242 



THE BRITISH NATURALIST. [November 



These we proceed to examine, turn over the chips and loose fragments 

 of bark, we soon turn 'Out Ips 4-~ptinctata. Then there are some 

 Uttle thin flat beetles which appear dead, they are the Rhizophagi ; 

 R. dispar is the commonest, but we also get R. fervugineiis and one 

 specimen which we hope may turn out to he politus. Ips ferrugineus 

 is also of the company. Then, laying bare more of the bark, we find 

 Hylastes ater and Hyluvgus piniperda and an odd specimen of Hylastes 

 palliatus. Also, esconsed in some deeper chinks, Hylohius ahietis. A 

 very tiny staph, which seems to live under the bark, turns out to be 

 Homalium pusillum. In the dead twigs of last year's felling, we find 

 the curious little Xylocleptes hispinus. Many other Xylophagus species 

 might begot from these stumps, but as we want to make our collecting 

 as varied as possible we arise and push on to where we can see the 

 deep indigo blue recesses of the pine wood, broken by the light green 

 of oak and birch. Here the forest is more light and airy, the fern is 

 not yet out, but the thin grey crozier-like stalks are piercing the brown 

 last year's leaves in every direction, and if we cut them through near 

 ,the root we shall see King Charles already in his oak tree ; where the 

 sun breaks through are patches of hyacinth and scattered wood 

 anemone. Here we commence a sustematic beating of the oaks. 

 The most frequent Coleopteron seems to be Attelabiis curculionoides, 

 which every stroke brings down into the net ; but we also get 

 Orchestes qiievciis and 0. av3llaiicB, Ceuthorhynchidms troglodytes, Coeliodes 

 ruhicundiis, Phyllohhts argentatus, P. oblongus, and P. calcavatus 

 Cocciiiella variabilis seems to be as common on the oaks as on the fir. 

 An unexpected capture is Silpha 4-punctata, beaten from an oak. 

 Among the vSternoxi are, of course, Athous hcsinorrhoidalis, Agriotes 

 spiitator, A. Hiieattis, and A . pallid^diLs and Dolopius marginatus, also a 

 few of the verv variable Caiiipylns linearis, Cyplioii variabis, and plenty 

 of common Telephori. But among the Phytophaga we get very little 

 it being probably too early m the year for the most of them ; the only 

 species are Gastrophysa polygoni and Pliratora vittellincB from some 

 willows. The Rhyncophora are greatly to the front, and especially 

 the genera Phyllobius, Otiorhynchiis, and Strophosomus. 



Thus we wander on through the pleasant oak woods, steering by 

 compass for there is no beaten track. An occasional hawthorn, 

 laden with blossom, gives the common Meligethes rujifes and M. ceneiis, 

 and also M. erythropus, Epurea estiva, Anaspis frontalis and A^ 



