702 Insects. 



in the vasculum, where they remained for some hours. On reaching home, the eft 

 and his adversary were plunged in spirits of wine, 60° above proof. This unusual ele- 

 ment, to our great astonishment, appeared to have little injurious effect on the general 

 health of the Dytiscus, for he continued to devour his prey, and drag him about in the 

 alcohol, as if he had been regularly accustomed to indulge in ardent spirits ; nor did 

 he, for the space of twenty minutes or half an hour, appear at all affected. After that 

 time, however, he became rather less voracious, and speedily died. I have never heard 

 of an instance of an animal being for so long a time regardless of the influence of al- 

 cohol ; spirit of the same strength almost instantly killed a specimen of Lacerta agilis 

 a few days afterwards. — Thos. Edmonston,jun. ; Clova, Forfarshire, July 25, 1844. 



Note on the capture of Omias sulcirostris, Schonher. This little insect, which was 

 hitherto supposed to be confined to Scotland, I have great pleasure in adding to the 

 English list, having myself discovered it during the past spring in Devonshire. On 

 the 3rd of May I captured a single specimen at Manadon, near Plymouth ; and from 

 the 13th to the 23rd of the same month, I succeeded in taking nineteen more at Mount 

 Edgcumbe, the same locality in which I subsequently discovered Cossonus Tardii. 

 Although I have visited the same spot repeatedly for the last nine weeks, not a single 

 example has occurred ; whether this is owing to the unusually dry season, or whether 

 it is properly a vernal species, I cannot tell. It is however a fact worthy of notice, 

 that two such rare insects as Cossonus Tardii and Omias sulcirostris should have been 

 found in the same locality ; — the former being supposed peculiar to Ireland, the lat- 

 ter exclusively to Scotland. — T. V. Wollaston ; Jesus Coll. Cambridge, Aug. 3, 1844. 



Note on an English locality for Cossonus Tardii. This insect, which has hitherto 

 been found only in Ireland, I have great pleasure in adding to the English list, hav- 

 ing lately discovered it in tolerable plenty in the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe's park, in 

 Devonshire. On the 13th of May last, my attention was attracted to the decayed 

 trunk of an old beech tree, which appeared entirely killed by the devastations of some 

 insect; and on cutting into it with a digger, I discovered two dead and mutilated spe- 

 cimens of what I supposed to be Cossonus Tardii. After working at the same stump 

 for upwards of two hours, I had the good luck to take a living pair. On the 20th I 

 recommenced the search, and found that the insect had more or less infested the whole 

 plantation ; and, on cutting into the trees, discovered abundance of dead specimens, 

 which appeared exceedingly old, and fell in pieces immediately on my opening the 

 rotten wood ; but I still only succeeded in capturing alive another pair. On the 27th, 

 however, I had better luck, and managed to secure five : and on the 3rd of June I 

 took two more, making in all eleven perfect specimens, besides several dead ones, which 

 are more or less mutilated. The plantation is composed of beech and sycamore, but I 

 could only find a single specimen, and that a dead one, in the latter tree. From the 

 devastations they have caused, I cannot suppose they have existed there for less than 

 a hundred years, several of the oldest trees having been completely killed. The plan- 

 tation is situated on the highest point of ground in Mount Edgcumbe, overlooking the 

 sea, and commands upon the whole the finest prospect in the west of England : and I 

 hesitate not to say, that any of the London entomologists would find themselves amply 

 repaid by visiting the district. — Id. 



Note on the capture of Pissodes Pini at Weybridge. Last summer I captured a sin- 

 gle specimen of this rare beetle at Weybridge ; and last week I took two more on the 

 rails at the margin of the pond in the fir-wood, a short distance from that situated 

 close to the road Leading to Byfleet. — F. Smith ; 5, High St., Ncwington, June 13, 

 1844. 



