Alexander Henry Haliday

“ Themsecond species is not, however, a new discovery, as Mr. Haliday had received, in 1847, specimens, named as above, from Mr. Curtis, who first found it in June, 1842, near Quar Abbey (Isle of Wight) and in a marsh at Hyde. Last September it was met with, not very scarce, on the banks of the creek of Owenbeg river, Cork Harbour, chiefly on Seta maritima. Like the other species, it takes long skips, probably with the help of the wings, but does not use them for a sustained flight. ”

“ The genus is now rich in synonyms, Heer having more lately characterized it as Chevrieria, and last of all the name Macropalpus has been given it in the Annals of the French Entom. Society. Stephens's trivial name is unfortunately chosen; the thorax in this species being much broader in proportion than in the type B. henningianus* also shown. ”

“ Antennae blackish, the first two joints piceous. Legs and coxae obscure reddish. Elytra blackish to the end. Found in October, the larva and perfect insect together, under damp fallen leaves on stones, in the bed of a dried-up brook (Glen-na-Chatta) of the Shournagh river (Cork) . When alive, the elongated form, somewhat like a Hypocyptus, was very striking. Obs. Tr. abdominalis, Fn.Fr. 333, 8, seems to differ from this species by the more produced angles of the base of prothorax, the lighter colour, and rather inferior size. The habitat also is different viz., in the nests of Formica rufa. ”

“ Prothorax still wider than in that species, the sides much rounded, widest behind the middle, the base deeply sinuate-emarginate; the hinder angles being much produced back and pointed, coloured testaceous to a pretty large extent. Elytra at the base narrower than prothorax, and tapering a little to the tip, where they are abruptly truncated, with the inner angle sloped away, so that their joint extremity is a little notched at the suture; the narrow hind edge pale testaceous. Abdomen with three dorsal segments uncovered and deflected, edged with pale pubescence ”

“ The other species recorded are serripes, appendiculatus, calcaratus, and dentipes (Sahlberg) . This last had been given as a new species (C. spinipes) by Mr. Haliday in the Entomologist but Kraatz has since shown that the insect there described is the true dentipes of Sahlberg, and that Erichson has a different species under that name. It is not yet determined which of these two is the dentipes of Murray's Catalogue of Scotch Coleoptera. The enumeration of new species in the Entomologists' Annual suggests some notes on species alreadyrecorded as Irish. ”

“ Linnaeus in the compounds ofptera found denominations for them,uniform and euphonious, while expressive of the characters to which he gave most weight in their discrimination. Fabricius, founding his system primarily on another set of organs, substituted names comparatively dissonant, uncouth, and etymologically corrupted. Even the signal benefits which he had conferred on science, by generic characters established on a surer base, as well as by a long series of added genera and species, could not perpetuate names encumbered with such disadvantages ”

“ Elytra nearly linear, covering the abdomen, obtusely rounded in common at the tip; scarcely broader than the greatest breadth of prothorax, and singly more than three times so long as broad; intricately stippled and pubescent (as well as the scutellum) , and hence rather opaque; blackish- brown, with the tip paler. Legs ferruginous, femora rather darker. Narrower and not longer than Trich. curta. The very brief character given of Tr. pulchella, Alibert, contains nothing to distinguish it from our insect, but its size is considerably greater ”

“ The peculiar structure of the legs was shown, "natatorial," as Scbonherr calls them, being thinly furnished with long hairs, the tarsi without the broad felt-like sole usual in this family, and with scarcely any enlargement or notch of the penultimate joint, but with long claws like those of Elmis, &c., by which it clings to the submerged plants (Myriophyllum, Zannichellia, &c.) among which it haunts. ”

“ Burmeister has objected to this plan, that idae can properly be appended to Greek roots alone, and that if a few examples can be produced of Latin names so modified (e.gr., Romulidae of the Satirist,Scipiadae of Lucilius) they are only from the poets, while the language of zoology is simple prose. ”

“ Haliday procured two specimens in the neighbourhood of Cork. The genus Colon numbers five species in Ireland, none of which have been observed in the Dublin district, though C. brunneus, which has occurred in Cork, Galway, and Wicklow, as well as in the North of Ireland, may be looked for here also. ”

“ Of the genus Cassida the Irish list is very scanty, especially as regards the Dublin district, within which only C. rubiginosa is vouched for. The European list in the Stettin Catalogue amounts to 31, increased to 40 in Gaubil's, of which, however, two are properly Algirian, and two Caucasian. Even the British list in Curtis's Guide amounts to 18. Besides the species named, C. equestris is not uncommon in other parts, chiefly on Menthoe in watery places. C. nobilis has occurred on Cochlearia by the shore of Strangford Lough. Mr. ”

“ On these grounds we retain the names Coleoptera, Trichopterygidas} Trichopteryx,in our enumeration of the Irish species of the family.
The species marked with an asterisk before the number have been found in Britain, but not yet observed in Ireland. Gen. 1. PTENIDIUM, Erichson; Redtenbacher; Wollaston; Faune Francaise; p., Motschoulsky Trichopteryx p., Kirby; Heer; Gillmeister; Mannerheim; Mots.; Alibert. Anisarthria p., Stephens. 1. punctatum, Gyllenhall; Woll.; Fn.Fr. alutaceum, Gilm. littorale, Mots. Common about dunghills ”