INSECTS
The county of Bucks does not present any features, such as an exten- sive coast line, any especially fenny district, or very large old woods, which might be expected to render it a favoured region for the collecting of insects ; yet very large and interesting catalogues have been formed for those orders to which attention has been given. The Coleoptera, for instance, are well represented, as will be seen by the extensive list furnished by the Rev. Canon Fowler well known as the author of the greatest recent work upon the subject in these islands. He has also supplied a list of Hemiptera, representing the work which has been done in this order.
For the catalogue of Lepidoptera I am under obligation to many indefatigable workers, to whom I have referred in due course, and whose records seem to be thoroughly trustworthy.
COLEOPTERA
Very little has been known until comparatively recently with regard to the Coleoptera of Buckinghamshire : at first sight it would hardly be regarded as a county productive of beetle life. There is of course no coast line, nor is there any forest land as in Nottinghamshire, and the Chiltern Hills which run across the county do not appear to be very productive. The stretch of the Thames, which bounds the county on the south for some 20 or 25 miles, has not yet been properly worked and may produce more species. It must however be allowed that the list which we give below is a very satisfactory one, and it proves that all counties are productive of good Coleoptera if only they are diligently worked. The chief share in the list belongs to Mr. E. G. Elliman of Chesham, and I am also much indebted fto Mr. Philip Harwood and Mr. W. E. Sharp. It will be noticed that many of the rarer species in certain groups and genera are wanting, but the list will in time be largely added to. Among the Carabidæ Badister peltaus, Lebia cyanocephala and Dromius nigrvventris are perhaps worthy of notice, while Hydroporus marginatus and Helophorus dorsalis deserve mention among the Dytiscidæ and Hydrophilidæ, but it is among the Staphylinidæa that we find the best work has been done. The long list of Aleocharinæ, including nearly 100 species of Homalota, is due to the indefatigable work of Mr. Elliman, who has added two new species, Homalota pruinosa and H. clavigera to the British list, and has discovered several of our scarcest species in numbers. The following are among the chief rarities in the family :
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