8140 



Insects. 



M. humeralis. Not rare round the nest in the bank at Weston, in moss, &c. 



Homalota eonfusa. Common at Weston, both in the trees and in the bank. Ap- 

 parently very rare in Cambridgeshire. 



H. caesula. Three specimens taken out of the rotten wood at the base of the 

 tree. W eston. 



Quedius iruncicola, Fairm. Two specimens taken once at Weston, from moss at 

 the roots of the tree. These present all the characters of M. Fairmaire's insect, and 

 also agree with Mr. Janson's specimens ; but I am very doubtful whether it can be 

 maintained as a species. 



Q. scitus. One specimen at Cambridge, from rotten wood at the base of the tree. 



Q. chrvsurus, Kiesen. Rare at Weston, in the rotten wood at the base of the nest; 

 more common at Cambridge, in deserted nests, in the winter. I have also seen spe- 

 cimens recently takeu by the Rev. H. Matthews, of Gumley. I am inclined to think 

 this species (the Q. infuscatus of Waterhouse's ' Catalogue') is really Q. chrvsurus of 

 Kiesenwetter ; it agrees with Kraatz's description, and also with the series of that 

 insect in the British Museum sent by Dr. Kraatz. The true Q. infuscatus, Mr., 

 if it indeed be distinct, has the " elytra fusco-testaceous, suture blackish ;" whereas 

 my specimens are always unicolorous. In the ' Faune Franchise,' moreover, the elytra 

 of Q. infuscatus, Er., are said to be longer than the thorax, which I do not observe 

 in my series. This species is very active, and feigns death with great readiness. 



Xantholinus glaber, Nordm. Rare at Cambridge, in old deserted nests, in the 

 winter, with Quedius chrysurus. 



Batrisus venustus, Reich. ? I obtained ten specimens of this pretty Pselaphidan 

 from an old nest near Cambridge. They appear to agree with specimens taken by the 

 Rev. H. Matthews at Sherwood, but some doubt seems to exist as to their identity 

 with the true B. venustus of Reichenbach. 



Abraeus globosus. Not rare at Weston, in moss previously damped, but exceed- 

 ingly abundant in Cambridgeshire. I have found it throughout the country, fre- 

 quently under flood-refuse, it having been washed out of the trees on the river-side. 

 Though I have no doubt this is truly a rnyrmecophilous insect, it has a great par- 

 tiality for Fungi. I obtained as many as sixty specimens in a piece of half-rotten 

 Polyporus squamosus placed in a nest of the Formica, near Cambridge. I also dug 

 them freely out of the rotten wood of old trees which had been ant-infested. Some 

 of these were recently excluded, showing that they undergo their metamorphoses in 

 the iuterior of the tree. 



A. granulum, Er. I obtained two specimens of this rare species in company with 

 H. globosus, near Cambridge. The sudden dilation of the tibia well characterises it. 

 Cryptophagus bicolor. Not uncommon at Weston. 



Prionocyphon serricornis. Of this species, which is, I find, quoted by Kiesen- 

 wetter as myrmecophilous, I obtained one specimen at Weston, leisurely walking 

 among the ants at the base of the tree. 



Omias brunnipes ? Very common in rotten wood at Weston and at Cambridge, 

 in company with ants. Two or three allied species are known to frequent ants on the 

 Continent, e.g., O. pellucidus, Sch'dn. 



Myrmecoxinus vaporariorum. I have taken four specimens of this sweeping near 

 ants' nests, but have not yet succeeded in discovering the economy of the species. 



The number of species accidentally occurring is very great, and would take up too 

 much room to insert here; I may mention as a few of the more remarkable— Copris 



