Buy ford: Beetles of Lancashire and CJiesJiire, 109 



Mr. Sharp pays a well-deserved tribute to the self-denying- 

 zeal of the working-men naturalists, who did such splendid 

 work in the first half of last century. Unfortunately, these 

 early naturalists had not realised how important the study of 

 distribution would become. Consequently for the purposes 

 of a list, their collections, if still in existence, furnish little or 

 no assistance. Coleopterists are rarely numerous in any county, 

 but Lancashire and Cheshire appear to have had less than the 

 average number. We demur to the inclusion of Samuel 

 Gibson, of Hebden Bridge, who by residence and by the collect- 

 ing he did around Huddersfield, Halifax and Hebden Bridge, 

 may, in fairness be claimed by Yorkshire Coleopterists as one 

 of themselves. On the other hand, we miss the name of Rev. 

 H. Higgins, who first discovered Cymindis vaporariorum L in 

 Lancashire ; and of T. Blackburn of Bowdon. We find that 

 Mr. Sharp has omitted a number of records of species which 

 appeared in the older lists, e.g., Mr. Gregson recorded Blethisa 

 multipundata L., from Crosby, Pelophila horecilis Payk. from 

 Bromborough. and Pelohius tardus Herbst. from Rufford ; and 

 Dr. Ellis recorded Platynaspis luteoriihra Goeze. from Hightown. 



An important omission is that of Mordella jasciata F., a 

 specimen of which taken by Rev. H. H. Higgins at Rainhill 

 was stated b\' Dr. Ellis in 1886 to be then in the Derby 

 Museum, Liverpool. This discounts considerably Mr. Sharp's 

 remarks on the genera Mordellistsna and Mordella. 



On the contrary, we are pleased to see that Mr. Sharp has 

 re-instated Lampyris noctiluca L. on the authority of three 

 Coleopterists and his own. It was first recorded by Mr. 

 Gregson ' in plenty on the clav banks beyond Xe\\- Ferry,' but 

 despite this definite record, Dr. Ellis omitted it from his list, 

 for the insufficient reason that he himself had not met with 

 it. Notwithstanding the fourfold confirmation, Mr. Sharp 

 makes no mention of this early record. 



Another point which we should ha\'e liked ^Ir. Sharp to 

 have settled once for all is the occurrence of Helophorus mid- 

 sanii Rye. He merely says ' Fowler records this species as 

 taken commonly at Liverpool by Crotch, but it is otherwise 

 unrecorded from the district.' This, howe^-er, is not the case.. 

 Dr. Ellis records ' one specimen from the Hightown shore, 

 May 1882.' F. Archer says of it : ' abundant m the ditches 

 Altcar rifle ground. This is also new, being distinct from 

 H. dorsalis ^Marsh.' The latter species he does not record, and 



igog March i. 



