366 Mr. H. Donisthorpe on 



Saperda carcharias, L. 



This big beetle, which frequents the poplar, is con- 

 spicuous enough when it sits on the leaves, but as my 

 friend Mr. Bouskell pointed out to me, when it sits close 

 against a medium-sized bough, or on a rough part of the 

 trunk of the tree, it is very difficult to see, resembling a 

 knot or irregularity of the surface. 



Saperda scalaris, L., and S. populnea, L. 



Mr. Holland says, " Saperda populnea and scalaris are by 

 their lichen-like mottling well protected on trees." I must 

 confess that I was at first rather sceptical about this, for 

 when I took S. populnea on Wimbledon Common, it was 

 to be found in numbers on the pollard aspen bushes and 

 very conspicuous. I have no doubt however that the same 

 remarks will apply to these species as to S. carcharias: 

 moreover, pollard bushes are not a natural form of 

 environment. 



Tetrops prsausta, L. 



This little beetle is a splendid mimic of a small species 

 of Telephones. 



Oberea oculata i L. 



Obcrca oculata with its grey elytra, red thorax and 

 underside, black spots on the thorax, and black head and 

 antennas, looks in a drawer about as conspicuous a beetle 

 as one could wish to see, and yet in its natural surround- 

 ings, on the sallow bushes in the Fens, this is by no means 

 the case. The blue-grey elytra match the undersides of 

 the sallow leaves very well, while the red underside of 

 the beetle harmonises with the branches. Any one who 

 has searched systematically for it will agree that it is a 

 very well protected species, and that it is assisted by 

 concealment in holding its own in the struggle for life. 



Bruchim:. 



Bruchus ater, Marsh. 



My friend Mr. Morley writes to me, " The Heteropteron 

 (Caspidse) Poeciloscytus gyllcnhalii, Fall., exactly resembles 

 BrucMis ater when swept up in a frightened and doubled- 

 up posture, as I found at Stanstead Wood, Suffolk, last 



