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NOTES—ORIGINAL AND SELECTED.
district, a parish sadly neglected by those interested in the
natural history of Essex, whether their favourite subjects be
birds, fishes, or insects.—Henry Laver, F.L.S., Colchester,
October 2nd, 1903.
INSECTS.
Calosoma sycophanta, L.—Master R. H. Stevens recently
brought up to the museum, and presented to me, a fine specimen
of this insect, the rarest, largest, and most beautiful of the
British Carabidae, or Ground-beetles. It had been caught at the
end of July by his father, Mr. E. Stevens, on the site of a
new Church, of which he is the architect, now being built in
Half-mile Lane, Northwood, near Pinnar, Middlesex. Mr.
Stevens writes that the beetle was crawling on the grass by his
temporary office, and at once attracted his attention by its
brilliant colours, unlike any insect he had seen before. C. syco-
phanta is usually found on the coast, and the specimens have
been supposed to be immigrants from the Continent; its
occurrence so far inland is, therefore, remarkable and worthy of
note here, although it is not an Essex specimen. Curiously
enough, another specimen is registered this month in the Ento-
mologists' Record, by Mr. W. H. Bennett, F.E.S., who found it in
August, at Battle, in Sussex, seven miles inland.—W. Cole,
September, 1903.
Sirex gigas at Buckhurst Hill.—Among the curiosities
of the gnat visitation about the middle of August was the
production to me of a specimen of this insect, which had startled
a maid-servant by flying to the light in her kitchen. Her mistress
promptly identified it by a picture in a daily paper as one of the
"mosquitoes" which had rendered night hideous to them for a
week or more. As the Sirex was a fine female, measuring about
two inches, with a practicable-looking, sting-like, ovipositor, the
ladies' alarm at the possibility of a swarm of such midnight
marauders was apparently justified!—W. Cole.
Locusta viridissima.—A female example of this fine
Orthopteron was brought up to the Museum, taken on the banks
of the Thames near Purfleet, in August last. This insect is
probably far from uncommon on our coast, but is very rarely
detected, in spite of its large size; its colour and habits very
effectively favour concealment.—W. C.