1 84 ENTOMOLOGIST'S RECORD, VOL. 113 25.iii.200 Two new localities for Hemicoelus nitidus (Herbst) (Col.: Anobiidae) Hemicoelus nitidus was first reported in Britain from Suffolk in 1980 Mendel (1982. Ent. mon. Mag. 118: 253-254). Subsequently, it has been recorded from Windsor Great Park by J. Owen (1990. Ent. Rec. 102: 274) and again in Suffolk more recently by D. Nash (2000. Ent. Rec. 111. 177). In the course of re-identifying British Anobiidae in the collection of the National Museum & Gallery, Cardiff, I discovered two specimens of this species standing as H. fulvicornis (Sturm). There is a specimen in the collection of the late B. J. MacNulty labelled Danbury, 18.vii.1964. 1 assume that Danbury is the village in South Essex, since the MacNulty collection contains much material collected in the counties around London. This appears to be the first Essex record and the earliest collected specimen. There is also a male specimen collected by the late Joan Morgan in the Bangor University Collection, which was recently acquired by the museum. This specimen was collected at Cavenham Heath, West Suffolk, 31.vii.1982. Unfortunately there is no further information relating to the specimens. It is quite likely that other unrecognised specimens may exist in collections.- & Brian Levey, Department of Biodiversity Systematic Biology, National Museums & Galleries of Wales, Cathays Park, Cardiff CF1 3NP. Dorytomus ictor (Herbst) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) widespread in the London area Since first finding Doiytomus ictor on Hampstead Heath (Jones, 1984. Proc. Trans. Br. Ent. Nat. Hist. Soc. 17: 91), this beetle has turned up in London with surprising regularity, virtually everywhere that its host tree occurs. Formerly called D. validirostris (Gyllenhal) by British entomologists, this characteristic weevil is usually reported as being associated with poplar, more specifically Black Poplar. Despite the discussion over the taxonomy of poplars, it seems that the beetle is not as fussy as botanists and occurs on the slightly disparaged Italian hybrid Black Poplar cultivar, Populus x canadensis "Serotina", seemingly widely planted in London (and elsewhere in the British Isles) during at least the last 200 years. The beetle is accorded "Nationally Notable B" status by Hyman & Parsons (1992. A review of the scarce and threatened Coleoptera of Great Britain, Part 1), who also report that adults have only been found in June, July and November, and that the species is difficult to identify. In fact, the beetle can be most easily found in the autumn and winter months and is very distinctive. The easiest way to find it is to prise off small pieces of thick gnarled bark near the base of the trunk, to look for over-wintering specimens. The beetle's characteristic covering of mottled scales gives it remarkable camouflage against the lichen-mottled bark, but can usually be found on large trees. Often, dead specimens or remains can also be found this way during the summer months. Its broad and short rostrum and stout legs make Dorytomus ictor one of the easiest species in the genus to identify. NOTES 85 I have now found this beetle in all four of the vice-counties of central My London. records are as follows: Hampstead Heath, TQ 265865, VC 21, Middlesex, three found under TQ bark of black poplar tree, 16.ii.1984; River Lee, Stratford Marsh, VC 374840, 18, South Essex, one found under loose bark of large black poplar, iii.1995; One-Tree hill, Honor Oak, TQ 354742, VC 17, Surrey, many under pieces of loose bark or large black poplar trees, 25.viii.1995 and xii.1995; Peckham Rye Park, TQ 348752, VC 17, Surrey, several under loose bark of large black poplar tree, ii.1996; New Cross, Railway Cutting, TQ 363763, VC 17, Surrey, several swept and many others found dead under loose bark of old black poplar tree, 27.iii.1997 and 30.iv. 1997; Buckingham Palace Gardens, Westminster, VC 21, Middlesex, several by sweeping under large black poplar tree on eastern edge of lake, 15.vi.1998; Morden Cemetery, TQ 2367, VC 17, Surrey, several found by sweeping under a large black poplar tree, 10.vi.1998 TQ VC and 15.vii.1998; Beddington Corner, 2866, 17, Surrey, several by beating black poplar trees, 21.v.1998; Downham Woodland Walk, TQ VC 397723, 16, West Kent, several under dead bark of large black poplar tree 5.V.1999; Sudbury Town, TQ 176844, VC 21, Middlesex, several under loose sycamore bark, 18.x. 1999, (there were some Lombardy poplars nearby which may have been the true host trees); Heron Island, TQ VC Battersea Park, 281770, 17, Surrey, one found by sweeping, 6.vii.2000 - Richard A. Jones, 135 Friern Road, East Dulwich, London SE22 OAZ (E-mail: [email protected]). Laricobius erichsoni Rosenhauer (Col.: Derodontidae) from Aberdeenshire Peacock (1993. Adults and larvae of hide, larder and carpet beetles and their relatives (Coleoptera: Dermestidae) and of Derodontid Beetles (Coleoptera: Derodontidae). Handbk. Ident. Br. Insects 5(3)), lists the localities from which Laricobius erichsoni has been recorded since its original discovery in Great Britain in 1971. Further records from Herefordshire and Shropshire are noted by Alexander (1999. Laricobius erichsoni Rosehhauer (Derodontidae) in Herefordshire and Shropshire. Coleopterist 8(1): 37). I found two specimens of this beetle in a Malaise trap situated in farmland at Duncanstone in Aberdeenshire (grid reference NJ 5626) on 30.iv.1999, and a few days later a third specimen, partially disintegrated, in a puddle of water in a wheelbarrow some 200 metres distant. These captures coincided with an unseasonable spell of warm weather and I presumed that they derived from a spring dispersal flight. The beetle and its larval stages are predators of wooly aphids on conifers and there are extensive mixed conifer plantations in the area, although the nearest of these is around three kilometres away. However, on 30.ix.1999 I found another specimen in the Malaise trap and in April of 2000 two more individuals were captured, one in