58 



THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



oftener travel alone,- as if their investigations were too profound for them to 

 wish for company. I had not proceeded far when I met what I took to be 

 one of the latter class, decidedly not a native, and as I was desirous of find- 

 ing out whether my surmises were correct, and as I could not ask him his 

 business there, I enquired if he could tell me the way to the birch wood. 

 He asked what I wanted a birch wood for, and on my telling him that I was 

 an entomologist, I found he was a brother chip — Mr. Reston, of Stretford. 

 At his suggestion we decided to ascend Oernant, in search of Miscodera arc- 

 tica, and having secured a conveyance we -commenced the ascent, after shelter- 

 ing for a while from a drizzling rain, which, however, shewed no signs of 

 abating. We were soon rewarded by the discovery of Miscodera arctica in 

 abundance under stones, and we also captured Cymindus vaporariorum, Byr- 

 rhus fasciatus, Pterostichus vitreus, Olisthopis rotundatus, A specimen of 

 Anchomenus gracilipes fell to the lot of Mr. Reston, and I captured a single 

 specimen of Lathrobium angusticolle. While we were on the summit the 

 drizzling rain changed to a thnnder-storm, and it thundered and lightened 

 ncessantly, and rained in torrents ; the wind threatened to tear to shreds the 

 umbrellas, under which we crouched to shelter ourselves from the storm. 



I have frequently been to Oernant since, and have taken Miscodera and the 

 species above mentioned freely (except Anchomenus gracilipes and Lathrobium 

 angusticolle, which have not since, to my knowledge, been taken there.) I 

 have also taken the following: Carabus arvensis, sparingly; Harpalus latus 

 and honestus, freely ; also dark specimens of Notiophilus aquaticus ; and a 

 small blue variety of Geotrupes sylvaticus ; Amara acuminata, under loose 

 peat, rarely ; Hydroporus discretus, in sphagnum, behind Oernant, freely ; 

 Omosita depressa, a single specimen under a stone. 



I visited Llangollen on one occasion at Easter, during very cold weather, 

 and found a few larvae of Chelonia plantaginis, and one empty cocoon of 

 Saturnia carpini. On the mountain opposite Yalle Crucis Abbey, a little 

 nearer Berwyn, I found Metabletus truncatellus under stones. By shaking 

 the dead bracken, which lay on the mountain side, into my umbrella, I ob- 

 tained Mycetoporus lucid/us, Pseudopsis sulcata, Micropeplus margaritce ; and 

 Tetratoma fungorum in fungi, on birch, which were much infested with the 

 larvae of Cossus ligniperda and Sinodendron cylindricum. 



On the ascent to Casfell Dinas-Bran, in the flowers of Linaria vulgaris 

 (toad-flax), I took Gymnetron noctis and Meligethes distinctus. The latter is 

 the most active species of the genus I have seen. Just before arriving at the 

 castle I took under stones a few specimens of Otiorhynchus ligneus. In 

 August, 1 found under a stone, at a short distance from the castle, a nest of 

 Myrmica nodicornis, consisting of males and workers. The late Benjamin 



