THE ENTOMOLOGIST’S WEEKLY INTELLIGENCEE. 
165 
lata and 4 -fasciala, also Grammoptera 
rujicornis and Malacliius bipustulutus on 
the flowers. — J. B. Hodgkinson, 11, 
Bispham Street, Preston. 
The Genus Trechus. — Tw’o weeks ago, 
when at Preston, I arranged with my 
friend, J. B. Hodgkinson, that on my 
return from the North we should go 
Trech us-huntiug. Hitherto Preston had 
heen famed for the richness of the “ re- 
jectamenta’' cast ashore on the river 
Kibble where the tide met the floods : 
this year there have not been any floods, 
consequently Preston lost its reputation 
as a productive locality. We, being un- 
believers iu chance captures, and having 
little faith in the assertion that u Dis- 
cus & Co.” come from the mountains, 
determined to trace the genus to its 
source up the river; and three days ago 
we put our determination into practice. 
Two days (I was going to say, hard work) 
confirmed our suspicions : having walked 
two or three miles up the river we crossed 
the fields to its banks. Diggers out, 
coats off, trowsers turned up, shirt-sleeves 
ditto, bottles in order; agreed to divide 
all we got, so that when one had got 
good ground the other could go “ pro- 
specting” for our mutual advantage, and 
into the sandy loam of a chosen point we 
went as if life and death depended upon 
who drew the first prize. “ Trechus se- 
calis ! — Trechus minutus! — Trechus se- 
en Us again ! ” when I almost fell into the 
river through pleasurable excitement, as 
Mr. Hodgkinson’s merry voice clearly 
rung out, “ Trechus lapidosus !” Pre- 
sently we found Trechus discus at home! 
and within an hour we had secured a 
family party of this species. Having ex- 
hausted this part of the bank we went in 
search of another suitable place ; eschew- 
ing clay, we chose only sandy loam, 
where the insects could burrow at will, 
and here, amongst no end of Bembids 
and Clivinas, which we were not looking 
for just then, we found our pet family of 
the day, Trechus; now working for an 
hour without return, now falling on a 
Rubens or a Discus. Twice Mr. H. 
called me to examine an unexpected 
species, Stenolophus elegans, taken whilst 
trying a stiff part of the bank ; but even 
this species, new to Lancashire, did not 
lead us off our Trechus hunt, thinking 
everything must give way to our set 
purpose. Night found us still upon the 
trail of this genus, and our captures 
amply repaid us for our perseverance. 
Here then, within sound of the church 
bells of Preston, Discus & Co. have 
resided in the patches of sandy loam on 
the river-banks for ages, whilst we have 
been journeying on to the marsh at every 
flood in hopes one may have been brought 
down and deposited on the shore, where 
we might find it, simply because some 
wiseacre had told us it had come from 
the limestone mountains. — C. S. Greg- 
son, Fletcher Grove, Stanley, near Liver- 
pool ; June 28. 
OBSERVATIONS. 
Ants'-nest Beetles. — When I imported 
my first bag of ants’-nest debris from 
Perthshire, I found the larvae of a Sta- 
phyline in plenty in it, and determined 
to try and breed it, which I have accom- 
plished ; it produced Homolota Jlavipes. 
Whilst waiting for this species to perfect 
itself other species of larvae kept ap- 
pearing freely, and I have now bred the 
second brood of Homalota anceps, Oxy- 
poda formiciticola, Oxypoda hcemorrhoa 
and Ptilium latum; this last new to 
Britain, and being such a small species 
of course I did not observe its larvae. It 
has been said it was wrong to disturb the 
nests of ants, but it seems to me that 
those who wish to observe the early states 
of parasitic Coleoptera have no other 
resource ; and, again, active-minded men 
cannot be expected to go through the 
slow process of waiting for a beetle to 
