THE 



BRITISH NATURALIST. 



Insecta. 



GOSSIPING NOTES ON BRITISH COLEOPTERA. 



BY G. A. LEWCOCK. 



ODACANTHA— DEMETRIAS. 



Odacantha, Payk — constructed from two Greek words, meaning 

 " tooth " and "spine." The only species occurring in Europe is O. 

 melamim, Payk. It is found in marshy places, among reeds, &c. 

 Canon Fowler ("Natural Localities of British Coleoptera") gives some 

 excellent instructions for procuring this beetle : — " In the fen districts 

 it is customary to cut the sedge and reeds in large quantities, and 

 carry it up the rivers in sedge boats, as they are called ; if a collector 

 will furnish himself with a sheet, and persuade the boatmen — which 

 only requires a small fee — to shake the bundles over it as theyjunload 

 them, he will reap a rich harvest — Odacantha melanura in abundance, 

 Dromius longiceps and sigma, and Aetophorous imperialis being some of 

 the best species : these, of course, may all be found in' their respective 

 localities, but this is a good way of obtaining them." It has" been 

 taken by Mr. Champion, at Dagenham, Essex, and I also have seen a 



