 From 1899 to 1920 he was employed by the Natural History Museum, describing many new species found in their collection, and devoting most of his time to the Rhynchota (true bugs).His other works included Volume I of the Heteroptera and part of Volume I of the Homoptera of the "Biologia Centrali-Americana" (1880–1900), and the Hemiptera volumes of "The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma" (1902–1918).Distant's collection of 50,000 specimens was purchased by the Natural History Museum in 1920.