449 
THE MEDITERRANEAN NATURALIST 
in an Island where every season and new loca- 
lity has some particular species of its own which 
often gives a chance of an interesting discovery 
and where excursions seldom fail to add new 
forms. 
Reserving all details about rare and minute 
species for a future occasion, I shall follow no 
scientific order in referring to the species men- 
tioned in this note, but I shall class them accord- 
ing to the time at which they appear. 
Generally speaking, it maybe said that Autumn 
and Spring are the best time for beetle-hunting, 
so that the stormy winter days and the summer 
burning sun do trot cause much loss to the col- 
lector, who can employ his time usefully in setting 
his specimens. This holds good in general, because 
there are a few species, especially among those 
forms which one finds “chez luff that are to be 
found at all times. Of these, Bleeps mumonata 
Lair, and B. gigas A., A Ids baegrozzo Schrk. and 
Scaurus vicinus Sol. are never missing in cellars 
or in damp localities. The Alphitolius diaperinus 
Panz ., Sylvanus surinamensis L ., Laemophloeus 
pus Ulus Schr ., Cu-andra granaria A. and C. 
oryzae L. Tenebrioides mauritanicus L. and Tene- 
brio molitor L , are also unfortunately almost <. con- 
stant guests of all grain and wheat stores, as 
Ec/wcerus cornutus F. is of all chests where it has 
a chance of finding biscuits. A ]5est to the house 
is Lasicderma bubalus Fairm . which I have 
found in all imaginable places, including the library, 
the kitchen and the house terrace, and which is 
not very particular in choosing its abode as I 
have found it on walls, under stones, on flowers, 
in books and not seldom in sweetmeats. 
Among leaves and peas it is well nigh impossible 
not to find numbers of Mylabris pisorum A. and 
M. rufimana Boh. whilst their congener M. chi - 
nensis L. is by no means rare on walls. 
Coming out of the protection afforded by houses 
and buildings, the influence of seasons begins to 
be felt, and soon after the first September rains 
one is certain in a vcalk in the country or even in 
the neighbourhood of Valletta to see in abundance 
the Atheucus variolosus F. busy in forming and 
rolling its dung balls, helped sometimes in his 
task by some stray Copris hispanus L. and by the 
Geotrupes leavigatus F. which may be seen every- 
where struggling on the ground. 
Prof. Gulia mentions also the A. sacer L. and 
A. semipunctatus F. which I have never seen, and 
he adds the G cgtrupes stercorarius L. which I 
would rather consider as G. Douei Gory. 
Such a cursory examination as this is not 
however sufficient; should the collector wish to 
know more of the denizens of these beetles haunts, 
he must make a closer investigation: the research 
is by no means one of the pleasantest, but it is 
mostly very successful, and among myriads of 
small Staphylinidtie and numbers of the black 
Aphodius granarius L. and the yellowish Aph. 
hydrochoeris F. he is certain of finding Bubas bison 
A., Ulster major A. or some shining pretty Sa- 
prinus , perhaps the S. chat cites III. or S. nitidulus 
Payk or the Ulster vent rails Mars. These species 
will be found in autumn and winter and also in 
j spring, when there will be added to them Ontho- 
ph/tgvs taurus Schr. and Outh. m< rginails Gebl. 
and other some species of Secprinus or Aphodius. 
From September to May, and sometimes the 
whole yearround, the loose stones on rocky grounds 
or on walls by country waysides shelter Xebrla 
aiula ludea Bomb., Olisthophus fuscatus Dej 
the extremely common Calathus melanoce- 
ph dus A., Ophonus meridionalis Dej Pleuropho- 
rus caesus Panz., Lampyris brut la Costa., Bradiy- 
cerus albidentatus Gyll and B. barbarus A. 
Gonocephalum rustlcum Oliv. and Phylax mtli- 
tensis Baudi and Stenosis me 1 1 tana Relit, two 
endemic species of common occurrence. 
Hovering by the road in search of prey are also 
seen, from Autumn to Spring, Ocypus olens Mull 
and Creophil us maxillosus A., Peutodon punctatus 
AM., Tentyrla sardoa Sol. and T. Laevigata 
Stev. veer. Leachi Baudi a local form, Plmella 
sardoa Sol. var subscabra Sol. one of the commo- 
nest species, Representatives of the vveevel tribe 
Sltona griseus F., S. lineatus A.. S. humeralis 
Steph and S. discoideus Gyll., Hypera phylan- 
thus Olive., H. punctata F., and II crlnita Boh , 
and two Otiorrhynchi the 0. lugens Germ and 0. 
cribicollis Gyll . are sufficiently common on walls, 
and under stones. 
The golden beetles, are extremely common in 
Autumn of which C hrysornela grossa A. may be seen 
in batches on the Calaniintha nepeta , the Chrys. 
J americana A. on rosemary, and Chrys. Banks It F. 
' less frequently under stones. In moist localities 
