2 



THE BRITISH NATURALIST. [j ANUARY 



specimen at the same place, but unfortunately did not succeed in 

 capturing it. Occurs also '-in stems of Typha, &c., almost in the 

 water — rare. Taken by Mr. Brewer, at Earlswood Common " (G. C. 

 Champion). Stephens (" Mandibulata," Vol. I., p. 14) says : " O. 

 melanura' pnncipSilly inhabits the counties of Norfolk and Huntingdon. 

 In the former county, I believe, it chiefly occurs in the vicinity of 

 Norwich, on the banks of the Yare, and in the marshes at Horning, 

 and near Fakenham. In the latter county it was found abundantly in 

 the summer of 1825, on the borders of Whittlesea-mere, by Messrs. 

 Cliant and Bentley. My friend Mr. Donovan observes that it is found 

 in profusion in Cromllyn bog, Glamorganshire, near Swansea, where 

 Dr. Leach procured many specimens." I quote a portion from Curtis, 

 as being, to my idea, quite as feasible a method of procuring the 

 species as shaking dry reeds : — " This elegantly-formed and lively in- 

 sect is an inhabitant of reedy fens. It may be found by shaking the 

 reeds that have been cut down and tied in bundles for thatching ; 

 those nearest the water's edge, or even floating, being the dampest, 

 are their most favourite situations, and there, in dull weather, they 

 conceal themselves ; they are also found amongst the fragments of 

 reeds left after an overflow of marshes." It is recorded by Mr. 

 Champion (" E. M. M.," Vol. 10, p. 39) as occurring at Ilford, Essex. 

 Many new localities are given by Canon Fowler in " Coleoptera of 

 British Islands," but the foregoing hints will probably put Coleop- 

 terists of the present day on the alert, and doubtless other localities 

 will be discovered. The Rev. W. F. Johnson, who has taken a great 

 deal of trouble to hunt up information on this subject, writes me that he 

 has "some specimens labelled ' Brundall, Sept. 1884,' but I do not 

 know where Brundall is, nor can I remember who sent me them. 

 From its habits it would be very likely to occur in Ireland, especially 

 in the south, but it is not recorded as yet. If the presence of Typha 

 latifolia would bring the beetle, it should be here, for the reed is very 

 abundant. I have, however, searched many times for pupae of the 

 moth Nonagvia typhcB^ and only got, besides the pupse, some little 

 staphs., e.g.^ Alianta incana. 



Aetophorus, Schmid-Goebel. — Derived from two Greek words, 

 meaning " to bear an eagle," alluding to black mark on the elytra, 

 which is supposed to resemble a double-headed eagle. The genus 

 contains only one species, A. imperialis. A single specimen fell to my 



