Insects. 1359 



lated from the German, by the Misses Loudon, London, 1840.— James Hardy ; Mul- 

 grave Terrace, Gateshead. 



Comparative dates of the occurrence of some species of Coleoptera in the early months 

 of 1845 and 1846, near Ventnor, Isle of Wight.— The list might have been swelled to a 

 considerable extent, for during January and February alone I captured some hundreds 

 of specimens, but I have preferred noticing such species only, as are of less general dis- 

 tribution. Of those quoted, Thyamis dorsalis, though local here, occurred throughout 

 January in immense profusion, in company with T. tabida : the latter less abundant, 

 was of a deep red colour (var. rufescens). The dates have reference to the days on 

 which I secured the first specimens. 



1845. 1846. 



Thyamis dorsalis „ Jan. On Senecio Jacobaea. 



Haltica consobrina „ Feb. 26 to May. By sweeping, plentiful. 



Blemus pallidus, and Lymnceum 



nigropiceum Apl. 4. „ 20. Under stones on the beach. 



Dromius bipennifer, and Anthicus 



tibialis Apl. 5. „ 11. Ditto. 



Drypta emarginata „ 18. March 3. Under stones near the shore. 



Trimorphus scapularis „ 19. „ 5. Ditto. 



Otiorhynchus Ligustici, and Har- 



palus marginellus ... May 19. „ 16. On sandy banks- 



Stenolophus Skrimshiranus ... „ 20. „ 27. On a damp bank near the shore. 



Trachys minutissimus, and 



Limnichus sericeus „ 27. April 3. Damp, sandy places, local. 



Oomorphus concolor „ 28. Feb. 26 to May. By sweeping. 



Among my captures during the present month are Harpalus cupreus, and thora- 

 cicus, Dromius impunctatus, Polistichus vittatus, and Bledius tricornis, &c. — J.F. 

 Dawson ; Ventnor, Isle of Wight, May 18th, 1846. 



Aphis of the Apple. — The Aphis that occasionally causes the failure of the greater 

 part of the apple-crops is already very abundant on the buds, and will probably be very 

 injurious to the development of the blossoms and of the fruit. The scarlet, velvet-like 

 Trombidium holosericeum is also unusually common on the fruit trees, seeking for the 

 Aphides, on which it feeds, but it is hardly sufficiently numerous to diminish the 

 effect of their ravages. There seems to be no effectual way of averting the mischief 

 caused by the Aphides of the apple tree ; great multitudes of the eggs may be destroyed 

 by cutting away the useless wood from the trees in winter, but the number of insects on 

 the fruit-bearing branches will not thereby be decreased.— F. Walker ; Grove Cottage, 

 Southgate, April, 1846. 



Rhodites of the Rose-gall. — In the month of April I observed that the mossy rose- 

 galls, formed by Rhodites Rosa?, were much frequented by an insect resembling an 

 Achoreutes. It is rather more than a line in length, and of a dark bronzed colour : 

 the antennee are black, four-jointed, and a little longer than the head : the legs are 

 pale : the prothorax is short : the mesothorax and the metathorax are large : all the 

 other segments are short. — F. Walker ; Grove Cottage, Southgate. 



