hun- 

 dred specimens in my bottle, which began to satisfy me, and I passed 

 on. But I had not proceeded many yards before something else, glis- 

 tening even brighter still, caught my attention. This I instantly 

 recognized as my old friend Dyschirius thoracicus, and therefore I was 

 immediately on the qui vive for his comrade Hesperophilus, who, as 

 usual, did not deceive me, for verily I never beheld an insect in greater 

 profusion in my life : in some parts the sand was literally alive with 



