5^ 



THE BRITISH NATURALIST. 



[March 



Ceres by the Romans, whose name is simply Mother Earth, the being 

 connected with corn and the hke." This might well be so, and there 

 is no reason why the name Denieter should not have been adopted 

 instead of Demetrias or Demetyius, which are only different forms of the 

 same name, and both derived from Demeter originally. 



D. atvicapilhis, L. — "Very common and generally distributed" 

 (G. C. Champion). This comprehensive remark may be applied to 

 most of the districts recorded by contributors to these papers ; Deal 

 (G. E. Hall), Hastings (W. H. Bennett^ Bath (Gillo), Liverpool 

 (Wilding), Chester (Sharp), Peckham (Heasler), North London 

 (Newbery), Shirley (W. Chaney), &c. 



Dromius, Bonelli. — Greek, a runner. Eleven species are included 

 in the genus in Sharp's Catalogue (2nd edit.) and also in Fowler and 

 Matthews' Catalogue, 1883. Canon Fowler, however, in his work on 

 Coleoptera of the British Islands, says that D. longiceps " differs so 

 much from the other Dromii in general appearance, and also in the 

 fact that the paraglossae are united over the front of the lingua, form- 

 ing a membranous run round that organ, that it almost seems to form 

 the type of a new genus." Several of the species occur under bark, 

 but nearly all may be found in the damp herbage of ditches, marshy 

 places, and shore refuse. Likewise obtained by sweeping ; in point 

 of fact, one always finds a Dromius in the net after a good turn at low 

 herbage. On many occasions I have swept Z). qiiadriniacidatiis and 

 D. meridionalis in the Esher District, to say nothing of hundreds of 

 the commoner species, D. linearis. 



D. lojigiceps. Dej. — Not recorded by any correspondent. It is said 

 to occur in marshes and fens, among reeds and sedges — both standing 

 and cut. The districts given are Horning Fen, Holme Fen, Whittlesea 

 Mere, and localities in the eastern fen district. 



D. /zVt^am. — Generally common and widely distributed; may be 

 beaten oat of hedges, swept in the net, and found among refuse. " Is 

 not common at Bath " (R. Giilo). Ireland : " Occurs here sparingly 

 in moss, and is also recorded from near Belfast " (Rev.W. F. Johnson, 

 Armagh}. 



D. meridionalis, Dej. — Sometimes found by sweeping, but more 

 often under bark. Occurs at Esher, in pine plantation, and may be 

 found by removing the decayed bark ; also at roots of fir trees ; Rain- 

 ham (Essex), four or five clustered together under loose bark ; also 



