I suspect that Scaphidium is related to Cypha, and I have 
accordingly placed it before Scaphisoma in my Guide ; on the 
other hand our genus is allied to Mylsechus, Catops, &c. 
Whether Mr. Kirby’s genus Trichopteryx, which I intro- 
duced between them, ought to be associated with the Ato- 
mariae I have not had time to ascertain. 
Olivier named our genus Scaphidium in consequence of its 
oval and convex form resembling a boat pointed at both ends : 
it contains but few species; there are two that inhabit France, 
but one only has been detected in England. 
S. 4-maculatum Oliv. — Brit. But. pi, 379. 
I am not aware that this handsome insect has been figured 
in any British work; it is beautifully polished, and entirely 
black, excepting the four orange spots on the elytra : it is by 
no means common, and was formerly considered very rare. 
It seems to be extensively distributed, having been found 
in Coombe Wood, Surrey, and in Lord Spencer’s park at 
Wimbledon, by my friend Waller Clifton, Esq. : in Norfolk 
and Suffolk, at Clinger in Gloucestershire, and near Bristol ; 
also not uncommonly on a fungus-like excrescence, which 
spreads itself under the bark of decaying oaks near Swansea, 
by L. W. Dillwyn, Esq. 
It is generally found in fungi and rotten wood, but some- 
times it conceals itself under the bark of trees, as well as under 
the trunks of those that are felled. Specimens have been found 
in May and December; and the beginning of last June I dis- 
covered several amongst Boleti, growing on the decayed stump 
of a tree near Lyndhurst in the New Forest, and Mr. Dale 
met with it at the same time : they were very nimble and dif- 
ficult to capture. 
The Plant is Sedum acre (Biting Stone-crop, Wall Pepper, 
or Gold-dust), 
