INSECTS quenting insects, and all are easily recognizable, and therefore not likely to have been overlooked if they existed elsewhere north of the county. Five species which have a more or less boreal distribution have been observed ; they are : Gyrophcena manca, Corymbites cupreus, C. tzneus, Phyllobius viridicollis and Barynotus schonherri. The occurrence of Corymbites cupreus may have been accidental, as but one specimen was picked up in the churchyard at Tring some years ago. When the distribution of our native Coleoptera has been more fully investigated, it will probably be found that that portion of the Chiltern range situated in the county constitutes an interesting natural limit, roughly speaking, to the advance northward of several of our British beetles. Altogether 1,542 species have been recorded for Hertfordshire, but I am confident that this figure represents very incompletely the total number likely to be found. Some proof of the truth of this statement is afforded by the fact that nearly i oo additional species have been noticed by myself in Buckinghamshire within three or four miles of the Herts border, and in localities which have their exact counterpart in Hertfordshire. My thanks are due to the following gentlemen who have kindly given assistance : The Rev. Canon Fowler, M.A., F.L.S., Rev. Theodore Wood, F.E.S., Mr. G. A. Lewcock, Mr. E. A. Newbery, and Mr. A. Piffard, all of whom have furnished lists of captures made in the county. Canon Fowler has collated a number of records, chiefly from Stephens' works. The Rev. Theodore Wood's list consists entirely of species noticed in the vicinity of Baldock, where he took Barynotus schonherri^ the capture of which so far south is noteworthy. Mr. Lewcock's captures were made during an excursion to Bricket Wood and Watford ; he reports some scarce insects from both places. Mr. Newbery has made but slight entomo- logical acquaintance with the county, but still several species stand in the list on his authority alone. Mr. PifFard has collected at several Hertfordshire localities, but principally in the neighbourhood of Box- moor ; to him belongs the credit of having made an addition to our British list in the discovery of Orocbares angustata at Leverstock Green. He has contributed many other important records, among them being several species for which only two or three British localities were known previously. Of the records to be found in Stephens' Manual which apply to Hertfordshire, only those have been quoted about which there seems to be little or no doubt as to the identity of the species. Possibly some records of importance may have been omitted from this source, but considering the confused state of the nomenclature of Stephens' work, it seems best to err on the side of overcarefulness. Where no name is attached to the localities, the record must be understood to be my own. The nomen- clature of Sharp and Fowler's Catalogue of British Coleoptera has been adopted, except in a very few cases where recent research has necessi- tated an alteration. 85
