. vnt generation of geologists and to future 
- ; The example that the British Association 
_ set is such as might be advantageously followed 
; the i acting geological societies of the continent. 
Ir an International Committee were formed, and 
so.b- commit, tes were appointed for the purpose of 
carrying out a similar scheme in Europe, there 
■would be no lack of workers forthcoming to 
further the object in view; and the results in so 
w as taoy ''elate to geological science, would be 
invaluable. 
i on iint’s-nest beetles at Gibraltar 
- Tangier; with especial reference to 
the HISTERIDJ2. 
BY J. J. WALKER, R.N., F.E.8. 
Among the numerous species of Coleoptera— 
about 1800 , at a moderate estimate — which were 
collected by me on both sides of the Straits 
during my recent stay of two years and a half 
at Gibraltar in H.M.S. “Grappler,”the Myrmecphila 
were, I think, my chief favourites. I was sti- 
mulated to give special attention to them first, 
by the discovery at Tangier, in March, 1887 , [of 
a very fine and distinct species of Sternoccelis , 
which has since been described by Mr. Geo. 
Lewis under the name of S. acutangulus (Ent. 
Mo. Mag., vol. xxiv, p. 164), and subsequently 
by the wonderful series of ant’s-nest Ulster s 
captured by that gentleman in the same locality 
in the spring of 1888, which he was kind en- 
ough to show r me when passing through Gibral- 
tar. The lucid and admirable paper “ On the 
capture of FormicariousHisteridae 5 ’ since'published 
by him (“Entomologist,” vol. xxi, p. 289, et seq.) 
almost exhausts the subject of the habits of 
these marvellous little beetles, and the follow- 
ing notes, as far as the Risteridce are concerned, 
must be regarded as mainly supplementary to 
that paper. 
Of the four species of Myrmecophiious Ris- 
teridce which came under my notice, all were 
found exclusively with ants of the genus Aph- 
amocrast <-r, living under stones, and almost entirely 
"wiili one species, viz., the black, pubescent A. 
testaceo-pilosa , Lucas. Curiously enough, how- 
ever, the very first ‘‘ant’s-nest Hitter" I ever saw 
alive— the original specimen of Sternoccelis acu- 
— occurred at Tangier in a small 
nest of the bright red A. sarboa , Mayr, and on 
one subsequent occasion only, I found both S. 
acutangulus and Eretmotus tangerianus , Mars., 
with the same ant. The commonest species ap- 
pears to be S. arachnoicles , Fairm., which is by 
no means rare near Tangier, though I did not 
meet with it in such numbers as did Mr. 
Lewis : this species occurred only on the African 
side of the Straits, while the little S. fusculus , 
Schmidt, was only found very rarely near Gib- 
raltar, being apparently represented at Tangier 
by the allied S. uiaum'tanicus, Lew r is, a species 
I did not obtain. Sternoccelis acutangulus and 
Eretmotus tangerianus occur both at Tangier 
and Gibraltar. 
Although Aphoenog aster testaceo-pilosa is a gene- 
rally distributed and very abundant ant through- 
out the district, according to my experience 
it was of no use searching its nest for Coleoptera 
of any kind, except on the stiffest clay soil, 
w r hich, near Gibraltar, is limited to two small 
spots — one at the western foot of the Sierra 
Carbonera, near the village of Campamento, and 
within easy walking distance of the Bock, the 
other near the Sierra Lorca, some three miles 
beyond San Roque, Another very good-looking 
place, which I was unfortunately able to visit 
on but few occasions, is the low undulating 
country behind Algebras, where, on March 16th 
of this year, I found seven specimens of S. 
acutangulus in one small nest. At Tangier the 
clay soil is more predominant, especially near 
the massive ruins of Tingis or “ Old Tangier, ” 
three miles east of the present town, which 
locality was kindly indicated to me by Mr. 
Lewis. A large amount of moisture is necessary 
to a successful search, as in fine dry weather 
any number of nests might be examined without 
finding a single j U lster in them, while a sunny 
afternoon, after recent rain, was sure to produce 
one or more specimens. The greatest haul I 
ever made in one day w T as at Tangier, on Decem- 
ber 20th, 1888 — a day of cold wind and almost 
incessant driving rain — when I took twenty-four 
specimens of ant’s-nest Histers , including nine 
Eretmotus tangerianus. 
The presence of larvae or pupae in the nests 
is also essential to that of the Risters , and a 
• <Y 
& 
112 
THE MEDITERRANEAN NATURALIST 
tanguls , Lewis 
