_Anthonomus ater_, the average length of which is two lines, I have taken a series of in Lundy Island, none of which exceeded one. In the same locality, also, the common _Ceutorhynchus contractus_ scarcely ever reaches its natural size; and is, moreover, so variable in colour, that I was long before I could persuade myself that the species was not distinct. Instead of the bluish-black elytra which I had always considered invariable, they all possess a yellowish or brassy tinge; and the legs, instead of being black, are in most instances entirely of a light yellow,--and in all, more or less inclined to that colour. I have received from Mr. Hardy, of Gateshead, specimens of _Haltica rufipes_[22], captured by him on the coast, in which the entire insect is of a uniform brownish-red hue. Of the rare _Mantura Chrysanthemi_ I have taken beautiful varieties at Mount Edgcumbe and in Lundy Island,--many of which inclined to a rich metallic-yellow, instead of the brassy-brown of the ordinary specimens: also, in the latter locality, particularly dark specimens of _Telephorus testaceus_. In like manner, I might enumerate other species equally remarkable; but I trust that those already mentioned are sufficient to verify my observations, of the extreme liability to change which, more or less, most insects possess when placed within the immediate influence of the sea. How to account for it, I know not. I mention it as a mere fact, and leave it for others to assign a reason for its existence[23]."