180 
NATURAL HISTORY NOTES 
(farm). Saw one of the ordinary squirrels ( Paraxerus jacksoni 
capitis) run up a tree. This is the third I have seen in eight 
months. Two green water-snakes were entwined among the 
foliage of bushes overhanging the stream. They harmonise 
with their environment in the most wonderful manner, and 
may be compared with the Asiatic green whip-snake (Passerita 
mycterizans) of similar habits. The latter, however, is poisonous, 
while the East African green snake ( Chloro'phis neglectus) is 
harmless. They were so extremely agile that I only succeeded 
in catching one, and it bit sufficiently hard to draw blood. 
On my return I strolled about on some waste land near the 
bungalow, where the grass was knee-deep, and here picked up 
a short-snouted sand-snake (Psammo'phis brevirostris) which 
was meandering about. In size it is about the same as an 
English grass-snake, and very prettily striped ; it is slightly 
venomous, belonging to the back-fanged group. They must 
be fairly common just now, as I picked up two in the road 
last week. 
Frogs were very abundant by the stream at the shamba. 
A noteworthy feature was a swarm of brilliant blue beetles 
of small size. A patch of herbage ten feet in diameter was 
alive with them, and they were flying about ; there must have 
been several thousands. Three times I closed my killing- 
bottle over clusters of them on the flower -heads, and in so 
doing took 256 of the little creatures. About a dozen were 
claret colour, and I surmised these were males ; one was purple. 
August 25. — Yesterday I caught a large weevil on the 
path, which it matched to perfection ; it had numerous pyramid- 
like lumps all over its back (thorax and elytra). On being 
touched it became rigid, and I carried it into the bungalow 
on a book and deposited it on the table, lying on its back ; 
at the same time I looked at the clock. For seven minutes 
it remained perfectly rigid, with legs extended to the full. 
Usually, when beetles sham death, they draw them up close. 
This beast had a wonderful vitality. I left him in the killing- 
bottle over night, and set it by gumming on a card the next 
morning. The bottle was strong enough to kill other insects 
quite quickly. In the evening that beetle was rambling 
about the table. I put him back for a day and a night and 
