57
THE BEETLES OF THE EASTERN COUNTIES.1
By CLAUDE MORLEY, F.E.S., &c.
WHEN I last year (1904) wrote my comparative account of the
the Coleopterous fauna of Suffolk and Norfolk I had had
no opportunity of studying the very excellent catalogue of the
Essex beetles published in the Victoria History of that county. This
I have recently clone with some care, and the results, as connected
and interwoven with those of a similar study of the neighbouring
counties, may be of interest to Essex Coleopterists, and will
indicate the directions in which they may most advantageously
strike out with a view to augmenting their list.
Rich as are both Suffolk and Norfolk in coast sands and salt
marshes, those of Essex are of yet greater extent, and of a
conformation to shelter a broader fauna ; in the way of woods
and forests Norfolk is the worst off, and the small patches of
ancient timber at Staverton and Fakenham in Suffolk cannot be
compared with the large tract of land still covered by Epping
Forest. As regards the light lands, however, I do not think
Essex so well equipped as her northern sisters ; certainly she can
boast no inland dunes and sandhills such as those of the Breck
District.
My personal acquaintance with the beetles of Essex is so-
slight that it will hardly be wearisome to notice it here. In
September, 1893, Silpha atrata was very common at Maldon ; in
January, 1896, Homalium iopterum, Rhagium inquisitor and Scolytus
intricatus* were found at Chingford Hatch. At Harwich early in
June, 1897, Bembidium cphippium, Dyschirius salinus,* Cercyon
aquaticus,* Philonthus ventralis, Heterocerus obsoletus and Codiosoma
spadix turned up ; and at Wood Street, Epping, in May, 1902,
were Anchomenus gracilis, Bembidium lunulatum Foure,* Hydrous
caraboides and Balanium villosus, with B. tessellatus, at Halstead.
In July of the same year, and again in April of the following, I
had several delightful days' collecting with my dear friend Mr.
Alfred Beaumont, who had the honour (with the exception of
Lord Avebury and two others) of being the oldest Fellow, among
500, of the Entomological Society ; and of whose death I have
to-day regretfully heard. We met with several nice beetles at
Gosfield, near Halstead, the best being Bolitochara lucida,* Liodes
1 Written 1st March, 1905.
2 Trans. Norf. Nat. Soc., 1904, pp. 706-721.