THE AUSTRALIAN NATURALIST. 59° 
wet sand like a large fly. As one approaches it takes a rapid’ 
short flight, and if yon are very energetic, and the weather is. 
not too hot, you will have some excellent sport spiced by dis- 
appointment in just missing it after a suecession of these- 
flights, which, if actively enough followed up, become shorter. 
If; however, you are like Falstaff, “fat and scant of breath,” and 
there is a hot wind blowing and the sun is high, and yon 
really want to catch some, you may add guile to the “ frontal 
attack.” Personally Ihave found a handful of wet sand a. 
useful aid, which, well aimed, seems to cause a momentary in-. 
decision on the part of O. ypsilon, during which your successful 
grab may happen. An ordinary butterfly net would make the- 
capture easy enough, but I have caught many without this 
help. They have a provoking habit of making for the steep 
sand hills that overhang most of our beaches, where the clogg- 
ing effects of loose sand are added to swell the foot pounds of 
gravitation. On the whole, therefore, the capture of a dozen 
specimens will have reduced the collector to the condition of 
Mr Mantilini, as a “demnition moist unpleasant body.” Rest- 
ing for a while on a tussock of coast grass, and slowly 
scraping the sand away so as to lay the roots bare, 
many small beetles will be brought to light, of which the: 
following are examples :—Sobas australis, Hope, a round, 
convex, opaque, brown Heteromerous beetle, and very common.. 
Scymena variabilis, Pasc., smaller than and more strongly 
striated than Sobas, and varying in colour from black to light 
brown. This is often found under seaweed. Phycosecis litoralis,. 
Pase., a very small insect covered with fine, whitish scales, 
which are easily brushed off, so that old specimens appear- 
brown. This species has a very wide distribution, and was 
originally described from West Australia. I cannot distin- 
guish any difference between’ the Western forms and those 
from our own beaches, where it is common, though hith:rto- 
unrecorded. Trachyscelis niger, C ar., a minute, round, shining 
Tenebroionid, that often escapes notice by shamming death, 
when it might well pass for a seed or small pebble. This genus 
has also been alone described from West Australia until lately. 
T. niger can be found at any time of the year, and has been 
taken by me from Stanwell Park to Terrigal in quantities. 
Hyocis subparallela, Champ., and H. occidentalis, Blackb., both 
occur more sparingly in the sand. The latter 3s doubtfully 
identified, though it must. be very close to the West Australian 
insect. It also has the whitish protective colouring, while- 
subparallela is black or dark brown. Near the steep banks: 
where the sea sand meets the coastal vegetation other forms 
may be brought to light. Thus Saragus emarginatus, Guér., is 
commonly met with, and can be taken by the same process of 
pulling up plants and allowing the sand to run down, when 
our globula brown Saragus rolls down in the typically inert: 
