104 
NOTES ON THE COLLECTING AND 
ing beneath them, especially after dewy nights and inshowery 
weather. Nor must we omit to urge the importance of ex* 
amining the undersides of stones in the vicinity of ants’ 
nests (though particularly those of the Formica flam and 
fusca, in chalky districts), in which positions, during the 
spring and summer months, many of the rarest of our native 
Coleoptera may be occasionally procured. 
The muddy banks of rivers, and the alluvial deposits of 
marshy grounds, are pre-eminently rich, and must be care¬ 
fully searched. On warm still days, when the sun is bright, 
such spots are often alive with the Bembidiades and Staphy- 
linidce , which may be brought in still greater numbers to the 
surface by treading down the earth amongst the rushes and 
coarse grass with which such localities abound; whilst in 
fenny districts the heaps of sedge which, after being cut, are 
permitted frequently to remain in such situations, will never 
fail to afford beneath them a bonne bouche for the Coleop* 
terist. 
Felled timber (particularly in the woodland countries) 
should never be overlooked, a host of species occurring be¬ 
neath bark (especially when in a rotting state) which we shall 
in vain search for elsewhere; and where wounds in trees 
(uncut) have caused the sap to exude, and the bark to have 
become loosened from disease, a passing investigation will 
seldom fail to reap its reward. 
The waters, moreover (both stagnant and running), teem, 
especially during the autumnal months, with life, from the 
edges of the mighty river rolling in its pride, to the mere 
footprints of cattle stamped on the undrained soil. Moun¬ 
tain rills, however, small limestone pools, and deep ditches 
(in fenny and brackish spots), will best repay examination; 
whilst the stones and pebbles which are more or less im* 
mersed along the margins of streams and lakes present the 
most promising conditions for the Philhydrida . 
