Of the six species of Limnæa[66] which occur, it will not be needful to mention more than one, which is the rarest with us, viz.: Limnæa glabra. Both species of Ancylus are moderately common.
Of terrestrial Mollusca we enumerate the following Limacidæ—Arion ater, A. hortensis, Limax marginatus, L. flavus, L. agrestis, L. arborum, L. maximus, and as before said one of the Testacellidæ viz., T. Haliotidea. Among the Helicidæ of course the common kinds are all present. Of the genus Zonites we have the following species: Zonites cellarius, Z. glaber, Z. alliarius, and its var. viridula, Z. nitidulus, Z. purus, and its var. margaritacea, Z. radiatulus, Z. nitidus, Z. excavatus (one only, at Knowle), Z. crystallinus. Among the smaller species of Helix, attention may be called to the following: H. aculeata, a minute spiny coronet; H. pygmæa, the smallest of known Helices; Helix fusca, taken in two localities only, at Knowle and Selly Oak. Of the four species of Pupa found in Britain, two only occur, Pupa umbilicata and P. marginata. Of the latter species a colony of the white variety has been found inhabiting a wall at Cleeve Prior, Worcestershire. Only two out of our eleven species of Vertigo have occurred, viz.: Vertigo edentula and its variety columella, and V. pygmæa. Two Clausiliæ are found, Clausilia laminata and C. rugosa. It is somewhat singular that of the four species inhabiting this country the last named is ubiquitous, while C. Rolphii and C. biplicata are local. The writer has taken the rare albino form of C. rugosa, at Selly Oak. That exquisite shell, Cochlicopa tridens, var. crystallina, has been taken in three places; the type is largely distributed in our neighbourhood, whereas in others it is rare, while C. lubrica is widespread in England. Achatina acicula, dead shells only, Dudley Castle. Carychium minimum is commonly distributed.
In giving this outline of the Molluscan Fauna of our neighbourhood, the writer has called attention to the valuable papers on Embryology by Professor E. Ray Lankester, as shedding great light on the affinities of the Mollusca with other groups.
Chapter IV.
Insects.
BY W. G. BLATCH.
The neighbourhood of Birmingham, and in fact the Midland district generally, has never been considered particularly rich in either the number or variety of its insect productions, and it is a fact that a collection of Midland species, of whatever order, shows very wide gaps, both in genera and species, when compared with one formed in the east or south of England. Nevertheless, the Midland Counties are not entirely barren in this respect, and a catalogue of the insects known to occur within a radius of twenty miles of Birmingham would be a very respectable one. During the last few years a large number of very interesting species have been discovered, and there can be no doubt that with more workers and greater enthusiasm considerable additions would continue to be made. By extending the radius somewhat our list would embrace a good array of species which seem to be peculiar to the Midlands, such as Bembidium adustum, Eutheia clavata, Euplectus nubigena, Teredus nitidus, Macronychus quadrituberculatus, Hylecœtus dermestoides, Tropideres sepicola, Bagöus diglyptus, Notodonta bicolor, &c., &c. At any rate these insects have not hitherto been detected in any other British localities. It is much to be regretted that local entomology suffers greatly from two untoward circumstances, viz., the lack of students and the want of a carefully compiled list of species of the several orders. The publication of a catalogue of local insects as far as our present knowledge extends, would undoubtedly tend to stimulate the intelligent pursuit of this study, and it seems surprising that such an important work has not long ago been undertaken by the Natural History Societies of the district.
Having regard to the limited space allowed for this paper its object will, perhaps, best be secured by giving as full a list as possible, of the rarer and more interesting species belonging to the two most popular orders, viz., the Coleoptera and the Lepidoptera, together with some of the localities in which they occur. With few exceptions the references will be to insects which inhabit the twenty miles radius, a wider range being taken only in specially interesting cases, but even then it will be impossible to give anything like an adequate idea of the beetles, butterflies, and moths of the district.
To prevent the possibility of error it should be stated that the nomenclature adopted is (for the beetles) that of the “Catalogue of British Coleoptera, by Matthews and Fowler, 1883,” and (for the butterflies and moths) “Synonymic List of British Lepidoptera, by Richard South, 1884.”