J \ ENTOMOU MUSTS AWT \l. MIH' I ) *i v- | NOTICE? OF THE NEW BRITISH TN8ECTS ■ ; N Willi \ CO \. O ', R K D PI \ I K. cfronti 13tittton. Willi CO N S \ D E H A 13 L E A D t> IT I 0 - >, » • (ructions for Collecting, Preserving and Arranging | Insects, and an Address to the Young Entomologists at Eton, Harrow, Winchester, Rugby, and at , all otner" Schools. I i o 1 1 \ \ LONB ! II,, If'-,,-, Tina. y HI ^SpaebusYallesiaca. . emrta ' . ... . THE ENTOMOLOGIST'S ANNUAL MDCCCLV. COMPRISING NOTICES OF THE NEW BRITISH INSECTS DETECTED IN 1854. LEPIDOPTERA. By the Editor. HYMENOPTERA. By Frederick Smith. COLEOPTERA. By E. W. Janson. EDITED BY H. T. STAINTON, AUTHOR OF " THE ENTOMOLOGIST'S COMPANION. Strong IStiitton, WITH CONSIDERABLE ADDITIONS, INCLUDING Instructions for Collecting", Preserving and Arranging Insects, and an Address to the Young Entomologists at Eton, Harrow, Winchester, Rugby, and at all other Schools. LONDON : JOHN VAN VOORST, PATERNOSTER ROW. MDCCCLV. PRINTED BY C. ROWORTH AND SONS, BELL YARD, TEMPLE BAR. PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. The enthusiastic reception which " The Entomologist's Annual" has met with, from all classes of Entomologists, not only renders its continuance in future years a matter of certainty, but has rendered it necessary to bring out a Second Edition of that " for 1855." Of course, if the demand that has arisen for the book could have been foreseen, a larger "first edition" would have been printed, but, starting with so few data to go upon, I was as much mistaken, in the probable success of the un- dertaking, as were the originators of railroads respecting the probable speed to be obtained by locomotive engines. The object of this Annual is to record systematically the discoveries of each year. Every year new species are being added to our Fauna, and that these should be systematically chronicled is, in a science so vast as Entomology, of very great importance. That this may be efficiently done, it is essential that the writer, on each group or order of insects, be selected from those best acquainted with the subject. The present volume contains only three Orders : the Le- pidoptera, which, with the kind assistance of Mr. Double- day and Mr. Douglas, I have worked up myself; the Hymenoptera, for which no more able and thorough writer can be found in England {if in Europe) than Mr. Frederick Smith, one of the Assistants in the Zoologirai IV PREFACE. Department of the British Museum; and the Coleoptera, which have been most carefully elaborated by Mr. Janson, to a degree which has elicited the warm admiration of such celebrated Coleopterists as Mr. Waterhouse and Mr. Wol- laston. In future years I hope to be able, as a greater amount of talent becomes attracted to the ample field of Entomology, to introduce gradually other orders of insects, till ultimately the entire cycle of Entomology may be com- prised within this portable little book. Whenever the amount of scientific matter for the Annual is sufficiently limited, to allow of chapters of an amusing nature, relating to Entomology, being introduced, I shall certainly not fail to avail myself of the opportunity of adding some "dulce" to the " utile," satisfied that thereby the usefulness of the work will in reality be increased. Many who would hesitate to get the Annual, if all dry and scientific, may be tempted by such amusing chapters, and so be gradu- ally induced to become readers of the more scientific parts, whereas it might otherwise only be sought after by those well advanced in Entomology, and therefore less in need of it. In preparing the Second Edition, I found myself able to expand the volume a little, and have therefore introduced "An Address to young Entomologists at Eton, Harrow, Winchester, Rugby, and at all other Schools," and "In- structions in collecting and preserving Lepidoptera and Coleoptera" which will, I hope, be found useful to those for whose benefit they are intended. I hope that this increase in the size of this edition will not render the purchasers of the first edition dissatisfied with their bargain ; as these chapters are quite elementary, they are comparatively useless PREFACE. V to the " old hands," yet, if any one feels himself aggrieved in this matter, if he wishes it, I shall be happy to give him a copy of the second edition in exchange for his copy of the first. Several letters which I have received from new Corre- spondents concerning " The Annual," contain such useful suggestions, that a few extracts will not be out of place here. " Your estimate of the number of Entomological workers is rather amusing, and I would suggest to you to try and gather materials for a paper on Entomological Statistics, as it would really be very interesting ; and if you will only get some correspondent in every town to send you the names or numbers of all he knows devoted to studying or collecting in any division of Entomology, instead of your estimate of four hundred only, I am disposed to think it would be nearer a thousand. But then, I admit, many of these would be found in the humbler classes of society, and not book-buyers. As far as my experience goes, Entomologists, especially those ' who amuse themselves with catching insects,' are far shyer in declaring themselves than Botanists and other Naturalists; and, if I must speak the truth, are too often more selfish, de- lighting to find anything very rare, but very chary indeed of divulging the secret to any one else. The majority too of collecting Entomologists are not of a literary turn, and this tends to prevent their being known themselves, or know- ing what is going on in the literary world. Thus, I have frequently met with men who had stored up good boxes of insects, of their own collecting, but knew nothing of their classification — merely the common names, ' Mother Shipton,' 'Wood White,' ' Skipper/ &c. &c, but had not a book on the subject. A3 VI PREFACE. " Indeed, as there are anglers who look only to the pot, so there are a numerous set of collecting Entomologists, who look only to the pocket, and have hardly a spark of true love of science in their composition. This is a sad evil to the systematic and writing Entomologist, who naturally wants readers sufficient to remunerate his publishing outlay but cannot obtain them. " Your Annual is a move in the right direction, but more than this is required. Books on Entomology are far too high in price for the many — I was almost going to say for any ; and if the thousand collectors, that I estimate there really exist in England, are to be reached, it must be through such half-crown publications as yours, and not in expensive volumes, which few indeed can obtain. I have always been for extending knowledge as much as possible, and increasing the numbers of students; but this can only be done by descend- ing at first to the comprehension of the many, who only desire amusement, and so inducing them to ascend the steep ascent that conducts to the temple of science. Moderate priced publications may do this, as well as monographs of different families, brought out in a cheap way. How few are likely to buy Westwood's book on the Lepidoptera ! but if there were good, yet moderate priced volumes, that collectors might be induced to buy, on British Butterflies— British Moths — British Bees— British Coleoptera, or Coleopterous Families, &c. &c, the study of scientific Entomology might be much extended. However, it may be well first to ascertain the present number of practical Entomologists, and then the problem to solve is to convert them into readers" Another correspondent writes, " would it not be a good plan to have a catalogue of collectors as well as insects. PREFACE. Vll Every known collector in a district probably knows of seve- ral collectors, among the lower classes; and though many through jealousy would be unwilling to give up their names, I hope there are enough liberally minded collectors to counter- balance any such feeling. " Another writes, " most of the books on Entomology are so very expensive as to be out of the reach of common folks — if there could be a cheap book got up on Entomology, written in a plain, simple style, with the latest given name in English and the Latin one in italics, my opinion is, that there would be a great many more books sold, and we should hear of many more Entomologists, and likewise a great many more rare insects being taken. Entomology appears to me to want to undergo a radical reform ; there seems great con- fusion heaped together in technicalities, synonyms, and bad Latin names, not appropriate to their use ; in fact there wants a ' Modern Model English Book on Butterflies and Moths, for the Million.' " Now, with reference to the suggestion to publish a list of Entomologists, I would gladly do this in next year's Annual, if I find that the idea is generally palatable — and it would be well to indicate not only the names and addresses of the parties, but also the order to which they more particularly devote their attention. As to bringing out cheap systematic works on Entomology I shall be very glad to receive further suggestions, and may be able to give some announcement on the subject in "the Annual for 1856 ;" with reference to the necessity of writing intelligibly to the many, I cannot do better than refer to the following extract from the preface to Newman's " History of Insects." Vlll PREFACE. " Teachers in science are nearly equally divided into two classes ; — those who know too much and those who know too little. Those of the first class, overloaded with science, cannot admit the possibility of meeting with readers who have none ; and therefore their essays and introductions are so worded that it requires a tolerable proficiency to under- stand them. The teachers of the second class fall into the opposite error ; they curtail, garble and popularize the writ- ings of others without understanding them, forgetful that it requires a consummate knowledge of any science to abridge a work which treats of it ably and at large. The author submits, that both classes are in error ; he submits also that introductory works should be written for those who know nothing of the subject on which they read, and by those who possess, in themselves, some practical knowledge of the sub- ject on which they write." This entirely agrees with my own feelings, that a person must have more skill in order to teach the unlearned than would be necessary to teach those who have already made some progress. It can hardly have failed to have struck the most unob- servant that the votaries of Entomology have of late years increased in a rapid ratio; this has become statistically ap- parent in the recent development of the Entomological Society. It is but a few years since I attended a meeting for the purpose of devising some scheme of extricating the Society from a position of considerable difficulty, it being then 130Z. in debt, and with an expenditure in excess of its income ! Many might have been tempted to despair of re- covering the Society from so deplorable an abyss ; but John Bull, however fond he may be of grumbling, never despairs, and besides it is proverbial that " when things get to the PREFACE. IX worst, they begin to mend:" and certainly it was so here— the very difficulty of our position compelled a strict attention to economy and also induced the most energetic efforts to in- crease the income of the Society ; and it happened fortunately that at this very time, for I am speaking of a period no more remote than 1849, the Society had the good fortune to obtain the services of an efficient Secretary of good business habits in the person of Mr. Douglas, and however little that may be the general impression among those inexperienced in such matters, it is of vastly greater importance that our Secretary be a good man of business than that he be a scientific Ento- mologist, — not but what it is advantageous to combine, as in Mr. Douglas's case, the two qualities, but of the two the former is by far the more important qualification, as I had abundant opportunity of ascertaining during my own service as Secretary. The Society, which in 1849 only numbered 71 Members, has now (including the new class of subscribers) more than double that number; and to all appearance the present number will be again doubled before another six years have elapsed. Commensurate with the increase in the number of members of the Society and consequently of its funds has been an increase in the bulk and utility of the Transactions of the Society, which now appear regularly at quarterly intervals. That this rapid increase in the number of the Members of a London Scientific Society is a strong indication that the votaries of the science which it fosters are becoming generally more numerous, no one can deny, and that a taste for Ento- mology will yet become still more extensively diffused is a conclusion which few will probably be inclined to dispute ; and this Annual hopes that it will be found no mean con- X PREFACE. tributor to a " consummation" so " devoutly to be wished." It aspires to serve as the small end of the wedge, which shall convey to many, who would otherwise have remained ignorant on such matters, a knowledge of what is doing by the Ento- mologists of this country, and by conveying that knowledge to excite an increased amount of interest in the subject. If space permit, a glance at what is doing on the Continent shall also be introduced another year. The severe winter of 1854-5 has now passed away, spring has come, and no doubt all Entomologists are already actively engaged. That each may have a successful season is the sincere wish of H. T. STAINTON. MOUNTSFIELD, LEWISHAM, March 22nd, 1855. CONTENTS. The Pursuit of Entomology (by the Editor) An Address to Young Entomologists at Eton, Harrow, Winchester Rugby, and at all other Schools (by the Editor) Instructions in Collecting and Preserving Lepidoptera (by the Editor) .. Lepidoptera (by the Editor) .. .. .. .. New British Species since 1835 New British Species in 1854 Observations on British Tineina ♦ . Answers to Enigmas in the Entomologist's Companion Enigmas still unanswered Hymenoptera (by Frederick Smith).. New British Bees discovered since Kirby's Monographia New Fossorial Hymenoptera Notes on British Myrmicidse and Formicidae Notes in Explanation of the New Species of Aculeate Hymen optera in Stephens's Systematic Catalogue • . Instructions in Collecting and Preserving Coleoptera (by T. Ver non Wollaston, M.A., F.L.S.) Coleoptera (by E. W. Janson) New British Coleoptera since Stephens's Manual . . Important New Works on Entomology The Entomologist's Companion Geodephaga Britannica Insecta Britannica : Lepidoptera, Tineina Insecta Maderensia The Butterflies of Great Britain Hints to Students of Entomology PAGE 1 16 26 27 62 73 83 85 87 89 96 97 98 101 110 116 142 142 143 145 147 150 152 "Another reason why so many kinds of creatures were made, might be to exercise the contemplative faculty of man ; which is in nothing so much pleased, as in variety of objects. We soon grow weary of one study ; and if all the objects of the world could be comprehended by us, we should, with Alexander, think the world too little for us, and grow weary of running in a round of seeing the same things. New objects afford us great delight, especially if found out by our own industry." John Ray, The Wisdom of God in Creation. THE PURSUIT OF ENTOMOLOGY. (By the Editor.) The difficulties of a pursuit not unfrequently deter many from commencing it. After catching a number of Butter- flies, and of the larger Moths, in those halcyon school-boy days, the incipient Entomologist pauses, perhaps to con- sider whether he shall seriously occupy himself with the subject ; if he is deliberately to form a collection, that col- lection must be arranged. Now comes the first difficulty : it is all very easy work, when a lot of gay-coloured insects are caught, killed and set out and placed " any how " in a large box, and the tyro may even proceed further and ar- range together those specimens that seem to be alike ; but this done, he feels a desire, a pressing urgent desire, for some book on Entomology. When that desire can no longer be restrained, our young Entomologist meets with one of the numerous books written to sell, not to instruct, and fondly imagines that he has obtained an infallible guide; he little thinks that he also has teen sold. He now pro- ceeds, by the help of his new lights, to unravel the mysteries of his tangled collection, and soon discovers the names of some of the most conspicuous; but beyond that he finds a vast mass which, for the present, he must be content to lump together, as unascertained species. One difficulty that soon besets the student is, that the specimen he may have before him may have been a recent addition to our Fauna, and may not have been known to the writer of the B 2 THE PURSUIT OF ENTOMOLOGY. work he has obtained : this uncertainty increases his diffi- culties considerably. Were he sure that the species was figured or described in the work he is using, he could have continued his investigations, determined to ascertain its name ; but uncertain whether he be not, in fact, seeking that which is not there, his search is necessarily carried on with less vigour, and with less prospects of success. Every year new species are being met with in this country, some totally new to science ; some which, though common enough on the Continent, had not previously been met with here. With the increasing vigour with which Entomology is pursued — and probably it has twice as many eager votaries as it had twenty years ago — novelties, instead of being fewer in number, as might be expected were the mine nearly exhausted, are actually on the increase, and will probably so continue for several years to come. Besides the species actually new to us, many once of great rarity turn up in some locality in great abundance, or as Sphinx Convohuli did, in 1846, swarm throughout the country. It thus happens that our tyro meets with some insect in great plenty, which his "Index Entomologicus" mentions as "very rare;" and he hastily concludes that he has had some wonderful luck, and is inclined to boast of his captures, till some kind friend informs him that " the insect is now so common, that no- body thinks its capture worth mentioning:" whereat, though he may thank his friend for his kindness, he nevertheless feels a little annoyed — people do not like to discover that their swans are only geese. The idea of the present work is to supply these two main desiderata : to give systematically notices of all the new species found in this country in the past year, and at the same time to intimate which once rare species had been taken in any plenty. In the present volume, so much space being occupied by notices of the novelties since the last THE PURSUIT OF ENTOMOLOGY. 3 standard work on the subject, there was not room left for notices of the rare species which have become common, without swelling the book to a size which, by enhancing its cost, would have diminished its usefulness by limiting its circulation. Entomologists are not drawn from the wealthy, but rather from the working classes ; an extra sixpence or two in the price of this book might put it completely beyond the reach of a large circle of Entomologists. An Entomologist is none the less one because he wears fustain, and " labours, working with his hands;" and in very many of this class the innate love of these beautiful objects of creation, the Butterflies and Moths, supplies them with one of their purest pleasures. Should not such tastes and such pursuits be encouraged ? An observation, if new, is as important by whomsoever made ; and a Spitalflelds weaver may supply some important gap in our knowledge, which Oxford and Cambridge put together would fail to elucidate. To those who have not yet left school, I would suggest that the Midsummer holidays of the school-boy afford op- portunities of making Entomological captures, which rarely re-occur in after life. At no subsequent period are they likely to have so much time thrown completely on their hands ; hence it is that many of our rarest species have been taken by Entomologists while yet in their teens, and much more would, no doubt, be accomplished by them, if older and more experienced Entomologists would assist the young inquirers with information. Those who have acquired information should endeavour to render it as useful as they can, by communicating it to as wide a circle as possible ; and, acting on this principle, I am always happy to answer any inquiries addressed to me by young Entomologists. b2 AN ADDRESS TO AN ADDRESS TO YOUNG ENTOMOLOGISTS AT ETON, HARROW, WINCHESTER, RUGBY, AND AT ALL OTHER SCHOOLS. (By the Editor.) Almost every celebrated follower of Entomology has dated his predilection for that pursuit from his school-boy days ; consequently among those who now at school are fond of Entomology, are concealed the Cuviers, the Kirbys, the Erichsons, from whose labours we shall all derive instruc- tion ere twenty years have passed away, and many who still in round jackets and turn-down collars read these lines will, before they are five years older, have materially assisted the writer by their own observations; such is my firm conviction. Have not I then a strong interest in increasing, to the utmost in my power, the number of my readers, in urging each in- dividual to increased assiduity and encouraging him to seek information ? The feeling of admiration for butterflies, and a desire to catch them, appears instinctive in almost every child ; those who shrink from a beetle and fear a wasp or a dragon-fly, feel no abhorrence at the sight of the butterfly; be it a garden white, a peacock or a nettle tortoise-shell, it is alike admired and pursued ; but many may be disposed to imagine that YOUNG ENTOMOLOGISTS. D because all children run after butterflies, all who run after butterflies are children. As a friend of mine, a clergyman, when well advanced in life, while pursuing eagerly some in- sect, overheard the remark of some uninitiated in his occupa- tion, "Look at that big babby !" and had his object been merely to catch an insect and look at it for a moment as children do, and then let it go again, he might indeed have been styled a "babby," but then he would not have been an Entomologist. Kirby and Spence in their invaluable "Introduction to Entomology," a work whose excellence is best understood by the fact of it having gone through six editions in this country, and been translated into several foreign languages, endeavoured to show that Entomologists are not to be despised as triflers, and no doubt at the present day many are disposed to accord them a higher rank, but still see two men in one field, the one standing patiently by the side of a stream try- ing with a rod in his hand to obtain a " glorious nibble," the other with an Entomological net in his hand in full career after a butterfly (perhaps a Bath white), the passers-by will consider that the angler's occupation has in it nothing con- temptible, and they will not gape and stare at him every time he moves, while he who is in pursuit of his Daplidice will be regarded with very different feelings, and not a few jokes probably cracked at his expense. Many of you whom I more especially address are, per- haps, considered by your friends and relatives as following a foolish pursuit, and you are told you are wasting your time and neglecting your studies ; the latter I hope is not truly the case, for I advocate that no duty should be neglected for the sake of pleasure, and you will find that you will enjoy your recreation none the less for working hard whilst at work. All Entomologists begin (I believe without exception) with being collectors of insects, and, therefore, he who is O AN ADDRESS TO simply a collector of insects is not on that account to be dis- pised. We do not see the apple trees produce fruit at once, but first comes the bud, then the blossom, and afterwards the fruit is formed ; so the collector of insects, his first desire is simply that of getting — " Cecropias innatus apes amor urget habendi." But even in pursuit of that object he cannot but notice that some modes of getting succeed better than others, that he finds certain insects in certain places, and so by degrees a habit of observation is formed ; and when desirous to add to his own observations those of others, he begins to consult the writings of other Entomologists, he soon discovers that the observations he had made and which struck him as so profoundly novel, had already been recorded more than a hundred years ago ; and here immediately comes an induce- ment for an Entomologist to pursue zealously his school studies. All Entomological books are not written in Eng- lish. To read the memoirs of Reaumur and De Geer it is necessary to know French, and a facility in reading Latin and German will also be found no mean advantage. The Entomologist, therefore, immediately finds a personal interest in prosecuting his studies of these languages. Instead of say- ing, as many others might be tempted to say, " Of what use will Latin be to me?" he exclaims, "I shall then be able to read Haworth's LepidopteraBritannica;" instead of despis- ing French as a language " good enough for girls," he is anxious to get on with it that he may have no difficulty in reading Reaumur and De Geer. Now, though it be quite true that these studies ought to be pursued in good earnest from a sense of duty, yet when we can do so, it is surely desirable to give the scholar a personal interest in the steady prosecution of his studies. The philological skill which is used in deciphering some YOUNG ENTOMOLOGISTS. 7 obscure passage in Xenophon or Thucy elides, may later in life be of use in enabling an Entomologist to unravel some obscure description ; indeed the classical student soon gets to learn that to ascertain an author's meaning, the only way is to familiarise yourself perfectly with all the author's modes of expression. Individuals rarely use the same com- bination of words to express exactly the same ideas, and an author's meaning is best elicited by a reference, not to a dictionary, but to himself. An Entomologist soon finds that the field before him is so vast, that even if, as is now generally the case, he confine himself to one order of insects, for him to catch a sufficient quantity of each species to supply even his limited circle of young entomological acquaintance is no pursuit for an idler; indeed he cannot long have pursued this branch of Natural History without noticing that if, as the late Dr. Arnold remarked, an early separation is observed at school between the idlers and the workers of the community, that he has already taken his election among the latter class. Want of useful employment for their time is the great bane of the mass of mankind — "for Satan finds some mis- chief still for idle hands to do"— anyone who can early initiate the young to some attractive amusement, which shall at the same time afford them useful employment, becomes a benefactor to his race. Now, of all branches of study, En- tomology is perhaps the most attractive to the young : one great advantage is, that it is a pursuit which combines the healthful exercise of the sportsman with no small amount of headwork at home ; and with this advantage over any pur- suits in which the out-door exercise and in-door study are totally disconnected, because here each reacts upon the other, the Entomologist carefully examines a specimen under the microscope to ascertain to what group it should belong, and during his next walk he takes pains to observe the habits 8 AN ADDRESS TO of the species when at large, in order to be able by analogy to trace with what other species it has affinity. He who aims to be a good Entomologist will also not omit to pay his re- spects to " Flora," for most insects being vegetable feeders, an acquaintance with Botany is very essential. Now Bo- tanists are a much more numerous class than Entomologists, and the pursuit is one looked generally on with more respect; but inasmuch as insects are endued with volition and powers of locomotion, they claim a higher place than plants in the kingdom of Nature, and those who make their study the re- creation of their lives will continuously reap benefits from it, which at first they little anticipated. And in the first place they will soon discover practically the littleness of their knowledge, — and what more conducive to check presumption or conceit ? he who penetrates but a little depth below the surface of any one branch of science, soon finds before him numerous facts and ideas of which, before he penetrated to this extent, he had no conception ; reasoning therefore by analogy he concludes that all other branches of science are equally pregnant with interesting results to reward the active investigator. Perhaps he had nearly begun to conclude that he knew (l pretty nearly every thing :" now he finds that even in this one branch of science what he does not know is infinitely more than what he does know, so that he will feel inclined to exclaim with a cele- brated living Entomologist* — " If Entomology became any one's daily and favourite occupation, there would be matter enough for observation, investigation, correction and discoveries for centuries of years, without the least sensible exhausting of the object," — and if Nature herself is thus infinite, what must be her Creator! * Herr C. A. Dohrn, President of the Entomological Society of Stettin. YOUNG ENTOMOLOGISTS. 9 And in the second place, the Entomologist will deduce but little moral from his observations if he do not gather from them strong reasons for a continuous cheerfulness : let him but walk on some sunny summer's morning by the side of some verdant hedge, he will observe that insect life is dis- played before him, not singly or in dozens, but in hundreds and thousands, and each of these insects has a part to play in the great economy of Nature, each is enjoying its short life, and is fulfilling the end of its creation. It is impossible for any one seriously to reflect on the continuous happiness enjoyed by these atoms of the animal kingdom, without in- quiring whether man may not even here participate in it. The cause of half, nay, of nine-tenths of our troubles, is that we are disposed to grumble and be peevish if everything does not fall out exactly as we anticipate. The Entomologist will act wisely if, taking lessons from insects, he endeavours to increase his own happiness by being contented in what- ever position and in whatever circumstances he may be placed ; if we hold that " whatever is9 is right," then the sooner we reason ourselves into acquiescence in that which is, the sooner do we derive the benefit of a uniform serene cheerfulness which prevents any apparent annoyance being a real trouble to us ; and the feeling described by St. Paul, " I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be con- tent," does not in the slightest degree interfere with our energetically endeavouring to effect some object. It does not at all prevent our acting with a view to the future ; we only admit cheerfully that which no exertions of ours can alter, that which has come to pass. An Entomologist may strive earnestly to discover some particular species, may tax his ingenuity and spend a vast amount of time, but if he still does not succeed, though he may not relax his efforts in the least, he will, if he has profited by his studies, abstain from all feelings of discontent; he will not be disposed to grumble b5 10 AN ADDRESS TO at his hard fate, and deem himself an ill-used individual, but he will be inclined to laugh at his repeated failures, and amuse himself with making good tales about them. Now if the Entomologist learns to be cheerful, and learns not to be conceited, no one can tell him that his pursuit is a useless one, — but do I recommend every one to become an Entomologist? No, there are other branches of science as worthy of study as Entomology ; it would not do to neglect them, but I may wish that there were more Entomologists ; and there is no doubt that it would be a great benefit to themselves, and to all their acquaintance, if all those who are now destitute of any scientific occupation were to turn their attention to Entomology; nor let it be for a moment imagined that I recommend any one to devote his whole time to Entomologv. If it be made the business of life, some other Ox ' occupation must be sought for recreation ; you cannot en- gage the whole day in one uniform occupation without feel- ings of weariness and irksome monotony being induced ; follow your business whatever it may be with energy during the full time allotted to it, but after business hours, instead of dozing before the fire-place, or doing " nothing at all parti- cular," pursue some scientific study in a methodical and business-like manner, in short — " Take a pleasure in your business, and make a business of your pleasure." But I fear I am preaching too long a sermon to secure the unflagging interest of my younger readers, so I will endea- vour to direct their attention to some points more imme- diately practical. I will presume you have each of you been collecting for a year or two, and have obtained a tolerable collection, but no doubt you are puzzled to get some of your specimens named, and as there is no royal road to Entomo- logy, any more than to any other branch of learning, to name a collection of insects is not an easy matter. Many is the inquiry that I have had for some work on Entomo- YOUNG ENTOMOLOGISTS. 11 logy, " with good coloured figures of all the species, and with good descriptions." Such a book would be cheap at £100 ; there is no such booh, nor do I anticipate there ever will be one possessing such qualifications. On several orders and groups of insects we possess no systematic British work, but for Lepidoptera we have " Stephens's Illustrations of British Entomology," and for Coleoptera, " Stephens's Manual of British Beetles;" and faulty as both works have long since been ascertained to be, they have not hitherto been superseded by any later works on the same subjects, and how- ever awkward it may be to use a book as an authority which we are well aware is no authority, we must use such tools as we have, and where that cannot be selected which is actually good, we take that which is the best, remembering that " parmi les aveugles un borgne est roi." But no doubt I shall be asked are there figures in these works. In the "Illustrations" there are a few, in the " Manual " none. Now my readers are probably more anxious for a book full of figures, than for one containing only descriptions. About twenty years ago a work was pro- jected for figuring all the British Lepidoptera, and it did figure all the species known at that time. I allude to Wood's Index Entomologicus. This work, from the facility with which it enabled isolated collectors to name their specimens, has probably contributee1 more to promote the study of the British Lepidoptera than any other work ; the figures of many of the species are excellent, and, except in some of the obscure groups, and the Micro- Lepidoptera, there are few figures which may not be easily recognized. Unfortunately, since its publication the progress of the science has led to the adoption of an improved nomenclature, more in accordance with that on the continent (for twenty years ago an insect not unfrequently bore one name here, another in France, and a third in Germany, so that the Entomology of one country 12 AN ADDRESS TO was an u unknown tongue " to the inhabitant of another), and the result has been, that if the collector finds that his insect is fig. 242 of Wood, and consequently Haclena och- racea, he has then to find by what name Hadena ochracea of Wood is now known ; for which purpose he must refer to the index of Stephens's Museum Catalogue of British Lepi- doptera. It was to supply this difficulty, a great and in- creasing one, that a new edition of Wood's Index Entomo- logicus has lately been brought out at a considerable reduc- tion of price, and with the nomenclature carefully revised ; but the figures are not as well coloured as the original edi- tion, and those who can meet with the original at book stalls will do well to secure the prize. Humphrey's and Westwood's British Butterflies and British Moths is a work which, from being showy and cheap, is tolerably well dispersed amongst Entomologists, but the figures are far inferior to those in Wood, and it will rarely enable a collector to name any but his most conspicuous species. It is true some species are figured in it, not known as British at the time of the publication of Wood, but these have been included in a supplement to Wood's Index Ento- mologicus, published last year, and which for the small price of 12s. 6d. contains 180 figures. Lately there has appeared a revised and much improved edition of Humphrey's and Westwood's British Butterflies, the plates to which are entirely new, and only those species are in it admitted as British which are adopted as such by Stephens in his Museum Catalogue of British Lepidoptera. The title of this last and best work on our butterflies is " The Butterflies of Great Britain; with their Transforma- tions, delineated and described by J. O. Westwood." But even the fortunate possessor of several works on Entomology will still find himself at a loss to name many of his specimens; yet there are several Entomologists, who, YOUNG ENTOMOLOGISTS. 13 like myself, would gladly afford any beginner such infor- mation as he might feel disposed to seek — but how is the tyro to get acquainted with any of these useful members of the community? Of course I cannot answer so clearly for others as I can for myself, but I know this, that if any young collector (not under fourteen years of age) were to write to me for information, I should be more pleased at receiving his inquiry than he would be at obtaining my answer, and let him not imagine that I am a sedate elderly person with no fellow feeling for a mischievous school boy ; I have no sedateness about me, and am as full of fun as any one, and as the late Dr. Arnold used, when at Laleham, to " romp and play in the garden, or plunge with a boy's delight into the Thames, entering into his pupils' amusements wTith scarcely less glee than themselves," so I am quite ready to participate in the delight of the youngest Entomologist, on adding some species to his collection, or some new fact to his knowledge; but further to facilitate the first step, and we all know that " ce n'est que le premier pas qui coute," I here give samples of letters, such as may be useful as models by those seeking for information : — " Dear Sir, " Encouraged by your invitation in the Entomolo- gist's Annual, I write to ask if you can tell1 me at what time of the year I should seek for the larvae of the Emperor Moth (Saturnia Carpini), and which would be the most likely localities in which to find them. " Believe me, dear Sir, " Yours very truly, "Dear Sir, " I lately found a hairy caterpillar of a bright yel- low, with long red tufts of hair and a black chain-like mark 14 AN ADDRESS TO down the back. I have tried it with various kinds of food, and it wrill not eat ; can you tell me what it is, and on what plant I should feed it ? Your invitation to those in search of information encourages me to trouble you with this inquiry. " Believe me, dear Sir, " Yours very truly, The reader will observe, that though addressing a perfect stranger, he commences " Dear Sir ;" this is the etiquette amongst Naturalists ; an Entomologist, writing to another for the first time, never thinks of beginning " Sir;" that would be considered very stiff and formal. The inquiries I have given are two, which I should have been very glad to have put when I was young to any more practised hand, as it was long before I obtained any speci- mens of Saturnia Carpini, and the first larva I found of Acronycta Aceris I found on some palings, and though I tried it with various kinds of food, I suppose I never offered it either horse-chestnut or sycamore, and it soon died of hunger. Insects are transmitted from one Entomologist to another by the post; with larvae the matter is very simple, as all that is necessary is to place them in a small tin box, with some of the proper food, and wrap up the box in paper and direct it; perfect insects, however, require to be handled with more caution — and in the first place they should be carefully pinned into a small, light, yet strong corked wooden box, and those which had large bodies should have them carefully pinned down by two or more pins going crossways over the body ; the box should then be carefully wrapped up in several thicknesses of cotton-wool, and then enclosed in paper; the object of the cotton-wool is to prevent any jar to the insects when the box is being stamped in the post- YOUNG ENTOMOLOGISTS. 15 office, as without the precaution the first stamp it received would probably dislodge several bodies, which would then amuse themselves with knocking off the legs and antennae during the remainder of the journey. Sometimes, with all our care the box arrives at its destination squashed, and then it affords a capital opportunity of testing the serenity of our correspondent's temper, and his equanimity under trying circumstances, and if he writes a very fierce remonstrant letter the answer naturally suggests itself, " Absurde facis, qui angas te animi." ( 16 ) INSTRUCTIONS IN COLLECTING, REARING, KILLING, PINNING, SETTING AND ARRANGING L E P I D 0 P T E R A. (By the Editor.) How to collect Lepidoptera. These may be collected in the larva, pupa, or imago state : with the latter or perfect state we will commence the con- sideration of the subject. To collect butterflies or moths on the wing, the Entomo- logist must be provided with a ring net, which should be made of white book-muslin, or of green lino or net; he must also be supplied with a number of pill-boxes, and with a pocket corked collecting-box and some pins. The insect when seen is pursued, but with due caution not to cause it to take alarm, and as soon as contained within the net it must be boxed, or if it be of too large a size, or of a restless nature, it must be pinned. Moths may often be found asleep on palings or trunks of trees, and may be easily boxed without using a net ; but some species will readily take alarm when the collector approaches, and he has the disappointment of seeing them fly away just as he was about to box them. Many insects may be dislodged from hedges and bushes by thrashing them with a stick, taking the precaution to keep on the sheltered side of the hedge, as if the young collector INSTRUCTIONS IN LEPIDOPTERA. 17 beats a hedge on the side on which the wind is blowing, the moths he dislodges will all effect their retreat on the other, and he will not be benefited, except by the exercise of beating ; many insects will be found in grass fields, and may be dis- lodged by the feet of the collector, or may be obtained by sweeping the herbage. In the Midland counties, and North of England and Scotland, many Noctuce will be found resting on the stone walls, and that rare species, Cry modes Templi, is not unfrequently found in heaps of loose stones, by care- fully turning them over one by one. Besides the above modes of catching butterflies and moths, some moths may be enticed by stratagem, that is, they may be obtained by sugar and by light. The moths which are obtained by sugar are principally Noctuce. The Bomhyces never come to sugar, and the Geometridce and Microlepido})tera only occasionally, but the Noctuce may be obtained in that way in great numbers; hence our collections are now proportionally much richer in this family than in the others. To obtain moths by sugar, the process is this, a mixture is made of coarse brown sugar and beer, with the addition of a little rum, and this is daubed by means of a painter's brush on the sheltered side of the trunks of trees, or, if there are no trees, on posts, stones, &c. The mixture should be laid on about sunset, or a little before or after, and as soon as it gets dusk the places sugared should be revisited, the collector being provided with a lantern, and for several hours the moths will continue to arrive and may be found sitting at the sugar busily engaged on the dainty meal set before them ; at break of day they all however dis- perse, so that it is of no use to put the sugar on the trees over night and go and look for the moths there the following morning. The moths which are obtained by light are of all the families. Bomhyces, Geometridce, Pyrtdides and Crambina, 18 INSTRUCTIONS IN LEPIDOPTERA. come very freely, and even the Sphingidce (i. e. the genus Smerinthus) sometimes make their appearance. To obtain moths by light it is advisable to have one light outside the room in advance of the window, and one inside the room ; the former light bringing the moths within the sphere of attraction of the inner light. Those who try this plan will find that all nights are not equally successful : sometimes the moth will come in perfect smarms, and all sorts of rare species come to the collector, instead of his having to go in search of them ; at other times, though the weather seems favourable, no moths will come, and the collector becomes disheartened and declares that light is " no go." It is no use to try light on a bright moonlight night, but dark and dull nights, with not much wind, are generally the best, yet I have known moths come freely when a strong wind has been blowing. There are certain flowers that some moths are particularly fond of, and maybe readily caught in the evening dusk buz- zing at them ; Silene inflata is a general favourite with many species, and the common red valerian, honeysuckle and the lime tree (when in blossom), are also very attractive. But besides collecting moths in the perfect state, they may also be collected in the chrysalis or pupa state. Old collectors in the time of Haworth used to obtain pupae by digging for them, but latterly this plan had so rarely succeeded, that it was generally contemned till the Rev. Joseph Greene suc- ceeded in reviving the plan, by the success which attended his energetic assiduity in this mode of collecting. Mr. Greene, who is the only authority to be quoted in respect of digging for pupae, remarks,* that " meadows and parks with scattered timber trees are generally the best localities ; next to meadows and parks come woods, but searching in woods is a tedious and fatiguing affair, and requires some experience : it is in * Trans. Ent. Soc. vol. 2, N. S., Proceedings, pp. 110, 111. INSTRUCTIONS IN LEPIDOPTERA. 19 vain to examine the dense portions, it is equally vain to dig at the roots of trees in such localities, and you will rarely find anything unless upon trees of considerable growth ; the thick moss which collects about the trunks and roots is the part to be examined. Bombyces are generally found under the moss which covers spreading roots and not on the trunks, which seem to be preferred by the Geometi-ce. The best localities in woods are the borders or open places ; such places when elevated or facing the north are generally the most productive. Hedge-rows it is perfectly useless to try; why it should be so, I cannot tell. The only instrument I use is a common garden trowel ; the form is immaterial, perhaps a rounded blade is best, as passing with greater ease between the roots. The trees which I have found the most productive are the following, — elm, oak, ash, poplar, beech, willow and alder. In digging, it must be borne in mind that all pupae are close to the trunk of the tree, seldom more than two inches distant; frequently the trunk of the tree forms one side of the cocoon, especially the cocoon of such insects as spin ; the chrysalis also lies almost invariably close to the surface of the earth. Insert the trowel about three inches from the trunk, to the depth of two inches or so ; then push it to the tree and turn up ; if the soil be dry and friable, without grass, knock it gently with the trowel, which will be sufficient. If, however, there be grass you must proceed more cautiously ; take up the sod on the left hand, knock it very gently with the trowel, and those pupae which merely enter the ground will drop out; to find those which spin, you must carefully examine the sod, tearing the roots of the grass asunder; these are of course much the most difficult to find, the cocoons being generally of the colour of the earth. It is useless to try sticky or clayey grounds, the caterpillars being unable to penetrate it ; in searching under moss the best plan is to loosen the edge, then to tear it gently 20 INSTRUCTIONS IN LEPIDOPTERA. off, observing whether any pupae fall. Look at the trunk ot the tree to see if anything adheres to it, and then carefully examine the moss itself; experience alone will enable you to detect a spun cocoon." But the collector must not be dis- couraged if in digging for pupa? he is not immediately suc- cessful, for, says Mr. Greene, "you will perhaps see ten elm trees to your eye exactly alike ; at nine you may find nothing ; at the tenth possibly twenty or thirty pupae. I remember on one occasion trying a number of ash trees, without the slightest success, and was about to give up the search as hopeless when I resolved to try one more ; at that one I found forty-six pupae of Ennomos illunaria, and three of Pcecilocampa Populi ! No pupae hunter can hope for success unless he have a good stock of patience and perseverance : he must not mind cold hands, wet feet, or an aching back ; for although these are drawbacks, yet is the pursuit quite exciting when success- ful, and it will reward the seeker not merely of Lejndop- tera, but also of all the other orders of insects. The best months for digging are October, November, and December, for the spring and summer insects; July and August for the autumnal species." And, thirdly, we may collect Lejndojjtera in the cater- pillar or larva state. Those who wish to collect larvae would do well to turn out early in the morning, for many larvae are epicures, and only eat whilst their food is flavoured with the morning dew ; many of the Noctuce larvae feed only by night and should be sought for with a lantern ; those which feed in hedges and trees may fre- quently be obtained by beating, taking the precaution of hold- ing a net or inverted umbrella under the object beaten ; many larvae may be found by looking for their " frass," the indi- cations where they have eaten, or their ejectamenta ; in very windy weather many larvae get dislodged from the trees by INSTRUCTIONS IN LEPIDOPTERA. 21 the continual agitation of the branches, and may afterwards be found endeavouring to regain their position by crawling up the trunk; in the spring many larvae may be found after dusk feed- ing on the semi-expanded leaves of sallows and birches. The larva collector should be provided with one or more tin canisters of convenient size, in which to put the larvae he may meet with, and should with each, place some of the food- plant on which he has found it ; he must, however, early learn to avoid the larvae of Cosmia trapezina, and Crocallis elinguaria, as these prefer making a dainty meal of other caterpillars to a more orthodox vegetarian diet. How to rear Lepidoptera from the pupa or larva state. To rear pupae collected is comparatively an easy matter. " The collector should take with him a box (rilled with moss) in which to convey the pupae, and when brought home they should be placed in a large box, with the inside surface rough, and covered with gauze or wire frame; at the bottom of the box should be some fine earth, on which the pupae are to be placed and covered with a thick layer of moss, which may or may not be occasionally damped. J3e sure to heep them from the sim" so writes Mr. Greene. To rear larvae requires considerable care and attention : the larva must be kept well supplied with fresh food ; if its food is allowed to become withered or mouldy, the larva cannot be expected to retain its health. The plan used by Mr. Doubleday of Epping, our most successful rearer of insects, is, to get a glass cylinder and sink one end of it into a flower pot in which is some white sand, the sand is kept moist and the food is stuck into it, so as to keep it fresh for some time ; the larva is then placed on its food, a bit of gauze is tied over the top of the cylinder, and the flower-pot and cylinder being 22 INSTRUCTIONS IN LEPIDOPTERA. kept out of doors, the larva is as nearly as possible in a state of nature, and no doubt larvae are quite of Mr. Squeers' opinion, that " it is a blessed thing to be in a state of nature." Horn to kill Lepidoptera. The modes of killing in use among collectors are very various ; some use prussic acid, some use chloroform ; bruised laurel leaves is a convenient way of obtaining the effects of the former poison, without placing anything dangerous in the hands of young people. The receipt for preparing them is as under. Gather one hundred laurel leaves, the juiciest you can find (yet they must on no account be wet when gathered); take two or three at a time, and hammer them till they are well bruised ; then with a pair of scissors cut them into small pieces — as small as you like, and place them in an air-tight vessel, so secured by some contrivance that the pieces shall not roll about loose. For large moths and sphinges it is necessary to use a more violent poison, and a quill dipped in saturated solution of oxalic acid should be inserted beneath the thorax of the in- sect, by which means the largest species may be killed almost instantly. Those who want an off-hand way of killing insects when neither acids, laurel leaves or chloroform are at hand, will find that by burning one or two brimstone matches under an inverted tumbler, beneath which the insects to be killed have been placed, and leaving the inverted tumbler full of the sulphureous fumes for a few minutes the insects will be completely killed, but green moths will be liable to lose their colour. INSTRUCTIONS IN LEPIDOPTERA. 23 How to pin Lepidoptera. In the first place the collector must supply himself with solid-headed pins, which he may obtain of W. Gale, Crown Court, Cheapside, London ; they are sold in half ounce boxes, and Entomologists in the country can have them forwarded by post. The proper sizes to order are No. 6 for Sphinges and Bomhyces. ,, ,, „ No. 8 for Noctuse. „ ,, ,, No. 8 and No. 10 for Geometrae. ,, ,, ,, Nos. 19 and 20 for Micro-Lepidoptera. The pin must be inserted in the centre of the thorax, and held as nearly as possible vertical, if anything with the point rather inclining backwards; many collectors hold them with the point inclining forwards, which gives the insect, when set, rather a silly appearance : the pin should be pushed well through the insect, so as to take firm hold of the cork, about one-third of an inch at least, projecting beneath the thorax of the insect. Mow to set Lepidoptera. The variety of apparatus that has been invented for this purpose would be rather puzzling to a beginner. Grooved and rounded corks are used by many for setting the Noctuce and GeometridcB upon, and those who have seen such con- trivances can imitate them, but to explain them accurately by description would be difficult. For those who have not such contrivances we therefore recommend a sheet of pre- pared cork, which should be glued on to a flat piece of wood, so as to keep it steady and prevent it from warping ; then cut some braces of thick card-board of various lengths, from three-fourths of an inch to two inches, tapering nearly to a point at one end, the other end being about one-fourth of an inch broad; insert on the brace at this broad end a good 24 INSTRUCTIONS IN LEPIDOPTERA. strong pin (I obtain of Mr. Gale a No. 12 pin, which answers this purpose), and when about to set out an insect — say a Vanessa Urticce or an Arctia Caja — place two of the longest braces about an inch apart, with their points converging, and let the broad end of the brace be kept well up from the board being some height up the pin, the narrow end being in con- tact or nearly so with the setting board ; these are the under braces, and the insect is then to be placed midway between them, and its wings expanded over these braces and kept in their place by the use of several smaller braces. The insect may thus be made to assume a rounded form, that is to say, the edges of all the wings are deflected so as just to touch the setting board ; it gives the insect a graceful pleasing ap- pearance, but surely not a natural one. On the Continent insects are always set on flat setting boards, with a groove to adjust the body, so that by applying flat braces over the wings they are easily kept perfectly flat and horizontal. The same plan is adopted here by many collectors of Micro- Lepidop- lera> and in many genera is absolutely essential, or the col- lector must despair of having his specimens named, as the characters frequently lie in the very tip of the cilia. Insects should be left on the setting board from one to four days according to the size of the species and the dryness of the weather. In summer care must be taken to exclude mites from the setting boards, or they will infallibly destroy all the best species; keeping a good supply of camphor will not always be found sufficient on the setting boards, which are of ne- cessity exposed to the air, but a mixture of equal parts of oil of thyme, oil of anise and spirits of wine, spread over the setting board, and laid on the grooves more especially, will be found of greater effect than camphor. INSTRUCTIONS IN LEPIDOPTERA. 25 How to arrange Le\ndopera in the Collection. It is customary to arrange the larger species in single rows, and the smaller ones in double rows, and from four to six specimens of each species forms a good working collection ; there are few who can afford cabinet-room for longer series. A list of names printed on one side only (such as Doubleday's List of the larger Lepidoptera and Tortricidae, and Stain- ton's List of the Tineidas), should be obtained, and the names cut out, the generic names being placed above the species and the specific names below them. To name the Lepidop- tera there is no better book yet extant than the first edition of Wood's Index Entomologicus, which contains coloured figures of all the British species known at that time : the letter-press sold with the book is useless, but the figures where recognizable are referred to in the British Museum Catalogue of British Lepidoptera, which was commenced by the late Mr. Stephens and concluded by myself. ( 26 ) LEPIDOPTERA. (By the Editor.) In this order, which has the greatest number of admirers, several novelties of importance have occurred during the past season, and the list includes several Macro-Lepidop- tera, among them one of the Sphingina. The following list of new species, first recorded or ob- served as British, in 1854, will satisfy those who are forming collections, that they need not be in any excessive fear, lest they should have obtained all the British species, and have "no more worlds to conquer." Anthrocera Minos. Petasia nubeculosa. Spselotis Vallesiaca. Miana expolita. Simaethis Parietariae. Eudorea atomalis. gracilalis. Crambus Cassentiniellus. Retinia Resinella. Gelechia viscariella. Ypsolophus Juniperellus. Roslerstammia Pronubella. Coleophora limosipennella. Goniodoma auroguttella. Elachista Poae. Gregsoni. Lithocolletis cavella. Vacciniella. Nepticula Weaveri. Prunetorum. But before commencing the observations on these novelties, it will not be inexpedient to notice all the new species that have occurred in this country, since the publication of Ste- phens's Illustrations of British Entomology. This number is LEPIDOPTERA. 27 very considerable ; and though most have been enumerated in Doubleday's Catalogue of British Lepidoptera, and the Museum Catalogue of Stephens, yet as neither of those works contains any notices of their captures, nor in whose collections they are extant, those who do not mix with the Entomological throng, but derive their information from books, are little aware how completely the entire science has been bouleverse in the last twenty years. I should premise that Erebia 3Ielampus, described and figured by Newman, in the Zoologist for 1844, page 729, as a new British Butterfly, has long since been consigned to the tomb of oblivion, as being only the Scotch variety of Cassiope; and now proceed to the NEW BRITISH SPECIES SINCE 1835. Procris Globulari^:, Hubner, which had long been among the reputed British species, was first recorded, as actually caught in this country, by Mr. Weir, in the Zoologist for 1845, page 1085. Mr. Weir took the insect in some plenty on the Downs near Lewes, and it has subse- quently been taken nearly every year by the collectors of that town and is in all our cabinets. A specimen taken at Cheltenham, by Mr. Douglas, in July, 1853, was exhibited at the ensuing meeting of the Entomological Society. Phragmat^cia Arundinis, Hubner (Zeuzera Arun- dinis, Doubl.), was first recorded as British by Mr. Double- day, in the Entomologist, page 156. It is figured and described in Humphrey's and Westwood's British Moths, vol. i. p. 49, pi. viii. fig. 7, 8. In 1848, two other speci- mens were taken in the same locality, Holme Fen, as re- corded by Mr. Doubleday, in the Zoologist for 1848, page 2236. In 1850, Mr. Doubleday writes in the Zoologist, page 2884, "This insect has occurred in great profusion in the neighbourhood of Whittlesca-Mere this season. The larvae c2 28 LEPIDOPTERA. feed within the stems of the common reed, and the pupa, which is remarkably elongated, is exceedingly active, moving up and down the stems of the reed with great rapidity." Some account of the habits of the insect is given by Mr. Harding, in the Zoologist for 1850, page 2931. Drepana Sicula, W. V. (Platypteryx Sicula, Donbl.). Only a single specimen of this species has been met with in this country ; it was taken in Leigh Wood, near Bristol, the end of May, 1837, and is in the collection of the Rev. Henry Burney. According to Treitschke, the larva feeds, in May and June, on oaks and birches. Cerura bicuspis, Borkhausen ; first recorded by Mr. Doubleday, in the Zoologist for 1847, page 1863. " A male specimen of a Cerura, new to Britain, was captured near Preston, by Mr. James Cooper; it was found upon an alder, having just emerged from its cocoon ; there is little doubt of its being the genuine bicuspis of Hiibner ; the specimens hitherto so-called in this country being merely furcula ; from this species it is totally distinct. Mr. Cooper most kindly presented this fine species to me." A second specimen is in the collection of Mr. Hodgkinson, who re- cords the capture of the specimen near Preston, on an alder tree (vide Zoologist, 1849, page 2500). The specimen announced by Mr. Weaver, as Clostera anachoreta (see Zoologist, 1852, page 3399), is stated by Mi*. Doubleday, in the same periodical (page 3715), to be only reclusa. Notodonta tritophus, W. V. ; first recorded as British in the Entomologist, page 385, by Mr. Douglas, who found the larva on an aspen, in Essex, and bred the perfect insect on the 10th of August, 1842. A second specimen, which was taken in Scotland, is in the collection of Mr. Buxton ; it was exhibited at the meeting of the Entomological Society in December, 1852. An ichneumoned larva of this species NEW BRITISH SPECIES SINCE 1835. 29 was observed by the Rev. Jos. Greene, in Gloucestershire, on hazel, as recorded in the Zoologist for 1852, page 3494. Gluphisia crenata, Esper; first recorded as British by Mr. Doubleday, in the Entomologist, page 156—" Cha- onia crenata : the first British specimen of this insect was taken at Ongar Park Wood, in June, 1839, and a second in the same place, in June of the present year. Both speci- mens were females." The species is described and figured in Humphrey's and Westwood's British Moths, vol. i. p. 73, pi. xiv. fig. 15. A specimen reared by the Rev. Jos. Greene, from a larva found on a poplar, near Halton, Bucks, on the 18th of August, 1853, was exhibited at the meeting of the Entomological Society, in April last. Gastropacha ilicifolia, Lin. This insect had lone: been a reputed British species, and is described and figured in Humphrey's and Westwood's British Moths, vol. i. p. 61, pi. xii. fig. 8; but no British specimen had been seen by any of the Entomologists of the present day, till in 1851, Mr. Atkinson met with a specimen at Cannoch Chase, May 17th, as recorded by him in the Zoologist for 1852, page 3396 : " It was clinging to a dead sprig of heather, apparently but lately emerged from the pupa. From its great resemblance to a withered leaf, it would not probably have caught my eye, had I not luckily knelt down within a few inches of it, to pin a small Turtrix. This fine addition to our Bombyces was announced at the June meeting of the Entomological Society, and exhibited at the subsequent one in July." The insect has also been bred by [Mr. W. Green, of Eccleshall Road, Sheffield,] but it is still in very few collections. Ac- cording to Treitschke, the larva feeds from June to August, on sallow and bilberry. Sterrhopteryx opacella, H.-S. ; discovered in the New Forest, by Mr. Weaver, who found the larvae in the summer of 1848, as recorded by Mr. Newman in the Zoo- 30 LEPIDOPTERA. logist for 1850, Appendix c. Newman describes it as Pysche Fenella, but the specimens then known were not as fine as some Mr. Weaver subsequently bred, when Mr. Stephens was enabled to recognize it as the opacella of Herrich-Schaffer. It is still in few collections. Psyche marCxINEnigrella, Bruand ; in the collection of Mr. Bond. The following notice of it appears in the Proceedings of the Entomological Society for May, 1853. " Mr. Bond exhibited a specimen of a Psyche new to this country, pronounced by Mr. Bruand, who was engaged on a Monograph of the Psychiclce to be his P. marginenigrella. Mr. Bond reared it from a case which he found attached to a tree, either in Lancashire or Yorkshire." M. Bruand returned the specimen as probably new, and suggested the name in case it should prove so ; but he wished to see more specimens, and know more of its history, before describing it, hence it is not mentioned in his Monograph of the Psychiclce. Fumea reticella, Newman ; first recorded by Mr. New- man in the Zoologist for 1847, p. 1863— " Mr. Ingall has captured a small Psyche, with beautifully mottled wings; it is very different from the known British species, but in some degree resembles Psyche undulella of the Continent ; it is proposed to call the new species Psyche retiella." Mr. Stevens met with it near Sheerness in June, 1850, among Plantago maritima (see Zoologist, 1850, page 2857). New- man describes it in the Zoologist for 1850, Appendix xciv., under the name of Psyche reticella. It is not at present in many collections. Lithosia PYGMiEOLA, Doubleday ; first recorded in the Zoologist for 1847, page 1914, where Doubleday describes it, and then adds — " This small species, which appears to be new, has been taken on the coast of Kent among rushes." A more detailed notice of the capture of this species, from the pen of Mr. Harding, appears in the Zoologist for 1849, NEW BRITISH SPECIES SINCE 1835. 31 page 2547 — " they are very local, being only found over a space of about 400 yards in extent, on the coast of Deal." TitYPHiENA subsequa, W. V. Concerning the true sub- sequa, Mr. Doubleday writes in the Zoologist for 1844, page 399 — " Mr. Bentley possesses two specimens of the species, one captured by himself in Hampshire, the other from Mr. Stone's Cabinet, probably taken in the same county. The species is very likely to occur in the southern counties, as it is not uncommon in the northern parts of France." Since this was written, it has been repeatedly taken by sugaring in the New Forest, and is now in most collections. The black spot towards the apex of the costa of the anterior wings, as in pronuba, at once distinguishes it from orbona. Opigena Fennica, Eversmann. " A single specimen of this Noctua, hitherto unknown in Britain, and principally found in Finland, has been taken in Derbyshire ;" this notice by Mr. Doubleday appears in the Zoologist for 1850, page 2971. The specimen is in the collection of Mr. Allis. Guenee retains this species in his genus Agrotis, but observes that it has " un facies particulier." It is figured by Du- ponchel and Herrich-Schaffer. Graphiphora ditrapezium, Bork., (Noctua ditra- pezium, Doubl.) ; first recorded as British under the name of tristigma by Mr. Stevens, Zoologist for 1846, page 1347 — " I fortunately possess a specimen of this distinct species, the true Graphiphora tristigma of the Continent, which I have had in my cabinet the last two years, and supposed it only an extraordinary variety of triangulum, which it much resembles ;" and he then proceeds to describe wherein it differs from triangulum. At the August meeting of the Entomological Society in 1852, "Mr. S. Stevens exhibited Graphiphora ditrapezium, reared from a larva found at Leith Hill, in Surrey." An old specimen has been detected in the collection of the Entomological Society. The larva, 32 LEPIDOPTERA. according to Treitschke, feeds on various low plants, espe- cially the dandelion, and is full grown in April. Graphiphora sobrina, Boisduval ; thus recorded in the Proceedings of the Entomological Society for November, 1853 — " Mr. Edwin Shepherd exhibited a new British moth, Noctua sobrina, H.-SchafFer, taken this season in Perth- shire by Mr. Weaver." Several specimens have been taken in Scotland during the past season. It is not a common species on the Continent ; Guenee describes the larva, but adds — " I know not on what plant it lives." [Cerastia leucographa, Hiibner (Noctua leucographa, Doubleday). The capture of this species is recorded by Mr. Robert Cook in the Zoologist for 1845, page 945. Mr. Cook captured his specimen near York; it has also been taken rather freely at Doncaster, and has occurred near Cocker- mouth ; it has occurred likewise in the south of England, having been taken at Leith Hill, near Dorking, and at Great Marlow, Bucks. It appears about the middle of March, frequenting the sallows when in blossom.] Orthosia opima, Hiibner (Ttwood's British Moths, vol. i. p. 230, pi. li. fig. 1. According to Guenee the species is widely dispersed on the Continent, but " never very abun- dant." " The larva feeds in July and August on Hyperi- cum." Heliothis armigera, Hubner ; first recorded as British by Mr. Edleston in the Zoologist for 1843, page 260— "a beautiful female specimen having been taken in September, 1840, off the door of an outhouse belonging to my friend NEW BRITISH SPECIES si:n'ce 1835. 39 Mr. John Thomas, of Oldfield Lane, Salford, who liberally added it to my cabinet." A specimen taken near Mickleham is in the collection of Mr. Bedell, and other specimens have been taken in various localities. Heliothis scutosa, W. V. ; first recorded as British by Curtis, who figures" and describes it in his British Entomo- logy, folio 595 ; the specimen from the collection of Mr. Heysham, " was taken on the banks of the river Caldew, a little below the village of Dalston, in July, 1835." I am not aware of any specimens having occurred sub- sequently. According to Freyer, the larva feeds on Arte- misia campestris. Ophiodes lunaris, W. V. ; first enumerated as British in Doubleday's Catalogue, page 11 ; a single specimen was taken by Captain Chawner in Hampshire. Of this species Guenee says, "common in dry woods throughout Europe in May." "The larva feeds in July on oak." Dasydia torvaria, Hubner ; thus noticed at page 678, vol. ii., of Humphrey's and Westwood's British Moths — " Many years ago my friend Templeton showed me a black Geometrideous moth, much larger than 31. Cheer ophyllata, which he had captured on one of the mountains in Ireland. I have seen nothing like the insect in any collection that I have examined." In Stephens's Museum Catalogue this specimen is enumerated as Dasydia torvaria. At the meet- ing of the Entomological Society in November, 1853, " Mr. Westwood exhibited his original sketch of a moth taken at Ballymena, in Ireland, by Mr. Templeton ; Mr. Westwood was now of opinion, from reference to Duponchel's figure and description, that it was Cleogene Peletieraria ;" whether Mr. Stephens or Mr. Westwood is correct in the name given for this species, future observation must decide. Eupisteria Carbonaria, Lin. ; first noticed as British by Mr. Doubleday in the Zoologist for 1847, page 1883, 40 LEPIDOPTERA. under the name of Eupisteria picearia — "This species, which is new to Britain, was taken by Mr. Hodgkinson in Perthshire." It has since been several times taken in Scot- land. At the Meeting of the Entomological Society in June, 1851 — " Mr. Stevens exhibited fine specimens of Eupisteria Carhonaria, recently taken in Perthshire by Mr. Weaver." Geometra Alniaria, Lin. ; a single specimen, taken at the North Foreland lighthouse, is in the collection of Mr. Edwin Shepherd; it is first enumerated as British in Dou- bleday's Catalogue, at page 15. Tephronia corticaria, W. V. ; first enumerated as British in Doubleday's Catalogue, at page 17 ; a specimen is in the collection of the British Museum, ticketed by Dr. Leach as having been taken by him at Tenby. Electra sagittata, Fab. ; first noticed as British by Mr. Doubleday in the Zoologist for 1848, page 2236— " A single example of this pretty species was obtained last sea- son near Peterborough, but I believe it was not in very good condition. A splendid female was sent to me from the same neighbourhood this week (July 15th, 1848)." A specimen was exhibited by Mr. Bond at the meeting of the Entomo- logical Society in August, 1849. In the years 1853 and 1854, many specimens occurred in the fens of Huntingdon- shire and Cambridgeshire, and the insect is now in most collections. Venusia Cambrica, Curtis; first described and figured by Curtis in his British Entomology, folio 759, in 1839. The insect continued rare for many years, but has now been taken rather freely in several parts of the north of England, and is in most collections. It is described and figured in Humphrey's and Westwood's British Moths, vol. ii. p. 35, pi. lxiii. fig. 15. In Doubleday's Catalogue it stands as Coremia erutaria. Ypsipetes ruberata, Freyer, long confounded with NEW BRITISH SPECIES SINCE 1835. 41 Y. impluviata, and therefore overlooked; it is mainly dis- tinguished by its larger size, and the anterior wings being more elongated. It is not uncommon in the fens of Cam- bridgeshire and Huntingdonshire. Cheimatobia boreata, Hiibner; the capture of this insect in Britain is first recorded by Mr. Cooke in the Zoologist for 1850, page "2749 — " Four males of this motb were captured at Petty Pool, Delamere, Cheshire, on the 31st of October, 1848. They were resting on the trees." In the autumn of 1850 it was taken in great abundance in the same locality (Zoologist, 2971), and was liberally dis- persed by the captors among all our collections. It is at once distinguished from C. brumata by being larger and paler. Oporabia autumnaria, Boisduval ; enumerated as Bri- tish in Doubleday's Catalogue, at page 18. Its capture is recorded by Mr. Weaver in the Zoologist for 1852, page 3495 — " It rests on the branches of birch. I captured a few specimens in Perthshire in 1851, and found it very sparingly in previous seasons." Mr. Weaver says — " This species is readily distinguished from O. neglectata and dilutata by the glossy silver and fineness of the wings, and the slenderness of the antenna?." For my own part I have never been able to satisfy myself that it was specifically distinct from O. dilu- tata. Oporabia neglectata, which is also noticed by Mr. Weaver in the Zoologist at page 3496, and is enumerated as a distinct species in Stephens's Museum Catalogue, but I am not aware that its claim to be considered a species has yet been satisfactorily established. Oporabia eiligrammaria, Boisduval ; the capture of this species in this country was first recorded by Mr. Edle- ston in the Entomologist, at page 356, under the name of O. polata, under which name it is figured and described in Humphrey's and Westwood's British Moths, vol. ii. page 42 LEPIDOPTERA. 56, pi. lxix. fig. 9. Many specimens have been taken in the north of England and Scotland, and the species is in most collections. The Oporabice approximaria and pretursaria, mentioned by Mr. Weaver at page 3496 of the Zoologist, are probably varieties of this species. Eupithecia togata, Hubner ; first discovered in this country in 1845, being then met with "in a plantation of spruce firs at .Black Park, Bucks, in the middle of June," as recorded by Mr. Stevens at page 1086 of the Zoologist for 1845. A figure and description of the insect by New- man is on the same page. The insect has continuously been met with at Black Park in subsequent seasons, and is now in most collections. Eupithecia pusillata, Hubner ; the true pusillata (that of Haworth being the Begrandaria of Boisduval) was first enumerated as British in Doubleday's Catalogue at page 19. Mr. Doubleday writes — " I have three specimens taken by Mr. Wood, gardener to Captain Chawner, Ash- burton, Devonshire; the large central black spot in the anterior wings is a good distinguishing character." Eupithecia palustraria, Doubleday; first recorded and described by Doubleday in the Zoologist for 1850, A pp. cv. "This insect appears to be common in the fens of Hunting- donshire ; it flies by day, spoiling in the sunshine in com- pany with Pyrausta cespitalis, from which it is not easily distinguished on the wing." This species is readily recog- nised by the almost unicolorous anterior wings, and conspi- cuous white spot at the anal angle. Eupithecia Callunaria, Sta. ; first recorded and de- scribed by Doubleday in the Zoologist for 1850, App. cv. The species is very common on heaths in the north of Eng- land and Scotland, but it is an unsatisfactory obscure look- ing insect, and it excites little surprise that it remained so long undescribed. NEW BRITISH SPECIES SIXCE 1835. 43 Eupithecia innotata, Hiibner ; first enumerated as British in Doubleday's Catalogue, at page 19; the species has been bred by the Rev. Mr. Turner, and was taken by the late Mr. Paget at Yarmouth. Eupithecia lanceolaria, Rambur?; first enumerated as British in Doubleday'a Catalogue, at page 19. Mr. Doubleday has a specimen which may he identical with Rambur's species; it was taken at Sudbury in Suffolk. Eupithecia tenuiata, Hiibner; first enumerated as British in Doubleday's Catalogue, at page 19 ; its capture is recorded by Mr. Sircom in the Zoologist for 1851, at page 3287: it is a pretty and distinct looking species; the larva feeds in the catkins of the sallow in May. Eupithecia ultimaria, Stevens ; thus noticed in the Proceedings of the Entomological Society for October, 1851 — " Mr. S. Stevens exhibited Eupithecia ultimaria, Ramb., Boisd., Dup., a new British species, taken at Dover in the middle of September." The insect in question appears to have no affinity to the continental ultimaria, and Mr. Doubleday thinks it may be the expressaria of Herrich-Schaffer. The question of its proper name must remain for further consideration. Eupithecia indigata, Hiibner ; first enumerated as British in Doubleday's Catalogue, at page 19; the capture of it at Birch Wood is recorded by Mr. Douglas in the Zoologist for 1851, at page 3247. I have received it from Scotland, and it is now in most collections ; formerly, no doubt, it was mixed with E. minutata. Eupithecia satyrata, Hiibner; first recorded as British, as E. fagicolaria by the Rev. Joseph Greene in the Zoolo- gist for last February, page 4187 ; but the insect had been in our collections several years, having been taken near Mickleham by Messrs. Douglas and Weir in June, 1849; the Rev. Mr. Greene found the insect at Halton, Bucks, 44 LEPIDOPTERA. " extremely local, being confined to one open spot in Beech Wood, but very common there." In the Zoologist for July last, page 4370, Mr. Harpur Crewe records having bred this species from larvae found on Gentiana campestris in August and September, in company with the larvae of E. piperata. This species is figured by Hiibner, H.-S., and Freyer; it is rather a large species, and might be well placed between E. Callunaria and E. subnotata. Eupithecia Pimpinellata, Hiibner, (distinct from Austerata), was bred in 1851 by the Rev. J. S. Henslow, from larvae found in August, 1850, feeding on the flowers of Pimpinella Saxifraga, at Hitcham, Suffolk. (A notice of this appeared in the Zoologist for 1852, page 3358, but the name of the insect was not then ascertained.) Acidalia obsoletaria, Rambur ; first enumerated as British in Doubleday's Catalogue, at page 19 ; this species has been taken near Manchester. Mr. Doubleday has a pair he received from Mr. Edleston. Acidalia perocharia, Tischer ; first enumerated as British in Doubleday's Catalogue, at page 19. It has oc- curred in considerable plenty on the Essex coast, at South- end and St. Osyth, and is now in most collections. Acidalia holosericearia, Parreyss ; first enumerated as British in Doubleday's Catalogue, at page 19. It occurs commonly in the neighbourhood of Bristol; its capture there is recorded by Mr. Sircom in the Zoologist for 1851, at page 3*288 ; it is now in most collections. Schrankia turfosalis, Wocke (Ili/penodes humidalis, Doubleday); first recorded as British, and described by Doubleday, in the Zoologist for 1850, App. cv. — " It was captured in the bogs of Ireland, in 1848, by Mr. Weaver, and has been discovered in abundance this season by Messrs. N. Cooke and Greening, of Warrington." In the Zoologist for 1851, Mr. Harrison, of Keswick, writes, at page 3244, NEW BRITISH SPECIES SINCE 1835. 45 concerning this species, " From the middle of July, up to the 8th of August, it might be seen any fine evening, be- tween the hours of six and eight, flying on most of our swamps in great plenty. To give you an idea of its num- bers, I may state that I took forty specimens in less than one hour, and might have taken as many dozens, could I have boxed them fast enough." Botys terrealis, Treitschke ; first enumerated as British in Doubleday's Catalogue, at page 14. The insect is nearly allied to B. fuscalis, but the anterior wings are narrower and more pointed, and the posterior wings are darker. [A few specimens have occurred at Llanferras, in Wales; it has also been taken] in Scotland, but is rare, and still in few col- lections. According to Fischer, the larva feeds on the golden rod in September. Rhodaria sanguinalis, Lin. ; first recorded as British by Mr. Doubleday, in the Zoologist for 1849, at page 2547. — " This lovely little Pyralis was taken on the 25th of June, at New Brighton. I had previously received two specimens, in rather a faded condition, from the fens." At page 2932 of the Zoologist for 1850, further captures of this species are recorded, and it has since been taken in great plenty on the sandhills of the Cheshire coast, and is now in all col- lections. Asopia nemoralis, Scopoli ; a single specimen is in the collection of Mr. Hemmings ; it was taken June 26th, 1851, at Holm Bush, near Henfield, Sussex; it was exhi- bited at the meeting of the Entomological Society, in Octo- ber, 1853. I believe a few others were taken at the same time. It is a very distinct species, and is not uncommon on the Continent. Simaethis vibrana, Hiibner ; a specimen of this, taken September 11th, 1853, near Hurst, Sussex, is in the collec- tion of Mr. Hemmings : it was exhibited at the meeting of 46 LEPIDOPTERA. the Entomological Society in October, 1853. This specimen was taken amongst Inula dysenterica, and in all probability the larva feeds upon that plant. Should this prove to be the case, it will show that this is the Tinea Bjerkayidrella of Thunberg, which was bred from larvae on Inula salicina. It is very distinct from our other British species of Sima'e- this. Mr. S. Stevens has also a specimen taken near Arundel. Eudorea alpina, Dale ; first recorded and described by Curtis, in the Annals and Magazine of Natural History, 2nd series, vol. v. page 116; the species has occurred on several of the Scotch mountains, but fine specimens seem very scarce. Chilo cicatricellus, Hiibner ; a specimen in Mr. Shep- herd's collection was exhibited at the meeting of the Ento- mological Society in September, 1852; it was " taken flying, near Dover." The larva feeds in the stems of the bull-rush (Scirpus lacustris), in June, and changes to pupa within the stem, the perfect insect appearing in July. Lozot^inia dumetana, Treit. ; first enumerated as British in Doubleday's Catalogue, page 21. It has only been taken by Mr. Weir in the neighbourhood of Lewes; it is readily distinguished from other British species of the genus by the whitish under wings. Leptogramma Scotana, Guenee; first enumerated as British in Doubleday's Catalogue, at page 21 ; it is de- scribed in the Appendix to Stephens's Museum Catalogue. It has been taken in Perthshire by Mr. Weaver. Peronea maccana, Treit. ; described and figured as Peronea marmorana in Humphrey's and Westwood's British Moths, vol. ii. p. 159, pi. xciv. fig. 9, from a speci- men taken by Mr. Bentley in Epping Forest in October, 1824 ; several specimens have since been bred by Mr. Weaver, from larvae found in Scotland on the Vaccinium myrtillus. NEW BRITISH SPECIES SINCE 1835. 47 Peronea Lipsiana, W. V. ; first enumerated as British in Doubleday's Catalogue, at page 21, as a doubtful variety of P. rufana; in the past season, Mr. Bouchard bred a series of this insect, and had not a single rufana among them. Peronea Caledoniana, Bentley ; first enumerated as British in Doubleday's Catalogue, at page 22 ; it is described in the Appendix to Stephens's Museum Catalogue. I have frequently taken it on bo££v moors in the south of Scot- land ; its small size readily distinguishes it from the allied species. Peronea permutana, Dup. ; first recorded as British by Mr. Cooke in the Zoologist for 1848, page 2271—" On the 13th of August, I took three specimens of this insect on the wing, at dawn of day, at New Brighton, flying over a species of wild rose which grows there in profusion." It has since been taken and bred in profusion in the same loca- lity, and has also been met with plentifully on Barnes Com- mon. It is extremely like the tor ana variety of variegana. Paramesia Shepherdana, Stephens; first enumerated and described by Stephens in the Museum Catalogue ; the locality there given is, however, erroneous, as mentioned by Mr. Doubleday in the Zoologist for 1852, page 3583. " Mr. Shepherd met with larvae in the fens of Cambridgeshire; it feeds upon the meadow-sweet, (Spircea TJlmaria)" Mr. Doubleday now writes me, that it feeds upon Eupatorium Cannabinum, and not upon Spircea. Dictyopteryx uliginosana, Bentley; first recorded, described and figured in Humphrey's and Westwood's British Moths, vol. ii. p. 139, pi. lxxxvi. fig. 12. "Two specimens were taken at Whittlesea-Mere in July, 1824, by Mr. Bentley, in whose cabinet they are preserved." I know of no recent specimens. ANTiTHESiACAPR^EANA,Hiibner; first recorded as British 48 LEPIDOPTERA. in the Proceedings of the Entomological Society, for July, 1849 — " Mr. Weir exhibited specimens of Antithesia Ca- prceana, reared froms allow leaves." Mr. Doubleday writes me> — " I have bred it from sallows, but it seems rare here, and I am not aware that it is common anywhere — it is a very distinct species." Antithesia ochroleucana, Hiibner; first recorded as British by myself, in the Zoologist for 1848, page 1987— It is a common species in gardens, the larva feeding on the rose. Antithesia pr^elongana, Guenee; first recorded as British by myself, in the Zoologist for 1848, at page 1988 — I have several times met with it Scotland. Antithesia dimidiana, Treit. ; the capture in this country is first recorded by Mr. Weaver, in the Zoologist for 1845, at page 847, as Antithesia Weaver ana. In the Zoologist for 1848, page 1988, 1 described it under the name of A. leucomelana. It is not at all an uncommon species in Scotland and in the north of England. Antithesia sauciana, Hiibner ; the first notice we find of this as a British insect is in the Proceedings of the En- tomological Society, for April, 1849, when u Mr. Douglas stated that the Tortrix, taken last season at Leith Hill, Surrey, by Mr. Benjamin Standish, was the true Penthina sauciana of Hiibner." The insect has since occurred in plenty in the north of England, among bilberry, and is now in most collections. Antithesia Grevillana, Curtis ; figured and described by Curtis, in his British Entomology, fol. 567, from speci- mens captured by Dr. Greville, and Mr. James Wilson in Sutherlandshire, in July. Two or three specimens have since been taken by Mr. Weaver. Spilonota ros^colana, Doubleday ; thus noticed by Mr. Douglas, in the Zoologist for 1849, page 2364— " From NEW BRITISH SPECIES SINCE 1835. 49 rose leaves I reared Spilonota aquana, S , n. s." This latter, the new species, is enumerated in Doubleday's Cata- logue, at page 23, as roscecolana ; and also described in the Zoologist for 1850, Appendix cvi. It is not uncommon in gardens in some localities. The rounded costa of the ante- rior wings readily distinguishes it. Spilonota amcenana, Dup. ; first noticed as British by myself, in the Zoologist for 1848, page 1988— The insect had then occurred in many localities, and has since been met with plentifully : it frequents the Rosa spinosissima. Spilonota neglectana, Dup.; first enumerated as Bri- tish in Doubleday's Catalogue, page 23 — the species had previously been confounded with dealbana, under the name of sod ana. From dealbana it is distinguished by the basal portion of the anterior wings being of a darker colour, with a blueish tint. From Mr. Doubleday's and Mr. Douglas's observations this frequents poplars. Spilonota Aceriana, Dup. ; first recorded as British by myself, in the Zoologist for 1847, page 1989, as Philalcea Aceriana; it had previously been confounded with dealbana, It is a very common species among poplars in July. Grapholitha minutana, Hubner; described and first recorded as British by Douglas, in the Zoologist for 1845, at page 844, under the name of Carpocapsa minutana. It is by no means uncommon on palings under white poplars, at Camberwell and Blackheath, in July, and is now in most collections. Grapholitha geminana, Stephens ; first enumerated and described by Stephens, in his Museum Catalogue, page 35 and 99. Specimens are in the collection of Mr. Shep- herd ; according to Stephens it has occurred at Whittlesea- Mere, and in Yorkshire. [Mr. Buxton met with this, in great abundance, at the beginning of August, 1854, on Rivington Pike, near Bolton le Moors.] D 50 LEPIDOPTERA. PHLiEODES crenana, Hiibner ; first enumerated as Bri- tish in Stephens's Museum Catalogue, at page 36. It has been taken in Scotland by Mr. Weaver. Anchylopera Upupana, Treit. ; first noticed as a British species in the Proceedings of the Entomological Society for April, 1849, when "Mr. Douglas stated that Mr. H. Double- day had informed him, that last year he had bred the Phox- opteris Upupana of Hiibner, a very rare species of Tortri- cid INSECTA BRITANNICA. LEPIDOPTERA: TI- NE1NA. By H. T. Stainton. With Ten Plates. Lon- don: Lovell Reeve, Henrietta Street, Covent Garden. Price " The object of this volume is to furnish descriptions of all the species of Tineina (a group of Lepidopteua) at present known to inhabit Great Britain, and, at the same time, to give as much information concerning their habits and transformations as the limited space would allow. Of the ten plates, which have been carefully executed by Mr. Wing, eight illustrate the generic characters, one the various forms of the larvae, and one the perfect insects of several of the most important genera (especially representing those which have any peculiarity in their posture when in repose)." — Preface. "This volume is the third in a series of publications put forth under the immediate sanction of the President of the Entomological Society, with a view of producing ultimately a complete series of works on British Entomology. The present volume is devoted to the Tineina, one of the five groups of Micro-Lepidoptera. Of all the groups of Lepi- doptera, perhaps, none are more interesting than the Tineina, and few, if any, so far from being thoroughly understood. The peculiarity of their forms in numerous instances, the o'Oi'ireousness of their colouring, the wonderful beauty of the pencilled markings on their wings, the fanciful and gro- tesque position in which many of them delight to stand, the variety and singularity of their transformations, all these and other characteristics render them uncommonly attractive ; while, on the other hand, their minuteness, the pains taken and the expertness manifested by both larvae and perfect insects in concealing themselves, or escaping if discovered, as well as the difficulty of obtaining uninjured specimens, H 146 IMPORTANT NEW WORKS ON ENTOMOLOGY. have thrown difficulties in the way of the scientific student, if not insuperable, at least extremely perplexing and tanta- lising. " The ten plates must have, at least, a passing notice ; they deserve more, but we must come to an end. That illustrating 1 those which have any peculiarity in their posture when in repose ' provoked one or two smiles as we saw the comic humility of one species, with his head in the dust, side by side with the pompous vanity of the one perched on his tail, and, a little farther on, the abject appearance of a little beauty, lying flat along, pressed down hard to the earth." — Natural History Review. " It contains descriptions of 591 species, of which 272 are not given as species by any other British author . . . The copious and almost crowded illustrations by the pencil of our deeply lamented assistant secretary are worthy of attentive study." — Address of the President of the Entomo- logical Society of London, January, 1855. INSECT A MADERENSIA; being an Account of the Insects of the Islands of the Madeiran Group. By T. Vernon Wollaston, M.A., F.L.S. Large 4to. Pp. 634, with Thirteen Coloured Plates. London : John Van Voorst. Price £2: 2s. " Mr. Wollaston having been advised by his physicians, in October, 1847, to leave England for the benefit of his health, employed a seven months' residence in Funchal in collecting such insects (and desultory information concerning them) as came beneath his notice; but without any ulterior design, than that of a mere temporary amusement, and to relieve the monotony of a winter's exile in a distant land. In November of the following year, however, another mi- gration being recommended, Mr. Wollaston decided 'on making a virtue of necessity,' and turning his second banish- IMPORTANT NEW WORKS ON ENTOMOLOGY. 147 ment to a more practical account than the first one ; and consequently started with the full intention of accumulating matter for publication. "The present volume contains descriptions of no less than 213 genera. The total number of species enumerated is 482. We think those exiled from their native land, that repair to Madeira to spend the winter months, should be extremely grateful for the pains Mr. Wollaston has been at in defining the places where such and such Coleoptera are to be found, in order to incite them to follow the captivating pursuit of Entomology. "The warmest thanks of Entomologists are. due to Mr. Wollaston for the publication of this work; they will find it to contain everything that a scholar, and an indefatigable lover of nature, could bring to bear upon their favourite science, and we think Mr. Wollaston entitled to take a high rank among those engaged in such pursuits." — Natural History Meuierv. "This work is not the result of a mere dilettante sweeping of the hedges with a muslin net; but a substantial contri- bution to the science of Entomologv, that will live as long as there are men who cultivate the knowledge of this vast department of created beings. This volume, large as it is, does not embrace all insects, but only those popularly called Beetles. The Entomologist will thank Mr. Wollaston for concentrating his attention on one group, thus rendering a substantial contribution to science possible. " Such an account of the Coleoptera of any district would have been valuable, but all that relates to Madeira has an especial interest. The problem of the geological history of these islands, lying midway between the Old and New Worlds, can only be solved by a complete knowledge of the forms of its present inhabitants, and their relation to those of other parts of the world h2 148 IMPORTANT NEW WORKS ON ENTOMOLOGY. " We must not close our notice of this volume, without stating that it is the result of three several visits to the Madeira islands — two winters and one summer having been spent in collecting materials. During the summer expe- dition, the author sojourned for some time in the mountains, taking with him his tent. He speaks with enthusiasm of the beauty of the mountain scenery of Madeira, and of the deliciousness of a tent life in these commanding positions. As a contrast to the delight he experienced in his scientific researches, he refers to the ennui of the majority of those who seek Funchal for the benefit of their health, in the absence of any occupation that would withdraw their minds from the maladies under which they suffer. To all such Mr. Wollaston's book will be a treasure as a guide to the localities where they may meet with interesting objects, the search after which seems to have restored his own health, and the description of which here given will gain for him a reputation as an accurate Entomologist." — Athenceum. " But the most important and valuable work I have to notice, and the one which, as a work of science, will confer most honour on this country, is the ( Insecta Maderensia' of Mr. Wollaston. This work is distinguished throughout by persevering industry, profound knowledge, and philo- sophical spirit. Nothing can exceed the industry with which the author has pursued his object, a fact that will be sufficiently evident when I state that he has described 213 genera, and 482 species of Madeiran Coleoptera, out of which 41 of the genera, and 270 of the species, are now cha- racterized for the first time, and are therefore absolutely new to science. With regard to the solid Entomological know- ledge possessed, and in every page made manifest without display, there can be but one opinion, for not a single species or genus is mentioned unaccompanied by the evidence of a perfect knowledge of its antecedent history: this, I am IMPORTANT NEW WORKS ON ENTOMOLOGY. 149 aware, is very high praise, but it is praise which no one can say is unmerited. The philosophical spirit is manifested equally in the masterly characters given of every genus and species, and in the explanatory remarks which invariably follow each description; and I must not omit to add, that these descriptions and remarks are invaluable to the British Coleopterist, because a large proportion of the genera de- scribed, and cited for comparison, are familiar to us as indi- genous to Britain." — Address of the President of the Ento- mological Society of London, January, 1855. Mr. Wollaston, who has again started for Madeira, with the intention of prosecuting his Entomological studies in those islands, around which his book has shed a halo of En- tomological glory, when almost on the eve of starting fur- nished us, at our request, with the " Instructions in Collect- ing and Preserving Coleoptera," given at p. 101 of this Annual ; and we trust that many of the readers of those " In- structions" will feel a desire to make further acquaintance with the Author, and we are satisfied that all who, acting upon that feeling, once obtain a sight of the " Insecta Made- rensia," will be anxious to possess it. It is unfortunate, in one respect, that the work is so well got up, for though pub- lished at an uriremunerative price, it is still far too expensive for the pockets of ordinary Entomologists. Judging from the appearance of the book, with its large quarto pages of goodly paper and broad margins, with clear type, we should say it was specially designed for the same class of read- ers who so greedily devoured " Childe Harold," when it appeared in a similar form ; but are there, among these higher classes, any readers of Entomological works? That is certainly the problem which Mi*. Wollaston's book will solve; it will not reach those who now can appreciate its value: will it, by its attractive exterior, engage the attention of others who may by it be won to a love of Entomology? h3 150 IMPORTANT NEW WORKS ON ENTOMOLOGY. Geology has long been a fashionable science, and the Presi- dent of the British Association for the ensuing meeting (the Duke of Argyll) is known as a good geologist; why should not Entomology be also represented in the House of Lords and in the Cabinet? — Editor of the Entomologist's Annual. THE BUTTERFLIES of GREAT BRITAIN, with their TRANSFORMATIONS. Delineated and described by J. O. Westwood, Esq., F.L.S., with Nineteen Coloured Plates. London : W. S. Orr & Co. Price 15s. This volume, according to the preface, may be considered as a re-issue of " British Butterflies and their Transforma- tions," a work which, generally known as " Humphreys and Westwood," has never been regarded with favour by the Entomologists of the present day ; but the object being ' to re-issue it at a price which would place it within the reach of every student,' the size as well as the bulk of the work has been reduced, and Mr. Westwood has himself drawn a set of fresh plates, and only those species are introduced which are enumerated as British in Stephens's Museum Cata- logue : it may therefore be readily understood that it is a vast improvement on the work of which it professes to be a re-issue, and will no doubt be found of very great use by incipient collectors. It is very interesting to notice the ex- tent of our ignorance on many parts of the Natural History of our few species of Diurnal Lepidoptera, some idea of which may be formed from the following queries, to which we should be very glad to receive answers. 1. Papilio Machaon. Are there one or two broods in the year ? 2. Colias Hyale. Is this double-brooded on the Con- tinent ? IMPORTANT NEW WORKS ON ENTOMOLOGY. 151 3. Melitcea Selene and Euphrosyne. It would be very desirable to ascertain, with certainty, whether either of these species occur in the autumn. 4. Argynnis Lathonia. Continental Entomologists can surely at once decide whether there are one or two broods of this in the year. 5. Vanessa C. Album. Has not occurred near Lon- don for many years : where is it now met with ? 6. Hipparchia Semele. " It forms a cocoon in the earth, according to M. Marlov :" having seen the naked suspended pupa, as figured by Mr. West wood, we suppose M. Marloy must have been quizzing him. 7. Hipparchia Tithonus. Does the larva of this species feed on the Hieracium Pilosella ? 8. Oreina Ligea. If this be really a British species, why does not some enterprising Scotchman re- discover it? 9. Thecla Quercus. A writer in " Loudon's Magazine of Natural History" states " that the caterpillar of this species goes underground to effect its trans- formations:" surely there is some error of obser- vation here; can any one confirm this statement? 10. Thecla Rubi. Is there a second brood of this spe- cies in August ? 11. Polyommatvs CEgon. Is not this common on moors in the North of England ? 12. Cyclopides Paniscus. Is there not a brood of this in July or August ? 13. Pamphila Comma. Is there not a brood of this in May? And the same remark may apply to P. Linea, and probably also to P. Actceon ; but who ever makes excursions into Dorsetshire so early in the year? 152 IMPORTANT NEW WORKS ON ENTOMOLOGY. Another point on which the deficiency of our printed information respecting British Butterflies is very striking, is their geographical distribution. All the old localities are carefully brought forward here, though many of them have been long deserted by the respective species ; and, on the other hand, localities where species not of general occur- rence are still continuously taken, are unnoticed and un- recorded. Would that each Entomologist would prepare a list of the Butterflies occurring in his own locality, noting their times of appearance, and any peculiarity of habit, and, where possible, the food-plant and habit of the larva ! At small trouble to each individual, an idea of the distribution of each species might be satisfactorily obtained, and increased stimulus given to the study of the British Butterflies. -—j&rfiVor of The Entomologist'' s Annual. HINTS to STUDENTS of ENTOMOLOGY, or of other Branches of Natural History (extracted from the Papers relating to the Re-organization of the Civil Service). "Without steady application a long course of study cannot be mastered, and nothing is more certain than that habitual diligence brings other virtues in its train; for instance, tem- perance and self-control, to say nothing of punctuality and accuracy — yet even these latter have a real connection with truth and honesty." — Rev. Charles Graves, DD. " Any one who looks around him will, I think, see that the public mind is now educating itself, rather according to a scientific than a literary type, and that the great element v in the social progress which is going on around us is not literature but science." " I have called to mind the names of six men in London who, by their labours for the advancement of science, have, it appears to me, exercised a greater influence on the popular IMPORTANT NEW WORKS ON ENTOMOLOGY. 153 scientific mind, and through it, on the material welfare of the country, than any other six Englishmen now living whom I can remember. Each of these men has devoted himself specially, from early life, to the pursuit of one depart- ment of knowledge; and yet, through the means of that one study, his mind (educated by that one phase of it) has re- ceived a large and liberal development as to other forms of knowledge." — Rev. Canon Mosely. " I should certainly add English history, Euclid and one of the natural sciences to the subjects which he mentions. The latter is particularly important, as calling out the faculty of observation, which is scarcely done either by a training in literature or in abstract science." — Rev. G. E. L. Cotton. " A man may not be a much better postman for being able to draw, or being acquainted with natural history; but he who in that rank possesses these acquirements has given evidence of qualities which it is important for the general cultivation of the mass that the state should take every fair opportunity of stamping with its approbation." — John Stuart Mill. " He who has mastered any one branch of liberal know- ledge must have toiled through details as uninteresting, per se, as the smallest of those in an office, and must have learnt how to measure the worth of parts by that of the whole which each contributes to form." — R. R. W. Lingen. "As to the assertion that vanity and conceit increase with knowledge and industry, one would only have expected it to be made by persons either wilfully blind to the real effects of a good education, or who have had no experience of it themselves."— Rev. G. E. L. Cotton. NOTICE TO ENTOxMOLOGICAL AUTHORS. WANTED A MONOGRAPH OF THE BRITISH TORTRICINA, worked out in a somewhat similar style to the Insecta Britannica — Lepidoptera, Tineina. Tho.se desirous of entering into an engagement to supply this want are requested to communicate with the Editor of the Entomologist's Annual, on or before July 1st, 1855. One hundred Pounds will be paid for the Manuscript. WANTED A MONOGRAPH OF THE BRITISH ETJPITHECIJ5. Those desirous of entering into an engagement to supply this want are requested to communicate with the Editor of the Entomologist's Annual, on or before July 1st, 1855. Twenty Pounds will be paid for the Manuscript. <8Rrucatum AT DEIBY PARSONAGE, The Rev. J. 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ON THE GROWTH OF PLANTS IN CLOSELY GLAZED CASES. Second Edition. Post Svo, 6s. WATTS' DIVINE AND MORAL SONGS. With 30 Illustrations by Cope. Sq. . 7s. 6d.; or 17. Is. in morocco. WHITER NATURAL HISTORY OF SELBORNE. By the Rev. Leonard Jexyxs, M.A., F.L.S. With 26 Illustrations. Foolscap Svo, 7s. 6d. WOLLAST'l'N, T. VEFNON, M.A., F.L.S. INSECTA MADERENSIA; being an Account of the Insects of the Islands of the Madeiran Group. 4to, with 13 coloured Plates of Beetles, d. 2s. WOODWARD, CHARLES, F.R.S. FAMILIAR INTRODUCTION TO THE ^TUDY OF POLARIZED LIGHT. Svo, Illust., 3». Second Edit. YARRELL. WILLIAM, F.L.S. PAPER ON THE GROWTH OF THE SALMON IN FRESH WATER. With 6 Illustrations of the Fish of the Natural Size, exhibiting its structure and exact appearance at various during the first two vears. ii». sewed. JOHN VAX VOORST, 1, PaTERXOSTER BOW • r < , r «~_^.^ THE ZOOLOGIST, A Popular Monthly Magazine of Natural History, :in /■■;, tf of every Month, price (hie Shilling. Contains original papers and records of facts relating to Js| 'quadrupeds, Birds, Reptiles, Wishes, Anneiides, Crustacea, Uollusks, Insects, Radiates; and Zoophytes, their habits, £»£) food, retreats, occasional appearance, migrations, nests and (^ oung. The Editor has been assisted by more than two ^ Jl/§ hundred of our \ery best Zoologists, among whom are the \»ll0\vin. t : us, Esq., 1' !IJS.., /-=^ V. P. Ent. Soc. Frederick Smith \ . I". Ent. Soc. H. T. Stainton, Es iV V. P. Ent. Esq. lENR-l Doi M.h tJ.*M Esq. Dr. John Edward GRAY, F.R.S. >rge Robert (Jray, Esq., I . Hf.witson, Esq.. F.L.S. . W. s. Uore, M.A., F.L.S. . \v. Till R Hi ssi.Y. M.A.,v\c. Soc. The late J, F. Sir. imi \ F.L.S. Sami el Stevens, Esq., F.L.S. Treas. Ent. Soc. Rev. William T« r*er, NLA. W. H. C. Walcoti . Esq. Francis Walker, Esq.. F.L.S. George Waterhoi se, Esq. J. O. Westwood, Esq., I'M Adam White, Esq., F.L.S. T. VERNON \Vi)|,|,\sto\, E: F.L.S. V" John \ \\ A Oo k si . Paternoster Row. January l.v/, 1855. J SECOND THOUSAND. THE ENTOMOLOGIST'S ANKB LL \ll»t CCLVI, /• i ■ H PLAT LONDON \ OORS ItNOS ! EB ROV m ;m i i "'• ._ o>T^/r^*. i r \ THE ENTOMOLOGIST'S ANNUAL MDCCCLVI. Aafnrafaa e^ovteq cialwaovoiv a\Xt)\oig. LONDON: JOHN VAN VOORST, PATERNOSTER ROW. MDCCCLVI. LONDON : PRINTED BY C. ROWORTH AND SONS, BELL YARD, TEMPLE BAR. PREFACE. " The Entomologist's Annual" now for the first time appears in that developed form in which our mind's-eye had clothed it from the first. It now contains papers purely scientific, and others prin- cipally of an amusing nature, and by this mixture it attains its maximum of usefulness ; it will be read by thousands who are no Entomologists — may it not exercise such an in- fluence on some of these, that before two years have elapsed they may find themselves enumerated in our " List of British Entomologists ?" It continues cheap, because it still seeks to extend its cir- culation among the working collectors, and to those who are not habitual book-buyers, the price of a book is a very im- portant consideration. The following extract from a communication by Mr. Thomas Edward to the " Banffshire Journal" of February 14th, 1854, confirms our view of the necessity of diffusing a knowledge of Natural History amongst labouring men en- gaged in out-door occupations. " I am fully persuaded in my own mind, from what I know, that if our gamekeepers, gardeners and farm-servants, and others whose out-of-door occupations bring them in con- stant contact, as it were, with the works of Creation, would «2 IV i PREFACE. but become observers of nature, a great many more additions to our Fauna would soon be made, and something like an adequate knowledge of our natural productions would be gained. I maintain that none have it so well in their power to become acquainted with the works of nature, and to add to our knowledge in that respect, as they have, if they but would ; and yet they are about as ignorant on the subject, if not more so, than those whose occupations confine them in the house from morning till evening, with scarce a ray of sunshine to cheer them as they ply their wearisome toil, and who can only enjoy the beauties and sweets of Nature by snatches, stealing, as it were, an hour now and then from their scanty store to breathe the refreshing air of heaven, and hold communion with the works of the Creator. And why ? Why just because they will not. They, like many more, go about in, what may be termed, a state of daylight somnam- bulism— that is, with eyes and ears both open, and yet they neither see nor hear any of these things. " But, however desirable it may be to enlist the unlearned as observers, it is not necessary to write down to the level of their ignorance ; yet this is what many contend should be done, and we are gravely told that we ought to give all the insects English names, and that this would have the effect of making the Annual more generally interesting. But what is a name? A name is that appellation by which a thing is known, but by what English appellation is Phlogophora empyrea known ? It bears no English name at present, and, consequently, is not yet known by any. But suppose we were to give it a name : then each person who learns its new English name has to learn its English name PREFACE. V and its Latin one ; for if he only learns its English name he will meet shoals of people who have only learnt the Latin designation, and to whom he would therefore have to explain that, when he said so-and-so, he meant Phlogophora empyrea. Is it not much simpler for him to learn to say Phlogophora empyrea at once ? To have to learn two sets of names, an English set and a Latin set, is giving one's self unnecessary trouble. English names are frequently exces- sively local ; a moth will be called by the collectors of one town by one English name, whilst the collectors in another town will call it something quite different. Even the English names occurring in books are not always the same, and we find one set of names in Rennie, where the butterfly figured on our wrapper is called " the Primrose," and another set of names in Wood. A recent writer in " The Naturalist" expatiated on the plea- sure of discovering the name of a butterfly in plain English, though the instance he selected was rather unfortunate, for he found in "Morris's British Butterflies," that the "ugly Latin, Hipparchia JEyeria" was replaced by the " plain English, The Wood Argus." Now, in the first place, we are not aware that Argus is more English than JEgeria; and in the second place, the name " Wood Argus" how- ever familiar it may be in Yorkshire and Derbyshire, is never used near London to express " The Speckled Wood." Indeed, the whole observation reminds us excessively of the old stage coachman's remark as to the difference between a railway accident and a coach upset: — "Why," says he, " if the train comes to a smash, and you get thrown off the line, where are you ? but if the coach overturns into a hedge or ditch, there you are !" a 3 VI PREFACE. The following passage in the New Quarterly Review has considerable hearing on the question how far it is de- sirable to write down to a low level in order to conciliate the many : " The public very naturally buy only such books as they like and are able to comprehend. They have a superficial smattering of every thing, and pass summary judgments ac- cordingly. The press as naturally humours the public, and praises or condemns in keeping with public prejudices ; the consequence of which is, that a writer, in order to be popular, is unfortunately obliged to follow and truckle to understand- ings infinitely below his own. However great his heart or genius, however well qualified he may be to lead men on- wards to lofty efforts and noble aim?, it is of the first im- portance to his fame, and his very existence as an author, to conciliate his readers. If his works cannot command a sale, he cannot be properly called an author. However truthful or profound, if he ceases to please, he ceases to exist ; the result is, that books are written to please the majority." But we trust we have sufficient resolution to write what we consider good for the majority, whether it actually please them or not; we have no notion of treating our public like a spoiled child, and giving them whatever they ignorantly clamour for, even though its tendency may be to aggravate their particular disease. We are quite willing to hear all sides; but having done so, we must be allowed to judge for ourselves what is best, both for us and for our readers. One result which we foresee from the success of "The Entomologist's Annual" is a series of scientific Annuals on PREFACE. \U other branches of knowledge. Indeed very useful Annuals may be brought out on subjects not exactly scientific. Already following in our wake, the Post Office, the most go-a-head department of our Government, has brought out its Annual, with an account of "the progress, changes and improvements effected in the various departments of Post Office" during; the vear 1854. Like the Entomologist's Annual for 1855, this Post Office Annual begins by stat- ing what had been done in previous years, and then enters more into details, in the part corresponding to our " New British Species in 1854." It also further carried out our idea of introducing amusing chapters ; and the story of the old woman who lived in a house between a No. 14 and a No. 16, but whose street door was ornamented with a brass number 95, it having been the number of a house she had formerly lived at in another street, and "which (meaning the brass plate) being a very good one she thought would do for her present residence as well as any other," is well told at page 101. Here, however, the similitude between the two Annuals ceases, more especially if we look at the colours of the wrappers; ours was a, yellow book, the Post Office Report was a blue book.* * While alluding to the Post Office, I wish to suggest that a monthly publication of all the Foreign and Colonial Postage Rates, with regu- lations for letters, newspapers, and books, both at home and abroad, would be very serviceable to many people. Why should not the Post Office have its own Bradshaw ? If people could tell by it, at a glance, what the postage was on a letter from here to such a place, and how long the letter would be in transit, many more foreign letters would be posted, and the revenue would be increased. Those who are in the habit of writing letters to residents abroad get to know all these matters, but how many there are who do not write simply because they do not know ! Vlll PREFACE. Lest any of the readers of the Annual should complain of our Plate this year being exclusively devoted to Lspi- doptera, it is but fair to ourselves to state that some figures of other orders would willingly have been introduced, but those eniracred on the other orders were unable to recommend any species for that purpose ; one correspondent, it is true, did recommend one Beetle to be figured, but his recom- mendation arrived just when the Plate was already com- pleted ! Entomology is coming rapidly into notice as an attractive branch of science; it is difficult to take up any work of our greatest literary characters, without finding some allusion either to Entomology or Entomological pursuits ; even in the first number of "Little Dorrit," Mr. Meagles states in refer- ence to his dread of the plague while in quarantine at Mar- seilles,— " Why, I'd as soon have a spit* through me, and be stuck upon a card in a collection of beetles, as lead the life I have been leading here;" and Bulwer Lytton, in the " Caxtons," devotes a whole chapter to the earwig, inform- ing his readers that the insect which attracted his attention, or rather distracted it, " was certainly larger than an earwig. It might have been one of that genus, in the family of For- Jiculidce, called Labidoura — monsters, whose antennae have thirty joints ! There is a species of this creature in England, * The word spit is thoroughly Entomological, being employed to de- signate great clumsy pins, such as should not be used ; but the Author was in error in assuming that a beetle was first pinned, and then stuck on a card — those that are pinned not being mounted on cards, and vice versa — at least this is the case at the present day, but perhaps in Mr. Meagles' time it may have been different PREFACE. IX but to the great grief of naturalists, and to the great honour of Providence, very rarely found, infinitely larger than the common earwig." This scientific information occurs in Chapter III., Part VII., of that clever novel. Several of the suggestions received from correspondents on the appearance of "The Annual " last year are now in process of being carried out, and we shall he very thankful to receive any further suggestions. The object of the Annual is to be useful; and if its utility can be in any way increased, we shall be happy to profit by the ideas of others, having a firm conviction that when new ideas are not accepted simply because not our own, it will be a sign of old age and a warn- ing that it is time to retire from the Editorship of " The Entomologist's Annual." I would hope that each Entomologist who reads these pages will not only derive pleasure and instruction from them, but also find his usefulness increased. H. T. STAINTON. MOUNTSFIELD, LEWISHAM, December 7th, 1855. CONTENTS. Advantages of the Study of Natural History. (By the Editor.) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1 The Pleasures of Entomology. (By the Editor.) .. .. 6 List of British Entomologists. (By the Editor.) .. „ . 11 Lepidoptera. (By the Editor.) New British Species in 1855 .. .. .. .. 26 Rare British Species captured in 1855 .. .. ..45 Observations on British Tineina . . . . . . . . 49 Answers to Enigmas .. .. . . .. .. ..61 Enigmas still unanswered . . . . . . . . 62 New Enigmas for Solution . » .. .. .. ..63 COLEOPTERA. Notes on British Geodephaga, with Description of One New Species. (By J. F. Dawson, LL.B.) 65 New British Species noticed in 1855. (By E. W. Janson.) 82 Hymenoptera. (By Frederick Smith.) Notes on Aculeate Hymenoptera .. .. ., ..93 Instructions in Collecting the Aculeate Hymenoptera .. 102 Results of a Residence at Fochabers. (By John Scott.) .. 108 On the Objects of a Collection of Insects. (By John Lub- bock.) .. .. 115 Ghent to Glogau, and Stettin to Schaffhausen, in search of Entomologists. (By the Editor.) .• . .. .. 123 Important New Works on Entomology. (By the Editor.) . . 135 List of Entomological Books now on Sale in London. (By the Editor.) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 157 Introductory Works on Entomology .. .. .. ..158 Works on Entomology in General .. .. .. .. 159 Works on British Lepidoptera .. .. .. ..160 Works on Lepidoptera (not exclusively British) .. .. 163 Works on British Coleoptera .. .. .. .. .. 164 Works on Coleoptera (not exclusively British) .. .. 165 Works on Bees . . .. .. .. .. .. ..165 Miscellaneous Works on Entomology .. .. .. 166 Monthly Periodicals (which contain Entomological Papers or Information) .. .. .. .. .. .. 16S " A frightful majority of our middle-class young men are growing up effeminate, empty of all knowledge but what tends directly to the making of a fortune ; or rather, to speak correctly, to the keep- ing up the fortunes which their fathers have made for them ; while of the minority, who are indeed thinkers and readers, how many women as well as men have we seen wearying their souls with study undirected, often misdirected, craving to learn, yet not knowing how or what to learn ; cultivating, with unwholesome energy, the head at the expense of the body and the heart ; catching up with the most capricious self-will one mania after another, and tossing it away again for some new phantom ; gorging the memory with facts which no one has taught them to arrange, and the reason with problems which they have no method for solving, till they fret them- selves into a chronic fever of the brain, which too often urges them on to plunge, as it were, to cool the inward fire, into the ever- restless sea of doubt and disbelief. It is a sad picture. There are many who may read these pages whose hearts will tell them that it is a true one. What is wanted in these cases is a methodic and scientific habit of mind, and a class of objects on which to exercise that habit, which will fever neither the speculative intellect nor the moral sense, and those physical science will give, as nothing else can give it." — Kingsley's Glaucus, p. 45. ADVANTAGES OF THE STUDY OF NATURAL HISTORY. (By the Editor.) The study of Natural History, taken in its widest significa- tion, means the study of all creation ; taken in its more restricted sense, it is confined to Zoology and Botany ; but when it is considered that Geology contains the records of the Zoology and Botany of a past age, and that the forms so preserved for our investigations are frequently of invalu- able assistance to us in supplying links in the great chain of nature, it is evident that Geology forms no mean branch of Natural History, — and a knowledge of the facts of Astro- nomy, the different circumstances in which the various mem- bers of our own system are placed, and the analogy of other systems at distances so remote as to be almost beyond our comprehension, cannot but be of use to the student in en- larging his ideas. Study is generally divided into two branches ; in the first place, the study of language; secondly, the study of pure science. The study of language is necessary in order to enable us to express our ideas, but then it might be advisable to pur- sue some other study which would give us ideas to be ex- pressed ; to be master of the art of expressing ideas, and at the same time barren of the art of producing them, is like the possession of a knife and fork without possessing a joint 1856 b 2 ADVANTAGES OF THE STUDY OF whereon to use them. The study of pure science possesses un- common fascinations for many minds ; it enables the student to abstract himself entirely from the external world, to find pleasures in himself and by himself, and as encouraging the faculty of concentrating the attention upon any particular subject is a Yery desirable study for the young. Fen- habits are more desirable of cultivation than a habit of attention. The study of Nature has hitherto been placed too much beyond the pale of ordinary education ; yet it, too, has its fascinations for the young, and we hope the time is not dis- tant when those in whom this bias exists will have it culti- vated, instead of repressed, by those who have the superin- tendence of their education. One great advantage of this study is, that it is one not to be obtained to any considerable extent from books alone — it compels us to seek the objects themselves ; we thus obtain a knowledge of the subject for ourselves quite independent of the instrumentality of another person, and this is a very im- portant matter ; when we thus examine and observe for our- selves we feel a far greater ownership in the knowledge so obtained than we can ever feel in any information we derive from learning a passage in a book by heart. A person may learn a great deal from books, and yet, from a want of ob- servation, may be unable to read the pages of the book of nature, daily spread out before us, ever fresh and ever inter- esting. The child who has learnt to distinguish a swallow from a marten and from a swift, is not likely to remain contentedly in ionorance of the distinctions by which other closely allied species are distinguished. To him the sight or sound of a troup of swifts will convey pleasurable sensations, to which he who looks on them merely as birds, or as swallows, must ever remain a stranger. The child who, from studying Botany, has learnt not only NATURAL HISTORY. 3 to recognise many a flower at sight, but also to know by what little peculiarities it is that he does recognise them, has learnt the value of having fixed, determinate ideas ; and how many there are who pass through life in a semi-dreamy state, without giving their attention to anything, or being able to form fixed, determinate ideas. The neglect which the study of Natural History has hitherto had to endure at all our great seats of learning, is one of those things which fifty years hence people will look back and wonder at. An instance came to my knowledge lately of a clergyman, in Dorsetshire, who laughed heartily at his pupil (a youth of nineteen) for being so ignorant as to state that a whale was not a fish ; the clergyman had gradu- ated at Oxford, and believed a whale to be a fish ! And he was not a very old clergyman either. I quote this as an in- stance of the want of knowledge that an Oxford graduate may possess ; indeed, it has been well observed by Lord Rosse, that "a man having taken a first-class in Uteris hu- manioribus, may be ignorant of physics in the most element- ary form, and be incapable of comprehending the first principles of machinery and manufactures, or of forming a just and enlarged conception of the resources of this great country." But what we advocate for the study of Natural History is, not that it should be merely tolerated, but that it should be placed on a footing of perfect equality with the study of Classics or Mathematics. As a mental discipline it has quite the same advantages ; it inculcates accuracy and precision quite as much as the study of Mathematics; and further, it develops the faculties of observation which are not employed at all in the other branches of education. All minds are not so constituted as to enjoy in an equal degree Classics or Mathematics ; to some Classics are a great bore ; for others Mathematics have no charms : some, perhaps, cannot abide b2 4 ADVANTAGES OF THE STUDY OF either; yet, were a course of study of Natural History open to them, the spark within them might have been touched, their interest awakened, and they would thus obtain all the good effects of education. On this subject the Rev. Henry Moseley writes as follows: — " The sciences of observation and experiment afford, in this point of view, resources of education which it is lament- able we should neglect as we do. I believe that many a youth, who has but little taste for the learning which is pre- scribed for him at school, and for that reason devotes himself to it with but little zeal and gives it up as soon as he is able, might, if the alternative had been allowed him of pursuing those other subjects, have compassed through their means all the highest results of education." And we trust that this consideration will be thoroughly laid to heart by all " parents and guardians." Moreover, with many their studies are put aside when they leave college never to be resumed, and the " equations of curves," or u a consideration of the causes which led to the second Peloponnesian war," are not often taken up as matters of amusement during leisure hours. Yet the mind must have some food as well as the stomach ; to dose it with the frivolities of fashionable dissipation, — to cram it with all the novels of the season, is like overloading the stomach with pastry and confectionery, and giving it no solid food ; the mind, like the stomach, becomes weakly and irritable by such treatment. Now, the study of Natural History is just midway between the abstruseness of political economy, or of the past history of the human race, and the extreme lightness of most of the novels of the present day ; it is as interesting as a novel, but gives the same employment to the higher faculties of the mind as are afforded by the abstruser studies of Political Economy and History. To those engaged with these latter graver pursuits, it would afford a pleasant change NATURAL HISTORY. O of occupation without producing the sensation of their time being thrown away, which is not unfrequently a concomitant with a few hours light reading. To those who now read nothing but light reading, and who are almost unaware of the pleasures of thinking, a few hours daily devoted to the study of Natural History would do them a world of good, — it would give them what, perhaps, they very much want at present — an object of pursuit. The India Board have lately published certain " Regula- tions for the admission of Candidates for the appointment of Assistant-Surgeon in the Service of the East India Com- pany." In these " Regulations" they announce that one of their objects in requiring examinations in Comparative Anatomy, Zoology and Botany, is " to promote the study of Natural History as a most important adjunct or pre- liminary to a liberal medical education ; that of Compara- tive Anatomy, Zoology or Botany, if properly cultivated by means of specimens, for even a short period, being eminently caladated to develope habits of close examination, and to strengthen those po?vers of reasoning upon observed facts, which must be habitually exercised by medical men every- where, but which must be exercised with the greatest energy and promptitude by those who practise in a tropical cli- mate, and who are often thrown wholly upon their own resources." This announcement we hail as one of the " signs of the times ;" Natural History is to be studied for the mental training it induces, not merely taken up as an amusement. ( 6 ) THE PLEASURES OF ENTOMOLOGY. (By the Editor.) " He who can make two ears of corn grow where onlv one grew before, becomes a benefactor to his race," and this would be equally true were man devoid of intellect ; — to feed the mind is a more noble employment than to feed the body, and he who can produce two ideas where only one previously existed has rendered good service. Now Entomology will furnish new ideas to many who are woefully in want of them. Entomology is the study of insects; insects are living beings "fearfully and wonderfully made;" to be studied they must be collected and observed. The pleasures of the collector of insects, even of the mere collector, are of a high order — compare them with the plea- sures of the collector of coins, or the collector of auto- graphs, &c. ; the collector of insects, however he may enrich his collection by specimens received from others, will still make the larger part of his collection himself; most of the specimens will be his own captures, and the sight of them will remind him of the place of capture: the sloping down, with its short, slippery turf; the country lane, with its tangled hedges, where honeysuckle and bramble help to bind in friendly harmony the hazel, the dogwood and the oak ; the sandy heath, where it was so baking hot in the sun, but where at evening the purple heather was perfectly swarming THE PLEASURES OF ENTOMOLOGY. / with moths; the marshy swamp, where the reeds and typha helped to furnish a supply of Wainscots; the hollow in the oak wood, where the first Purple Emperor was seen, and, after many an hour's watching, was at length observed to descend to the margin of a muddy pool, and there caught; all these spots, and all the pleasurable sensations received at each of them, are they not written in the chronicles of our recollection? And are these not pleasures which belong to us specially as Entomologists, and which the many are unable to participate in ? Each time that the collector of insects catches some species which he has not before met with, he receives a thrill of pleasure, which it is very difficult to render intelligible to those who have not felt it ; (those who are fond of music can have some conception of it from noticing their own sensa- tions when they hear a beautiful air for the first time ;) the number of species being so great, the pleasure is one of con- stant recurrence — occurring less frequently, it is true, as our collection advances towards completeness, but occurring in greater intensity in proportion as the sensation is more rarely experienced. Yet, after all, these pleasures are but for ourselves and to ourselves; no one can share our pleasure in adding to our collection. But the observer of insects enjoys pleasures of a far higher order ; with him each new observation, even if communicated by another, produces a more intense thrill of delight than that experienced by the collector on adding some rarity to his collection — the discovery of some peculiarity in the habit of species long well known in our collections, but of which the habits had not previously been observed, this is an addi- tion not to the collection of an individual, but to science, to the knowledge of created beings acquired by the human race; and in the present infant state of Entomology such 8 THE PLEASURES OF ENTOMOLOGY. pleasures may be enjoyed many a time in the course of the year, and they will be more intense in proportion to the extent we can communicate them : here no room is left for selfishness, we add but to the common stock, and few will be disposed to be vain of the additions they may thus have made to the accumulated masses of knowledge about these atoms, when they reflect what a small fraction it is of the whole, and how less than nothing it appears when compared with the vast extent of the " terra incognita" of Entomology. And these pleasures, it will be observed, though of so high an order, are positively within the reach of all ; it has been well said " happiness is within our reach, if we will but take it." Those who have once felt these pleasures know that there is an amount of enjoyment in them, which neither wealth nor rank can bestow ; and they feel at the same time, that having learnt the secret of these pleasures, it would matter but little which of the usually-considered greater misfor- tunes befell them — no loss of property could prevent their enjoying these pleasures, because they are pleasures inde- pendent of property — no alienation of friends could disturb their happiness in these pleasures, because they are pleasures independent of friendship. The pleasures of the collector are much mixed up with his collection, and if deprived of that, he might indeed be disposed to exclaim that the spoiler — " Itobs me of that which not enriches him, And leaves me poor indeed." Collections of insects are necessarily perishable ; mould, mites, fire, &c, especially the two former, are often agents of destruction. But the process of re-making a collection is much less tedious than that by which the first collection was made— the experience acquired in making Collection THE PLEASURES OF ENTOMOLOGY. 9 No. 1 is not subject to be destroyed either by mould, mites or fire, and will be found available for the formation of Collection No. 2. The pleasures of the observer are independent of his col- lection, and therefore he is not liable to be deprived of them, and this is no slight addition to the enjoyment he derives from them. But it must also be borne in mind, that it is no slight plea- sure to find occupation and an object in every country walk. An Entomologist cannot say that — " A primrose by the river's brim A yellow primrose is to him, And it is nothing more." A primrose conveys to his mind a reminiscence of all the insects that feed on it; he thinks of the fat larvae which eat the leaves in winter and early spring, and for which he has oft perambulated his garden by night with a lantern ; he thinks of the Dipterous miner that forms its mazy whitish track on the surface of the leaves — and not only has a prim- rise this importance to him, an importance which, without lessening its beauty as a flower, invests it in addition with other points of interest, but almost every plant and shrub becomes to him replete with pleasant recollections — a walk, even when he is not actually looking for insects, becomes a totally different thing from what the same walk would be to another person. But when we further consider that a walk is generally undertaken by the Entomologist with the express object of finding something, and it is rarely that he fails to succeed (if not in finding the very thing he was seeking for), at least of finding something which he is glad to meet with. ODD I we can comprehend that an Entomologist derives pleasure from every walk he takes. And how many there are who would be thankful to learn b5 10 THE PLEASURES OF ENTOMOLOGY. that secret of finding pleasure and actual enjoyment in every walk they take ! they go out, it is true, for a walk, because their medical man recommends exercise in the open air, but the walk, for want of some object, is too often found — " Weary, flat, stale and unprofitable." Let them, if they wish to derive pleasure from every walk, learn to Entomologize. In Entomology, not only is there much to be done, but there is so much that wants doing. Like many a corn field last autumn, which was wanting to be cut till the labourers could be found, so is the Entomo- logical crop ready for the sickle, but where are the reapers? ( 11 ) LIST OF BRITISH JENTOMOLOGISTS. (By the Editor.) Of late years the number of Entomologists has increased in a rapid ratio, and every year young Entomologists are pro- duced from the mass of boy-butterfly-hunters, who never proceed further. But each young Entomologist pursues his occupation alone ; perhaps he has some young friend of kindred tastes, they were at school together, but now are a hundred miles apart, and only meet once a year, at Christ- mas, perhaps not even then ; each works alone, yet are there scattered throughout the country many more expe- rienced Entomologists, who would be very glad to assist beginners if they knew who were, in that capacity, in want of assistance. The incipients, however celebrated they may hereafter become, are at present unknown ; consequently, be- fore they can be assisted, they must make their existence known by applying by letter to some of their seniors. Hence one great use of this list; each young beginner has but to look down the list to find some person who lives in his neighbourhood, and has an * prefixed to his name — to him he writes as follows : — " Dear Sir, " Understanding vou are willing to assist Ento- mologists who are only beginners, I should be very glad if you could inform me * * * * * * * Could you oblige me with a sight of your collection, I fancy I might derive from it some useful hints. " Believe me, dear Sir, " Yours very truly." 12 LIST OF BRITISH ENTOMOLOGISTS. But independently of this use of the list of Entomologists, it may also be extensively useful by enabling those who are far advanced beyond being mere beginners, to obtain some of those local species of which their collections are at present deficient. The Entomologist who lives in Sussex will never meet with Erebia Blandina, though he collect for fifty years; the Entomologist located in Argyllshire may be equally certain he will never there meet with Limenitis Si- billa. Now if the one collector meet with more Sibilla than he can use, he may as well give them away; and if the Argyllshire Entomologist meet with more Blandina than he wants, he will, in like manner, be no poorer from parting with what is a superfluity with him — yet each will be a gainer by the exchange. By the word exchange, I do not mean that each obtains an exact equivalent for the hypothetical money value of the speci- men parted with. A duplicate is something we do not want, its value to us is 0; if we attempt to bargain with a cor- respondent what he shall give us in return for our duplicate, we become hucksters and petty tradesmen. Many a young Entomologist, to my certain knowledge, thinks that by ex- changing insects is meant parting with his duplicates for others of equal value; and therefore that in opening a cor- respondence by saying, " I have got so and so, what will you give in exchange for it," he is merely acting according to the customary practice of most of our distinguished Entomo- logists, but in this he labours under a great mistake — " Freely ye have received, freely give ;" and he will find that the practice is to give away duplicates to others who may be in want of the respective species, without any stipulation with regard to exchanges. Directly he begins to " drive a bargain," he gets a bad character, and " mercenary," " greedy," " stingy," are a few LIST OF BRITISH ENTOMOLOGISTS. 13 of the epithets that get freely applied to him behind his back, and it damages a man's career for many years to get a bad character at first starting. No one will find himself a loser by obtaining a character for liberality. The following sample of a perfectly unconditional offer of duplicates, from the pages of the Zoologist (1855, Sept., p. 4816), may not be out of place here. "Duplicates of the Genus Colymbetes. The water-net has produced duplicates of the following species of Colym- betes; I shall be much pleased to send them to any Ento- mologist as long as the store holds out; C. oblongus, chal- conotus, maculatus, vitreus, Stwmii, bipustulatus, ater, obscurus, angustior, fidiginosus, pulverosusy exoletus and bistriatus. I shall be much obliged for specimens of the following species which do not appear to be metropolitan: C. arcticns, fontinalis, congener, uliginosus, dispar, brun- neus, notatus and adspersus. I wish it to be distinctly UNDERSTOOD THAT MY OFFER TO DISTRIBUTE DUPLICATES IS QUITE UNCONDITIONAL, AND NOT IN ANYWAY DEPENDANT on gifts I may receive. I hope this mode of adver- tising duplicates and desiderata will be followed by my readers ; the pages of the ' Zoologist ' are at their service, and there is no longer any duty on advertisements. — Edward Newman." The following list of British Entomologists cannot pretend to be a complete one. I have endeavoured to enumerate every Entomologist whose name and address I could learn, and who was willing to let his name figure in the list, but I have no doubt that I shall hear from many who may be disappointed at not seeing themselves in print in this Annual for 1856. If each Entomologist, whose name is here omitted, will let 14 LIST OF BRITISH ENTOMOLOGISTS. me know how he wishes his name to appear in the list in next year's Annual, I shall be most happy to accommodate him. FERFECTION IS NEVER ATTAINED AT THE FIRST START. List of British Entomologists. Marked * are willing to assist young beginners, with specimens or information. (Note. — The absence of this mark does not necessarily imply that the unstarred Ento- mologist is a reserved, selfish animal, — some are too occu- pied to have any spare time to " tout" for correspondents, others are too young and feel incompetent to give informa- tion, others are in the decline of life, and have fairly earned their " otium cum dignitate" having in former years " done the state good service.") *Adams, Arthur, F.L.S., Brook Cottage, Alverstoke, Hants. Coleop- tera, Hymenoptera and Myriapoda. Adams, Mrs. Arthur, Brook Cottage, Alverstoke, Hants. British Coleoptera. Adams, Ernest, Esq., 17, Upper Gower Street, Bedford Square. Bri- tish Coleoptera and Lepidoptera. Adams, Henry, Esq., Hanover Villas, Notting Hill. * All is, T. H., Esq., York. British Lepidoptera. *Almond, Mr. G. A., Oliver Street, Birkenhead. British Lepidoptera. Ansell, Henry, Esq., Tottenham. British Lepidoptera. * Armstrong, Thomas, Esq., 10, Barwise Court, English Street, Car- lisle. British Lepidoptera. *Ashworth, John S., Esq., Bryn Hyfryd, Llangollen, North Wales. British Lepidoptera. * Austin, Mr. Henry, Jun., The Hollies, Little Ealing. British Lepi- doptera. Babington, C. C, Esq., M.A., F.R.S., F.L.S., F.G.S., St. John's Col- lege, Cambridge. Coleoptera. No longer collects ; happy to give information. LIST OF BRITISH ENTOMOLOGISTS. 15 Baikie, W. B., M.D., F.R.G.S., Haslar Hospital, Gosport. Coleoptera, Myriapoda and Arachnida. Baldwin, E. G., Esq., Albany House, Barnsbury Park. British Lepi- doptera. Baly, J. S., Esq., 13, Soutbampton Terrace, Kentish Town. Exotic Chrysomelidce and European Hymenoptera. Barlow, F., Esq., Solicitor, Cambridge. Barrox, Charles, Esq., Museum, Haslar, Gosport. British Coleop- tera, Hymenoptera and Lepidoptera. Barton, Mr. Stephex, Quay Head Street, Bristol. British and Foreign Coleoptera. •Bates, F., Esq., 5, Napier Terrace, Aylestone Road, Leicester. Bri- tish Coleoptera. *Beale, S. C. Tress, Esq., Ivy Court, Tenterden. British Lepidoptera. Bedell, G., Esq., 10, Gloucester Terrace, Gloucester Road, Ber- mondsey. British Lepidoptera. *Bell, R. J., Esq., Reedness, Goole, Yorkshire. British Lepidoptera. *Bell, Thomas, Esq., F.R.S., Pres. L. S., F.G.S., 17, New Broad Street, London, and Selborne, Hants. Crustacea. Birks, Rev. Henry, B.A., Henley-on-Thames. British Lepidoptera. Birt, Jacob, Esq., 30, Sussex Gardens, Hyde Park, and Broomy Lodge, New Forest, Hants. Blackwall, J., Esq., F.L.S., Hendre House, Llanrwst. British Ara- neidea. Bladox, J., Esq., Pont-y-Pool. Happy to give information. Blakeley, Mr. Johx, 1, Water Street, New Town, Manchester. Bri- tish Lepidoptera. ♦Bold, T. J., Esq., Angas Court, Bigg Market, Newcastle-on-Tyne. British Coleoptera and Aculeate Hymenoptera. Boxd, F., Esq., 24, Cavendish Road, St. John's Wood. British Lepi- doptera. •Boothman, W. Esq., 40, Plantation Street, Accrington, Lancashire. British Lepidoptera. *Bostock, G. J., Esq., Boteler House, Warrington. British Lepidop- tera. *Boyd, Thomas, Esq., 17, Clapton Square. British Lepidoptera. Braix, Johx, Esq., Sleight's Bridge, near Whitby. Bree, C. R., Esq., Stricklands, Stowmarket. British Lepidoptera. Bree, Rev. W. T., Rectory, Allesley. Bree, Rev. W., Polebrook, near Oundle, Northamptonshire. British Lepidoptera. 16 LIST OF BRITISH ENTOMOLOGISTS. * Brewer, J. A., Esq., Holmesdale House, Reigate. British Coleoptera. Brightwell, Thomas, Esq., F.L.S., Surrey Street, Norwich. *Brockholes, J. F., Esq., 7, Egerton Terrace, Birkenhead. British Lepidoptera. Brown, Edwin, Esq., Burton-on-Trent. British Insects. Brown, John, Harrobin Mill, near Bolton. British Lepidoptera. *Brown, Thomas, Esq., 13, King's Parade, Cambridge. British Lepi- doptera. Bull, E., Mansfield Road, Nottingham. British Lepidoptera. Burnell, E. H., Esq., 32, Bedford Row, London. *Burney, Rev. Henry, Wavendon, Bucks. British Lepidoptera. *Buxton, E. C, Esq., Myddleton Hall, near "Warrington. British Le- pidoptera. Carter, Mr. Samuel, 20, Lower Mosley Street, Manchester. British Lepidoptera and Coleoptera, and Foreign Coleoptera. Christie, Arthur, Esq., 9, Stanhope Street, Hyde Park Gardens. Clark, Rev. Hamlet, M.A., Northampton. British Coleoptera. Clarke, A. H., Esq., W aimer House, Kensington Park, Notting Hill. Clarke, J. and H. B., Low Pavement, Nottingham. British Coleoptera and Lepidoptera. Clifford, Mr. J. R. S., 21, Queen's Row, Pimlico. British Lepi- doptera. Colquhoun, Hugh, Esq., M.D., 3, Kew Terrace, Glasgow. British Lepidoptera. *Cooke, Henry, Esq., 8, Pelham Terrace, Brighton. British Lepidop- tera. Cooper, Mr. James, Museum, Warrington. British Lepidoptera. Cox, Captain C. J., Q.G., Fordwich House, Fordwich, Kent. Lepidop- tera. Crewe, H. Harpur, Esq., Breadsall Rectory, near Derby. British Lepidoptera. Curtis, John, Esq., F.L.S., 18, Belitha Villas, Barnsbury Park, Lon- don. British Insects of all orders. Dale, J. C, Esq., F.L.S., Glanville's Wootton, near Sherborne, Dorset. British Insects. Dale, W. C, Esq., St. Pancras' Vicarage, Gordon Square. British Lepidoptera. LIST OF BRITISH ENTOMOLOGISTS. 17 •Dallas, W. S., Esq., F.L.S., 23, Crane Grove, Holloway Road. He- miptera. Davis, Mr. Edwin, Jun., 8, Victoria Place, Stapleton Road. British Lepidoptera. Dawson, John, Esq., Carron, near Falkirk, Stirlingshire. Britisli Lepidoptera. Dawson, Rev. J. F., LL.B., the Woodlands, near Bedford. British Coleoptera. De La Ciiaumette, Henry, Esq., 9, Gloucester Terrace, West Green Road, Tottenham. All European Insects. Denny, Henry, Esq., A.L.S., Philosophical Hall, Leeds. Anoplura and Pselaphida. Is now working at Exotic Anoplura. Desvignes, Thomas, Esq., Fir Tree Cottage, Woodford. Coleoptera, loptera and Hymenoptera, especially Tchneumonidce. *Dossetor, T. P., Esq., 13, Poultry. British Coleoptera and Lepidop- tera. *Doubleday, Henry, Esq., Epping. British Lepidoptera. The finest Collection in England. *Douglas, J. W., Esq., 6, Kingswood Place, Lee, Kent. British Le- pidoptera and Coleoptera. At home to Entomologists every Friday Evening after half-past six, p.m., from November to March inclusive. *Downie, Mr. R., Barnet, Herts. Observer of Bees. •Drane, Robert, Guestwick, Foulsham, Norfolk. ♦DuNCALFE, Henry, Esq., West Bromwich. British Lepidoptera. ♦Duncan, Mr. John P., Monkton, Ayrshire. British Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. Dunning, J. W., Esq., Elmwood Lodge, Leeds, and Trinity College, Cambridge. British Lepidoptera. D'Urban, W. S. M., Esq., Newport, near Exeter. British Lepidoptera, Coleoptera and Hymenoptera. *Dutton, James, Esq., 2, Theresa Place, Hammersmith. British Le- pidoptera. *Edleston, R. S., Esq., 5, Meal Street, Manchester, and Bowdon, Cheshire. British Lepidoptera. Edward, ?Jr. Thomas, Banff. British Insects. Eldrid, Edward II., Esq., Woburn Cottage, Norwood, Surrey. Bri* tish Lepidoptera. Evans, Henry, Esq., Darley Abbey, near Derby. British Lepidoptera. Evans, W. F., Esq., Admiralty. 18 LIST OF BRITISH ENTOMOLOGISTS. Fortnum, C. D. E., Esq., Stanmore, Middlesex. Exotic Insects. Does not now collect. Fox, J., Rawson Street, New Basford, near Nottingham. British Co- leoptera and Lepidoptera. Fox, W. Leedes, Esq., Harleston, Norfolk. British Coleoptera. Foxcroft, Mr., 3, Union Yard, Oxford Street. Collects Insects for Sale. Francis, Horace, Esq., 38, Upper Bedford Place, Russell Square. British Lepidoptera. Fraser, Finley, Innkeeper, Bolton. British Lepidoptera. Freason, G., Ison Green, near Nottingham. British Lepidoptera. Garland, John, Esq., M. Ent. S., Memh. Wern. Soc, Dorchester. British Lepidoptera. Garneys, Charles, Esq., Bungay, Suffolk. British Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. Garneys, W., Esq., Bungay, Suffolk. British Lepidoptera and Coleop- tera. Gascoyne, Mr. G., Newark, Notts. British Lepidoptera. Gaviller, Augustine, Esq., Loudwater, Wycombe, Bucks. British Lepidoptera. Goderich, Viscount, M.P., F.L.S., Carlton Gardens. Gordon, Rev. George, Manse of Birnie, by Elgin, N.B. *Graham, Edmund, 19, Bolton Street West, Preston. British Coleop- tera. Grant, G., Esq., M.D., Richmond, Surrey. Grant, Frederick, Esq., Putney. British Coleoptera. Gray, John, Esq., Wheatfield House, near Bolton-le-Moors. ♦Gray, J. E., Esq., Ph. D., F.R.S., Pr. B. S., V.P.Z.S., &c, British Museum. *Greene, Rev. Joseph, Brandeston, Woodbridge, Suffolk. British Lepidoptera. Greening, Mr. Noah, Trafalgar Place, Warrington. Micro- Lepidop- tera. *Gregson, C. S., Edge Lane, Old Swan, near Liverpool. British Lepi- doptera and Coleoptera. *Gregson, William, Esq., Lytham. British Lepidoptera. * Groves, W., Esq., 12, Morden Place, Lewisham Road. British Lepi- doptera and Coleoptera. *Grut, F., Esq., 9, King Street, Southwark. British Coleoptera and Lepidoptera. LIST OF BRITISH ENTOMOLOGISTS. 19 Guyon, G., Esq., Richmond, Surrey, and Ventnor, Isle of Wight. Bri- tish Coleoptera. Hadfield, Mr. W. P., Newark, Notts. British Coleoptera. Hague, Mr. Thomas, Dog and Partridge Inn, Staleybridge. British Lepidoptera. Haliday, A. H., Esq., 23, Harcourt Street, Dublin. British Insects, except Lepidoptera. * Harding, Mr. George, Jun., Stapleton, near Bristol. British Lepi- doptera. * Harding, Mr. H. J., York Street, Church Street, Shoreditch. British Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, §c. Collects Insects for sale ; also purchases Insects. Hardy, James, Esq., Penmanshiel, near Cockburnspath. British Dip- tera, Coleoptera, Hemiptera, Homoptera and Hymenoptera. Harrison, William, Gardener, Borough Gaol, Walton, near Liver- pool. British Lepidoptera. *Ha\vker, Rev. W. H., Horndean, Hants. British Lepidoptera. *Hemmings, Mr. J., 2, Bedford Buildings, Brighton. British Lepi- doptera. Hepburn, Archibald, Esq., Ross, Herefordshire. British Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. *Hewitson, W. C, Esq., Oatlands, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey. Diur- nal Lepidoptera, Exotic and European. *Hey, Rev. William, York. British Coleoptera. Heysham, T. C, Esq., Carlisle. British Diptera and Apidce. *Hl( !KS, J. B., Esq., M.D., F.L.S., Tottenham. British Lepidoptera. *IIindlf.y, Mr. William, 3, Kirk's Row, Rhodeswell Road, Limehouse. British Lepidoptera, especially Tortricina. *Hislop, Robert, Esq., Blair Lodge, by Falkirk, N.B. British and Foreign Coleoptera. Hodge, George, Seaham Harbour. British Coleoptera and Lepidop- tera. Hodgkinson, Mr. J., Harraby, near Carlisle. British Lepidoptera. *Hodgkinson, Mr. J. B., 41, St. Peter's Square, Preston. British Le- pidoptera. Hogan, A. R., Esq., A.B., T.C.D., Charlton, Dundrum, near Dublin. British Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. Holt, James, Eagley Bank, near Bolton. British Lepidoptera. Hood, Robert, Esq., M.D., Newington, Edinburgh. 20 LIST OF BRITISH ENTOMOLOGISTS. Horsfield, Thomas, Esq., M. & Ph. D., F.R.S., F.L.S., F.G.S., &c, East India House. Insects from Java. Houghton, Rev. W., Child's Ercall, Market Drayton, Shropshire. Britisli Coleoptera. *Hudson, Mr. F. T., 19, Stockwell Street, Greenwich. British Lepi- doptera. Hunter, Mr. James, West Walls, Carlisle. British Coleoptera and Le- pidoptera. •Hunter, John, Esq., 24, Bloomshury Street. British Lepidoptera. Hyde, Fred. Osman, Esq., Warwick. Lepidoptera. Ingall, Thomas, Esq., 16, Park Road, Stockwell. British bisects. *Jacques, F. V., Myrtle Villa, Ashley Down, Horfield, near Bristol. British Coleoptera. *Janson, E. W., Esq., 61, Gracechurch Street, London. Coleoptera. Jenyns, Rev. L., M.A., F.L.S., F.G.S., Upper Swainswick, near Bath. Jobson, Henry, Esq., Carron, near Falkirk, Stirlingshire. British Lepidoptera. Johnson, Rev. J., Denby, near Huddersfield. British Lepidoptera. Johnson, Sergeant, Police Station, Old Swan, Liverpool. Jones, J. M., Esq., Royal Montgomery Rifles, Welshpool, Montgomery- shire. Coleoptera. Jordan, C. J. R., Esq., Teignmouth, Devon. Britisli Lepidoptera. Jordan, Dr., Birmingham. British Lepidoptera. * Kershaw, Mr. John, Newtown, Altringham, Cheshire. British Insects. Keetley, S., 24, Carter Gate, Nottingham. British Lepidoptera. King, Mr. George, Norwich Road, Ipswich. British Coleoptera and Lepidoptera. *Kirby, Mr. William, South Street, Wandsworth. British Lepidoptera. *Knapp, William, Esq., The Lodge, near Corsham, Wilts. British Lepidoptera; only the Macros. Kuper, Rev. C, Trelleck, Monmouth. British and Exotic Coleoptera. Labrey, B. B., Esq., Manchester. Exotic . Lepidoptera ; Rhopalocera only. Lamb, Rev. William, Ednam, by Kelso. Langcake, T. H., Esq., Beeston Hill, near Leeds. British Lepidoptera. *Law, Mr. Thomas, 9, Regent Street, Darlington. British Lepidoptera. LIST OF BRITISH ENTOMOLOGISTS. 21 •Lea, John Walter, Esq., 15, Augusta Terrace, Ramsgate. British Lepidoptera. Lenny, C.G., Esq., 4, Chatham Place, Ramsgate. British Lepidoptera. Lineker, S., Pierrepoint Street, Nottingham. British Lepidoptera. Lincwood, R. M., Esq., M.A., F.L.S., F.G.S., Lyston, near Ross, Herefordshire. •Linton, James, Esq., Mount Trafford, Eccles, Manchester. British Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. Littlk, Rev. W., Kirkpatrick Juxta. British Coleoptera and Lepidop- tera. *Logan, R. F., Esq., Hawthornbrae, Duddingstone, near Edinburgh. British Lepidoptera. *Lo\ve, W. F., Esq., M.D., Balgreen, Slateford, near Edinburgh. Bri- tish Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. *Lubbock, John, Esq., F.Z.S., High Elms, Farnborough. Studies Crus- tacea; especially Entomostroca ; has no Collection. •Machin, Mr. William, 3-5, William Street, Globe Fields, Mile End. British Lepidoptera. M'Intosii, J., Esq., 5, Middle Street, Taunton. British Lepidoptera. M'Keand, John H., Esq., The Grove, Lowton, near Warrington. British Lepidoptera. M'Keand, Robert, Esq., The Grove, Lowton, near Warrington. Bri- tish Lepidoptera. •Marshall, Thomas, Esq., Trinity Cottage, Leicester. British Insects of all orders. •Meade, R. H., Esq., Bradford, Yorkshire. British Arachnida. MELHUISH, G. E., Esq., Upper Tooting, Surrey. British Lepidoptera. MELLY, C. P., Esq., Liverpool. Foreign Coleoptera (Swiss, India)/, Australian, African, SfC.). •Melville, Mr. David, 23, West Walls, Carlisle. British Lepidoptera. Meynell, Thomas, Esq., Fryerage Yarra, Yorkshire. British Insects. Miller, Mr. C, 17, Silurian Terrace, Broke Road, Dalston. British Lepidoptera ; Tineina only. *Moore, F., Esq., 16, New Hampstead Road, Kentish Town, and Museum, East India House. More, A. G., Esq., Bembridge, Isle of Wight. British Lepidoptera. •Morley, Mr. John, Duke Street, New Basford, near Nottingham. British Lepidoptera. Morley, W., Cross Street, New Basford, near Nottingham. British Lepidoptera. 22 LIST OF BRITISH ENTOMOLOGISTS. *Morris, Beverley, R., Esq., M.D., 38, Fawcett Street, Bishopwear- mouth, Durham. Coleoptera. *Morris, Rev. F. O., Nunburnholme Rectory, Hayton, York. British Insects of all orders. *Moses, Henry, Esq., M.D., Appleby, Westmoreland. British Insects of all orders. *Murray, A., Esq., 1, Scotland Street, Edinburgh. Coleoptera, both British and Exotic. *Naish, Mr. Arthur, Brooklyn Lodge, Ashley Hill, Bristol. British Lepidoptera. *Newman, Edward, Esq., F.L.S., 7, York Grove, Peckham. Newnham, P. H., Esq., Farnham, Surrey. British Lepidoptera. Nicoles, S., Coldham Street, Nottingham. British Lepidoptera. Norman, Alfred Merle, Esq., Christchurch, Oxford. Norman, Mr. J. T., 10, Fountain Place, City Road. *Parfitt, Mr. Edward, 4, Weirfield Place, St. Leonard's, Exeter. British Lepidoptera, Coleoptera and Hymenoptera. Parry, Captain F. J. S., F.L.S., 5, Terrace, Worthing, Sussex. Exotic Coleoptera. *Pascoe, F. P., Esq., F.L.S., Fern Lodge, Kensington. Coleoptera, LamelUcornes and Longicornes of the whole world. Pickard-Cambridge, O., Esq, Bloxworth House, near Blandford, Dorset. British Lepidoptera. Pickersgill, J. C, Esq., 36, Gordon Square. British Lepidoptera. Pigg, Thomas, Esq., 12, Regent's Terrace, Newcastle-on-Tyne. *Plant, Francis, Esq., Hastings Street, Leicester. British Coleoptera. Plint, Henry, Esq., 52, Castle Street, Liverpool. British Lepidoptera. Porter, Thomas, Stott Hillock, Bolton. British Lepidoptera. *Power, John A., Esq., M.D., 52, Burton Crescent. British Coleoptera. Preston, Rev. J. D. J., Askam Bryan, York. Preston, T. A., Esq., Emmanuel College, Cambridge. British Lepi- doptera. Price, Samuel, Esq., 44, Bell Bam Road, Birmingham. British Lepi- doptera. Reading, J. J., Esq., 5, Union Street, Plymouth. British Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. LIST OF BRITISH ENTOMOLOGISTS. 23 Reid, Mr. Hugh, 8, Spring Gardens, Doncaster. British Lepidoptera. Riley, S. H., Kingston Street, Nottingham. British Lepidoptera. Riley, T., Barker Gate, Nottingham. British Lepidoptera. *Rix, J. L., Bongate, Appleby, Westmoreland. British Insects of all orders. Robinson, Mr. H., 12, Porter Street, Preston. British Lepidoptera. Robinson, Mr. W., 12, Porter Street, Preston. British Lepidoptera. Rose, W. B., Mansfield Road, Nottingham. British Coleoptera and Le- pidoptera. *S.VLT, G. M., Esq., Shrewsbury. British Lepidoptera. Salvin, O., Esq., Trinity Hall, Cambridge. British Lepidoptera. ♦Sang, Mr. John, High Row, Darlington. British Lepidoptera. Saunders, W. W., Esq., F.R.S., F.L.S. All Insects from all parts of the globe. Schofield, R. G., Esq., Albert Cottage, Windsor Street, Lower Nor- wood. British Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. Scott, John, Esq., South Stockton, Stockton-on-Tees. British Lepi- doptera and Coleoptera. *Selby, P. J., Esq., Twizell House, Belford, Northumberland. British Lnsects. Shepherd, Edwin, Esq., 17G, Fleet Street. Lepidoptera. *Sheppard, A. F., Esq., Rutland House, Kingston-on-Thames. Bri- tish Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. *Sheppard, Edward, Esq., 5, Ladbroke Place West, Notting Hill. British and Exotic Coleoptera. Siieppard, Major E., F.L.S., Rutland House, Kingston-on-Thames. British L epidoptera . ♦Shield, Mr. Richard, 7, Mansfield Place, Kentish Town. British Lepidoptera. Slater, R., Mansfield Road, Nottingham. British Lepidoptera. ♦Smith, Rev. Bernard, M.A., Marlow, Bucks. Britisi ra. ♦Smith, Frederick, Esq., British Museum. Hymenoptera and Coleop- tera. ♦Smith, W. P., Esq., High Street, Carnarvon. British Coleoptera. Spence, William, Esq., F.R.S., F.L.S., 18, Lower Seymour Street, Portman Square. Spencer, W., Park Street, Nottingham. British Lepidoptera. Sprague, T. B., Esq., B.A., Fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge. Stafford, Jos., Coal Pit Lane, Nottingham. British Lepidoptera. 24 LIST OF BRITISH ENTOMOLOGISTS. *Stainton, H. T., Esq., Mountsfield, Lewisham. European Lepidoptera and the Tineina of the whole ivorld. At home to Entomologists every Wednesday evening after 6, p.m. Standish, Mr. Benjamin, 12, Acorn Street, Southampton Street, Cam- berwell. British Lepidoptera. Standish, Mr. Joseph, 5, Richmond Terrace, Clapham Road. British Lepidoptera. ♦Stevens, Samuel, Esq., F.L.S., 24, Bloomsbury Street. British Lepi- doptera and Coleoptera. Stretch, R. H., Esq., Parson's Street, Banbury. British Lepidoptera. Syme, John T., Esq., 11, Gower Street, Bedford Square, London. Co- leoptera. Tearle, Rev. F., Trinity Hal], Cambridge. British Lepidoptera. Tebbs, H. V., Jun., Esq., Southvvood Hall, Highgate. British Lepi- doptera. Thompson, Miss S., Barn Hill, Stamford. ♦Thompson, Mr. William, 6, Lawrence Street, Crewe, Cheshire. Bri- tish Lepidoptera. Thomson, William, Esq., F.L.S., 11, Dartmouth Villas, Forest Hill Sydenham. ♦Thorncroft, Mr. Thomas, 87, North Lane, Brighton. British Lepi- doptera. Thurnell, Mr. Charles, Newton, Cambridgeshire. Tompkins, H., Esq., 90, Guildford Street, Russell Square. British Lepidoptera. Tompkins, J. C, Esq., 54, Bernard Street, Russell Square. British Lepidoptera. Turnbull, R. F., Esq., Ramsgate. British Lepidoptera. Turner, J. Aspinall, Esq., Cross Street, Manchester. Foreign Co- leoptera, especially African specks. ♦Tweedy, William, Jun., Esq., Truro-Vean, Truro. British Lepidop- tera. UnWIN, W. C, St. Ann's, Lewes. British Hymenoptera—Aculeata. ♦Vaughan, P. H., Esq., Redland, near Bristol. British Lepidoptera. *Walcott, W. H. L., Esq., 11, Vyvyan Terrace, Clifton. British Hymenoptera. LIST OF BRITISH ENTOMOLOGISTS. 25 Walton, John, Esq., F.L.S., Byard's Lodge, Knaresborough. British Coleoptera, principally Curculionidce. Waring, S. L., Esq., Norwood. British Lcpidoptera. Warrington, John, Esq., Tranmere Hall, near Birkenhead. British Lepidoptera. Waterhouse, G. R., Esq., F.Z.S., British Museum. Coleoptera. Weaver, Mr. Richard, 25, Pershore Street, Birmingham. British Insects of all orders. Specimens always on sale or exchange. *Weir, J. Jenner, Esq., 20, Maismore Square, Old Kent Road. Bri- tish Lepidoptera. ♦Westwood, J. O., Esq., F.L.S., St. Peter's, Hammersmith. Economic Entomology and Insects of all orders from all parts of the globe, espe- cially if of peculiar forms. White, Adam, Esq., Assist. Zool. Dept., British Museum. Wild, W. J., Esq., Heme Hill, Cambervvell. British Lepidoptera. ♦Wilkinson, S. J., Esq., 7, Jeffrey's Square, St. Mary Axe, London. British Lepidoptera. *Wilkinso\, Mr. T., 6, Cliff Bridge Terrace, Scarborough. British Lepidoptera. ♦Wilson, Mr. James, Zeta Court, William Street, Botchergate, Carlisle. British Lepidoptera. ♦Winter, John N., Esq., Sussex County Hospital, Brighton. British Lepidoptera. Wood, Mr. Henry, Danesfield Gardens, Marlow. British Lepidoptera. Wollaston, T. V., Esq., M.A., F.L.S., 25, Thurloe Square, Brompton. Coleoptera. (At present in Madeira.) Yuill, Rev. James, Peterhead, N.B. Postscript. Maclaurin, Rev. Robert, Greenfield Cottage, Lerwick, Shetland. Any Entomologist who finds his name omitted in the above list is requested to intimate the same to me on or before October 1st, 1856. H. T. S. 1856 ( 26 ) LEPIDOPTERA. (By the Editor.) NEW BRITISH SPECIES IN 1855. As if in direct defiance of the assertion in u Glaucus," that "our home Entomologists are spending their time now, per- force, in verifying a few obscure species, and bemoaning themselves, like Alexander, that there are no more worlds left to conquer," our list of novelties in this order is rather a startling one. Two new Sphinges (and we were told last January that we should not get a new Sphinx every year), or it maybe more correct to call one of them an old Sjjhinx revived ; a new Noctua, congeneric with the angle-shades, and nearly as large ; two new Geometry, which we cannot possibly suspect to have been smuggled over from the Continent, as they seem to be great rarities there; anew Pyralis; anew Chilo, of which it is true I saw a specimen the previous year, but my dictum was it was probably American— now it is turning up not only here but in Germany, so wherever it may have emigrated from, it appears determined to make good a settle- ment; three new Tortrices, several new Tineina and two new Plumes. Trochilium scoliasforme. Coleophora squamosella. chrysidiforme. sicciiblia. Phlogophora empyrea. Asychna profugella. Dosithea eburnata. Elachista flavicomella. circuitaria. Lithocolletis Breiniella. Botys decrepitalis. Nepticula cryptella. Chilo obtusellus. betulicola. Mixodia Hawkerana. continuella. Retinia duplana. Alnetella. Argyrolepia maritimana. Pterophorus Zetterstedtii. Cleodora striatella. plagiodactylus. NEW BRITISH SPECIES IN 1855. 27 This has been a grand year for Lepidopterists : the hard winter and backward spring retarding the larvae from leav- ing their winter quarters till the season was sufficiently ad- vanced to enable vegetation, when it did begin to grow, to continue without check, has rendered this, I believe, without exception the best year for Lepidoptera in the memory of the oldest Entomologist. 1846 was a grand year with Antiopa and Convolvuli, but there was not that general profusion of such multitudes of species that has been observed in the year 1855. Trochilium scoli^eforme, Borkhausen. A large spe- cies, allied to Spkegiforme and Allantiforme, resembles the former in having (at least in one sex) a portion of the an- tennae, towards the tip, whitish. From Spkegiforme it may be instantaneously distinguished by the anal tuft of the ab- domen being brigltt saffron (reddish-orange), whereas in Spkegiforme it is entirely black. Allantiforme has the central portion of the anal tuft yellow, only the sides of it black. Expands 1 inch 3 lines. Anterior wings with the costa and hind margin blueish-black ; the central fascia broad, blueish-black, with a wedge-shaped projection towards the base ; thorax black, with two lateral oblique yellow lines ; abdomen blueish-black, with two yellow rings, anal tuft saffron. This conspicuous addition to our Fauna (which we hope to figure on the plate of our next year's Annual) was taken by Mr. Ashworth, in Wales, and its capture is recorded in the Zoologist, p. 4814, under the name of Trochilium Spke- giforme. The larva has been found by Dr. Staudinger feeding within the wood of the birch. c2 28 LEPIDOPTERA. Trochilium chrysidiforme. (F?'ontispiece, Fig. 1.) Distinguished at a glance from our other species of the genus by the deep orange scales along the inner margin, and round the edges of the apical hyaline spot, and by the post- medial black fascia not reaching to the inner margin, but stopping short when rather more than half across the wing. The central part of the anal tuft is deep orange yellow, the sides black. The abdomen (of the specimen before me) is black, with two slender whitish rings ; but it would appear from Herrich-ScharTer's remarks, that the number of pale rings is variable. It most resembles our Ichneumoniforme, but by the characters above mentioned may be at once dis- tinguished from that species. The specimen figured was taken on the 25th of June last, and its adventures were rather romantic. It so happens that the directors of the South-Eastern Railway had resolved to treat the denizens of Reigate, on that day, with an excursion train to Dover ; Reigate is a healthy neighbourhood, but still a few hours by the sea-side might be a treat to the inhabitants, and accordingly many of the in-dwellers and out-dwellers of Reigate committed them- selves to the safe custody of the South-Eastern Railway, and were in due time transported to Dover. Now at Reigate there lives a Coleopterist of the name of Brewer. Mr. Brewer was one of those who profited by the excursion train to Dover. No doubt he amused himself as the train wended along past Tunbridge, Staplehurst and Ashford, with con- jectures of the rare coast beetles he was then about to meet with. But it was not by any Coleopterous insect that that day's excursion was to be immortalized. Sweeping the herb- age on the undercliff between Dover and Folkestone, he ob- tained a transparent-winged moth, and not being learned in Lepidopterology, it struck him as curious. Now a Coleop- NEW BRITISH SPECIES IN 1855. 29 terist carries no boxes, he carries only a phial with bruised laurel leaves, and in this already sundry Harpalidce and Stapkylinidce were wriggling their legs. Man is an inven- tive animal ; when at a loss for a word he coins one, when at a loss for an implement he uses something not original] v destined for that purpose. Happily for my present subject, Mr. Brewer was a smoker of tobacco, and carried a fusee- box ; the clear-winged moth was placed as a curiosity in the fusee-box and carried home. Now it so happened, that at this time, Mr. Douglas had made out a visit for some davs to Mickleham, and beino; there went over to lieigate to see Mr. Brewer. The con- versation, of course, ran principally upon Coleoptera, but Mr. Brewer, aware that his Lee correspondent was also a devoted adherent of Lepidopterologv, placed the fusee-box in his hand, inquiring if that was of any use to him, and so Trochilium Chrysidiforme gladdened the eyes of a Lepi- dopterist ! From that time the insect found itself duly honoured; it had a special label attached to it, indicating its pedigree, and was exhibited at the Meeting of the Entomological Society of London, where it created a sensation. The insect is not new to Britain, but its authenticity as British had been much questioned, and the name had been erased from Mr. Doubleday's Catalogue, and from Mr. Stephens's Museum Catalogue of British Lepidoptera. It was originally taken by Mr. Francillon in a thick grove, and this specimen, recorded by Haworth, is in the collection of Mr. Edwin Shepherd ; Mr. Curtis has also a specimen taken by Mr. Leplastrier, near Dover. Mr. Barron, in the Zoologist, 1851, p. 3289, records the capture of a specimen, in August, 1851, near Haslar Hospital. Mr. E. Brown, of Burton-on-Trent, has " had a specimen in his collection for several years, from Lancashire." 30 LEPIDOPTERA. Its home appears to be in the South of Europe, but Her- rich-Schaffer states that it occurs on the Rhine; and from Pierret's observations, it is sometimes found in the neighbour- hood of Paris, frequenting dry places the middle of June, and reposing on TJmoelliferce. The food of the larva is unknown. Phlogophora empyrea, Hiibner. (Frontispiece, Fig. 2.) A very distinct species — with very little resemblance to any other Noctua* with which lam acquainted. The pale ochreous reniform stigma, with a pointed projection from its lower half towards the base, standing out conspicuously on the purplish brown anterior wings, and the pale inner margin of the latter, furnish characters by which the insect may be immediately recognised. Treitschke gives Italy as the fatherland of this very rare species ; Duponchel announces its capture in the South of France ; Guenee adds to these localities central France ; the latter Entomologist has frequently bred the insect, which always appears between the middle of September and be- ginning of October. The larva is polyphagous, feeding on various low plants. Mr. Winter has this year met with this species at Brighton ; a locality of considerable Entomological importance, as in the neighbourhood of Brighton and Lewes more species of our Butterflies occur than in other localities. A few years ago Chcerocampa Nerii, a truly Italian species, was also taken here, and Glcea erythrocephala, taken near Brighton, still remains unique in Mr. H. Cooke's collection. Of Phlogophora empyrea several specimens were taken at sugar, by Mr. Winter and Mr. Eagles. The wings when in repose are not folded as in P. meticulosa. * Unless it be a large Euplexia lucipara. NEW BRITISH SPECIES IN 1855. 31 Dosithea eburnata, Wocke. (Frontispiece, Fig. 4.) A very pretty little distinct species, something like a small Immutaria, but paler and more distinctly marked, and the middle striga precedes the central spot. Expands 10 lines. Anterior wings pale greyish, with three wavy dark fuscous strigae, broadest on the costa; the second striga just anterior to the central black spot; beyond the third striga is a waved interrupted fuscous fascia, and a fuscous cloud on the hinder margin. Posterior wings pale greyish, with no basal striga, but with one in the middle preceding the central black spot, and a hinder one followed by a cloudy interrupted fascia. A row of fuscous dots along all the hinder margins; cilia pale yellowish. I entertain very little doubt but that this is the Con- tiguaria of Herrich-Schaffer, who gives as a synonym Hiib- ner's figure 105, but with the remark " I never saw it so large" — in which observation I perfectly agree, so that Hiib- ner may have represented some species which has not yet been re-discovered, I have therefore adopted the name under which Wocke gave this insect in the Breslau " Zeitschrift fur Entomologie," Lepidoptera, p. 48, pi. 4, fig. 13. Herrich-Schaffer says, that it " occurs in July, in the North of France and North of Germany." The specimen I have before me is one of several taken by Mr. Weaver in Wales last summer. Dosithea circuitaria, Hiibner. No good figure of this exists, but the specimen I have before me was not sufficiently fine to render its portraiture advisable. It is not closely allied to any of our known species; size of Virgularla, with the ground colour of Perochraria, or rather more reddish than that. Expands 8 lines. Dark ochreous, clouded with rusty, a central black spot on each wing. Anterior wings with two 32 LEPIDOPTERA. transverse dusky striga? slightly indented, one before, the other beyond the middle, and a dark wavy fascia towards the hinder margin ; the latter fascia is the only one dis- tinctly represented on the posterior wings; cilia ochreous, with a row of dark fuscous spots. The specimen described was taken by Mr. Hunter, in London, and I am informed that Mr. Bond and Mr. A. F. Sheppard have also specimens of this species. Duponchel states, that the species occurs in June, among oaks. Botys decrepitalis, Fischer v. R. (H. S., IV., 40, Pyral. pi. x., fig. 67,68.) Not closely allied to any of our known species; perhaps most like a faded, indistinctly marked Etialu, but not so white as that insect. Expands 11 lines. Anterior wings pale greyish- white, with a faint indication of the hinder striga, which is not in- dented towards the base after leaving the costa; the central dark spots are very indistinct ; along the tip of the costa and hinder margin are several distinct dark brown spots. Posterior wings whitish, with a central dark spot, a slender hinder striga and a pale fuscous cloud immediately before the hind margin, on which latter are several dark brown spots. Described from a female specimen taken by Mr, Hodg- kinson. Mr. Buxton took a male insect (expanding 12 lines), which may, perhaps, be referable to this species, but the ground colour is darker, and all the markings indistinct, even the marginal dark spots are hardly developed. On the continent this occurs in the Alps, from June to August. NEW BRITISH SPECIES IN 1855. 33 Chilo obtusellus, n. sp. {Frontispiece, Fig. 5.) By the extremely obtuse anterior wings, and pure white posterior wings distinguished from all other species of the genus Chilo. Expands 14 — 16 lines. Anterior wings very pale brownish- ochreous, with two small dark fuscous spots on the medial nervure, between the base and the middle of the wing; a third spot is placed beyond the middle rather nearer the costa; towards the hinder margin is a row of small dark fuscous spots placed rather obliquely; in some specimens there is an additional spot on the fold near the base ; the hinder margin of the anterior winys is unusual!?/ straight, with a slight elbow towards the anal angle ; cilia unicolorous with the wings, or a little darker. Posterior wings pure white, with a dark fuscous marginal line at the outer angle ; cilia white. The specimen of this insect, shown me last year, was taken by Mr. Buxton, at Horning Fen ; this year other specimens have been taken in the same locality by Mr. George King, whom Mr, Buxton employed to look out for the novelty. It flies in July ; no doubt the larvae and pupse might be collected in the stems of some aquatic plant. This insect differs from C. Cicatricellus in the form of the hind margin of the anterior wings, and by the absence of the ocellated spots along the subcostal nervure. Mixodia Hawkerana, Stevens, n. sp. Somewhat resembles M. tenerana (Ratzburyhia?ia), but paler, the dark fascia more oblique, and the space preceding it on the inner margin not paler than the ground colour of the wing ; it has some superficial resemblance with Catoptria nnodestana, but it is much darker and more reddish, and with no distinct ocellus towards the hinder margin of the anterior wings; the posterior wings also are much darker. c5 34 LEPIDOPTERA. Expands 6§ lines. Head pale reddish ochreous. Anterior wings pale reddish ochreous ; the base fuscous, bordered by an angulated dark fuscous striga before the middle ; beyond the middle is an oblique irregular fuscous fascia, terminating in the anal angle; along the costa are numerous short dark fuscous streaks, and the hinder margin is edged with dark fuscous ; cilia blackish. Posterior wings dark-greyish fus- cous, with paler cilia. Taken by Mr. S. Stevens and the Rev. W. H. Hawker, in September last, on Hayling Island, Hants, among the spurge which grows on the coast. Retinia duplana, Hiibner. Like a small dark Turionella ; but the thorax grey, only the head and palpi ferruginous. Expands 7 — 8 lines. Head and palpi ferruginous ; thorax grey. Anterior wings grey, with darker transverse wavy bands, the entire apical portion suffused with ferru- ginous, the apex rather acute, much more so than in the allied species. Posterior wings grey. Bred last summer by Mr. Scott from a bud of Scotch fir. A few specimens were also taken by Mr. Bouchard, in Scotland. Ratzeburg's figure does not represent the anterior wings sufficiently pointed, but Herrich-Schaffer especially calls attention to this character of the insect. Argyrolepia maritimana, Guenee. Most nearly allied to A. Dubrisana, but larger, and the anterior wings yellower ; and also readily distinguished from that species by the greyish posterior wings being mottled with white. Expands $ 8, $ 8J lines. Anterior wings yellowish straw- colour, marbled with fuscous or blackish, with an ill-de- NEW BRITISH SPECIES IN 1855. 35 fined dark fascia before the middle, and dark rather trian- gular spot at the anal angle ; two dark spots on the costa before the apex are very distinct; cilia pale yellowish, varied with fuscous. Posterior wings greyish, darkest towards the hinder margin, mottled with white ; cilia whitish. The female is larger and paler than the male. The addition of this new species to our Fauna was the reward of Mr. Harding's perseverance; he having detected the larva in the summer of 1854 (see Enigma No. 14, Ent. Annual, 1855, 1st Edition, p. 63; 2nd Edition, p. 86), and systematically followed up his problem to solution. Mr. Harding has furnished me with the following in- teresting notes of the habits of the insect: — "The moths make their appearance the end of May and beginning of June. The males are much more rare than the females, but both are very local and far from common. They rest on the lower leaves of the Eryngium maritimum, the plant on which the larva feeds, or on the sand under the plant ; when dis- turbed, their flight is short, seldom more than three or four yards, alighting on the sand, or on some neighbouring plant of Eryngium. The female deposits her eggs on the top or heart of the plant — seldom more than one in a plant ; the larva? are hatched in about twelve or fourteen days, and begin to work down the stem to the first joint, where they open a hole to work out their excrement ; then work down again to the next joint, where they make a hole as at the first joint. Finally, they work down the stem to the root, where they change to a red-brown pupa in autumn (I believe in the autumn, but am not quite certain when the change takes place); the pupa works up the dead stem of the plant to the top in May, and then the perfect insect makes its escape. They remain in the imago state for about three weeks." The larva is yellowish white, with black spots. Mr. Harding met with this species, on the coast near Deal. 36 LEPIDOPTERA. Cleodora striatella, W. V. {Frontispiece, Fig. 6.) Alis anticis griseis, lineis duabus albis, una plicae, altera disci (punctis pono medium nigris), strigulis costa? apicis tribus albis. Exp. al. 5 — 6 lin. Head and face greyish white; palpi whitish, tip of ter- minal joint dark fuscous ; antenna? dark fuscous. Anterior wings grey, a slender white streak runs from the base along the fold ; in it in the middle is an elongate black spot; above it is a less distinct white streak, with an elongate black spot a little beyond the middle, and half-way between that and the hinder margin is a round black spot ; towards the apex an oblique white streak runs from the costa to above the anal angle, and immediately before the apex are two short white streaks from the costa sloping inwards; on the inner margin, near the anal angle, are two or three short white streaks ; a black line runs along the hinder margin ; cilia grey, with two dark fuscous lines. Posterior wings grey, with greyish fuscous cilia. From the different ground-colour and basal streaks this is at once distinguished from our only other British species of the genus, Cytisella. It, however, very nearly resembles an Italian species Kefersteinella, but in that the broader an- terior wings are more brownish, and the basal white streaks are absent. I have a specimen of this species ; it came to my light on the evening; of the 11th of August last. I am not now in the habit of lighting my attracting lamp, but on that evening so many moths came tapping at the windows of the room in which I was sitting, that I resolved upon " lighting up," and about half an hour afterwards the Striatella made its ap- pearance. On the continent the insect is common, and the larva feeds in the stem of the Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) ; hence we are led to infer that the larva of Cleodora Cytisella, which NEW BRITISH SPECIES IN 1855. 37 species is always found amongst fern {Pteris aquilina), may feed in the stems of that plant. COLEOPHORA SQUAMOSELLA, n. Sp. Alis anticis griseo-fuscis, costa ante medium anguste alba, squamis sparsis disci albis ; antennis albis, saturate-fusco- annulatis ; articulo basali non penicillato. Exp. al. 5^ — C3A lin. Head, face and palpi grey. Antennae white, sharply annulated with dark fuscous. Anterior wings greyish fus- cous, with the costa narrowly white to the middle; along the fold and towards the hinder margin are numerous irregu- larly scattered white scales, which give the insect a pecu- liarly rough appearance ; cilia pale greyish. Posterior wings grey, with paler cilia. Not closely allied to any known species; most easily re- cognized by the scattered white scales on the dark ground of the anterior wings. Two specimens have been taken by Mr. Douglas, in Headley Lane, near Mickleham, August 10th, 1851, and August 18th, 1853. COLEOPHORA SICCIFOLIA, n. sp. Alis anticis nitidis, griseis ; antennis albis, fusco-annulatis, basim versus ochraceo-tinctis ; articulo basali non penicillato. Exp. al. 6 lin. Head, face and palpi greyish ochreous. Antennae white, annulated with fuscous, towards the base with a pale ochre- ous tinge. Anterior wings unicolorous grey, very glossy, sometimes with a slight ochreous tinge; cilia greyish fus- cous. Posterior wings grey, with greyish fuscous cilia. Most closely allied to C.yryphipennella, but distinguished by the less sharply annulated antenna? and the more glossy, narrower anterior wings; from C. mminetella it is distin- 38 LEPIDOPTERA. guisbed by the stouter antennae (the extreme slenderness of which in Viminetella is one of the peculiarities of that species), and likewise by the more glossy, and rather broader anterior wings. This insect is the solution of Enigma No. 4 (Entomolo- gist's Annual, 1855, 1st Edition, p. 62; 2nd Edition, p. 85). These larva, which from their ill-made cases received the sobriquet of the " clumsy-tailor," were first noticed feed- ing on hawthorn in 1852. For two years we tried in vain to rear it 5 nothing daunted, the larvae were again diligently collected in 1854, and kept out of doors during the winter and spring, and we have now bred several specimens of this new species. The larvae feed in July and August on haw- thorn and wild apple, causing peculiarly brown blotches; the cases are very singular constructions, they are far larger than is necessary for the habitation of the larvae, and are formed of pieces of mined leaf, the large superfluous piece overlapping, and have quite the appearance of peripatetic dried leaves. Those who conceived that it was necessary to go to India to see " Walking-Leaf Insects" were in error, for this larva and case is a more curious walkin g -leaf insect th&n any we import from abroad, and in many places it abounds. The specimens bred made their appearance from the middle to the end of June. Asychna profugella, Zeller, n. sp. Alis anticis latiusculis, obscure griseo-asneis, parum fusco- tinctis ; posticis saturate griseis. Exp. al. 4 lin. Head, face and palpi greyish fuscous; antennae fuscous, towards the tip whitish. Anterior wings dull greyish- bronze, more or less tinged with fuscous, the cilia a little paler. Posterior wings dark grey, with paler cilia. All the wings comparatively broad, much more so than in A. fuscociliella, and without the glossy greenish appearance of that species. NEW BRITISH SPECIES IN 1855. 39 This insect is one of doubtful location, perhaps forming the type of a new genus allied to Perittia; for convenience of reference I temporarily place it in that refuge for the destitute- Asychna. Mr. Winter took a fine specimen at Woodlands Mann, Kemsing, Kent, in the third week in July, flying in the sun on a chalky bank, clothed with a variety of vegetation, amongst which Origanum vulgare and Helianthemum vul- gare abounded. He looked in vain for more specimens. A specimen has been in Mr. Douglas's collection for some time, but its locality is unknown. The only other specimen I have seen is in the collection of Professor Zeller ; it was taken at Hermsdorf, in July. Elachista flavicomella, n. sp. Alis anticis brunneis, fascia ante medium tenui obsoleta $ (latiore distinction $), maculis posticis $ suboppositis, ( $ per apicem confluentibus) flavidis ; capiteflamdo, macula fusca. Exp. al. 3| — 4 lin. Head, face and palpi yellow, a brown spot on the back of the head in both sexes ; antennae fuscous. Anterior wings brown ; before the middle is a slender, rather oblique yellow- ish fascia, rather indistinct in the male, broad and very dis- tinct in the female; beyond the middle, in the male, are two small spots, one on the inner margin, and the other, rather posterior, on the costa ; the apical portion of the wing in the male is brown, with brownish cilia ; in the female these two spots are continued obliquely to the hinder margin, so that the entire tip is pale yellowish, with pale browish cilia. Posterior wings greyish fuscous, with paler cilia. Most nearly allied to Elachista luticomella, but distin- guished by the dark spot on the head ; the male by its smaller size, and the hinder spots more nearly opposite; the female by the extraordinary apical markings. 40 LEPIDOPTERA. Mr. Shield has two specimens which he took at Howth, on the 15th of last July, among grass under brambles ; at the time he supposed they were only Luticomella, or he would have secured a greater supply. Lithocolletjs Bremiella, Zeller. {Frontispiece, Fig. 7.) Alis anticis saturate croceis, linea basali abbreviata, utrin- que nigro-marginata, a rgenteo-alba, fascia media angulata, strigulis tribus costse (ultima interdum obsoleta), duabus dorsi argenteo-albis ; striola apicis nigra. Exp. al. 3| — \\ lin. Head fuscous; face and palpi silvery; antennae fuscous, the tip whitish in certain lights. Anterior wings rather dark saffron, with a short straight basal streak about a third the length of the wing, dark margined on both sides ; in the middle is an angulated silvery-white fascia, margined with black internally and with a few black scales on its outer margin; beyond are three small silvery-white streaks on the costa (the third one sometimes wanting); they are inter- nally margined with black; intermediate between these are two larger triangular silvery-white spots on the inner margin, dark margined on both sides; on the apex of the wing lies a rather small, oval, black spot; hinder marginal line dark fuscous ; cilia beyond pale grey. Posterior wings grey, with paler cilia. Resembles L. lautella, but the anterior wings are broader and the ground colour is paler, and the apical portion of the wing is not suffused with black. This species was discovered a few years ago at Zurich, by Herr Bremi- Wolff, in whose honour it has been named; the larva was detected mining the leaves of several species of Vicia. On the 26th of September last I received several mines of this species from Herr Schmid of Frankfort-on- the-Main, and, profiling by the information derived from the sight of these mined leaves, I visited on the 28th a locality NEW BRITISH SPECIES IN 1855. 41 near Bexley, where I was aware that Vicia Senium grew abundantly by the edge of a wood. In half an hour Mrs. Stainton and I had collected about thirty leaves contain- ing larvae or pupae, and Mr. Douglas nearly as many — a striking instance of the ease with which new species may be added to our Fauna, if we coach up the subject, from those who are already skilled ! On the 30th of September a speci- men of the imago appeared from the leaves collected on the 28th, and this I exhibited at the Entomological Society the following evening ! Mr. Douglas has since bred many speci- mens, having revisited the locality and collected the larvae by hundreds! ! The species is double-brooded, the larvae feeding in July and September; many of the latter brood appear in the per- fect state in October, while other specimens remain pupae all the winter. Nepticula cryftella, Frey, n. sp. Alis anticis angustulis albidis, saturate-griseo-squamatis ; capillis ochreis, fusco-mixtis. Exp. al. 2h lin. Head' and face dark ochreous, mixed with fuscous ; palpi whitish ; antennae fuscous, basal joint whitish. Anterior wings with coarse dark grey scales upon a whitish ground ; cilia pale grey. Posterior wings pale grey, with paler cilia. Most nearly allied to Nepticula Septembrella and Trifur- cula pulverosella ; from the former it is distinguished by the longer and narrower anterior wings being of a paler colour, and more coarsely scaled, and by the absence of the con- spicuous pale spot at the anal angle ; from T. pulverosella it is distinguished by the much narrower anterior wings and the darker colour of the head. Mr. Douglas took three specimens of this insect in Head- ley Lane, at the end of last June, by sweeping the grass ; Professor Frey (the most promising Micro-Lepidopterist in 42 LEPIDOPTERA. Europe), has several times taken this species near Zurich, in June. It may be the imago of the Lotus-eating larva. Nepticula betulicola, n. sp. Alis anticis fusco-aeneis, apice purpureo-tincto, fascia pos- tica argenteo-albida ; capillis luteis, fusco-mixtis. Exp. al. 21in. Head and face yellowish, slightly mixed with fuscous ; antennae fuscous, basal joint whitish. Anterior wings bronzy- brown, considerably beyond the middle is a silvery-whitish fascia, of variable breadth, placed nearly perpendicularly ; the apical portion of the wing is purplish-brown ; cilia fus- cous. Posterior wings grey, with grey cilia. Distinguished from all the allied species, by the proximity of the pale fascia to the apex of the wing ; the fascia is more posteriorly placed than in Micr other iellay and in that species the fascia is not shining — here it is perceptibly silvery. Mr. Douglas met with the larvae of this species in October, 1854, at Headley Lane, mining in birch leaves ; it is thus noticed in the Natural History of the Tineina, vol. i. p. 22: — "An amber-coloured larva with g^een dorsal vessel, making a small contorted gallery, of which the commence- ment is filled with brown excrement, the latter half having the greenish-grey excrement only in the central portion." Mr. Douglas succeeded in breeding several specimens of this little species; but this last autumn we have failed in again meeting with the larva. Nepticula continuella, n. sp. Alis anticis, basim versus, obscure ceneo-griseis, apice saturate purpureo-fusco, fascia media saturate purpurea, fascia pone medium tenui, recta, argentea; capillis ferru- gineis. Exp. al. 2| lin. NEW BRITISH SPECIES IN 1855. 43 Head and face reddish-yellow; palpi whitish; antenna? fuscous, basal joint whitish. Anterior wings dull bronzy grey at the base, shading gradually into a dark purple fascia in the middle; beyond the middle is a straight, shining, rather slender, silvery fascia; the apical portion of the wing is dark purplish-fuscous ; cilia fuscous. Posterior wings grey, with grey cilia. Most nearly allied to N. Aurella, but readily distinguished by the basal portion of the wing being dull bronzy-grey, instead of rich golden-brown ; the fascia too is more per- pendicularly placed, more slender and more silvery. I collected a few of the larvae of this species, at Lewis- ham, in birch leaves, in September, 1854; it is thus noticed in the Natural History of the Tineina, vol. i. p. 24 : — " A larva, making long irregular galleries, which are entirely filled up with dark green excrement." From these larvae I bred a single specimen on the 26th of June. Its late ap- pearance would imply that the species is only single-brooded. Nepticula Alnetella, n. sp. Alis anticis saturate aureo-brunneis, dorso basim versus dilate aureo-brunneo, apice nigrescente, fascia paullo post medium parum obliqua argentea splendidissima ; capillisfer- rugineis. Exp. al. 2 — 2| lin. Head and face reddish-yellow ; palpi whitish ; antennae fuscous, basal joint whitish. Anterior wings deep golden brown, shading off to a pale golden brown on the inner margin near the base; a little beyond the middle is a rather oblique silvery fascia, extremely brilliant (more so than in N. marginicolella) ; apical portion of the wing dark purple, almost black ; cilia dark fuscous. Posterior wings grey, with grey cilia. Not likely to be confounded with any other species, except Aurella and Marginicolella ; from both it is distinguished 44 LEPIDOPTERA. by the general dark ground colour of the basal portion of the wing; only the basal half of the inner margin standing- out as strikingly paler : there is no purple fascia before the silvery fascia, and, as has been already mentioned, the silvery fascia is far brighter and rather more slender than in either of those. This insect is the solution of Enigma No. 17 (Entomologist's Annual, 1st Edit. 63 ; 2nd Edit. p. 86). I met with the larva of this species in alder leaves near Becken- ham, October 15th and 22nd, 1854; on the 18th of that month I received some larvae of the same insect from Mr. Thomas Law of Darlington. It is briefly mentioned in the Natural History of the Tineina, vol. i. p. 24:i—"Alnus glutinosa. A pale amber larva, making small irregular galleries." From these larvae I bred last spring three specimens of this very pretty addition of our Nepticulce, and Mr. Law also bred a specimen or two. This last autumn I visited the alder bushes just too late, so have no prospect of adding to my store next year. Pterophorus Zetterstedtii, Zeller. Expands 10| lines. Most nearly allied to P. trigonodac- tylus, but much darker in colour; the lobes of the anterior wings especially darker, and the tip of the anterior lobe rather less produced ; the pale streak on the second lohe keeps nearer to the hind margin. For this pretty addition to our Plumes, we are indebted to Mr. Boyd, who took several at Lynmouth, North Devon, in July. The larva, on the continent, is reputed to feed on Senecio nemorensis ; this is not a British plant, but probably it feeds here on some other species of Senecio. NEW BRITISH SPECIES IN 1855. 45 Pterophorus plagiodactylus, Fischer v. R. Expands 9 lines. Very closely allied to P. bipunctidac- tyhiSj but darker; the black streak in the anterior lobe of the anterior wings is more strongly marked, and the costa be- yond the middle is much clouded with dark fuscous. First discovered by Herr Mann, on the Alps, in July; subsequently taken in Wales, in June and July, 1853, by Mr. C. S. Gregson ; this season many specimens have been taken in that locality, and also in Cumberland. RARE BRITISH SPECIES CAPTURED IN 1855. Colias Hyale; many specimens occurred this autumn in the South. Deilephila Galii; the larvae have been met with in various parts of the coast in August and September, fre- quenting the sand hills on which the Galium verum grows ; others have been found inland in gardens on fuchsias. Sphinx Convolvuli ; I have heard of the occurrence of a single specimen at Teignmouth. Zeuzera JEsculi; was unusually common near London, in July. Petasia nubeculosa (Ent. Annual, 1855, 1st Edit. p. 40; 2nd Edit. p. 62) ; a second specimen was taken by Mr. Almond, at Rannoch, last April, from the bole of a birch. Ptilophora plumigera ; has again been bred from the egg by the Rev. Bernard Smith. Lophopteryx cucullina, and carmelita ; both these species have again been met with ; the larvaa of Cucullina in Bucks, and the imago of Carmelita in woods near London. Mr. Crewe also reared several of the former and Mr. Stevens several of the latter species from the c^g. 46 LEPIDOPTERA. Gastropacha ilicifolia; has again been taken on Cannock Chase, near Rugeley, April 27th; see Zoologist, 4740. Acronycta auricoma ; many specimens of this were taken at sugar, near Canterbury, in Kent, and also in Sussex, in July last. Synia musculosa {Frontispiece, Fig. 3) ; a specimen of this pretty rarity was taken by Mr. Winter, on a gas-light at Brighton, August 17th. Miana expolita (Ent. Annual, 1855, 1st Edit. p. 41 ; 2nd Edit. p. 63) ; has again been met with at Darlington, by Mr. Law and Mr. Sang. Crymodes templi ; has been found both in the spring bj\& autumn, by the Rev. J. Johnson, near Huddersfield, among loose stones ; one female laid eggs which produced larvae, but their food could not be ascertained and they all died ; see Zoologist, 4741. Sp^lotis ravida; occurred in considerable plenty at sugar, in July, at Epping, Darlington, and in Yorkshire, &c. Luperina cespitis; many were taken by Mr. Turner, in the autumn, in the Isle of Wight. Agrotis Ashworthii (Vallesiaca, Ent. Annual, 1855, 1st Edit. p. 41 ; 2nd Edit. p. 63) ; has again been met with in North Wales; see Zoologist, 4814. Agrotis lunigera; has again occurred at the Isle of Wight; specimens were exhibited at the August Meeting of the Entomological Society of London, by Mr. Dutton. Heliophobus hispidus; one bred by Mr. Reading, of Plymouth. Specimens have been taken in the Isle of Portland, by Mr. Bond. Pachetra leucoph^a ; a few taken by Mr. Stevens, at Mickleham, by sugar, in June. Aplecta herbida ; the extreme abundance of this insect last summer, in many places where it is not generally com- mon, is a fact worth noticing. RARE BRITISH SPECIES CAPTURED IN 1855. 47 Aplecta tixcta ; abundant at Darenth Wood and other places at sugar. Cloantha conspicillaris ; several specimens were bred from the larvae by Mr. Harding. Cloaxtha perspicillaris ; a specimen of this, found in a spider's web, at Ashford, Hants, was exhibited by the Rev. Mr. Hawker, at the May meeting of the Entomological Society. Heliothis peltigera ; Mr. Reading, of Plymouth, has bred this from the larva. Plusia orichalcea ; has again been taken on the coast, near Deal, by Mr. Harding. Toxocampa pastixum ; has occurred rather freely at Mickleham. Nascia cilialis and Pionea margaritalis ; these have been taken in Cambridgeshire by Mr. Bond, who exhibited them at the August meeting of the Entomological Society. Botys silacealis (glalralis, Wood) ; a specimen of this rare insect has lately been sent to me for examination. It was taken by Mr. P. H. Newnham, on Culver Cliffs, near Sandown, Isle of Wight, July 6th, 1853. Botys terrealis ; has been met with rather freely in North Wales, and has also occurred in North Devon, where I accidentally picked a larva in September. It feeds on the flowers of the golden rod (Solidago virgaurea). Ennomos illustraria ; lias occurred rather freely from 1st to 18th August, in the neighbourhood of Bristol, at the street lamps, near to which the specimens are found upon the ground. I allude to the summer brood, which is some- times thought to be distinct from the vernal species. Ennomos alniaria ; a specimen of this was taken by Mr. Winter, at Brighton, September 15th, at a gas-lamp outside the Sussex County Hospital. Speraxza conspicuaria : Mr. Bree continues to meet 48 LEPIDOPTERA. with this regularly in the neighbourhood of Stowmarket, and will be happy to catch specimens next summer for those in want of this pretty species. Parascotia fuliginaria ; another specimen has oc- curred in the heart of the city. Harpalyce picaria; occurs regularly in the neighbour- hood of Exeter. Aleucis fictaria ; several were taken last spring in the old locality, Dartford Heath. Acidalia degeneraria; specimens have been taken again in the Isle of Portland, by Mr. Bond, in 1854. Semasia rufillana ; Mr. Boyd has bred this from the larvae, which feed in autumn on the heads of the wild carro (Daucus Carota). Opadia funebrana, and Argyrolepia Schreiber- siana ; these rare species have both been taken by Mr. Bond, in Cambridgeshire. Eup^cilia subroseana ; this species, or one closely allied to it, has been bred from a larva feeding on the seeds of the cowslip, discovered at Stockton, by Mr. Scott, and subsequently collected in plenty by Mr. Douglas, near Mickleham, in July. ( 49 ) OBSERVATIONS ON BRITISH TINEINA. (Supplementary to the Insecta Britannica — Lepidop- tera, Tineina ; and the Entomologist's Companion, 2nd Edition.) Diplodoma marginepunctella, I. B., p. 20. Two of the curiously-clothed larvae of this insect have been sent me. One by Mr. Parfitt, of Exeter, in August ; the other by Mr. Scott, from Stockton, in September. Neither larva was seen to eat, so that the food still remains a mystery. Ocksenheimeria Vacculella, I. B., p. 23. Again I have taken this insect in the house. Lampronia prcelatella, I. B., p. 38. Mr. Wailes has found the larva of this species feeding on Spircca ulmaria, a new food plant for this singular larva. Lamprosetia VerhuelkUa, I. B., p. 39. I ascertained when at Frankfort, that the young larvae of this species mine the leaves of Asplenium ruta-muraria, afterwards feeding in a case. Adela viridella, I. B., p. 50. Herr Krosmann, of Hanover, gave me a bred specimen of this species ; the case was found amongst fallen leaves in the spring. Semotois Scabiosellus, I. B., p. 52. Mr. Ashworth has mentioned in the Zoologist, p. 4814, that he had " several times seen the female of this species, with her abdomen thrust down among the florets of the Scdblosa columbaria, her wings lying expanded on the top of the flower," and has lately sent me the following note: — " I again, this year, saw 1856 d" 50 OBSERVATIONS ON BRITISH TINEINA. the female of Scabiosellus, apparently laying its eggs, with abdomen thrust down amongst the florets, and wings ex- panded on the top. I left the flower, marking it, intending to gather it when the larvae were likely to be grown, but was confined to home shortly afterwards, and when I again visited the place all had been cut down. I was much dis- appointed, for that she was laying I feel sure ; she had the usual straining and thrusting motion, and after apparently laying an egg in one place, crept across the flower, again thrust in her abdomen. This I saw her repeat twice, and then left her at work. I am sorry I was not able to get the larva, but hope the next time I meet with it to be more for- tunate; last winter I picked up and pulled off a great number of the seed heads, but could find no trace of either larva or pupa." Plutella horridella, I. B., p. 72. According to the ob- servations of Hen* Schmid, of Frankfort, the larva of this species feeds on sloe at the beginning of June. Exceretia Allisella, I. B., p. 82. This has been taken in some plenty by the collectors near Manchester, but the food of the larva has not yet been discovered. Depressaria Umbellana, I. B., p. 85. The larva of this species has been known for years to Mr. C. S. Gregson, of Liverpool : it feeds on Ulex Europceus and nanus, forming a dense web of considerable size. I bred the species this summer from the fat greenish larva, mentioned Zoologist, p. 4773, as the probable larva of this insect. Depressaria capreolella, I. B., p. 90. I bred a specimen of this insect in July, from a greenish Appla?ia-Y\ke larva found by Mr. Douglas, on Pimpinella saxifraga, near Mickleham, June 26th. The larva was then feeding on the pinnate radical leaves. Depressaria Carduella, I. B., p. 91. Bred by Mr. Boyd from a grey-green larva, with dark head, which fed on the OBSERVATIONS ON BRITISH TINEINA. 51 underside of the leaves of a species of thistle, on the downs at Lynmouth, July 26th. Depressaria Pimpinellw, I. B., p. 95. Mr. Winter found the larva of this near Kemsing in Kent. Depressaria pulcherrimella, I. B., p. 96. This was bred by Dr. Colquhoun, on the 20th July, from a larva feeding on the flower of Dunium flexuosum. Depressaria nervosa,!. B.,p.98. This occurs in the greatest profusion near Dunoon, Argyllshire, where the handsome larvae were collected in great abundance by Dr. Colquhoun, at the beginning of July. In company with them a few specimens of a lively greenish larvae were found, but these proved to be only that all-sorts-of-Umbelliferae-eating pest — D. applana. The natural habitat of the pupa is in the stem of the plant CEnantlie crocata; for which purpose, when the larvae cease feeding, they bore into the stem and then weave a transverse piece of web above and below them. The healthy larvae seek the main stem ; the ichneumoned larvae the smaller branches of the stem. Gelechia Ilippophdella, Schrank (basalts, I. B., p. 105). The older name must be retained for this species. I bred the insect in August and September from pale yellowish- green larvae, found by Mr. Harding in the shoots of Hippo - phdes IthamnoideSf at Deal, the middle of July. Gelechia velocella, I. B., p. 108. According to the ob- servations of Herr Schmid, of Frankfort, the larva of this species feeds in tubes at the roots of Rumex acetosella, spin- ning up the stem to some of the leaves; larvae of all sizes feeding together the middle of June. Gelechia alacella, I. B., p. 111. Herr Grabow, of Berlin, has found the larva of this species feeding at the end of June on the lichen growing on orchard trees. The larva is greyish- white, with black head and black plate on second segment. Gelechia Artemisitlla, I. B., p. 114. Herr Schmid writes d2 52 OBSERVATIONS ON BRITISH TINEINA. "larvae in May on Thymus Serpyllum between united leaves/7 — a more likely food-plant than Artemisia. Gelechia boreella, I. B., p. 116. Mr. Buxton took three or four specimens of this hitherto-rather-doubted-species in Sutherlandsbire in June. Gelechia instabilella, I. B., p. 126. Mr. Shield bred this insect from larvae found early in April, near Dublin, mining the leaves of Plantago maritima. Gelechia. leucatella, I. B., p. 128. I found the larva, June 17th, feeding between united hawthorn leaves. Gelechia tamiolella, I. B., p. 132. Herr Schmid reports that this larva feeds the end of Mav and becnnnino- of June between united leaves of Medicago minima. Gelechia Brizella, I. B., p. 137. Herr Schmid informs me that the larva winters in the flower heads of the Statice armeria, changing to pupa in April. Gelechia ericinella, I. B., p. 138. Herr Grabow showed me a life-like portrait of this larva, which subsequently enabled me to find it. I collected several of these elegant larvae at West Wickham, July 5th : they make very light gossamer-like webs near the ends of the shoots of the heather, and in these webs frequently change to pupae. Chelaria Uilbnerella, I. B., p. 143. There is some mystery about this insect ; from several independent sources I hear the larva feeds on birch; we know the perfect insect frequents poplars. Anarsia Spartiella, I. B., p. 144. Mr. Harding has bred this from furze. Anarsia Genistce, I. B., p. 144. Mr. Machin has bred this from broom ; see Zoologist, p. 4746. Ypsolophus fasciellus, I. B., p. 146. At the end of Sep- tember, Hen* Schmid sent me some larvae of this species; they feed on sloe, doubling up the leaf and leaving an open- ing at each end through which they hurriedly escape on any OBSERVATIONS ON BRITISH TINEINA. 53 alarm, so that they are most easily obtained by beating the sloe bushes where thev occur. The larva is yellowish-grey. the head reddish-ochreous, the second segment pale ochreous, the ordinary spots small and black ; it is very lively, with a tremulous motion of the anterior segments. Aplota palpella, I. B., p. 147. When at Hanover, Herr Krossman gave me a specimen of the continental Balucella (which we hold synonymous with Haworth's Palpella); it was twice the size of our specimens — but he assured me it varied in size, from quite small to those unusual dimensions. This specimen lie had bred from rotten wood! ! Nothris Durdhamella, I. B., p. 148. This insect is the solution of Enigma No. 13 (Ent. Annual, 1st Edit. p. 64; 2nd Edit. p. 86) ; " the black and white larva, not unlike that of Gelechia rufescens" was found by Mr. Harding at Deal, on the Origanum vulgare, at the end of June. The habit of this larva we quoted last year in our " Observations on the British Tineina." Sophronia humerella, I. B., p. 150. Herr, Schmid in- forms me that the larva of this species feeds on Gnaphalium arenarium ; this plant is not British, but Mr. Babington suggests " that any of our species of Gnaphalium or Filago would do in the place of G. arenariiun, especially the Filago Germanic a ." (Ecophora augustella, I. B., p. 158. Herr Schmid notices of this, " the larva certainly in rotten wood." (Ecophora grandis, I. B., p. 159. In the Zoologist, p. 4814, Mr. Ashworth gives the following notes of its habits: " Not uncommon in the end of May and June, in one fence composed of a mixture of dead and living hazel and birch. They fly only in warm sunshine from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m..; when the sun is off the fence they cannot be made to fly. I think they secrete themselves in dead leaves on the ground, thev so soon become worn." 54 OBSERVATIONS OX BRITISH TIXEINA. (Ecophorajlavifrontella, I. B., p. 161. Herr Krosraann has bred this from a singular case found on the ground ; the case is rather semicircular, and broad at its straight edge. JButalis grandipennis, I. B., p. 165. The larva, discovered by Mr. Brockholes, feeds in early spring in a web on Ulex nanus and Europceus : a figure of its singular web is given in the Zoologist, p. 4773. Butalis fuscocenea, I. B., p. 166. This insect, so long a rarity, occurred in some plenty at the side of Headley Lane, at the end of July and beginning of August ; it also turned up in the North of England. Ac7%olepia perlepidella, I. B., p. 170. Mr. Vaughan took about ten indifferent specimens, August 28, 1854, flying in the sunshine round a privet-bush, surrounded by oaks and birches, in Leigh Wood, near Bristol; this year Mr. Vaughan again met with the species in the same locality, June 12th and 28th. Roslerstammia Pronubella, Ent. Annual, 1855, 1st Edit. p. 44; 2nd Edit. 67. This species has not again occurred : I had fully intended to have it figured last year, but was accidentally prevented : it is now represented on the frontis- piece, fig. 8. Glyphipteryx Haworthana, I. B., p. 175. Mr. Edles- ton says the larva may be collected during the winter in the prostrate heads of the cotton grass (Eriophorum) ; see Zoo- logist, p. 4654. Argyresthia conjugella, I. B., p. 184. The solution of Enigma No. 15 (Ent. Annual, 1855, 1st Edit. p. 63; 2nd Edit. p. 85); the larva feeds on the berries of the mountain ash, in September. Argyresthia glaucinella, I. B., p. 185. Of this species Mr. Ashworth remarks in the Zoologist, p. 4815, " Taken sparingly from the middle of May to the end of June, sitting on the trunks, and beaten from the branches, of three or four very old half-decayed oaks." OBSERVATIONS ON BRITISH TINEINA. 55 Argyresthia arceuthina, I. B., p. 188. Herr Schmid writes, " the larva in May, in shoots of juniper; the green pupa may also then be collected." In this country May would be rather late to look for the larva. Cedestis Gysselinella, I. B., p. 190. Herr Schmid finds " the larva on Pinus sylvestris, between leaves, in a white web." Ocnerostoma piniariella, I. B., p. 191. Herr Schmid states, that " the larvae feed on Pinus sylvestris, mining the leaves." Zelleria fasciapennella, I. B., p. 192. Professor Frey has taken this in Switzerland, on the Grisons Alps, at Engadine. Gracilaria elongella, I. B., p. 197. [Bred by Mr. Buxton from larva? making large cones on birch leaves. Coriscium cucidipennellum, I. B., p. 202. Mr. Sang bred this, this summer, from a pupa, enclosed in a long white cocoon, in a rolled up ash leaf; next year he hopes to find the larva. Coleophora paripennella, I. B., p. 211 . At length I have succeeded in getting an autumnal larva to live through the winter, and it produced, as anticipated, this species. Coleophora Wockeella, I. B., p. 212. The larva of this species is well known to Herr Schmid and Professor Frey; the former writes, " larva at the beginning of June, on Stachys hirta, preferring the stem to the leaves;" the latter observes, " not scarce on Betonica and Ranunculus in April and May." Coleophora ochrea, I. B., p. 212. The larva feeds, so Herr Schmid assures me, on Helianthemum vulgarc, the latter half of June eating the leaves. The case must be very conspicuous ; it is more than half an inch long, cylindrical brownish-ochreous. Coleophora conspicuella, I. B., p. 213. Mr. Douglas and 56 OBSERVATIONS OX BRITISH TINEINA. I each took a specimen in Headley Lane, the beginning of August last. At the same time I found two young larva.- feeding on Centaurea nigra. Coleophora saturatella, I. B., p. 216. Hen* Schmid finds the larva of this insect at the beginning of July, on broom, (Spartium scoparium.) Coleophora therinella, I. B., p. 217. I took a specimen of this at West Wickham, July 5th. Coleophora juncicolella, I. B., p. 220. I met with several of this among the heath at West Wickham, July 5th ; I had previously learnt from Herr Schmid (who knew it under the name of Infant? lella). that the larva feeds on heather (Calluna vulgaris) in the spring, up to May, feeding on the voun£ shoots, in a small case which looks like small heath-leaves, and is therefore very difficult to detect unless it assumes a direction contrary to the growth of the shoot. Bedellia somnulentella, I. B., p. 226. This has again occurred in considerable plenty ; at Bideford hardly a single plant of Convolvulus was unmarked by the larva. Chauliodus Illigerellus, I. B., p. 234. Herr Krosmann introduced me to the larvae of this species at Hanover, and I improved my acquaintance with it in the beech forest at Hokendorf, near Stettin ; it feeds towards the end of May on JEgopodium podragraria. drawing the leaves together by its webs ; it is a sticky-looking semi-transparent larva, like that of C. Cheer 'ophyllellus, but it is solitary in its habits, rarely more than one occurring on a leaf stem ; it likes moist places in woods. Laverna lacteella, I. B., p. 236. Herr Schmid informs me, that the larva feeds on Epilobium hirsutum, Laverna atra, I. B., p. 239. Herr Grabow has also bred the dark variety from apple (see Ent. Ann. 1855, 1st Edit. p. 55 ; 2nd Edit. p. 77), and entirely confirms Mr. E. Brown's account of its habits. The typical insect has been OBSERVATIONS ON BRITISH TINEINA. £»/ bred by Mr. Wilkinson from larvae feeding in the berries of the hawthorn. This further confirms the notion that the hawthorn and apple feeders are two distinct species. Anybia langiella, I. B., p. 245. Mr. Boyd found larva.' mining the leaves of Circcea lutetiana, in July, at Lyn- mouth, North Devon, and from them bred this species. It is not yet quite decided whether this is the solution of Enigma No. 1 (Ent. Annual, 1855, 1st Edit. p. 63; 2nd Edit. p. So). The larva there mentioned I certainly found in September, at West Wickham and at Bideford, and if these come to maturity, the knotty point will be determined. Asychna ceratella, I. B., p. 246. Mr. Douglas met with several specimens of this insect at. Darenth Wood, in July. The larva and its mode of life have been beautifully repre- sented by Herr Grabow, of Berlin, and I extract the follow- ing from his notes: — "The 26th September, 1852, Herr Kalisch discovered a pod-like excrescence on Polygonum aviculare. Such a growth not being usual on that plant he cut it open, and found a larva enclosed in a cocoon. On the outside of this excrescence there was not the slightest trace of any injury from the larva, and we must therefore con- clude that when the larva escapes from the egg it bores into a bud, and so causes this growth, which then grows around the larva and encloses it, the larva feeding upon .its fleshy interior. Before the larva changes to pupa (which happens in the month of May) it eats a small opening towards the end of its habitation, and through this some ' frass' makes its appearance — this is a certain sign that the larva is about to change to a pupa." This discovery of Herr Grabow's, of a gall-producing Lepidopterous larva, is of extreme interest ! Chrysocorys festaliella, I. B., p. 248. Mr. T. Wilkin- son, of Scarborough, sent me in September some larvas of this species, and subsequently I found them at Bideford rather commonly. They feed either on the upper or under- d5 58 OBSERVATIONS ON BRITISH TINEINA. side of bramble-leaves, eating the leaf half through and making conspicuous blotches, which are very evident, even when you are not specially looking for them. The larva agrees well with Hiibner's figure, which is copied by Curtis. Elachista Pfeifferella, I. B., p. 250. This appears to have a similar habit to Treitschkiella, having apparently been bred from case-making miners of the do^-wood. Elachista Brunnichella, I. B., p. 251. The solution of Enigma No. 2 (Ent. Annual, 1855, 1st Edit. p. 63 ; 2nd Edit. p. 85), but the food-plant was wrongly named Origanum; it is Clinopodium vulgare. The larvae were collected by Mr. Douglas, at Darenth Wood, in July, and by myself near Mickleham, the beginning of August, and from them we bred several of the perfect insect. Lithocolletis Frolichiella, I. B., p. 278. The mine of this is unusually long, far longer than in L. alnifoliella, and the cocoon is extraordinarily large. Mr. Scott meets with this near Stockton. Lithocolletis Stettinensis, I. B., p. 280. Bred freely from the larva collected in October, 1854, mining the upper side of alder leaves, near Beckenham. Lithocolletis comparella, I. B., p. 282. Mr. Douglas bred this in August, from a larva found at the beginning of that month mining the underside of a leaf of Lombardy poplar, near Mickleham. Lyonetia padifoliella, I. B., p. 284. Professor Frey has lately sent me specimens of this insect (his Albella), of Prunifoliella, and of the Hiibnerian Padifoliella, with the remark : — u I bred in August all these forms from one kind of sloe mine, with similar larva?, and am disposed to unite them all as one species. The mine is broad, not narrow like that of Clerckella. Albella is very scarce, Padifoliella the commonest. The pupa is suspended as in Clerckella." After groping so long in the dark about this species, such a glare of light is rather dazzling ! OBSERVATIONS OX BRITISH TINEINA. 59 Phyllocnistis suffusella, I. B., p. 285. I met with this very interesting larva in great profusion at Micklebam, the beginning of August ; they mined indifferently the upper or underside of the leaves of the aspen (Populus tremula). The mined leaves show no distinct track, as the larva eats only the juice by which the skin of the leaf is fastened to the parenchyma, but when we view the leaves at an angle they appear shining and reflect prismatic colours, as though a snail had crawled across them. BuccuJatrix aurimaculella, I. B., p. 291. I had the good fortune to signalise my first evening "across the channel" by finding the larva of this species at Boulogne, April 17th ; it feeds on Chrysanthemum leucanthemum (ox-eye daisy), when young mining the leaves, afterwards feeding on them externally; it makes a ribbed whitish cocoon. Bucculatrix nigricomella, not hitherto found in this country, feeds on the same plant and at the same time. Bucculatrix cidarella, I. B., p. 291. We have found the larva of this species feeding on alder leaves in July, but hitherto we have not succeeded in rearing it. Nepticula angulifasciella, I. B., p. 304. By keeping the collected larvas of this species out of doors all the winter, I succeeded in rearing a fine series of the perfect insect ; they made their appearance from the 13th to 28th of July, a suffi- cient proof that the insect is only single-brooded. Pterophorus acanthodactylus. Mr. Reading, of Ply- mouth, has met with the larva? of this species on rest-harrow {Ononis), and forwarded me several of them, at the be- ginning of August. Hiibner's figures of P. Calodactylus well represent the larva and singular pupsc of this species. This is an addition to our information, for in the Zoologist, j). 4775, in the Entomological Botany, under Ononis spinosa I called attention to the fact of the larva of this species not having been found on that plant. 60 OBSERVATIONS ON BRITISH TINEINA. Pterophorus brachydactylus. Professor Frey finds the larva of this (with us, great rarity) on the underside of the leaves of Prenanthes purpurea, in fir woods, in May ; that plant is not British, but is not unfrequently found in woods escaped from cultivation. Pterophorus tephradactylus. Professor Frey finds the larva of this on Solidago virgaurea in May ; I met with the young larvae on that plant, at Clovelly, in September. ( 61 ) ANSWERS TO ENIGMAS. Answers to Enigmas in the Entomologist's Annual, 1855, 1st Edition, p. 63 ; 2nd Edition, p. 85. 1. Probably Anybia langiella ; see ante, p. 57. 2. Elachteta Brunnichella ; see ante, p. 58. 3. I found this abundantly at Hokendorf, near Stettin, but all my specimens went squash, on my journey home- wards ; Professor Zeller considered it, without any hesita- tion, Cohophora IAxella. 4. Cohophora sicclfolia ; see ante, p. 37. 5. Not yet solved. 6. Not yet solved. 7. Not yet solved. 8. Not yet solved. 9. From larvae apparently referable to Baskohlla, I have bred what seems only Tityrella ; the matter requires further investigation. 10. Not yet solved. 11. Not yet solved. 12. Reared by Mr. Gregson. The food plant is Vaccinium Vitis Idcea; the insect Anchylopera ustomaculana. 13. Nothr'is Durdhamella ; see ante, p. 53. 14. Argyrolepia maritimana ; see ante, p. 34. 15. Argyresthia conjugella; see ante, p. 54. 16. Not yet solved. 17. Nepticula alnetella; see ante, p. 43. Thus of seventeen Enigmas seven are completely solved ; three yet remain in a somewhat doubtful state, and seven are completely unsolved; the latter we proceed to repeat for solution (we hope in our next). 62 ENIGMAS STILL UNANSWERED. ENIGMAS STILL UNANSWERED. 5. " Nepticula larvae, in leaves of Potentilla fragarias- trum." I believe Professor Frey has met with this larva near Zurich, and has them now in cocoon. 6. " Gelechia ? larvas, folding up the leaves of Lathyrus pratensis and Vicia Sepium." Again found this autumn ; Herr Schmid has also met with it at Frankfort, whilst col- lectin^ mines of Lithocolletis Brennella. 7. " A Gelechia ? larva on oak, forming an entire leaf into a vaulted chamber." Is not this Anchyopera subuncana? 8. " On apple, a new Nep. larva, greenish, with dark greenish dorsal line, mining a gallery: found also rather commonly on hawthorn leaves." None have yet been reared, and this autumn it has escaped me. 10. A Nepticula larva, making brown blotches in birch leaves." I have received a few larvae this autumn from Mr. T. Wilkinson, of Scarborough. 11. " An Elachista larva, found by Mr. Scott at the end of April, mining in leaves of Scirpus lacustris." Has not again been met with. 16. "A Nepticula larva, found by Mr. Scott, making blotches in the leaves of Lotus corfdculatus." I found this larva in leaves of Lotus major, at Headley Lane, August 4th, but did not succeed in rearing them. Professor Frey also finds it near Zurich, and has now about twenty in cocoon. NEW ENIGMAS FOR SOLUTION. 63 NEW ENIGMAS FOR SOLUTION. 18. A Lithocolletis larva mining the upper side of birch leaves. A few were found by Mr. Scott, in September, 1854; none were reared. 19. A Coleophora larva, feeding on the capsules of Silene inflata. Mr. "Weir found one a few years ago, but when in Paris I saw several in the possession of M. Bellier de la Chavignerie, who (knowing my especial predilection for these atoms) very liberally gave them to me ; none were reared. This may be Albijuscella or Leucapenuella. In either case it will be a grand addition to our British Coleo- phora. 20. A Depressaria larva found by Mr. Boyd, May 2nd, (it was then young), feeding on a leaf of parsnip (Pastinaca sativa), under a turned-down corner; this was expected to be Depressaria Douglasella. 21. A very singular birch-leaf miner discovered by Mr. Boyd, at Lynmouth, July 19th : the young larva makes a very long linear mine (two or three inches!) commencing near the top of the leaf, mining nearly parallel to the midrib, till it reaches the foot-stalk of the leaf; it then mines towards the edge and commences making a large blotch, and after a while it cuts out an oval case in this blotch and descends to the ground. Advised by the sight of the leaves he sent me, I went out and at once found the same larva in my own imr mediate neighbourhood. 22. A very similar mine I observed on the 29th July, on alder leaves, but was too late for the larvae, they having all 64 NEW ENIGMAS FOR SOLUTION. cut out their cases and departed. Their cases were evidently considerably larger than those of the birch miner, and the blotch-portion of the mine was not as large. Similar mines on alder leaves have been found by Professor Frey, at Zurich. 23. An Elachista larva, found by Mr. Scott, at Stockton, mining in September and October the leaves of Brachypo- dum sylvaticum ; the larvae, apparently nearly full fed, mak- ing long broad mines in the leaves, but not puckering them. Herr Schmid has also sent me this larva from Frankfort. 24. A Coleophora larva feeding on the seeds of Solidago virgaurea, in October. Herr Schmid sent me some of these on the 15th of that month, and I instructed Mr. Parfitt, of Exeter, to seek for them in his neighbourhood. In a few days he sent me up a box containing a number of this new larva. Its case is very peculiar, having the down of the seeds at- tached to the anterior end, but loose behind, somewhat like a hedgehog, but it is not densely clothed with this down. ( 65 ) COLEOPTERA. Notes on British Geodephaga, with Description of one New Species (Supplementary to Geodephaga Britannica). (By J. F. Dawson, L.L.B.) In taking a brief retrospect of the progress which has been made in the discovery of additional localities for some of the newly introduced and less commonly distributed species of British Carabidm since the publication of the Geodephaga Britannica, which have not as yet been publicly recorded , I observe with satisfaction that that work has, in no small degree, tended to awaken a more lively interest in a group of insects, which I seemed to have taken under my more immediate protection, but which had been previously some- what neglected or but slightly appreciated by other parties. Their attention, however, having been thus attracted towards this interesting group, which will well repay investigation, many of my Entomological friends have devoted their ener- gies in searching those localities which are supposed to be most favourable to their production. The result of their labours has been in no small degree successful ; for though wc cannot boast of the discovery of new species (with a single exception), yet many which at the period above alluded to were almost entirely unique in pri- vate collections, as Dyschirius impunctipennis, Anchomenus scitulus and pelidnus, Sarpalus cordatus, Trechus incilis and Bembidium obliquum and Clarkii, have since turned up DO COLEOPTERA. in considerable numbers, whilst others, which, though they have not equalled these in point of rarity, were nevertheless of somewhat unusual occurrence, have been discovered in positive profusion ; as Lebia cyanocephala, Callistus lunatas and JBembidium doris. Of novelties we have not much to record. The most im- portant is a very remarkable Dyschirius, which will be de- scribed in this paper. Two examples were discovered by Mr. Syme, in April, 1855, near Sandown Castle, Deal. It was captured (I would observe) not in a new and unexplored locality, but on a spot of damp ground frequently and care- fully searched in previous years, by my self and others, and one which I had indicated to Mr. Syme as being a favourite resort of the Dyschirii. In the very same hollow and beneath the very stones which had in those previous years been found to yield a good harvest of insects (though not perhaps at that precise season), this new British Dyschirius unexpectedly made its appearance. And I seize upon this fact as offering a fresh inducement to Entomologists by no means to relax their efforts in the examination of known and frequented lo- calities, under the impression that their stores of species must have been exhausted, nor to confine their labours to one or two particular seasons of the year, since even in such places, as it is seen, novelties may eventually turn up to reward their assiduity. I would also call the attention of Entomologists to other localities, which, in former times, bore the character of being the very metropolis of insect life, but which have in more recent years been little explored, or entirely neglected. When we read of the reputed productions of Devonshire, for instance, we naturally demand to know whether cultivation, that greatest foe to the Entomologist, has so entirely changed the character of that county (so favourable to the develop- ment of insects) that it no longer produces such much prized NOTES OX BRITISH GEODEPHAGA. 67 rarities as Carabus intricatus and Diachromus Germanus. We should be unwilling to admit it without a more careful and systematic investigation, though we well know that in many other parts of England (especially in the fen districts), the advance of extensive drainages and cultivation has most assuredly had the effect of entirely banishing those Ento- mological productions which formerly abounded in such localities. The fact is, except certain portions of that county and those at particular seasons of the year, not the most fa- vourable for Geodcphaga, it has been very little searched of late years for that class of insects. An important portion, namely, all that wild district bordering on Dartmoor, not at all. During a very brief visit, limited in fact to two or three days, which Mr. Wollaston paid to a wild uncultivated tract called Slapton Ley, not far from Start Bay, he succeeded in obtaining several examples of a fine Harpalus, new to the British Fauna. I should rejoice, therefore, if any hardwork- ing, practical Entomologist would investigate all those dis- tricts carefully and systematically, and that not merely atone but at various seasons of the year, and especially in the spring, which would there be found most productive. It is unsatisfactory to be obliged to admit that there are yet species, which we are bound to include among- our indigenous Ca- rabidce, on the authority of specimens existing in collections, of which no man living can say, " I have taken such an in- sect." Lcbia hcemorrhoidalis, Brachinus sclopeta,* Chhenius agrorum, Anchomenus modestus and Diacliromus Germa- nus, are all (according to Stephens) reputed natives of De- vonshire, but they seem to have entirely disappeared ; their places in our cabinets are vacant, till we almost begin to doubt whether they have not-bcome utterly extinct, even if we do not go to the extent of discrediting the fact of their * Through inadvertency, I stated that the Rev. A. Matthews received this insect from Mr. Vigors. I should have said from Mr. Sowerhv. DO COLEOPTERA. ever having been captured in the localities assigned to them. There is likewise another very promising district, which, I believe, would well repay investigation, but which appears to have been entirely neglected of late years. It is situated on the north-west and northern coast of Norfolk, extending from Heacharn and Hunstanton, and so on to Burnham Market, Wells and Cley. In fact we know very little of the Carabideous productions of the north-eastern counties, be- yond a vague impression that several valuable species are reputed to have been captured in those parts of the king- dom, and perhaps on this hint some Entomologist may be induced to study their productions more systematically. There are likewise one or two remarks I have to offer on the subject of collecting. We do not, I think, search me- thodically enough. Most of these insects are nocturnal feeders. During the day they remain concealed in crevices, or at the roots of herbage, or under clods and stones, or buried under the soil or anywhere that offers a refuge or concealment, and are generally at that time torpid and inactive ; at night they are alive and busy. It is a fine sight to see them then, or just at daybreak, in some favour- able locality rushing about in all directions and running up and down the stems of herbage. Now, the very time when they are most inactive and hidden we select for hunting them out. In the daytime we turn stones and clods, and tear up the herbage and rend it into fragments, and grub up the soil to force them out, with great trouble and exertion, and work as hard as any day labourer, yet incredible numbers entirely escape all our researches. But we do not trouble ourselves even to look for them at night when they leave their con- cealment. The Lepidopterist works principally at night, but the Coleopterist confines his labours too exclusively to the daytime ; and, therefore, I would strongly recommend NOTES ON BRITISH GEODEPHACxA. 69 nocturnal brushing, which has proved very successful, and I have known the locality of a rare species discovered solely by that means; and for these Carabideous insects especially, I would call attention to a plan adopted by Baron Chaudoir, which is, to spread a white cloth on the ground at night in some promising locality with a brilliant light in the centre, and the insects being attracted thereto may be secured in numbers, and many species, which had not previously been suspected to exist in the locality where the plan is adopted, may by that means be discovered. Such has been the result — and certainly the contrivance is a good one — where it can be practised without arousing the jealousy and displeasure of gamekeepers and revenue officers. I transcribe M. Chaudoir's account for the benefit and encouragement of those Entomologists who are disposed to adopt his scheme, and I wish them equal success. " La soiree fut tres-chaude, et j'en profitai pour essay er d'un moyen que M. de Steven m'avait indique com me tres- cornmode pour se procurer beaucoup d'insectes que Ton ne rencontre presque jamais autrement. II consiste a poser deux flambeaux sur une nappe etendue a terre a proximite des lieux qui servent en general de refuge aux insectes, tels que prairies, bois, pierres, etc. : les localites humides sont en general preferables. Attires bientot par l'eclat de la lumiere, les insectes de tous les ordres s'y portent en foule. Je pris de cette maniere des Harpalus, des Ophonus, des Chlamius, des Brachelytres, des Hydrocanthares, des Hydro- philiens, des Pselaphiens et d'autres insectes." — Enumera- tion des Carabiques et Hydrocanthares du Caucase : Introduction, p. 20. In the following record of the captures of our more un- common species of Car abides, it will be perceived that the most important results have been attained since the publica- tion of the Geodephaga Britannica in the metropolitan and 70 COLEOPTERA. southern districts. All the additions which have been made to specimens which were previously wholly unique or very sparingly distributed in our collections are attributable to the persevering exertions and enterprise of my Entomological friends south of the Trent, whilst, as far as I have been able to ascertain, nothing whatever material has been done in this group by the northern Entomologists. If otherwise, the facts have not been communicated to me. It is true, that Ela~ plums Lapponicus and Anchomenus fulg ens have again been captured in some numbers in the localities previously re- corded ; but of the recently introduced and rarer species, as Dyschirius jejwius, Anchomenus 4-punetatus, Trechus lon- gicornisy Bembidium Schuppelii and Stomoides, we have no additional record. Nevertheless, upon the whole, I think we may consider that an important advance has been made in the investigation of this group of Coleoptera. The mere fact of so many species, heretofore perfectly unique or nearly so in British collections, having been found in some abundance, is of itself no little gain ; and, in the hope that next year's "Annual" will record captures still more important and extensive, I proceed to the principal object of this paper, viz. an enumeration of the less commonly distributed species of British Carabidce, with the new localities and dates of capture, which have occurred since the publication of the Geodef)haga Britannica, in April, 1854. Drypta emarginata, Fab. S. El. i. 230 ; Dawson, Geod. Brit. p. 4. Ten specimens have been captured by Dr. Power and others during the months of July and August, 1855, on an old hedge-bank by the side of a corn-field, near Alver- stoke, Hants ; and three by A. Adams, Esq. at Rowner, about three miles inland. Dromius 4-signatus, Dej. Spec. i. 236; Dawson, Geod. Brit. p. 10. This insect was captured many years ago, and by no means sparingly, by Dr. Power, in the months of NOTES ON BRITISH GEODEPHAGA. 71 March and April, in a small thicket close to the river Cam, on the left hand side of the footpath leading from Cambridge to Granchester, not far from the latter place. Dr. Power shook a single example out of moss from Dulwich Wood, in 1854, and Mr. Grant has taken a few from under the bark of old apple trees at Putney, in the months of November and December of the same year. Lebia cya?iocephala, Linn. F. S. 794 {Carabus) ; Daw- son, Geod. Brit. p. 18. This insect was found in profusion at the beginning of August, 1854, at Buckland Hill, near Reigate, by brushing the Hypericum perfoliatum ; but not a single example has been procured this year. Tar us axillaris. Fab. Ent. S. i. 132 (Carabus); Dawson, Geod. Brit. p. 22. This insect, after the lapse of some years, has again been taken in its old locality, Box Hill ; it was found on the 21st of April, 1855, on the Dorking side of the hill under stones, and abundantly in the same place at the beginning of August and following months. It has likewise been taken rather plentifully at the east end of Box Hill, not far from the fir plantation, both at the above date and in September and October. A few examples were procured on Buckland Hill. Dyschirius impunctipemiis, Dawson, Geod. Brit. p. 29, pi. i. fig. A. In addition to the three examples of this newly introduced species recorded in the Geodephaga Bri- tannica, something like a series has been taken on the Lanca- shire coast. The locality is Crosby shore, between Liverpool and Southport, above high-water mark, at the base of the sand hills. Mr. Gregson found them crawling on the dry sand in the sunny weather of the month of July ; and the Rev. H. Clark secured the insect on the north of South port, in October, by tearing up the roots of grass on the sandhills. I would recal the attention of those Entomologists who may search for the insect in future to Mr. Wollaston's more sue- 72 COLEOPTERA. cessful method of obtaining the Dyschirii, recorded in the Zoologist (p. 1671). Dysckirius elongatulus. Head black, narrow, the whole surface above the mouth depressed and somewhat rugose, having a distinctly raised emargination on the anterior border, and a second transverse elevation behind like a little band, also a deeply impressed longitudinal fovea on each side behind the eyes, which gives them the appearance of considerable prominency; antennae ferruginous, their basal joints and those of the palpi brighter red. Thorax shining black, as broad in front as the head, including the very pro- minent eyes, and increasing in width till behind the middle, strongly rounded and globose behind where the posterior angles should be ; disk very convex, especially behind, dorsal furrow fine and transversely strigose, terminating in front in a distinct transverse impression, and behind (where it becomes deeper) in another depressed space, which ap- pears like a transverse collar or band, which is closely striated longitudinally. Elytra brassy black, elongate, twice as long as the thorax, narrow and cylindrical, not attenuated at the apex but merely rounded ; punctate-striated, the punc- tures distinctly impressed as in salinus, deepest in front and gradually fainter towards the extremity; the punctures of the fourth and fifth striae are however distinct till they terminate before the extremity, and are succeeded by a smooth stria which is carried obliquely to the tip ; the three exterior punc- tured striae are very fine, terminating at the shoulder, two of them abbreviated and united behind, but the lateral one, although abbreviated likewise, is succeeded after a little in- terval by a more deeply impressed smooth stria, which also tends obliquely towards the tip exterior to the other one above-mentioned, and with it forms a kind of loop ; under- side black, legs reel, anterior tibiae unarmed. Length 2| lines. NOTES OX BRITISH GEODEPHAGA. /O Two examples were captured by Mr. Syme, in April, 1855, on a damp spot of ground near Sandown Castle, Deal, beneath stones, in company with a number of D- sallnus. My description is taken from an examination of these two examples (one of which is now in my possession, through the liberality of Mr. Syme). The peculiar cylindrical form of the insect would seem to approximate it to D. cylindricus or oblongus (with which it agrees in some of its character- istics), but the absence of any appearance whatever of denti- culations on the anterior tibiae, immediately separates it from the former, and as the latter (which is unique in Sturm's Collection, being represented by a solitary example from the Crimea) is described as being the largest of the European Dyschiriif equalling 3 lines in length, it cannot of course be identical with that species ; and moreover, since it does not even remotely correspond with any other that I find recorded, it is here given as an undescribed species, under the name elongatulus. Carabus intricatus, Linn. F. S. 780; Dawson, Geod. Brit. p. 34. I have stated in my Monograph that four or five examples of this insect were captured by the Rev. Mr. Hore, under the moss and lichens growing on the lower part of the trunks of trees in the woods at Bicklei^h Vale. Mr. Hore has kindly furnished me with the following additional particulars. The exact locality in which they were found is by the side of a road through a wood, leading from Fancy, on the Tavistock road, about five miles from Plymouth, to the river in Bickleigh Yale. They were all captured in the spring, March and April, under the moss at the base of oaks, and were in no instance more than a foot above the ground. These were taken more than twenty years ago ; and though Mr. II. has many times hunted the same locality since, he has never again found an example. The spot where Dr. Leach first discovered the insect is Virtuous Lady 185G e 74 COLEOPTERA. Mine, on the banks of the Tavy, eight or ten miles distant from the before-mentioned locality. Mr. Hore adds, that a single example was taken some years since by G. W. Sol- tau, Esq. in a wood belonging to him at Lee Mill, near Ivy Bridge, about eight miles from the Bickleigh Vale Station, in a different direction from Dr. Leach's locality. He was cutting the stems of ivy from trees when he secured the insect, which is now in Mr. Hore's possession. Calosoma inquisitor, Linn. F. S. 789; Dawson, Geod. Brit. p. 42. Mr. Plant took seven beautiful specimens last June, in a wood near Leicester, this is a more northern locality than those previously given. Notiophilus ri/frpes, Curtis, Ent. pi. 254; Dawson, Geod. Brit. p. 55. Seven additional examples of this rare insect have been captured by Dr. Power, viz. :— three on the 10th of June, and four on the 28th of October, 1855, in a sand- pit at Shirley, near Croydon. Badister peltatus, Panz., Faun. 37 (Carabus); Dawson, Geod. Brit. p. 61. Three examples only of this rare species are recorded in the Geodephaga Britannica, as having been captured in England; but among a mass of insects taken by Dr. Power about the year 1835, near Cambridge, four others have since been detected, which for twenty years had remained unnoticed in his Collection. Dr. Power ob- tained also four specimens in 1853, from the Hammersmith marshes. Chlcenius holosericeus, Fab. Mant. i. 199 (Carabus); Dawson, Geod. Brit. p. 65. On the 21st of May, 1833, two examples were found by Dr. Power in Heche Fen, Cam- bridgeshire, by the side of the main road, soon after leaving the village of Reche. Also two or three others were found by him in a swampy place in the village of Isleham, between Fordham and Mildenhall, near Newmarket. Part of the village is situate in an old gravel pit, near which is the swamp. NOTES ON BRITISH GEODEPHAGA. 75 CaUistus lunatus, Fab. Ent. S. i. 163 (Carabus); Daw- son, Geod. Brit. p. 68. Found in profusion from March till October or November, 1854, on Buckland Hill, near Rei- gate, close to the edge of the copse wood ; Dr. Power in- forms me he has taken thirty or more from a few square feet of ground, and he has little doubt that as many as 500 were captured last year in that one locality. It is less abundant and more dispersed in the summer, and harbours under tufts of grass and stones, &c. The late Rev. D. F. Jarman found the species in some plenty also on a grassy bank between Dover and Radegunds Abbey, about June in the same year. Anchomenus 6-punctatus, Linn. F. S. 807 (Carabus) ; Dawson, Geod. Brit. p. 85. Taken in some of the moist hollows on Woking and Wimbledon Commons, at the be- ginning of August, 1855. Anchomenus gracilis, Sturm, D. F. v. 197 (Agonum gra- cile); Dawson, Geod. Brit. p. 91. This very distinct and elegant species was captured by the Rev. H. Clark, at Horn- ing Fen, in September, 1854, in some plenty. Anchomenus scituhts, Dej. Spec. iii. 162 (Agonum) ; Dawson, Geod. Brit. p. 91. This species was unique in the Stephensian Cabinet, at the date of the publication of the Geodephaga Britannica, but has been detected by Mr. F. Grant in the neighbourhood of Putney. He has found it locally abundant under refuse in a ditch of a water-meadow near the Thames, between Putney and Hammersmith, into which the high tides occasionally ilow. It is found almost in the water, from June to September. It is one of the most valuable additions to our indigenous fauna, being a per- fectly distinct and constant species. The examples in the Stephensian Cabinet are stated to have been found in Plais- tow Marshes. Anchomenus pelidnas, Payk. Faun. i. 134 (Cardbus); Dawson, Geod. Brit. p. 93. This species (of which not e2 76 COLEOPTERA. more than two or three British examples had previously been known) has been taken in abundance by Mr. F. Bate?, at Groby Pool, near Leicester, chiefly in the month of August, 1855. Anchomenvs Thoreyi, Dej. Spec. iii. 165 ; Dawson, Geod. Brit. p. 94. May be taken plentifully in the Hammersmith Marshes during the month of October, by shaking the cut reeds ; but in spring and summer they are more dispersed and less easy to be obtained. The species has been found likewise in many marshy places near London, and at the re- servoir near Daventry, which yielded Bembidium obliquum and other valuable species. Pterostichus lepidus, Fab. Mant. i. 200 (Carabus) ; Daw- son, Geod. Brit. p. 98. The old locality at Charlton appears to have become quite exhausted ; not an example of this in- sect has been found there for many years. About a dozen specimens however have been taken by Dr. Power and Mr. Syme, in the old gravel pit, near the railway station, at Weybridge, chiefly in the months of May and June, and a pair (in copula) in August, 1855. Pterostichus rujicollis, Marsh. Ent. 456 (Carabus); Daw- son, Geod. Brit. p. 112. This insect has been taken in abundance by Dr. Power, at the foot of the cliffs at Kemp Town, and found by him (in copula) on the 6th of April, 1855. Amara plebeja, Gyll. Ins. Suec. ii. 141 (Harpalus) ; Dawson, Geod. Brit. p. 124 ; A. septentrionalis, Curtis, Ann. Nat. Hist. v. p. 275; Ent. Ann. p. 84. The insect described by Mr. Curtis, under the latter name, and noticed in the Entomologist's Annual for 1855, is merely a small green $ of A. plebeja. The other three supposed species therein alluded to (agilis,pu?icticollis and Dalit) also belong to recognized species. I had them for examination whilst my Monograph was in progress, but finding such to be the case, did not feel called upon to notice them particularly, NOTES ON BRITISH GEODEPHAGA. 7/ especially as Mr. Rylands was not disposed to insist upon their distinctiveness. Anisodactylus binotatus, Fab. Mant. i. 199 (Carabus); Dawson, Geod. Brit. p. 131 ; Var. IT. spurcaticornis, Steph. Mand. i. 157. The variety I omitted to notice in the Geode- phaga Britannica. It is remarkable, much smaller than the type, entirely black, except the base of the antennae, which is red, and the forehead is spotless. It is very abund- ant in a humid depressed spot on Woking Common, to the south east of the railway station. Diackromus Germanus, Linn. S. N. ii. 671 (Carabus); Dawson, Geod. Brit. p. 132. The Rev. A. Matthews in- forms me that he possesses a specimen which was captured by the late Mr. Holme, near Ryde, in the Isle of Wight, in the summer of 1838 or 1839. He saw the insect when Mr. Holme returned from the Isle of Wight, and has no doubt of its authenticity. Harpalus azureus, Fab. Mant. i. 201 (Carabus); Daw- son, Geod. Brit. p. 134, var. B. This species is extremely abundant in the spring on the side of Buckland Hill, near Reiijate, and is to be met with likewise in the summer and autumn. The variety B. which I have described as rather larger, with a more coarsely punctulated thorax, and elytra pitchy-black, without any tinge of green, is stated by Dr. Power to be not uncommonly met with in the same locality. Upon an examination of the Dejeanian collection which was fortunately afforded me in August, 1854, I discovered (as I had suspected in fact) that this variety corresponds with JT. si //tills, Dej. ; but I do not, nevertheless, believe in its distinctiveness as a species. Harpalus cordatus, Dufts. Faun. ii. 169 (Carabus) ; Dawson, Geod. Brit. p. 136. Two additional specimens Mere captured by Mr. Syme, in April, 1855, at the roots of the coarse grass on the sand hills, near Deal, the locality in 78 COLEOPTERA. which I discovered it ; and four others by myself on the 6th of July, under rejectamenta, in one of the hollows, near the same spot. All these are of rather a darker colour than my original specimen. During a second visit to the above- named locality in August, 1 had the good fortune to secure a fine series of examples, presenting a greater or less depth of colouring, varying from rich ferruginous to deep piceous, the result of different stages of maturity ; the lighter coloured individuals, however, are not in every instance the least ma- ture. It appears that my description of the original example, which I discovered two years ago on the sand hills at Deal, is applicable to an immature representative of the species ; but even in darker specimens the same peculiarity which is recorded in my description of the elytra, u an oblong ob- scure dark patch, extending up the sides and leaving the centre more or less ferruginons," is observable in many in- stances, though frequently the ferruginous tint is diffused and blended with the darker shade, and sometimes the latter entirely prevails. Harpalus rupicola, Sturm. D. F. iv. 105, pi. 94 ; Dawson, Geod. Brit. p. 136. This insect has been found in some plenty during the spring and autumn of 1855, on the side of Buckland Hill; and at both seasons of the year many of the specimens were immature. It appears to be very local, and I have found it principally on the western end of the hill, sometimes in company of a remarkably large variety of puncticollis some way up the slope. Harpalus litigiosus, Dej. Spec. iv. 361 ; H. Wollastoni, Dawson, Geod. Brit. p. 144. I have ascertained, by an ex- amination of the collection of the late Comte Dejean, that the insect which I described under the name H. Wollastoni (provisionally, after the captor) is identical with H. litigiosus, Dej. Stenolophus Skrimshiranus, Steph. Mand. i. 166; Daw- NOTES ON BRITISH GEODEPHAGA. 79 son, Geod. Brit. p. 155. Found by Dr. Power in great abundance on the 28th of July, 1855, on the banks of a muddy ditch, near Alverstoke, Hants, in company with S. luridus. Stenolophus elegans, Dej. Spec. iv. 412; Dawson, Geod. Brit. p. 156. Three or four additional examples of this in- sect have since been captured by Mr. Syme, in the Isle of Sheppey, in the locality where it was originally discovered. Stenolophus computus, Dufts. Faun. ii. 148 (Carabus) ; Dawson, Geod. Brit. p. 157. I have secured about thirty examples of this insect in a willow thicket near my re- sidence, " The Woodlands, near Bedford," in June, 1855. It has been found also abundantly, near Newark, by Mr. Hadfield. Stenoloj)hus dorsalis, Fab. Mant. i. 205 (Carabus) ; Daw- son, Geod. Brit. p. 158. Taken abundantly in a hollow about the middle of Wimbledon Common, by Mr. Syme, at the end of June, 1855, in company with S. luridus. Trechus lapidosus, Dawson, Geod. Brit. p. 168. The merit of the first discovery of this insect is due to Mr. Curtis, who originally detected it beneath clods of earth, at the base of the cliffs, in the Undercliff, Isle of "Wight : he has likewise found it at Dover and in the Isle of Portland ; and Dr. Power took a specimen near Brighton, in October, 1853. Trechus incilis, Dawson, Geod. Brit. p. 168. About sixteen additional examples have been captured in the fens between Holme and Yaxley, Hunts, by a labouring man employed by the late Mr. Jarman to collect insects for him, and who sent these to him among a vast mass of useless things. During a visit I paid to those fens, limited to a few hours in June, 1855, I found in one of the few unburnt and uncultivated spots now remaining, a couple of very immature individuals of this species. OU COLEOPTERA. Bembiclium o-striatum, Gyll. Ins. Suec. ii. 34; Dawson, Geod. Brit. p. 177. Several examples of this species, gene- rally rare in British collections, were secured by Dr. Power on the 6th of April, 1855, at. the foot of the cliffs, close to Kemp Town, in company with P. ruficollis. Bembiclium Bruxellense, Wesmael, Bull. Acad. p. 47; Dawson, Geod. Brit. p. 182. This distinct species has been found plentifully in a small marsh near the Redhill Station, on the London and Brighton Railway, in July, 1855 ; also in swampy places on Woking Common. Bembiclium affine, Steph. Mand. v. 386 (Peryplim) ; Dawson, Geod. Brit. p. 190. Found in abundance by Dr. Power below the cliff at the east end of Kemp Town, on the 6th of April, 1855. Also by Mr. F. Bates in Septem- ber and October, 1854, in an old gravel pit, near Leicester ; he found numbers of them concealed in the crevices of the soil several feet below the surface. I believe this to be a perfectly distinct species, and with constant characters which immediately distinguish it from nitidulum. Of the whole number of examples (about eighty) taken by Mr. Bates, not one by any means accorded with the latter insect. Bembiclium tibiale, Dufts. Faun. ii. 209 (Elaphrus) ; Dawson, Geod. Brit. p. 191. This species has been found by Mr. F. Bates on the pebbly margins of a brook in Brad- gate Park, Leicestershire, and all the examples have (he in- forms me) a more uniformly brassy tinge than most of the northern specimens, whilst none at all are found to corre- spond with the cyaneous examples so common in the more mountainous districts. The occurrence of this species in the midland counties has not been previously recorded. Bembiclium obliquum, Sturm, D. F. vi. 160, p. 161 ; Dawson, Geod. Brit. p. 195, pi. 2, f. E. One example only of this species was to be found in any British collection at the date of the publication of my Monograph, and is therein NOTES OX BRITISH GEODEPHAGA. 81 recorded and figured ; for although it had been included bv Stephens among the British species, yet it is well known that it had no representative in his cabinet. During the spring and summer however of the year 1855, it has been discovered by the Rev. H. Clark in considerable numbers on the muddy banks of the Daventry reservoir. JSembidium Clarkii, Dawson, Geod. Brit. p. 199. I have found this insect in a small willow thicket, near my residence, at various times during the spring of 1855. Dr. Power has found it in Hammersmith marshes, and the Rev. H. Clark on the banks of one of the reservoirs near Daventry, in company with B. obliquum, on several occasions during June, July and August, 1855. The first occurrence of the insect recorded is in 1848, but it had been captured many years previously by Dr. Power in the fens of Cambridgeshire, and for twenty years several examples had remained in his collection unnamed and disregarded until the description in the Geodephaga Britannica led to its identification. Beinhhliuut doris, Panz. Faun. 38 (Carabus); Dawson, Geod. Brit. p. '203. This species has been found in profu- sion by Dr. Power and others in an old gravel pit, near " The Five Ways," in Darenth Wood, during the spring of 1855. It has likewise been taken plentifully near Newark by Mr. Hadfield. J. F. Dawson. Tin: Woodlands, Oct. 31st, 18,55. E O ( 82 ) COLEOPTERA. NEW BRITISH SPECIES NOTICED IN 1855. By E. W. Janson. 1. Dytiscus Lapponicus, Gyll. Ins. Suec. i. 468 (1808). Rev. H. Clark, Zool. 4532 (1854), 4850 (1855) ; by whom four specimens were captured in a small, very deep lake in the Isle of Mull, in September. 2. Hydroporus melanarius, Sturm. Deutschl. Fauna, ix. 59, tab. CCIX. fig. c. C. (1835). Rev. H. Clark, Zool. 4531 (1854); taken by him near Oban, in September. T. J. Bold, Proc. Tyneside Naturalist's Field Club, Zool. 4823 (1855) ; Prestwick Carr. Rev. H. Clark, Zool. 4863 (1855) ;' Horning Fen, Norfolk. 3. Hi'DROPorus elongatulus, Sturm, Deutschl. Fauna, ix. 52, tab. CCVIII., fig. c. C. (1835). T. V. Wollaston, Zool. 4655 (1855) ; above Hebden Bridge, Midgley Moor, near Halifax, July. T. J. Bold, Proc. Tyneside, Nat. Field Club, Zool. 4823 (1855), [erroneously elongatuz] ; Prestwick Carr. Rev. H. Clark, Zool. 4864 (1855); Derbyshire, Scot- land. 4. Gyrinus celox, Schioclte. A. H. Haliday, Proc. Dublin Nat. Hist. Society, June 2,1855; Nat. Hist. Review, ii. 118(1855); taken by Mr. Haliday, at Blarney Lake. 5. HOMALOTA CAMBRICA, Wollaston. NEW BRITISH SPECIES IN 1855. 83 T. V. Wollaston, Appendix to Zool. CCV. (1855); North Wales. 6. Stenus asphaltinus, Erich. Gen. et Spec. Staph. 695, 9(1840). G. R. Waterhouse and E. W. Janson, Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond., n. s. iii. 138, 6 (1855) ; Charlton, Kent, ap- parently very local and scarce. 7. Stenus ater, Mannerh. Precis d'un Nouvel Arrange- ment des Brachelytres, 42, 4 (1830), Erich. G. R. Waterhouse and E. W. Janson, Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond., n. s. iii. 138, 7 (1855) ; Greenhithe, Kent, rare. 8. Stenus morio, Grav. Mon. Col. Micropt. 230, 10 (1806), Erich. G. R. Waterhouse and E. W. Janson, Trans. Ent. Soc, Lond., n. s. iii. 138, 9 (1855) ; near Highgate, Middlesex, very rare. 9. Stenus incrassatus, Erich. Kaf. d. Mark Brand, i. 541, 13 (1839). G. R. Waterhouse and E. W. Janson, Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond., n. s. iii. 138, 11 (1855) ; Wandsworth and Wimbledon Commons, rare. 10. Stenus opacus, Erich. Kaf. d. Mark Brand, i. 543, 16 (1839). G. R. Waterhouse and E. W. Janson, Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond., n. s. iii. 139, 15 (1855); North of England 1 rare. 11. Stenus exiguus. Erich. Gen. et Spec. Staph. 706, 30 (1840). G. R. Waterhouse and E. W. Janson, Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond., n. s. iii. 139, 17 (1855); Lincolnshire and Ireland. 12. Stenus providus, Erich. Kaf, d. Mark Brand, i. 546, 19 (1839). 84 COLEOPTERA. G. R. Waterhouse and E. W. Janson, Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond., n. s. iii. 139, 19 (1855) ; appears to be widely distributed, but very scarce. 13. Stenus Argus, Grav. Mon. Col. Micropt. 231,12 (1806), Erich. G. R. Waterhouse and E. W. Janson, Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond., ». s. iii. 139, 20 (1855) ; Lincolnshire, dis- covered by Mr. Wollaston. 14. Stenus geniculatus, Grav. (Sten. oculatus, var.) Mon. Col. Micropt. 228 (1806), Erich. G. R. Waterhouse and E. W. Janson, Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond., n. s. iii. 142,38 (1855); Hampshire, taken by Mr. Wollaston. 15. Stenus flavipes, Erich. Kaf. d. Mark Brand, i. 566, 44 (1839). G. R. Waterhouse and E. W. Janson, Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond., n. s. iii. 142, 39 (1855) ; London district and Isle of Wight, rare. 16. Stenus fuscicornis, Erich., Gen. et Spec. Staph. 730, 76(1840). G. R. Waterhouse and E. W. Janson, Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond., n. s. iii. 142,40 (1855); Greenhithe, Kent. 17. Stenus latifrons, Erich. Kaf. d. Mark Brand, i. 572, 51 (1839). G. R. Waterhouse and E. W. Janson, Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond., n. s. iii. 142, 47(1855); apparently exces- sively rare; the only specimen, with the history of which I am acquainted, was taken brushing on a damp bank near Willesden, Middlesex, on the 7th of June last, by Mr. Edwin Shepherd, Sec. Ent. Soc. 18. Trichopteryx suffocata, Haliday, Proc. Dublin Nat. Hist. Soc. June 2, 1855, Nat. Hist. Review, ii. 123 (1855) ; " found in October, the larva and perfect insect together, under damp fallen leaves on stones, NEW BRITISH SPECIES IX 1855. 85 in the bed of a dried-up brook (Glen-na-Chatta) of the Sbournagh river (Cork)," A. H. H. he. cit. 19. Trichopteryx (?) mollis, Haliday, Proc. Dublin Nat. Hist. Soc. June 2, 1855 ; Nat. Hist. Review, ii. 123, Tab. III. fig. 7 B. g. (1855); "inhabits sandy sea-coasts, rather rare," A. H. H. he. cit. 20. Ptilium angustatum (Scaphidium angustatum, Spence, MSS.), Erich., Naturgesch. d. Ins. Deutchl. iii. 29, 9 (1845). A. H. Haliday, Proc. Dublin Nat. Hist. Soc, June2, 1855; Nat. Hist. Review, ii. 122 (1855); Ireland, rare. 21. Ptilium coarctatum, Haliday, Proc. Dublin Nat. Hist. Soc, June 2, 1855; Nat. Hist. Review, ii. 122, Tab. III. fig. 5 (1855); " rare, Holywood." 22. Ptilium clandestinum, Haliday, Proc. Dublin Nat. Hist. Soc, June 2, 1855 ; Nat. Hist. Review, ii. 122, Tab. III. fig. 6(1865). "Taken at Holywood. Also in England, J.Curtis. Seems to bo very rare, but from its extreme minute- ness and pale colour may easily escape observation." A. H.H. he. cit. 23. Cratoxyciius castaxipes, Payk. Faun. Suec iii. 23, 27 (1800), Erich. J. W. Douglas, Proc. Ent. Soc Lond., January 1, 1855; Zool. 4599 (1855). I am not certain that the insect exhibited by Mr. Douglas is really referable to this species, as I had no opportunity of examining the specimen, which was alive in a phial. The present species, however, is certainly indigenous; I possess ;m individual taken lust year by Mr. Foxcroft, at Ran* noch, Perthshire, and, it* I am not mistaken, there were many specimens in the late Mr. Trueman's Sherwood Forest Col- lection, which was sold by public auction in the autumn of last year. It bears a very close resemblance to Crat. rvfipi 86 COLEOPTERA. (Melanotics fulvipes, Steph.), with which it may possibly be mixed up in many collections, but from which it may be distinguished by its longer elytra, and the sub-angulated lateral margins of the thorax. 24. Ampedus subcarinatus, Germar, Zeitschrift fur die Entomol. v. 177, 39 (1844) ; E. W. Janson, Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond. n. s. iii. 224(1855). Aplotarsus ? cothurnatus, Curtis, Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond. n. s. iii. 16, 7, Tab. II. fig. 7 (1854). Mr. Curtis obtained his specimens from the collection of the late Mr. C. Griesbach, who captured them near Windsor ; Mr. G. Guyon has taken it in Richmond Park; Mr. S. Stevens has met with it on Tooting Common, and I have twice found it at Wanstead : it appears to be very rare. 25. Otiorhynchus septentrionis, Herbst. S. Stevens, Proc. Ent. Soc. London, Nov. 6, 1854, Zool. 4564 (1855) ; a single specimen in Mr. S. Stevens's cabinet, taken by Mr. Foxcroft in the summer of 1854 at Rannoch, Perthshire; a second individual in the collection of Mr. J. Curtis, captured in Aberdeenshire, in the summer of the same year, by Mr. Peter Elmslie. Observation. — This is enumerated in my list in last year's Annual, but as the reference to the Zoologist is not only in- complete, but inaccurate, the present is perhaps the readiest mode of setting; matters aright. 26. Bostrichus bispinus (Meg.), Ratzeb. Forst. Insect, i. 155, Tab. XIII., fig. 5(1837). G. Guyon, Zool. 4815 (1855) ; Richmond, Surrey. Bach, in his " Kaferfauna for Nord und Mitteldeutsch- land," p. 129 (1852), observes that he had met with it in pro- digious numbers in the stems and branches of Clematis vitalba (Traveller's Joy) early in December. 27. Scolytus Ratzeburgii. Eccoptogaster nov. spec, S. Stevens, Proc. Ent. Soc. Lond., Oct. 2, 1854; Zool. 4515 (1854). NEW BRITISH SPECIES IN 1855. 87 The insect here alluded to, and of which Mr. Stevens had previously submitted a specimen to me for examination, is, I have no doubt, a species hitherto unrecorded as British : it is nearly allied to the species standing in our cabinets as Scolytus destructor, but otherwise designated on the conti- nent. As the generic title Eccoptogaster was adopted at my suggestion, and as subsequent investigation has convinced me that this name cannot justly be substituted for Scolytus, I seize this opportunity of at once rectifying the error, and at the same time of pointing out the differences which exist between the present species and the Scolytus destructor of British authors and collections, and of endeavouring to disen- tangle the synonymy of the two species. Scolytus, Geoffroy, Hist. Abr. des Ins. i. 309 (1764).* Curtis, Brit. Ent. i., Tab. & Fo. 43 (1824); Steph. Illustr. Mand. iii. 3G1 (1830), Man. Brit. Col. 205 (1839). Bostrichus, pt. Fab. Ent. Syst. i. 2, 364 (1792). Ekkoptog aster, Herbst. Natursyst. v. 125 (1793). Hylcsinus, pt. Fab. Syst. Eleut. ii. 390 (1801). Ips, pt., Marsham, Ent. Brit. i. 51 (1802). Coptogaster, Duft. Faun. Aust. iii. 106(1825). Eccoptoguster, Gyll. Ins. Suec. iii. 346 (1813); Erich. Archiv f. Naturgesch. 1836, i. 58; Ratzeb. Forst. Ins. i. 184 (1837). Scolytus Ratzeburgh. Eccoptogaster Scolytus, Gyll. Ins. Suec. iii. 346 (1813), excl. var. b. Coptogaster scolytus, Duft. Faun. Austr. iii. 106 (1825), excl. var. /3. * Fabricius, nearly half a century subsequent to this [Syst. Eleuth. i. 217(1801)], applied the name of Scolytus to a genus of Geodephagous Coleoptcra, but for which the generic term, Omophron, imposed by La- treille in the following year [Hist. Nat. Crust, et Ins. viii. 278 (1802)], is universally adopted. 88 COLEOPTERA. Eccoptogaster destructor, Erich. Arch. f. Naturgesch, 1836, i. 58, 1 ; Ratzeb. Forst. Ins. i. 186, Tab. X., fig. 1—3 (1837), but not of Olivier. Black, shining. Head deeply strigose, the strigse con- verging anteriorly, the interstices forming acute ridges, of •which one, the central, is more prominent ; thickly, coarsely, and deeply punctured behind and at the sides, clypeus with a broad triangular emargination in front; in the female with a broad shallow depression on the crown, and scantily beset with long depressed fulvous hairs ; in the male the upper surface is excavated throughout its entire length, and thickly clad, more especially towards the sides, with a long erect greenish yellow pubescence. Thorax a little longer than wide, broadest at the base, narrowed in front, rounded at the sides, coarsely and deeply punctate laterally and anteriorly, finely and more sparsely on the disc and posteriorly. Elytra as wide as the thorax, with their sides parallel, the suture depressed throughout its entire length, more strongly so towards the scutellum; the extreme internal apical angle rounded, each with seven rows of deep closely-set punctures, situate in a very shallow stria, and beyond these, at the sides, numerous large, deep, irregularly scattered punctures ; the spaces between the striae are flat and occupied by a single, somewhat disorderly, row of exceedingly minute punctures. Legs black; thighs narrowly, tibiae broadly, pitchy-red at the apex ; tarsi testaceous. Abdomen much depressed, the surface of the second seg- ment nearly perpendicular, very sparingly and rather ob- scurely punctuate, the apical (fifth) segment with a broad deep impression, and with the punctures coarser and a trifle closer. Male with a round glabrous tubercle on the middle of the anterior edge of*the third segment, and the anterior margin of the fourth acute, produced and reflexed and NEW BRITISH SPECIES IX 1855. 89 slightly emarginate in the centre. Female with all the seg- ments entire. This species bears, on a cursory inspection, a very strong resemblance to dark individuals of Scol. destructur, from which, however, it may be readily distinguished by its superior size, its deep shining black colour, its narrower thorax, more parallel elytra, with a single row only of punc- tures on the interstices, arid gaping at their extreme apex, the naked head of the female, the great length of the pubescence on that of the male, the more deeply emarginate clypeus, and especially by the structure and puncturing of the abdo- men— for in Scol. destructur the third and fourth segments have a minute tooth on their anterior margin in both sexes, and the punctures, although fine, are deep and close, parti- cularly on the fifth. I have seen seven specimens of this insect taken by Mr. Weaver from birch stumps, at Rannoch, Perthshire. It occurs sparingly throughout Germany, more fre- quently in mountainous districts, and appears to be confined exclusively to the birch. Ratzeburg first pointed out the distinctive characters of this species, as shown above; but as I am satisfied it is not the insect described and figured by Olivier, I am under the necessity of imposing a new trivial name, which I have selected in accordance with the course usually pursued in similar cases. The synonymy of the allied species appears to me to stand thus: — SCOLYTUS DESTRUCTOR, Oliv. Le Scolyte, Geoffr. Hist. Abr. des Ins. i. 309, Tab. V. fig. 5 (1764). Bostrichus Scolytus, Fab. Ent. Syst. i. 2, 364(1792; Panz. Faun. Ins. Germ. Fas. 15, Tab. 6 (1794). Ekkoptogaster Scolytus, Herbst. Natursyst. v. 125, 1 ; Tab. 49, fig. 1 (1793). 90 COLEOPTERA. Scolytus destructor, Oliv. Ins. iv. 78, 5; Tab. 1, fig. 4 (1795); Curtis, Brit. Ent. i. Tab. and Fo. 43 (1824); Steph. Illustr. Mand. iii. 361, 1 (1830); Man. Brit. Col. 208, 1650 (1839). Hylesinus Scolytus, Fab. Syst. El. ii. 390, 1 (1801). Ips Scolytus, Marsh. Ent. Brit. i. 53, 6 (1802). Eccoptogaster Scolytus, var. b. 1 Gyll. Ins. Suec. iii. 347 (1813). Coptogaster scolytus, var. /3? Duft. Faun. Austr. iii. 107 (1825). Eccoptogaster Scolytus, Erich. Archiv. 1836, i. 58,2; Batzeb. Forst. Ins. i. 185, Tab. X. fig. 4 (1837). Common in the south of England on the elm. 28. Corticaria borealis, Wollaston, T. V. Wollaston, App. to Zool. CCVI (1855); Coast of Durham. The following have been incorrectly given as unrecorded British species. Myrmedoyiia funesta, Grav., Curtis, Proc. Ent. Soc, Lond. January 1st, 1855; Zool. 4603 (1855), is Aleochara funesta, Steph. Illustr. Mand. v. 163,171 (1832\ JPella funesta, Steph. Man. Brit. Col. 355, 2763 (1839). Gymnusa brevicollis, Payk. Curtis, Proc. Ent. Soc, Lond., January 1st, 1855; Zool. 4603 (1855), is given by Mr. Stephens, Illustr. Mand. v. 433, 141 a (1835), under the name of Aleochara carnivora, Grav., and in his Man. Brit. Col. 372, 2930 (1839), where it is said to have been improperly recorded as British. In last year's Annual (1st edit. 90, 2nd edit. 122) I re-introduced it into the list on the authority of Mr. Haliday, Entom. 188, and of Mr. Hardy, Proc. Berwickshire Nat. Club, II., vii. 283. It has since transpired, Proc. Dublin Nat. Hist. Soc, June 2, 1855 ; Nat. Hist. Review, ii. 118, that Mr. Haliday's insect is referable to Gymnusa variegata, Kiesenwetter, Ent. Zeit. Stettin, 6 Jahrg. 1845, 223. Two individuals, captured in Berwickshire, now before me, and which likewise pertain to NEW BRITISH SPECIES IN 1855. 91 variegata, Kies., render it exceedingly probable that Mr. Hardy's specimen is also to be referred to that species. Mr. Curtis's insect is, however, undoubtedly the genuine brevicollis, Payk. Eric. Euryporus picipes, Payk., Curtis, Proc. Ent. Soc, Lond., January 1st, 1855; Zool. p. 4603 (1855), is given by Mr. Stephens, Man. Brit. Col. 389, 3180 (1839), and is repre- sented by Spry and Shuckard, Gen. Brit. Col., del. 17, Tab. 20, 'fig. 6 (1840). The late Mr. Spry informed me that the figure was made from Mr. Curtis's specimen, to which the remarks in the introduction of their work, p. iv. apply. Stenus cemulus, Eric, Curtis, Proc. Ent. Soc, Loud., January 1st, 1855; Zool. p. 4604 (1855), is Stenus nitens, Kirby,MSS.; Leach, Collect.; Steph. Illustr. Mand. v. 300, 57 (1833) ; Man. Brit. Col. 411, 3281 (1839), but not of his Collection, as pointed out by Mr. Waterhouse and myself, Trans. Ent. Soc Lond., n. s., iii. 152 (1855). Stenus vafellusl Erich.; Curtis, Proc. Ent. Soc. Lond., January 1st, 1855; Zool. p. 4604 (1855), is Stetius submar- ginatus, Kirby, MSS. and Collection; Steph. Illustr. Mand. v. 295, 41 (1833); Man. Brit. Col. 414, 3304 (1839), but not of his Cabinet, as noticed by Mr. Waterhouse and myself, Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond., n. s., iii. 149 (1855). I have not embodied in the list " Corticaria cylindrica, Mnhm (?)"; A. H. Haliday, Proc Dublin Nat. Hist. Soc, June 2nd, 1855; Nat. Hist. Review, ii. 119 (1855), as some doubt exists whether it is correctly referred to Mannerheim's species, and further, whether it is specifically distinct from Corticaria borealis, Wollaston, already enu- merated; it is to be hoped that a comparison of specimens will ere long set these doubts at rest. Mr. Curtis has announced the discovery of " a new genus? of Staphylinidce allied to Hypocyptus" reared by 92 NEW BRITISH COLEOPTERA NOTICED IN 1855. him from the flower heads of Anthemis cotula, Proc. Ent. Soc., Lond., January 1st, 1855; Zool. p. 4601 (1855); but he has not. yet published the characters, and the very brief and superficial examination which I was able to bestow on the specimen exhibited, precludes me from saying anything positive respecting it. I think it right, however, to observe that it appeared to me not to differ from Hypocyptus longi- cornis, Payk. Erich. Steph. ( 93 ) NOTES ON ACULEATE HYMENOPTERA, WITH A FEW HINTS ON CAPTURING AND PREPARING SPECIMENS FOR THE CABINET. By Frederick Smith. Having been again requested to furnish an annual report of the progress made during the past season, towards a per- fect knowledge of the Hymenopterous Fauna of Great Britain, I have much pleasure in recording some very satis- factory results, emanating in part from outdoor research, and in part from an increase of knowledge, acquired by a study of the works of fellow labourers in the same fruitful field. The success of the Entomologist at the close of any sea- son's campaign, is by no means, at all times, commensurate with the degree of activity and toil he may have brought to bear towards the attainment of wished-for success; nor can own the most experienced Entomologist always account for the great amount of his success, or find any satisfactory cause to which he can assign the destruction of the air-built castles which his fancy had erected. The past is the twenty-first season of my collecting the aculeate Hymenoptera ; I look back in vain to find its 94 NOTES ON ACULEATE HYMENOPTERA. parallel in the scarcity of almost the whole aculeate tribe; in my experience, no spring produced so few individuals of the family Andrenidce ; spots where these bees usually abound, at their appointed time, were searched in vain ; and favourite haunts of some of the wood-boring tribes appeared as if deserted by their usual inhabitants ; fields, painted with flowers, seemed to have lost their attractions. A greater paucity of those species, which usually abound in autumn, perhaps is unrecorded ; even a wasp with me has proved a rarity ; two figures will sum up the entire number which I observed during the season. On inquiry, I learn that some persons have observed wasps' nests, I have seen but one ; and during a residence of three weeks on the south-east coast, I did not meet with a dozen of these autumnal ma- rauders. The Bombi appeared in very diminished numbers when compared with the season of 1854. The only family, as far as my observation enabled me to estimate, which ap- peared in increased or unusual abundance, was that of the Formicidce ; such were their numbers, in some situations, that they reigned over them in undisputed sway; this was the case on a calm, gloomy, sultry day in the third week of September. Being at Dover, I attempted, accompanied by my family, not only to ascend the celebrated Shakspear's Cliff, but also to take some needful rest when that object was attained ; but vain were all attempts to do so, clouds of winged Myrmicidce occupied the summit, and after endur- ing for some time, with that becoming enthusiasm which ought to animate every fellow-countryman of the immortal bard, we effected a rapid descent, freeing ourselves, as best we might, from the stinging hosts of My r mica scabrinodis. Great as were the numbers of the Myrmicidce, — for in point of fact the hosts were composed of more than one species, Myrmica Icevinodis being also observed in some abundance, — they were surpassed by the countless myriads NOTES ON ACULEATE HYMENOPTERA. 95 of Formica nigra, which hung like a cloud over the cliffs to the east of the town; thousands upon thousands of these were floating on the sea ; in some places, in dark masses, four or five yards in length and breadth, whilst a marginal line, of dead and dying individuals, extended nearly a mile along the shore. A record of the unusual scarcity or abundance of the insect tribe appears to form a legitimate and necessary part of an annual record; the capture of species of great interest or rarity will, to the philosophical student, appear of se- condary interest ; and doubtless my coadjutors in the pro- duction of the Entomologist's Annual, will have to record the reverse of the picture which I have endeavoured to pourtray ; for I believe it always happens, or rather it is an undeviating law, that a season unproductive of one portion of insect life, is adapted to the production of another, in unusual abundance. It only remains to be remarked, that the observation of an individval, in a limited area, may not admit of general application, and observers in other dis- tricts will perhaps have to make known an abundance and a success, the reverse of my own experience. It is one of the disadvantages under which the Hymenop- tcrist labours in this country, that the number of students are so limited ; this seems truly surprising, since it must be ad- mitted, that the most generally attractive and the most re- markable records in the history of insect life are to be found in the works of Reaumur, the Hubers, Latreille and Kirby and Spence, upon the order Hymenoptera. The small number of Hymenopterists also operates greatly against the chance of his acquiring novelties from working collectors, who visit remote or little frequented parts of the country. Not a season passes in which, through the exertions of these men, the Coleopterist and Lepidopterist do not add species new to the English Fauna, and not unfrequently species even 96 NOTES ON ACULEATE HYMENOPTERA. new to science. Notwithstanding these disadvantages, which have hitherto operated so prejudicially, it is cheering to re- cord that since the publication of last year's Annual the num- ber of students in t> his department has increased, and it is to one of the youngest labourers in this interesting field that I am indebted for the first insect with which I commence the list of recent discoveries. In my Essay on the British Formicidce, I described a species of the Genus Tapinoma, of Foerster; this insect was previously unknown as British, the sexes described were the worker and male. During the past season Mr. Frederick Grant, jun., discovered two nests of Tapinoma erratica ; to him I am indebted for a number of examples of the worker and the only two females which he captured. Mr. Grant left this country too early in the season to procure the winged individuals from the formi- carium; one of the colonies was found in Coomb Wood, the other at Weybridge, Surrey ; this shows that the species is scattered and only wants hunting for. I confidently an- ticipate the discovery of several of the species of Formicidce found abundantly on the Continent, and very widely dis- tributed. On the last occasion of Mr. Grant's visiting the colony of Tapinoma, at Coomb Wood, the males and females were in the pupa state, spun up in silken cocoons. Myrmica Icevinodis I found in great abundance at Deal, and along the coast at different points between that place and Dover ; at the latter it was very plentiful ; Mr. Baly found it at Folkestone : it appears to be quite as abundant as 31, scabrinodes along the south-eastern coast ; it has not, to my knowledge, occurred in the vicinity of the metropolis. PompUus ruP'pes; this beautiful insect is not uncommon at Deal during the month of September. I captured not only the varieties mentioned in Shuckard's Essay, but also examples, with all the legs black, and the usual white spots entirely wanting on the abdomen ; the latter variety occurs NOTES OX ACULEATE HYMEXOPTERA. 97 in the males. The first pair of white spots at the base of the second segment are, however, frequently obliterated in the females; in these individuals the posterior legs are some- times entirely black. Pompilus pectinipes. This hitherto rare species is not uncommon at Deal ; the female only was known when Shuckard described the species under the name of P. crus- sicornis. Both sexes are very much like those of P. gibbus, the female being principally distinguished by the thickness of the antenna} ; but possessing a series, other characters present themselves, — the metathorax has a less deeply im- pressed central channel, is Jess abruptly truncated, and is always covered with a fine silky pile. The male has the antennae proportionally longer than the same sex of P. gibbus, and they are even more incrassate than in the female. Pompilus variabilis. I discovered an example of this species mixed up with the series of P. rufipes in the collec- tion at the British Museum ; the label attached bears a number in red ink, forming part of a series of Hymenoptera, I believe from South Wales. This I think highly probable, it being a most abundant insect in most parts of Europe. It occurs in Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Saxony, Sweden and Denmark. I have therefore little doubt that future captures will confirm my opinion of its being an in- digenous insect. Pompilus notatvs. We are indebted to Wesmael for pointing out good and distinctive characters whereby to dis- tinguish this species from P. exaltatus, which at first sight it greatly resembles. Wesmael is the only Entomologist who has described the female. I captured a single example of this sex at Deal, last September ; there is also one in the British Cabinet at the British Museum. The most obvious distinction between the two species is, that that part of the externo-medial nervure which crosses the base of the first 1856 f 98 NOTES ON ACULEATE HYMENOPTERA. sub-marginal and second discoidal cells, in P. notatus, forms a slightly bent arch ; in P. exaltatus that portion of the nervure forms a double arch ; or, one across the base of each cell. It is quite probable that P. notatus exists in British collections, mixed with P. exaltatus. The above character will serve to separate them. Ammophiia lutaria. This rare or very local species is to be met with at Deal. I captured both sexes there last Sep- tember. Astata stigma. In the year 1846 I captured a single spe- cimen of the female of this species ; since that time I was unable to discover a second example; last September, I took another female at Deal. August is the month, during which our other British species is usually to be found — the Astata boops. In all probability A. stigma will be captured at Deal during that month in some ensuing season ; the spot where the first example was found at Weybridge is now a plantation of fir trees. Oxybelus ferox. I received some specimens of Oxybelus mucronatus from France. The O. ferox, Shuck., proves to be the male of that species, with which the 0. argentatus, of Curtis, is also synonymous; this not only appears evident on a comparison of specimens, but the detailed and accurate descriptions of Dahlbom and Wesmael confirm it. Crabro lituratus, Panz. I took a specimen of this species at Deal, last September, also one of Crabro sex-cinctus, Fabr. ; the former is a female, the latter a male ; I have hitherto regarded the C. sex-cinctus as a variety of the male of C. cephalotes; and in a Catalogue, published in 1851, I reduced C. cephalotes to a synonyme; my recent captures induce me to consider this an error; indeed I am further led to adopt this opinion, having since that period received M. WesmaePs valuable Essay from the author, in which he indicates my present opinion. NOTES ON ACULEATE HYMEXOPTERA. 99 Trypoxylon aurifrons, Shuck. This species proves to be a Brazilian insect, Mr. H. W. Bates has taken several speci- mens at Santarem. Mimesa Dahlbomi, Wesm. This species has not hitherto been recorded as a British insect ; it closely resembles the M. unicolor of Vanderlinden, but it is at once distinguished by the form of the apical segment of the abdomen, which, above, forms an elongated triangle margined at the sides, very smooth and shining, and with a few scattered punctures ; in M. unicolor it is cylindric, and not margined at the sides. I discovered a specimen amongst the series of 31. unicolor in the Stephensian Collection ; I have little doubt it will be found in plenty, if the black species of the Crabronidce are diligently collected. Nomada borealis. I described this species in the Zoolo- gist under the name Nomada inquilina, not being aware that it had been previously named by Zetterstedt; the description of that author is very decisive as to the identity of our spe- cies, but all doubts have been removed by Dr. Nylander's sending me specimens of the Lapland insect. In the London district the species appears to be rare ; eight or ten years ago I took half a dozen at Hampstead, and one or two of what I had little doubt was the male ; since that time I lost sight of it until the present season, when I captured a single specimen. In the north it proves to be abundant; Mr. Bold and also Mr. Wailes, of Newcastle, have this year taken it in plenty. Bombus lapidarius. There are few species of our humble- bees so abundant as this insect, it is plentiful in all parts of the kingdom ; at Southend it abounds. During the twenty years that I have collected the Bombi and investigated their habits, I have not met with more than twenty couples in coitu, and I never observed this in B. lapidarius until the present season, when I obtained a pair at Deal ; the f2 100 XOTES OX ACULEATE HYMEXOPTEEA. male is the one usually assigned to the species by all authors ; Kirby once observed the male entering the nest ; no doubt was entertained upon the subject, but such records have their value, they confirm previous opinion and place the matter beyond a doubt. On examining the serie« of specimens of Cerceris sabulosa I was much pleased to discover four examples from Devon- shire, presented to the Museum by Dr. Leach, numbered by himself, and agreeing with the List entered in the Register; these specimens prove to be a species new to Britain— Cer- ceris emarginata — & species which occurs in France and Germany. Little more remains to be added on the score of novelties, except to record the capture of a male of Tentliredo cingulata. I am acquainted with no species of the genus Tentliredo which is usually more abundant than T. cingulata ; when the fern shoots up a few inches above ground, this insect may be ob- served settling on the young plants ; capture some — they are all females! I have swept large tracts of ground where the insect abounded, scores have fallen into my net, all females ! What are the habits of the males and where are they to be found ? This question has presented itself to me many a time ; I have hunted for them before the young fern was an inch above ground, when not a female could be found; a little later — when the females abounded; and again, when they had disappeared ; I have sought adjoining localities, hoping to find the males attracted by flowers, all was vain research, year after year. Tn the beginning of last May, I took a single example of the male, at Southgate, settling on the young fern-heads. Is it, that this sex is as one to a thousand females? I have almost been led to entertain an opinion similar to that which at present exists respecting the genus Cynips : Cynips has no males ! The same opinion may almost be pardoned should it be promulgated of Tentliredo NOTES OX ACULEATE HYMENOPTERA. 101 cincjulata; during a diligent search of twenty years, I cap- tured one! I am not prepared to deny the above position, but I cannot accept it without some doubt ; I am prepared to take another course, that is, to test it ; the result I hope to make known on a future occasion. 102 INSTRUCTIONS IN COLLECTING INSTRUCTIONS IN COLLECTING THE ACULEATE HYMENOPTERA. By Frederick Smith. It has been suggested to me that a few words of advice upon this subject would be acceptable. My own method I am most willing to make known ; but it is always best in these matters to begin at the beginning ; this is left out of the re- quest which lies before me — " First catch your hare :" this suggests the important question, Where shall I find one ? a very important item, and upon the attainment of such know- ledge greatly depends the success of the Hymenopterist. " Where there are flowers, there will be bees :" to this, as a general rule, I assent ; but it is not to these situations I would lead the young Hymenopterist. If while collecting it is your aim to acquire a knowledge of the species, seek for the habitations of the bees. In spring the Andrenidce are the first that appear; at this season search care- fully sandy banks, hedge rows and sunny slopes ; the little hillocks turned up by the bees on issuing forth from their hybernaculum cannot escape your notice : for some days, males only will be observed, these will in all probability be found on the nearest flowers, if not observed on their first issuing from the burrows ; revisit such spots a few days after securing the males, and in all probability the females will be obtained; great care should be taken to attach some mark THE ACULEATE HYMENOPTERA. 103 whereby all chance of mistake may be obviated ; it is of course advisable in some cases to dig out the females when the males are seen hovering about the fresh turned hillocks. It is only by carefully observing colonies of the different species, that a knowledge of their parasites can be obtained. Great numbers of Andrenidce will be found on Sallow cat- kins, particularly males, but by these means nothing is learnt ; a multitude of specimens will be accumulated, but no know- ledge of the species acquired: by practising the method above recommended of searching for the colonies of bees, and there securing the sexes, immense advantage will be ob- tained and the labour of naming the species reduced by at least one-half. Of one or two genera of the Andrenidce, the young col- lector may spare himself the trouble of looking for more than one sex in the spring ; these are Sphecodes and Ha- lictus; of these, the females only will be found until the end of summer and during the autumn, when the males will be found in plenty, and will continue to be so even after the other sex has passed away ; for the history of these bees I must refer the student to my book on the Bees of Great Britain. I would recommend, as regards the wood-boring bees, to notice situations where they are plentiful, forming their nests in posts, rails, &;c. ; the following spring it is ad- visable to procure portions of such wood as they have bur- rowed into — this secures the certainty of obtaining the sexes of the species, and of such parasites as they may be infested by. The same plans which I recommend for adoption in collecting bees, will also apply to the Fossorial tribe, but in some respects the time for capturing the rarer species is dif- ferent; bees should be looked for betimes in the morning, between the hours of eight and twelve, and this, when the weather is moist and calm ; a west, or south-west wind, is most desirable. Some of the fossorial genera, Metlioca, J fust ilia, 104 INSTRUCTIONS IN COLLECTING Tachytes and Astata, are truly lovers of sunshine ; and are to be found only, when the heat of the sun is so great that bees retreat to shady spots, or retire to their burrows until the heat of midday is past ; many of the species are difficult to secure, their flight is a dart, and nothing hut practice, a quick eye, and a steady hand, can make sure of them. When your hunting-ground is not at too great a distance, walk to it; much may frequently be picked up by the way ; it also obviates a very tormenting uncertainty, sure to befall the railway traveller on the way to his field of action ; railway banks are frequently covered with flowers, and as surely thev are frequented by insects : who has not caught sight of magnificent new species as he was whisked along in the train — without the possibility of clearing up the uncertainty by stopping a moment to capture the treasure? but let every one thank his stars that he lives in railway times, when the New Forest is to be reached, from London, by the time one can raise one's eyes from the attractive pages of a single number of " The Newcomes." With these few hints as to the time when, and the place where, certain genera are to be found, I must hasten to give a few words of advice, how to capture Hymenopterous insects, and how to prepare them for cabinet specimens. The only net really necessary is a bag-net, sugar-loaf shaped, made of fine white net, green gauze is frequently used, I have long discarded it— many of the rare minute black species are sure to be lost by the use of it ; in a white net nothing escapes the eye, therefore never use a green one. The net should be attached to an iron folding-ring, such as is used for a landing-net ; the thinner the better, that is to say, have it filed down between the joints to give it lightness ; Messrs. Downie and Foxcroft both know how to make them ; never have a net of this kind fixed to the stick or handle by a screw j if you do, depend upon it, it will twist round pre- THE ACULEATE HYMENOPTERA. 105 cisely at the moment when you feel secure of your game and are striking at it ; my ring has an oblong piece, filed square at the sides, which drops into a brass-socket at the end of the stick, and is secured by a spring with a short pin at the end, which drops into the square piece at the side of the ring ; this is secure and never fails to answer the purpose. Generally speaking, I do not recommend the use of bruised laurel in a bottle, with blotting-paper to absorb the superfluous moisture; but for some species, and on some oc- casions, it is desirable and indispensable. Never put Humble-bees, or any pubescent Hymenoptera, in bottles of laurel, ten to one all your day's collecting will be entirely spoilt; the beautiful pubescence of these insects gets wetted and matted together, then the specimens are use- less. Always carry a good supply of pill-boxes, and never put more than a single insect in one box. After the day's collecting, kill the insects with sulphur; the best way is to open the boxes a little on one side, by sticking the lid on obliquely; then pile up a number and place a bell-glass over them, take a little powdered sulphur on a flat piece of stick, light it and nut it under the edge of the glass ; it is desirable © i D D ' to repeat this a second time, at an interval of an hour or so ; then leave them until the next morning, when they will be in capital condition for setting. A well set bee is a beautiful object, it is then fitted for the cabinet, or for the purposes of examination or description; every part of it can then be seen ; of each species it is very desirable to extract, when specimens are plentiful, or if rare, to push forward, the tongue, so that this important organ may be carefully examined, and the genus to which it be- longs ascertained; this applies more particularly to the bees; the determination of the genera of the fossorial tribe has hitherto been principally determined by the neuration of the wings. The best method of setting a bee, in my opinion, is f 5 106 INSTRUCTIONS IN COLLECTING as follows : run a pin through the thorax, in the middle be- tween the wings, then take a setting-board covered with cork, not too thinly, if half an inch thick so much the better ; run the pin into the cork until the breast of the bee nearly touches it, then, with a needle or fine pair of forceps, arrange the legs in a natural manner ; on each side of the bee, place a table-brace on a level with the wings, the table-brace is to be made of thick card-board, cut into an oblong form, a pin being stuck through one end, so that the card stands in an horizontal position, table-wise ; on these tables the wings must be spread with care, each pair being united at their edge by the minute hooks which secure them naturally; having placed them in a natural, or we may say, flying posi- tion, they are to be so secured by another pair of braces, ■which must be securely pressed upon them. A little prac- tice will soon overcome all difficulties: a collection well set, in the manner pointed out (I hope intelligibly), is worth a pilgrimage to look at. It will be found impossible sometimes, when visiting localities for a few days, to set insects; in these cases I use the laurel bottle to keep my specimens in after being killed ; I usually prefer placing a few in different pill boxes, and drop them into a wide-mouthed bottle, one-third filled with bruised laurel ; if left in it for a few days they will set toler- ably well ; but such specimens are apt to relax, particularly in damp weather; when practicable, always collect in pill boxes and kill with sulphur. If I have omitted anything which it would be desirable to communicate, it is in the fear that I have already been too prolix; I shall therefore conclude with a few words on the supposed danger to which the Hymenopterist is exposed from the stings of his favourites ; with a little practice in the handling of Bees and Wasps, it is an easy matter to cap- ture any of them without the least chance of being stung; THE ACULEATE HYMENOPTERA. 107 nine-tenths of my captures are made with the fingers; when unlucky enough to be stung, I find the best cure is made by wettino- the spot and rubbing it well with a little salt; if the wound is on the hand, no better way can be adopted than that of well sucking the part, the pain will soon be over. ( 108 ) RESULTS OF A RESIDENCE AT FOCHABERS By John Scott. It was in the early part of last year that I wrote to Mr. Stainton and some few other of my correspondents of my intended visit to this place for some time on " pressing busi- ness." This of course brought in a host of" wish-you-may- be-successfuls" — " new era in Entomology" — " glad to learn something of a new locality" — " do you take fossores, bees, ichneumons, spiders, aphides," &c, &c. ? and had I been a very giant in the science, and with no other thing to attend to, my kind friends had cut out as much work for me daily as would have served from sunrise till long after the setting of that luminary ; not but that I wished to serve them all — but I could not. The time came for my starting, and at last found me " settled down" in a railway carriage, in which I spent eight hours in a great many ways, concluding the whole by going to sleep. About five o'clock in the morn- ing the guard awoke me with a shake — " Aberdeen, Sir ! " A sudden start, a yawn, a hasty gathering of rugs and other traps, luggage cared for, and all the paraphernalia requisite for a few months stay stowed on and in a crazy cab, and I was jolted away to the " Royal," there to " hang out " for two hours, until the "Defiance, fast four-horse coach," should start for Fochabers. I was shown into the commercial room RESULTS OF A RESIDENCE AT FOCHABERS. 109 of course, and what a cold look it had that spring morning ! No fire, except a single gaslight just turned on, by which you might discern through the dimness that the walls were ornamented with sea views, landscapes, medallions of painters and a huge Britannia, her anchor and lion enjoying the space over the mantelpiece. To go to bed was out of the question, so I threw myself down on a sofa all of a shiver, and I re- member, whilst I lay half asleep, opening my eyes very wide and wondering whether Britannia had crept therefor warmth. Rembrandt, Jameson, Titian, Paul Veronese, Volterra (at least they were named thus),and several others, seemed to have their eyes all directed to where she was seated, no doubt longing to be of the party, especially poor Wilkie, who looked "very blue" from cold. But I dozed off amidst confused ideas of having Britannia opposite to me enjoying the luxury of a first-class carriage, some of the painters taking out a ticket for the lion, and two or three others making sundry futile attempts to dispose of the anchor. I am sure I had not been as I thought more than ten minutes asleep, until another shake, and a voice announced to me my time was up. I mounted the roof — the horn sounded — and after seven hours " heavy work" I was set down at the " Gordon Arms." What a conspicuous part this sign plays throughout the whole of this district ; scarcely a town or village but has its " Gordon Arms," and that of course leads to the 92nd Highlanders. There is Mr. So-and-So, vintner, late of that regiment — perhaps a piper. What a beautiful piece of country surrounds this clean but quaint looking village. Were it not for the mountains up the Strath one might fancy oneself in the very heart of " merrie England." The mountains are a long distance off, and the interval is filled up, not with great heaths, things of such common occurrence in the north, but with richly cul- 110 RESULTS OF A RESIDENCE AT FOCHABERS. tivated land. Looking up the Strath from the west end of the village, the view being bounded by the river Spey on the south side, the eye first rests upon a piece of table-land nearly encircled by a belt of trees. Thife belt is about two miles distant, and from that point until the view is abruptly choked by a huge mountain, the ground gradually rises, ex- posing as beautiful and varied a piece of country as we could see anywhere, its face bedecked with cottages and steadings occasionally set in a clump of trees. These start forth, now here, now there, until they become mere specks in the dis- tance— now they are lost altogether, and the only evidence whereby they are to be detected is the pale smoke resting amongst the foliage in which they are buried. Then again further up this rising ground, now becoming part of the mountain, such singular gaps are made in the woods which cover it, and these gaps were crowned with corn — waving, waving on, like a mimic sea — now dark — now light, then dark again. Then between these mountains to the left runs the Spey, and at intervals up and down its shores may be seen groups of men, each group comprising seven, engaged in salmon fishing. Now they walk in single file and drag after them- up the water, a boat; now the net is cast off, and now they are all anxiety to haul it to land. A rap on the head is the reward of each fish floundering about in the net, which are then thrown on shore. The net is next gathered into the boat and the same process goes on by day and night for the few months that the fishing lasts. This is one of the most rapid flowing rivers to be found anywhere. It rushes clown in its quiet moments at a sort of mail-coach pace (the descent in the last five miles being about seventy feet) ; and as its bed is composed of a very coarse loose gravel, it keeps continually on the move, and in many places has turned the windings at right angles to each other. It is not navigable, upward at any rate, but large rafts of home-grown timber RESULTS OF A RESIDENCE AT FOCHABERS. Ill come down it some sixty miles or so ; and to see these rafts chasing each other down, one is very easily reminded of Cooper's novels, emigration, Henry Russell's lectures, and American life in all its phases. Then as we look eastward through the village, a hill heavily crowned with Scotch fir also completely blocks the view ; and so black and dark this hill always looked to me, even in brightest sunshine, that it cast quite a melancholy over the scene ;* and if we wander round its base by the great north road, we observe a great yawning distorted rift entirely dividing the hills, and down it in rainy seasons the wTater rushes rapidly, discharging itself into the Spey. This is called the Burn of Fochabers ; and as we still wander on, in all directions is to be seen these curious zigzag rifts ter- minating in the first named one. The sections show that these rifts are composed of red sand and pebbles, — a kind of uncemented conglomerate. "When the sun shines full upon them they produce a very brilliant effect, and the fore- shortening of shadows give to the places over which they fall a strange and undefinable appearance. It had quite a charm for me to get up here of an evening and watch the clouds veil the shadows, now thrusting themselves down into the lowest crevices — in an instant at the top of them, and then as suddenly bounding away and spreading out as they receded until they topped the hills and disappeared altogether. Happiness seemed to have her throne here — everything was so peaceful ; and that strange sensation which creeps over * In the wood which covers this hill are two or three large patches of a scarce plant (Linnaa borealis). I searched very carefully for larvae upon it, but without meeting with any ; still it is my conviction, that some- thing good might be detected feeding upon it. These patches are not easily found, and I cannot describe their exact position here ; but I be- lieve, were any one visiting this place and asking Mr. Webster (men- tioned at p. 113), he would have much pleasure in directing him to them. He is exceedingly kind and obliging. 112 RESULTS OF A RESIDENCE AT FOCHABERS. every one who gets lost in his contemplation of the sublime was ever present — That undefined and mingled hum, Voice of the desert, never dumb, stealing over all, now loader, now softer, and just as we think it dying away altogether, it bursts forth again with such a swell that he must indeed walk inconsiderately who does not listen in mute wonder. For yards round the tops of the trees we may hear and see the merry throng of gnats, they are so numerous. Then the grasshopper chirrups forth its part. Some wandering Bombus too sweeps by with deeper note, and deeper still a Stercorarius completes the harmony. And — " Whether we look, or whether we listen, We hear life murmur or see it glisten : Every clod feels a stir of might, An instinct within it that reaches and towers, And, grasping blindly above it for light, Climbs to a soul in grass and flowers. The cowslip startles in meadows green, The buttercup catches the sun in its chalice, And there's never a leaf or a blade too mean To be some happy creature's palace." My time for Entomologising was so limited, that I worked this locality but very indifferently, nor could I round about find any one who had done anything towards its natural history in this branch. I am quite satisfied, however, that, patience and care bestowed rightly in this district, it would be found to rank with Rannoch. Amongst my captures I enumerate a few of the scarcer species. jPcecilocampa Populi. Larvae very abundant on alders in May. Phragmatobia fuliginosa. Larvae common in April ; imago in May. RESULTS OF A RESIDENCE AT FOCHABERS. 113 Ceropacha flavicornis. On trunks and branches of trees, March. Triphcena orhona. A curious variety, the pupa of which found by me beneath a stone at the side of Fochabers Burn. See " Zoologist," p. 4674. Noctaa clepuncta. A single specimen beat from a tree on the grounds of Gordon Castle. Chersotis agathina. Pupa beneath the same stone as T. orhona. Spcelotis prcecox. Plentiful on wall leading to the bridge; August. Trachea piniperda. Scarce. Hadena uEthiops. Common on walls and fences. Pyrausta cingulalu. Common; July. Hydrocampa pototnogalis. Very abundant ; July. Macaria lituraria. Common ; June. JBiston betularia. A single example ; June. Peronea Caledoniana. Common ; August. Retinia duplana, Hub. (see ante, p. 34). I was first led to observe this species from a pupa brought me on 21st of April by Mr. Webster, the Duke of Richmond's gardener. It was made in the heart of a bud of Scotch fir; the perfect insect came forth 7th of May. I afterwards beat it out of fir trees. Retinia resinana. A single specimen beat from firs. Mixodia palustrana. Plentiful; May. Micropteryx purparella j unimaculella f Common on palings, near Sparmanella ( birches, in April. subpurpurella ) Gelechia Hubneri. A single specimen, on the bridge fence ; April. Tinagma resplendellum. Two specimens, at rest on the 114 RESULTS OF A RESIDENCE AT FOCHABERS. leaves of the Carex, in which were the larvae of E. KihnuneUa ; June. Gracilaria elongella. Abundant in April. tringipennella. Larva very common on Plant ago lanceolata, in April. Coriscium sulphur ellum. A single specimen on the trunk of an elm; April. Coleophora viminetella. Larvae abundant on Myrica Gale, in June. Chauliodus Chcerophyllellus. Exceedingly common in the larva state in July. Argyresthia conjugella. Bred from larvae in mountain- ash berries. See ante, p. 54. Lithocolletis Vacciniella. For a description see Entomo- logist's Annual for 1855, 2nd edit., p. 70. Aucupariella, n. s. Bred freely from moun- tain-ash leaves, in July. Frolichiella. Common amongst alders, — bred from alder leaves. DunningieUa. Common amongst alders. Stettinensis. Common amongst alders, in April. Klemannella. Common amongst alders, in April. Chrysoclista SchranckeUa. Common in the larva state in May. ElacMsta KihnuneUa. For a description of its habits, &c, see Entomologist's Annual for 1855, 2nd edit., p. 78. zonariella. Larva common in Aira ccespitosa, in July, in a quarry on Dipple Farm. ( 115 ) ON THE OBJECTS OF A COLLECTION OF INSECTS. By John Lubbock. The present has been called the age of insects ; this century at least might be called the age of collections of insects, and not of insects only, for we have collections of almost every- thing, of shells and stuffed birds, of ferns and flowers, of grasses and coins, of autographs and old china, of Assyrian marbles and even of postage stamps. Mr. Darwin once ex- pressed to me his surprise that he had never met with any one who collected odd-shaped biscuits ; and though the idea seems at first sight quite ludicrous, yet a collection of the biscuits of different nations would possess many more points of interest than can be found in postage stamps. I do not wish to underrate collections. I am quite aware that without them, there could be no more Entomology, than there could be science without books ; but, on the other hand, a collection of insects which is not studied is of as little real use as books which are not read. I do not think these remarks will be considered uncalled for ; undoubtedly the popular idea of an Entomologist is a person who collects and not one who studies insects. Indeed few seem to consider that there can be anything to study in these little animals. A small Geneva watch is considered interesting, because the machinery is so delicate ; but what shall we say then of a beetle, which, though no larger than 116 ON THE OBJECTS OF A COLLECTION OF INSECTS. a pin's head, can see, taste, touch and probably hear (which may possibly enjoy a sense of the very nature of which we know nothing) — which having eaten a little sugar turns it into chitine, blood and nerves, to say nothing of four wings, six legs, many hundred muscles and several thousand eyes, and which, more than all, produces a number of little balls, each of which will in due time, after various changes, pro- duce a beetle like the first ? This, forsooth, is interesting no doubt to " collectors," but unworthy of the notice of sensible people because the insect is so small ! Perhaps, however, even Entomologists themselves have given too much time to collecting, and paid too little atten- tion to the habits, anatomy and physiology of insects. I find that in the last four volumes of the Transactions of the Entomological Society, 818 pages are devoted solely to descriptions of species and genera, while all the other de- partments of the science occupy only 244, of which 208 treat of the habits of insects, and there is not a single paper on physiology or internal anatomy. This must not be considered as an epitome of all that our Entomologists have done in the last thirteen years. Some of the most interesting Ento- mological papers, those of Newport for instance, have been published in the Philosophical Transactions, or in other works. This want of attention to the habits, anatomy and phy- siology of insects, is the more to be regretted, because I fear we must confess that to make collections the end, instead of the means, to collect merely for the sake of collecting, has a direct tendency to narrow the mind. To aspire only to be able to say that one has in one's cabinet a certain number of species, or some rare sorts which nobody else possesses, is surely an ambition quite unworthy of a true Entomologist. Yet without collections there could be very little Ento- mology ; the comparative anatomist, the physiologist or the OX THE OBJECTS OF A COLLECTION OF IXSECTS. 117 field naturalist, equally requires them to refer to, that he mav know the name of the animal he studies, and so be able to ""ive to others the benefit of his observations. Some nearly o * allied species so closely resemble one another, that without specimens it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to distinguish them ; others again, whether from an inherent tendency to "sport," or from the influence of external cir- cumstances, vary so much in different examples that, without comparing a series of specimens, the more extreme forms of one and the same species would often be described as dif- ferent species, or even placed in different genera, as has been too often the case. To describe species so that they may be recognised by other observers, is an art much more difficult than would a priori be expected ; for it must be remembered that to distinguish them from the old species is not sufficient — they ought to be so described that they may be known from those also that will afterwards be discovered ; and it is much to be wished that every describer of a new species would deposit one or more specimens in the British Museum and the cabinet of the Entomological Society. If this had been always done many mistakes and much confusion would have been avoided. Collecting, however, even if we proceed no further, has of itself some good effects upon the mind, which must not be undervalued. The close and accurate observation of Nature most forcibly induces that frame of mind so beautifully de- scribed by Shakspeare, in which we are disposed to find — " Books in the running brooks, Sermons in stones, and good in everything." To those who take no interest in science it would be diffi- cult to explain the feeling with which a Geologist regards a rock, a Botanist a flower, or an Entomologist an insect: it is something quite peculiar, and can only be understood and 118 ON THE OBJECTS OF A COLLECTION OF INSECTS. appreciated by those who have passed from ignorance to knowledge, and have felt how immeasurably their enjoyment of life has been heightened, as they have become better able to appreciate the wonderful works of God. The connexion between different sciences is always very interesting, and that between Zoology, Physical Geography and Geology is no exception to the rule. Lists of species have long been used as excellent tests of the age of deposits found in different parts of the world, and the labours of Professor Edward Forbes have made known to us that interesting evidence on the geography of ancient times may be obtained in the same way from a careful examination of lists of species. In his paper on the " Geological Relations of the existing Fauna and Flora of the British Isles," he shows that out of sixty-five species of testaceous molluscs which are common to the coasts of the United States and of Europe, fifty-one are known as glacial fossils. Of the re- maining fourteen, two are pelagic wandering mollusca ; one Teredo Navalis is carried about in floating wood, two are small species living in stony ground, near high-water mark, and therefore not likely to be found fossil : three are Chitons, which fall to pieces soon after death, two are doubt- ful, and the other four may very probably yet be found fossil. The inference which Professor Forbes draws from these facts is, that "not a single littoral or coast-inhabiting mollusc has found its way across the Atlantic, in either direction, since that ancient time, anterior to all human records, and probably long anterior to the appearance of man on our earth, when an Arctic Sea, inhabited by a limited and uniform fauna, extended from the then western coasts of Siberia into the heart of North America, and southwards in Europe to the parallel of the Severn, and in America to near that of the Ohio There could not then have been such a separating abyss between Northern OX THE OBJECTS OF A COLLECTIOX OF INSECTS. 119 Europe and Boreal America as now divides them ; the sea, through a great part, must have been a shallow sea, and somewhere, probably far to the north, there must have been either a connexion or such a proximity of land as would ac- count for the transmission of a non-migratory terrestrial and a littoral marine flora." This does not strictly apply to Entomology, but it has long been known that the summits of various mountains in Europe, which agree in the vegetation, have also certain in- sects in common which are not found in the surrounding: countries. The fact of a very cold period having immedi- ately preceded the present, offers us apparently an explanation of the fact, which, again, on the other hand, may be con- sidered to give us additional evidence of the truth of the theory. For it is clear, that if the temperature of the plains were then much lower than it is now, the little creatures in question may have peopled the whole country, while, as the climate grew gradually milder, they were driven up by de- grees, until at length they only remained on the summits where we now find them. So far all is very clear and satisfactory ; but another ex- planation of the fact may be given. Thus Mr. Newman writes me word that, " Helobia nivalis ? brevicollis, " Agabus Snowdonius ? bipustulatus, " Leistus montanus ? fulvibarbis, " Steropus iEthiops ? madidus, " Patrobusseptentrionis? rufipes, " and others, occur on the summits of Snowden, Helvel- lyn, Ben Nevis, and other mountains ; but some eminent Coleopterists regard these mountain insects as merely de- pauperated forms of the commoner species whose names I have placed in juxtaposition : certain it is that the Alpine species never exists on the summit unless the corresponding 1*20 ON THE OBJECTS OF A COLLECTION OF INSECTS. Agrarian species, which in every case is most familiar, abounds on the ascent and especially in the valleys." This is not the place to investigate the question, but I have indicated it as one which can only be decided by a careful examination of a series of specimens judiciously collected. Mr. Wollaston in his excellent work, which cannot be too highly praised, on the Insects of Madeira, informs us, that out of four hundred and eighty-two species of Coleop- tera occurring in that group of islands, two hundred and one are also found in Europe. To account for this we must suppose one of two things, either that the two hundred and one species of insects have been introduced by accident, as by man or by winds, or some similar cause ; or else that these species have been in existence ever since the time when Madeira formed part of the great continent. The latter supposition will certainly be preferred by all who have studied the great changes which have taken place in the distribution of sea and land even in the most recent geolo- gical period. Similar reasoning will hereafter afford us curious evidence of the relative antiquity of different species and of former geography, but it is extremely difficult and must be used with the greatest caution. For if the immense number of the species of insects has hitherto prevented Entomology from bearing much fruit of this nature, it, on the other hand, holds out the promise of an abundant harvest in future ; and, when we shall have cor- rect and complete lists of the insects of different countries, the results cannot fail to be extremely interesting. The collections of insects now being formed are great storehouses of facts, which ere long some future Humboldt or Edward Forbes will turn to good account, and from which he will perhaps draw conclusions, the nature of which we cannot at present conjecture. OX THE OBJECTS OF A COLLECTION OF INSECTS. 121 It must, however, be remembered that such reasoning assumes as an undoubted fact that each species had a single centre of creation from which it has radiated. But, although Professor Forbes takes this for granted, it has confessedly never been proved, and is one of those difficult questions, which, while they add so much to the interest of natural history exclude it from among the number of the exact sciences. Some, perhaps, of those who read the preceding remarks will ask, What is the use of Entomology ? These I would ask to consider what they mean by use ; they will, I think, find, though they may not like to confess it, that their idea of a useful thing is, — a thing which can be turned into money. But money itself is only valuable in as far as it contributes to happiness, whether bodily or mental ; and even if the tendency to health, which is given by the regular habits, temperance and industry, without which no one can be an Entomologist, are to be considered of no value ; still the constant interest without anxiety or disappointment, the gentle exertion without overstraining the mind, and the contemplation of the universal beneficence of the Creator even towards the smallest of his creatures, can hardly fail to bring a peaceful happiness to the mind which none but a philosopher can appreciate, and even he cannot describe. If indeed he could, there would be scarcely any that were not Naturalists, instead of so few that are. If this argument be not enough, I will conclude with a short sentence from one of our greatest philosophers: " Whatever it has been worth God's while to create, it must be worth man's while to study." 1856 ( 122 ) GHENT TO GLOGAU AND STETTIN TO SCHAFFHAUSEN IN SEARCH OF ENTOMOLOGISTS. (By the Editor.) On the 19th of May, 1855, we left Ghent ; our destination was Glogau, there to visit in his own domicile the illustrious Professor of Micro-Lepidopterology, whose writings in the Isis and Linnaea have caused so complete a revolution in the study of that branch of science, and who has more pupils scattered over Europe than many a Grecian philosopher could boast of. Though our object was to get to Glogau, we had no objection to stop, or turn out of our course a little, in order to meet with other Entomologists. Well ! as already mentioned, we left Ghent on the 19th of May at an early hour, and, arriving at Cologne in the after- noon, took up our quarters at the Hotel de Belle Vue, at Deutz ; as we remained there a whole day I looked about to see if any of my old friends were located on the banks of the Rhine, and found larvae of Coleophora fuscedinella on birch, and of C. viminetella and Depressaria contermineUa. On the morning of the 21st we were off at an early hour, and at midday arrived at Hanover (or Hannover as they spell it there, and I suppose they know best how to spell it); here we were met by Herr Dohrn, the President of the Entomological Societv of Stettin, and as soon as dinner was disposed of, I went to call on Herr Krosmann, of whose IN SEARCH OF ENTOMOLOGISTS. 123 very existence I had previously had no definite notion, though aware that Herrich-Schaffer had a Gelechia Kr'ds- manniella, p. 166, No. 412, Fig. 581, which is, I believe, identical with our Gelechia Hilbneri. Herr Krosmann's collection was not particularly rich in Micros; they were evidently not h\s forte, but I found there several species with which I was not previously acquainted, and picked up much valuable information. Herr Krosmann is very successful in breeding the rotten-wood and fungus feeders, and rears freely that lovely insect Tinea nigralbella from fungi on alder-trees, also Tinea arcella from rotten-wood ; from the same pabulum he also rears, though not commonly, Anchinia Balucella, F. v. R. (H.-S. vol. v. p. 143, fig. 617) ; of this he gave me a specimen, which only differs in size from (that great rarity with us) Aplota palpella, and Herr Krosmann assured me that he had seen it more than once only half the size of the large specimen he gave me (see ante, p. 53). He also gave me bred specimens of Incurvaria Korneriella, and Adela viridella, with the cases from which the respec- tive individuals had emerged ; these cases had been found amongst fallen leaves in the spring. Korneriella will cer- tainly be found in some of our beech-woods ; he had also bred two or three of (Ecophora fianifrontella from cases found on the ground. He gave me specimens of Laverna conturbatella and Bu- talis inspersella, both bred from the shoots of Epilobium angust folium (what a hint for those Entomologists who live where that plant grows freely!), and Chauliodus Illige- rellus, bred from larvae feeding, at the end of May and be- ginning of June, on JEgopodium podagraria (indeed that very evening Herr Krosmann went out and got some of these larvae, and I found them waiting for me at the Hotel, on my return late at night from the Opera Guillaume Tell !) A singular circumstance was that Herr Krosmann showed g2 124 GHENT TO GLOGAU, ETC. me in his breeding-cages the larvse of Lampronia prcela- tella, then feeding by hundreds, whereas in England they have ceased feeding long before then. It would appear as if the greater cold of the Continental winters checked their jaw-work earlier in the autumn, and so left them more work to do in the spring. I obtained from Herr Krosmann two species I did not previously possess — Ypsolophus Sabinellus, and Hosier stammia cariosella— besides a new Tinea, legiti- mella, v. Heyden ; I also borrowed for examination and eventual description a new Tinea, nearly allied to fulvi- mitrella, and which Herr Krosmann had placed in his cabi- net as that species: this specimen I showed to the various Lepidopterists I subsequently visited, and having ascer- tained beyond a doubt that the species is new, I have much pleasure in naming it, after Herr Krosmann (in recollection of the very pleasant afternoon I spent with him), Tinea Kr'dsmannii.* The following day we proceeded to Berlin, arriving late at night at the Hotel Brandenbourg, and the next day visited the Museum, saw Professor Klug, and made the acquaint- ance of Herr Hoppter and Dr. Gerstacker ; the former gave me specimens of a very pretty new Penthina roseo- maculana, Mann, and the following day when I visited his collection I obtained an indifferent specimen of Mr. Bux- ton's new Chilo (see ante, p. 33). After visiting Herr Hoppfer I proceeded to Alexander-Strasse to visit Herr Grabow, whom Professor Zeller had only discovered the pre- vious autumn, and who had amassed an amount of valuable information during a series of years, all of which would pro- * Tinea Krosmann ii, n. sp. Alis anticis brunneis, maculis quatuor flavidis, brunneo-reticulatis, duabus dorsi, duabus alternantibus poste- rioribus costae ; capite ferrugineo. Exp. al. 9g lin. A larger and broader-winged insect than Fulvimitrella , the ground colour of the wings brown, not purplish-black ; the spots yellowish and reticulated luith brown ; besides, the first costal spot is much larger than in Fulvimitrella, IN SEARCH OF ENTOMOLOGISTS. 125 bably have remained lost to science, but for the accidental discovery. So true it is that not merely the Micro-Lepi- doptera, but also the Micro-Lepidoptemls, leben oft sehr ver- borgen! (often live quite concealed). Of Herr Grabow's observations the following were the most important. The larva of Harpella bract eella feeds in spring in decayed wood, it having been found under the bark of a branch of a mulberry tree, and also under the bark of dead branches of acacia : the larva of Harpella proboscidellu, which has long been known as a wood-feeder, feeds in oak and willow, and spins its u frass" together very similarly to our Dasycera sulpkurella, it bores through the wood in all direc- tions ; Laverna atra (the black variety) feeds in apple shoots as already mentioned (ante, p. 56) ; Gelechia Populella, the variety Blattariella, would appear to be a distinct species, it is found in early spring in the fallen birch leaves, in those which are rolled up ; the head and second segment are pale brown, whereas in the ordinary larvae of Populella :, which feed on poplars in May and June, the head and second segment are black : the larva of Gelechia pinguinella feeds under the moss, on the trunks of poplar trees in May; the larva of Gelechia alacella feeds in June on the lichens on the trunks of orchard trees (see ante, p. 51); the larva of Acrolepia as.sectella feeds in the leaves or stems of the leek, in September; and the larva of Asyckna ceratella (as already mentioned, see ante, p. 57) forms a gall on the flower-buds of Polygonum aciculare, which has the appearance of a small pod, and in it the larva feeds in the autumn, changing to pupa the following: spring. My visit to Herr Grabow was not of long duration, as I had an engagement that afternoon at Potsdam, but as my visit to General Direktor Lenne was not an Entomological one, I say nothing further of it here than that it was a very pleasant one, and I hope some day to repeat it and renew my acquaintance with the two amusing parrots. 126 GHENT TO GLOGAU, ETC. In the evening Herr Dohrn took me to Dr. Staudinger's, and on pulling the bell at the Doctor's door the handle came off in my friend's hand, so that on Dr. Staudinger opening the door, the first proceeding was to present him with his own bell-handle. I am thus particular in men- tioning this circumstance, for fear any incorrect version should get abroad which should represent the President of the Entomological Society of Stettin as a filcher of door- knockers. Dr. Staudinger is a young Lepidopterist of ex- traordinary energy, favourably known to the scientific world by his " Dissertatio Entomologica, de Sesiis agri Beroli- nensis " ; the previous summer he had collected diligently in Corsica, where he obtained a great number of the larvae of that rare butterfly Papilio Hospiton (these were emerging freely from the pupse at the end of May when we called). Among the interesting Micros I obtained from Dr. Stau- dinger, I may mention Euplocamus Morellus, bred from decayed wood ; Gelechia jjlebejella and dryadella from the Island of Corsica, the former especially interesting, it being a species nearly allied to Terrella (intermediate between it and Senectella), which Zeller established in the Isis, 1847, p. 850, from a single specimen; a new Gelechia, intermediate between Populella and Scintillella; and a new ColeopJwra. Dr. Staudinger is now engaged on a paper containing the results of his labours, on which account I omit a description here of these novelties. Dr. Staudinger has determined on an Entomological campaign in Iceland ! a bold undertaking, but I fear not likely to be a profitable one; I trust next summer either as he goes there, or on his return, we shall see him in London. This completed my visits to the Berlin Lepidopterists, and the following morning we departed for Glogau; the railway ran through a sandy district covered with pine-forests, and it was only in the immediate vicinity of the towns we passed that the land showed any signs of cultivation ; at IN SEARCH OF ENTOMOLOGISTS. 127 Hansdorf, where the Glogau branch turns off, we had an hour to wait and dined there, not foreseeing the dinner that awaited us at Glogau ; from Hansdorf to Glogau the country- was generally far more extensively cultivated, and therefore less interesting to the eyes of an Entomologist. In due time we arrived at Glogau, and found Professor Zeller and his daughter (who speaks English very fluently) waiting for us at the station. So we arrived at Glogau, and in due time were leaving the inn for the " Lares and Penates" of the great Micro-Lepidopterist; he called my attention to a red-brick building, a powder magazine, add- ing, "And in the neighbourhood of that I live!" My readers need not take this as a caution not to entrust their unique specimens to Professor Zeller for his determination, for since then my friend has changed his domicile. The con- versation carried on between Mrs. Zeller and Mrs. Stainton was no doubt an extremely interesting one ; for as neither could speak a word of the language of the other, it was necessarily carried on by the eyes. There was a very pretty look out from the Professor's upper-window, for being near the walls of the town we looked clean over them on to the plantations on the glacis, where nightingales were then sing- ing a most hearty welcome to us ; and in the distance we saw an extensive plain (for the country is all tolerably flat there), through which the sluggish Oder, then fast overflow- ing his banks, wended his way. Inside the room I must not forget to notice a little pet canary bird, so tame that it would perch on your finger, but which was rather shy of taking such liberties with strangers. This canary bird is since dead ! Of the Entomological wonders I saw at Glogau it is im- possible here to enter into fully ; very many species long known to me by name I then saw for the first time. I found many species that have never yet had the honour of 128 GHENT TO GLOGAU, ETC. being published : to have gone minutely into all the points that interested me would have kept me fully employed for a week ; but Herr Dohrn was inexorable, and we were only to stop at Glogau one clear day — but of all the things I met with at Professor Zeller's house, perhaps nothing made a greater impression upon me than the pudding (and T believe I returned it the complement) ; it was the first genuine first- rate German pudding we had met with, and a journal of our doings would be very incomplete unless this pudding received honourable mention. The following morning I did not call on my friend till half-past six, thus allowing him a reasonable time to attend to his own Entomological concerns, for caterpillars will want food, and moths will come out in our cages and want setting, however busy we may be. Later in the day we were joined by a Coleopterist, Captain Quedenfeld, and Herr Milkner; and we went for an excursion to the Stadt- wald, an immense pine wood, where the imagination wyas impressed with a feeling of awe from the apparent infinity of the forest. On looking around the eye wandered through rows of trees, not resting upon any horizon caused by an inequality in the ground; nor by the density of the forest obstructing the view, but actually losing itself gra- dually in the distance. It was as when one sees the ocean for the first time! Of our doings in the Stadt-wald I have a very pleasant recollection ; the cocoons and dead ichneu- moned larvae of Eutricha Pint had a charm for me they would never have possessed but for the species having been reputed British. Portions of the pupa skin of Sphinx Pinas- tri also appeared to me as holy relics ; but presently friend Zeller shouts out Dia ! and then I saw this Melitcea flitting about, and presently secured by Zeller's well-skilled forceps. Bye-and-bye, in a broad avenue in the wood, Papilio Machaon soared near the tops of the trees. Here I was IN SEARCH OF ENTOMOLOGISTS. 129 introduced to Euchromia Arbutella, of which larva, pupa and imago could all be simultaneously collected on the plants of Arctostaplujllos Uva-ursi. I also made the per- sonal acquaintance of Gnaphalium arenarium, and two of the thereon feeding larvte — Coleophora Gaaphalii and Buccidatrix Gnaphaliella ; then as we sat under the small- leaved lime tree (Tilia parvifolia), the excitement of seeing strange birds, hearing the call of the Oriolus Galbula, whilst quietly sipping our punch, only disturbed by the gnats that would bite, and of which Mrs. Stainton retained the im- pressions for more than a week, formed a tout ensemble of pleasurable sensations not often experienced. But to leave Glogau — for our stay there was but of short duration — we started at an early hour the following morning, reached Berlin in due course, could not find a droshki to take us to the Stettin-Eisenbahn till after we had walked or almost run a couple of miles, with half a dozen little urchins carrying our baggage; reached the station just in comfort- able time, and in four hours we found ourselves tolerably tired and very hungry at Stettin. At Stettin, or alternating between Stettin and Hokendorf, between the town and country residences of Herr Dohrn, we remained a week. A record of all that was seen and done there would take up too much space, neither would it be all Entomological; as, for instance, it would relate how in the great beech forest at Hokendorf, a steep sandy bank attracted the attention of Professor Zeller, and he made many and varied attempts to reach the summit — the loose slippery nature of the soil, and the angle of elevation, preventing the attainment of this object; it would tell how Herr Dohrn's three sons, and even the sobe?' writer of these lines, joined in this boyish prank till we were all about as sandy as we well could be. At Stettin I made the acquaintance of Pro- fessor Hering, who has a fine collection of Lepidoptera, g5 130 GHENT TO GLOGAU, ETC. and Herr Moewe, of Stockholm, who arrived by the steamer whilst we were there. June the 5th we left Stettin, and arriving in Berlin the same evening;, I had first an interview with Herr Grabow, who kindly lent me his beautiful drawings of the transfor- mations of Micro- Lepidoptera (which I exhibited at the July meeting of the Entomological Society) ; and there I met for the first time Graf v. Nicelli : this, as many of my readers will know, was no ordinary meeting ; we had both made the same subject our hobby for years, and I was well aware that latterly he had concentrated his attention on the subject (the genus Lithocolletis) much more than I had ever done (for few things now appear to me more rubbishy than the Monograph of British Argyromiges, which in 1848 I inflicted upon the readers of the Zoologist). Graf v. Nicelli showed me his manuscript, and his drawings of the wings of the insects : and I unhesitatingly declare, that if the publication of that elaborate Memoir takes place, as I hope and believe it will, it must inevitably take a high rank among the contributions to Entomological science. The next morning we left Berlin and proceeded to Cassel. We had intended stopping at Eisenach, but an Evangelical Conference being on there at that time, we were afraid of having a difficulty in finding lodgings, and therefore pro- ceeded to Cassel ; we had some of the learned divines for fellow travellers in our railway carriage, and they told one another diverting stories the whole day, and kept us fully amused, though I don't profess to say I understood a tithe of what they said, yet with so much gesture and action it was a very different affair from three Englishmen talking quietly together, moving little but their lips. From Cassel we proceeded, on the 7th of June, to Frankfort on the Maine. I had always had a great idea of going to Frankfort long before I conceived the grander idea of Glogau IN SEARCH OF ENTOMOLOGISTS. 131 and Stettin. My object in wanting to visit Frankfort was to see the Collection of Senator von Heyden ; when at Glogau Professor Zeller had mentioned to me the name of a Herr Schmid, whom it would be desirable for me to see (future events have shown that he was indeed a very desirable person for me to see). But, as I was saying, we left Cassel at 8 a.m., and it being an express train, we accomplished the distance, 124 English miles, in six hours and a half! It was a tremendously hot day. We went to the Hotel de l'Empereur Romain, and after dining I sallied forth, and called on an old correspondent of mine, Herr Gabriel Koch (the author of the "Geographische Verbreitung, &c." see p. 153). Having looked over his Collection he took me to Herr Schmid, with whom I spent some hours; the information obtained from him is too numerous to be here detailed. I borrowed from him a manuscript of his " Observations on the Tineina," their transformations and habits, from which, the following day, I extracted nearly three pages of foolscap of valuable information. But oh! that following day what a hot day it was! I never was so nearly melted in my life ; but at the same time I was so very busy that I had not even time to melt. At an early hour I visited Senator von Heyden, whose Collection, as is well known, is arranged, not in a Cabi- net, but in little boxes on the shelves of a book-case; here I had a rich treat, on every point my worthy host was well supplied with information ; and among a few of the interesting novelties I saw Argyresthia Icevigatella from Pinus larix, and A. copiosella from P. cembra in Switzer- land, and a very pretty new Gracilaria-i'orm insect, frigi- dariella, which Senator von Heyden had bred from cones on the Alpine willow in Switzerland; here also I became convinced of the existence of a distinct third species of Nepticula on the rose — Nepticula centifoliella. This diners 132 GHENT TO GLOGAU, ETC. at a glance from Anomalella or Angidifasciella, by the straight, broad, pale golden fascia of the anterior wings (the larva was sent me this last autumn by Herr Miihlig, and though, like the larva of Anomalella, it forms a gallery, this is distinguished in the case of Centifoliella by not being at its origin entirely filled up with the black excrement, but has a narrow empty border on each side; the larva itself is pale amber, darker posteriorly, with the dorsal vessel dark green). On leaving Senator von Heyden in the morn- ing I went to see the collection of Herr Miihlig, who is a most successful rearer of Micro- Lepidoptera, and has dis- covered several new species, especially in the genus Coleo- phora. The number of interesting things that I saw in his various cages will not allow of my specially mentioning them here. After leaving Herr Miihlig I hurried back to the hotel to continue my extracts from Herr Schmid's manu- script, and in the afternoon revisited Senator von Heyden, who apologized for his neglige dress, owing to the great heat. My reply was, that no apology was necessary, for it was a real treat to see any one looking cool ; he then politely asked me if I would like to take off my coat, and I at once profited by the suggestion and taking off my coat and waistcoat worked away for two hours very diligently in deshabille. Here I met Herr Scheidel, a very enthusiastic Coleopterist, and made the acquaintance of a son of the worthy Senator, who is also an ardent Entomologist- In the evening it was fortunately much cooler, and Senator von Heyden invited us all to the Main Lust, where we vastly enjoyed the fresh breezes from the river whilst we sat at our supper, our ears being regaled with the music of a very respectable band. The following day we quitted Frankfort, going south by the Badische Eisenbahn, and arrived in the evening at Freiburg ; here we met Dr. Fischer, the Orthopterist. The next morn- ing, leaving railways and their conveniences behind us, we IN SEARCH OF ENTOMOLOGISTS. 133 travelled extra post through the Hollenthal, walking up the hill at Steig amongst no end of strange flowers ; on our right was the huge Feldberg, still with much unmelted snow on its rugged top ; then we descended to the shores of the Titisee, and soon afterwards arrived at Lenzkirch, where we stopped to dine. This was our first incursion into scenery of a really grand nature. Thuringia we had thought pretty, but here we saw something far more than pretty, and as, after leaving1 Lenzkirch, we found the meadows assuming a more subalpine flora, and beautiful, and, to us, strange in- sects flitted on all sides, the idea struck me now many, HOW VERY MANY WOULD THAT SUMMER TRAVEL OVER THAT VERY GROUND WE WERE THEN TRAVELLING OVER WITHOUT REAPING ANY OF THAT INTENSE DELIGHT WHICH SOME ACQUAINTANCE WITH THE PRODUCTIONS OF nature would afford them. Here in the meadows were growing Trollius Earopccus and Geranium pra(e?me, neither of which had I seen wild since I visited the lake dis- trict of Cumberland in 1846 ; and what botanist has not felt the pleasure (akin to that of meeting with an old friend after years of absence) of finding after a lapse of time some plant not seen for many years ? and who that is not a naturalist can know that feeling? I have often thought that if Mr. Albert Smith in his " Ascent of Mont Blanc" would give some details of the successive changes of vegetation, and the different forms of insect life, by which as he ascended from the verdant valley to the snow-clad summit he found himself surrounded, he would add much to the interest of his story with many of his younger hearers. His capability of improving his tale year by year, so as to make it ever interesting and ever in- structive, induces me to throw out this suggestion; and if ' OCT ' during next August's recess he visits the land of mountains and lakes, with the view of practically observing some 134 GHENT TO GLOGAU, ETC. of the Botanical and Entomological features of the ascent to the snow-line, his hearers in 1857 will no doubt be bene- fited by the results of his observations. It was after we had left Lenzkirch that we saw the first Podalirius ; it was sitting on a leaf of a cherry tree. In due time we reached Stiihlingen and entered Switzer- land, and before the sun had sunk behind the bank of clouds in the west, we were gazing at the Rheinfall from the gardens of the Hotel Weber. Here, however, we found no Entomologists, and though but. six hours removed from Zurich, the residence of Professor Frey, we were unable to proceed further ; and the next day, turning our backs on Schaffhausen and the Rheinfall, we hurried home as fast as it was possible to travel, and so ended our travels from " Ghent to Glogau, and Stettin to Schaffhausen, in search of Entomologists." ( 135 ) NEW WORKS ON ENTOMOLOGY. (By the Editor.) — ♦ — The present year has produced in England three Ento- mological works of unusual importance (the entire cost of all three is exactly 21s.) ; these we enumerate in the order of publication. THE ENTOMOLOGIST'S ANNUAL FOR 1855. Second Edition, pp. 153. London : John Van Voorst, Price 2s. 6d. The rapidity with which the First Edition was taken up not only rendered a Second Edition of the Annual necessary, but by reveal- ing a much larger demand than the most sanguine had anticipated, enabled the bulk of the work to be considerably increased without any addition to the cost. The Contents of the Second Edition were as follows : — PAGE The Pursuit of Entomology. (By the Editor) . . 1 *An Address to Young Entomologists at Eton, Har- row, Winchester, Rugby and at all other Schools. (By the Editor) 4 Instructions in Collecting and Preserving Lepi- doptera. (By the Editor) 16 Lepidoptera. (By the Editor) 26 New British Species since 1835 27 New British Species in 1854 62 Observations on British Tineina 73 Answers to Enigmas in the Entomologist's Companion . 83 Enigmas still Unanswered 85 136 NEW WORKS ON ENTOMOLOGY. PAGE Hymenoptera. (By Frederick Smith) . . .87 New British Bees discovered since Kirby's Monographia 89 New Fossorial Hymenoptera 96 Notes on British Myrmicidse and Formicidse . . .97 Notes in Explanation of the New Species of Aculeate Hymenoptera in Stephens's Systematic Catalogue . 98 -^Instructions in Collecting and Preserving Coleop- tera. (By T. Vernon Wollaston, M.A., F.L.S.) . 101 Coleoptera. (By E. W. Janson) 110 New British Coleoptera since Stephens's Manual . .116 Important New Works on Entomology .... 142 The Entomologist's Companion 142 Geodephaga Britannica 143 Insecta Britannica ; Lepidoptera, Tineina . . . 145 Insecta Maderensia 147 *The Butterflies of Great Britain 150 *Hints to Students of Entomology 152 Those Articles to which an * is here prefixed were added to the Second Edition, not having appeared in the original edition. On this subject the following passage appeared in the Preface to the Second Edition. " In preparing the Second Edition I found myself able to expand the volume a little, and have therefore introduced ' An Address to Young Entomologists at Eton, Harrow, Winchester, Rugby and at all other Schools/ and ' Instructions in Collecting and Preserving Lepidoptera and Coleoptera,' which will I hope be found useful to those for whose benefit they are intended. I hope that this increase in the size of this edition will not render the purchasers of the first edition dissatisfied with their bargain ; as these chapters are quite elementary they are comparatively useless to the ' old hands/ yet, if anyone feels himself aggrieved in this matter, if he wishes it, I shall be happy to give him a copy of the Second Edition in ex- change for his copy of the first.*" The following extracts from the additional matter are given as samples. " An Entomologist soon finds that the field before him is so vast, that even if, as is now generally the case, he confine himself to one order of insects, for him to catch a sufficient quantity of each species to supply even his limited circle of young Entomological acquaintance * I may here mention, that I have by me a few copies of the Second Edition, of which the covers are soiled, and which I shall be happy to dispose of to any Entomologist for Is. 3d. each. Entomologists in the Country can forward postage stamps for that amount. NEW WORKS ON ENTOMOLOGY. 137 is no pursuit for an idler ; indeed he cannot long have pursued this branch of Natural History without noticing that if, as the late Dr. Arnold remarked, an early separation is observed at school between the idlers and the workers of the community, that he has already taken his election among the latter class. " Want of useful employment for their time is the great bane of the mass of mankind — for Satan finds some mischief still for idle hands to do — any one who can early initiate the young to some attractive amusement, which shall at the same time afford them useful employment, becomes ;t benefactor to his race. Now, of all branches of study, Entomology is perhaps the most attractive to the young." ********* ******** " But even the fortunate possessor of several works on Entomo- logy will still find himself at a loss to name many of his specimens ; yet there are several Entomologists, who, like myself, would gladly afford any beginner such information as he might feel disposed to seek — but how is the tyro to get acquainted with any of these use- ful members of the community ? Of course I cannot answer so clearly for others as I can for myself, but I know this, that if any young collector (not under fourteen years of age) were to write to me for information, I should be more pleased at receiving his in- quiry than he would be at obtaining my answer ; and let him not imagine that I am a sedate elderly person, with no fellow feeling for a mischievous school boy. I have no sedateness about me, and am as full of fun as any one ; and as the late Dr. Arnold used, when at Laleham, to ' romp and play in the garden, or plunge with a boy's delight into the Thames, entering into his pupils' amusements with scarcely less glee than themselves,' so I am quite ready to participate in the delight of the youngest Entomologist, on adding some species to his collection, or some new fact to his knowledge — but further to facilitate the first step, and we all know that ' ce n'est que le pre- mier pas qui coute,' I here give samples of letters such as may be useful as models by those seeking for information : — " Dear Sir, " Encouraged by your invitation in the Entomologist's Annual, I write to ask if you can tell me at Avhat time of the year I should seek for the larvae of the Emperor moth (Saturnia Car- pinl), and which would be the most likely localities in which to find them. " Believe me, dear Sir, " Yours very truly." 138 NEW WORKS ON ENTOMOLOGY. " Dear Sir, " I lately found a hairy caterpillar of a bright yellow, with long red tufts of hair, and a black chain-like mark down the back. I have tried it with various kinds of food, and it will not eat. Can you tell me what it is ? and on what plant I should feed it ? Your invitation to those in search of information encourages me to trouble you with this inquiry. " Believe me, dear Sir, " Yours very truly." From Mr. Wollaston's " Notes on the Collecting and Preserving of Coleoptera," the following extract furnishes a good specimen of the pleasant genial style of that writer. "It is a mistake to suppose that the progress of agriculture needs to lay waste our Entomological preserves and to exterminate insect life. In some few instances i as in the destruction of forests), this may be and probably is the case, but I am convinced that, in a general way, the very reverse is nearer the truth. The vast superiority of the London district (highly cultivated as it is) over almost every other in England, may be quoted in support of this ; and I may add, from personal observation, that I have never met with such marked success as along railway embankments, and on other grounds recently turned up by the edges of gardens and fields where the vegetation is rank and redundant. Let not the collector assume, therefore, that he must needs sally to a distance for his game, since he will often reap a richer harvest a hundred yards from his own door than by taking a 'return ticket' (which involves moreover the loss of time) for a hundred miles into the country, perchance into some cold clayey region where his exertions will prove comparatively fruitless. " Let the moss be carefully examined (for the minuter tribes) wherever it can be procured, though more especially from off the trunks of trees. The best plan in the winter months is to shake it over a large bag, the contents of which may be gradually turned out on a sheet of white paper at home ; and if overhauled in front of a window nothing will be lost, as those species which escape will almost invariably fly or Tun to the light, and may be immediately secured from off the glass." NEW WORKS OX ENTOMOLOGY. 139 CATALOGUE OF BRITISH HYMENOPTERA in the Collection of the British Museum. By Frederick Smith, M.E.S. Part I. Apidae— Bees. 1855. Price 6s* John Bull is a singular individual ; he never can do anything in a straightforward way. but is always making tremendous circles in order to reach a spot immediately in front of him. If he wishes to retire from parliament it cannot be done, unless he can obtain some situation under the crown, when at once his seat is vacant. If he wishes to retire from the East India Direction, why he has to sell his stock and then he is no longer qualified. The volume before us has induced these remarks, because it is not a Catalogue but a Monograph, and as such probably the most useful work which has yet been "printed by order of the Trustees" of the British Museum : but then it could not be called a Monograph ; that would be too straightforward for John, and so it is misnamed a Catalogue, and everybody is requested to observe whenever the work is noticed, that it is — " No Catalogue, no Catalogue, no Catalogue at all, But a truly magnificent Monograph." This volume extends to 248 pages, 12mo., with 10 Plain Plates ; it contains full descriptions of all the known species of British Bees, with notices of their habits and economy. As samples of the pleasant style and truth-seeking earnestness of the author, we quote the fol- lowing passages, and the work abounds with many others of equal interest. " The bees included in the genus Andrena may be truly said to be the harbingers of spring, for on the first fine days of April males will be found frequenting the catkins and the early flowers of spring. My earliest date of their capture is March 4th, 1849, when I met with Andrena bicolor and Gwynana, both sexes of each. " This genus is by far the most numerous in species of all the genera of bees found in this country. We have about seventy known species, and when the northern parts of the country are assiduously searched, no doubt many more will be added. These bees are all burrowers in the ground, some species preferring banks * Some difficulty is frequently experienced by country Entomologists in obtaining the Museum Catalogues through a bookseller. E.Newman, of 9, Devonshire Street, Bishopsgate, will be happy to execute orders for any ; see classified list on Wrapper of Zoologist for January, 1856. I shall be happy to supply any Entomologist with this Catalogue of Mr. Smith's on the receipt of 6s. in postage stamps. 140 NEW WORKS ON ENTOMOLOGY. of light earth, others hard trodden pathways, &c. ; their burrows differ in depth, but are seldom less than about six, whilst others excavate to nine or ten inches. At the bottom of each burrow is formed a small oval cell, or chamber, in which the industrious female lays up a small pellet of pollen mixed with honey ; these little balls are usually about the size of a garden pea, varying some- what in size in different species. Sometimes, apparently to econo- mise time, the bee constructs branch tunnels, each having a similar chamber at its extremity ; this peculiarity I have observed in A. rubrlcata and A. fulvescens ; it is also probably not unusual with many other species. When she has completed her task, she closes the mouth of the tunnel. " These bees are subject to the attacks of parasites ; the first to be remarked upon are those bees which compose the genus Nomada ; they are more popularly known as wasp-bees, since they bear a considerable resemblance to some of the small solitary species of that family. These parasites appear to be upon a perfectly friendly footing with the industrious bees, and are permitted without let or hindrance to enter their burrows. It has been advanced as a proof of the ingenuity and artifice necessary to be employed in effecting the deposit of their eggs in the working bees' nests, that the parasites should bear a close resemblance to the bees upon which they are para- sitic. Some instances may undoubtedly be advanced, as Apathus and Bombus, and also in the different species of Volucella which infest the nests of humble bees, but amongst the solitary bees no such resemblance is required to aid in any necessary deception. It may be remarked that the two cases are not analogous ; this is true, and I am not prepared to say that in the case of the Bombi and their enemies, it may not be necessary, but as regards solitary bees it certainly is not ; colonies of Andrenidcc and their parasites mingle together in perfect harmony, issuing from and entering into the burrows indiscriminately. I have on several occasions watched with much enjoyment a large colony of Eucera longicornis, the males occasionally darting forward with great velocity, then turn- ing sharply round, and as it were swimming in circles close to the ground, then darting off again and again in an unceasing round of sportive enjoyment ; their industrious partners, whose whole exist- ence appears to be bound up in one unceasing round of labour, would occasionally return home laden with food for their young progeny. Sometimes it would happen that a Nomada had pre- viously entered her nest ; when such proved to be the case she would issue from it, and flying off to a short distance wait patiently until the parasite came forth, when she would re-enter and deposit her burden. It will be observed in this instance that between Eucera and Nomada no resemblance exists in general appearance, one being several times larger than the other, and covered with pu- NEW WORKS ON ENTOMOLOGY. 141 bescence of a sombre colour, whereas the parasite is a gaily coloured insect, destitute of pubescence, and readily observed from the bright- ness of its colouring Much further investigation is still necessary before we can arrive at a knowledge of the real nature of the connexion which exists between the bees and their parasites. It has been supposed that the parasitic larva is hatched sooner than that of the rightful owner of the nest, and that it consequently con- sumes the food and leaves the larva of the bee to perish. But to this I do not assent ; it appears so contrary to all natural laws that I can- not think it even probable; nature I have never observed to be thus wasteful of animal life — such a proceeding is unnecessary and there- fore unlikely. Where a destruction of animal life is observed, it can usually be traced to some reasonable cause, as the destruction of the larvae of certain Lepidopt.era, being a check upon their super- abundance ; a parallel to this does not appear to me to exist in the case of the bees. I am more inclined to believe, that when the parasite has deposited her egg upon the store of pollen, the industrious bee at once deserts it and proceeds to construct a fresh burrow ; and that the parasites which may be observed constantly entering different burrows, do so in order that they may find the re- quisite quantity of food, which will usually be much less than that required for the industrious bee ; having found wrbich, they deposit their egg, and the nest is then possibly deserted by its legitimate owner." "If 1 were asked which genus of bees would afford the most abund- ant materials for an essay on the diversity of instinct, I should with- out hesitation point out the genus Osmia." . . . "O.aurulenta and O. bicolor are bees which commonly burrow in banks; the latter being very abundant in some situations, forming colonies, but although it appears to be the natural habit of these species to con- struct tunnels in hard banks, with great labour and untiring per- severance, still we find them at times exhibiting an amount of sagacity and a degree of knowledge that at once dispels the idea of their actions being the result of a mere blind instinct, impelling them in one undeviating course. A moment's consideration will suffice to call to mind many tunnels and tubes ready-formed, which would appear to be admirably adapted for the purposes of the bees ; for instance, the straws of a thatch and many reeds ; and what could be more admirably adapted to their requirements than the tubes of many shells? So thinks the bee ! O. aurulenta and O. bicolor both select the shells of Helix hortensis and //. nemoralis ; the shells of these snails are of course very abundant, and lie half hidden beneath grass, mosses and plants ; the bees finding them in such situation- dispense with their accustomed labour and take pos- session of the deserted shells. The number of cells varies according to the length of the whorl of the shell selected, the usual number 142 NEW WORKS ON ENTOMOLOGY. being four, but in some instances they construct five or six, com- mencing at the end of the whorl ; a suitable supply of pollen and honey is collected, an egg deposited, and a partition formed of abraded vegetable matter ; the process is repeated until the requisite number is formed, when the whole is most carefully protected by closing up the entrance with small pellets of clay, sticks and peb- bles ; these are firmly cemented together with some glutinous matter, and the bee has finished her task. "We will now observe the intelligence of the bee under different circumstances ; she has selected the adult shell of Helix aspersa ; the whorl of this species is much larger in diameter than that of H. nemoralis or H. hortensis— too wide, in fact, for a single cell. Our little architect, never at a loss, readily adapts it to her purpose by forming two cells side by side, and as she advances towards the entrance of the whorl, it becomes too wide even for this contrivance. Here let us admire the ingenuity of the little creature , she constructs a couple of cells transversely ! And this is the little animal which has been so blindly slandered as being a mere machine ! " ******** " The Bombi are the most generally known of all the genera of wild bees ; hence they have received a variety of popular names. In Hampshire they are called Dumbledors, in other districts Bumble- bees and Hummel-bees ; the brown species are known in Scotland as the Foggie-bee, no idea existing of there being more than one species of that colour. It is very probable that Humble may be a corruption of humming, for we constantly find, in natural history, popular names given to animals and plants extremely characteristic. No one, who loves to watch nature in all her varied guise, can have failed in early spring, when the catkins are first found on the willow, to notice the loud hum of the females of different species of Bombi ; and in May, when the horse-chestnut blooms, from the break to the close of day the hum of these industrious bees is unceasing." We annex a list of the British Bees which will be found described in the work before us, feeling confident that this volume will give a vast stimulus to the study of this group of insects, and that a bird's- eye view of the whole will be found of considerable assistance. Catalogue of British Andrenidje and Apidje. Fam. 1. ANDRENID^. 3. marginata. Subfam. 1. OBTUSILIN- 4- Daviesana. GUES. 2. Prosopis. Genus 1. Colletes. l communis. 1. succincta. 2- annularis. 2. fodiens. 3- dilatata. 4. cornuta. NEW WORKS ON ENTOMOLOGY. 143 5. punctulatissima. 6. signata. 7. liyalinata. 8. varipes. 9. variegata. Subfam. 2. ACUTILIN- GUES. 3. Sphecodes. 1. gibbus. 2. rufescens. 3. subquadratus. 4. ephippia. 5. fuscipennis. 4. Halictus. 1. rubicundus. 2. xanthopus. 3. leucozonius. 4. zonulus. 5. quadricinctus. 6. sexnotatus. 7. 4-notatus. 8. maculatus. 9. cylindricus. 10. albipes. 11. prasinus. 12. lugubris. 13. flavipes. 14. gramineus. 15. Smeatlmianellus. 16. seratus. 17. morio. 18. leucopus. 19. longulus. 20. laevis. 21. subfasciatus. 22. fulvicornis. 23. minutus. 24. nitidiusculus. 25. interruptus. 26. rainutissimus. 5. Andrena. 1. Hattorfiana. 2. Rosa?. 3. eximia. 4. florea. 5. decorata. 6. Cetii. 7. cingulata. 8. ferox. 9. cineraria. 10. pilipes. 11. thoracica. 12. nitida. 13. vitrea. 14. albicans. 15. similis. 16. fulva. 17. Clarkella. 18. Gwynana. 19. bicolor. 20. helvola. 21. varians. 22. atriceps. 23. Mouffetella. 24. nigro-senea. 25. Trimmerana. 26. conjuncta. 27. spinigera. 28. picicomis. 29. bimaculata. 30. Smithella. 31. Lapponica. 32. nigriceps. 33. simillima. 34. pubescens. 35. angustior. 36. denticulata. 37. tridentata. 38. fucata. 39. picipes. 40. clypeata. 41. constricta. 42. frontalis. 43. Aprilina. 44. fulvicrus. 45. extricata. 46. polita. 47. lulvago. 48. fulvescens. 49. longipes. 50. albicrus. 144 NEW WORKS ON ENTOMOLOGY. 51. labialis. 52. chrysosceles. 53. Coitana. 54. analis. 55. minutula. 56. nana. 57. nigrifrons. 58. argentata. 59. dorsata. 60. connectens. 61. fuscata. 62. Afzeliella. 63. convexiuscula. 64. Kirbyi. 65. Collinsonana. 66. Lewinella. 67. Wilkella. 68. xanthura. 6. Macropis. 1. labiata. 7. ClLISSA. 1. hsemorrhoidalis. 2. leporina. 8. Dasypoda. 1. birtipes. Fam. II. APID^l. Sabfam. 1. ANDRENOIDES. 1. Panurgijs. 1. calcaratus. 2. Banksianus. Subfam. 2. CUCULIN^. 2. NOMADA. 1. ruficornis. 2. lateralis. 3. baccata. 4. ochrostoma. 5. borealis. 6. signata. 7. Lathburiana. 8. varia. 9. xanthosticta. 10. flavoguttata. 11. Roberjeotiana. 12. armata. 13. rubra. 14. furva. 15. mistura. 16. Fabriciana. 17. Germanica. 18. atrata. 19. Solidaginis. 20. Jacobsese. 21. lineola. 22. alternata. 23. sexfasciata. 24. succincta. 3. Epeoltjs. 1. variegatus. 4. Coelioxys. 1. quadridentata. 2. simplex. 3. sponsa. 4. umbrina. 5. rufescens. 6. Vectis. 5. Stelis. 1. aterrima. 2. phseoptera. 3. octomaculata. 6. Melecta. 1. luctuosa. 2. armata. Subfam. 3. DASYGASTR^. 7. OSMIA. 1. rufa. 2. aurulenta. 3. bicolor. 4. xanthomelana. 5. parietina. 6. pilicornis. 7. fulviventris. 8. spinulosa. 9. aenea. 10. leucomelana. 8. Megachile. 1. centuncularis. 2. ligniseca. NEW WORKS 0\ ENTOMOLOGY, 14.; -3. versicolor. 4. pyrina. 5. odontura. 6. argentata. 7. circumcincta. 8. Willughbiella. 9. maritima. 9 Anthidium. 1. raanicatum. 10. Chelostoma. 1. florisomne. 2. Campanularum. 11. Heriades. 1. truncorum. 12. Ceratina. 1. cserulea. 2. albilabris. Subfam.4. SCOPULIPEDES. 13. EUCERA. 1. longicornis. 14. Saropoda. 1. bimaculata. 15. Anthophora. 1. retusa. 2. acervorum. 3. quadriraaculata. 4. furcata. Subfani. 5. SOCIALES. 16. Bombus. 1. muscorura. 2. senilis. 3. Smithianus. 4. fragrans. 5. sylvarum. 6. lapponicus, 7. Derhamellus 8. pratorum. 9. nivalis. 10. Scrimshiranus. 11. collinus. 12. terrestris. 13. lucorum. 14. soroensis. 15. lapidarius. 16. hortorum. 17. Latreillellus. 18. subterraneus. 17. Apathus. 1. rupestris. 2. campestris. 3. Barbutellus. 4. vestalis. 18. Apis. 1. mellifica. THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE TINEINA. Vol. I., containing Nepticula, Part 1 ; Cemiostoma, Part 1. By H. T. Staixton, assisted by Professor Zeller and J. W. Douglas. Eight coloured Plates. 8vo. Pp. 338. London : John Van Voorst, Paternoster Row ; Paris: Deyrolle, Rue de la Monnaie 19; Berlin : E. S. Mittler and Sohn, Zimmerstrasse 84. 85. Price 12s. 6d. ; 15 francs; 4 tblr. 6 sgr. The following is extracted from the Preface, — " The letter-press appears in four languages, viz., English, French, German and Latin ; so that it is hoped no Entomologist in Europe will find it a sealed book to him. 1856 H 146 NEW WORKS ON ENTOMOLOGY. " The present volume contains twenty-one species of Xepti- cula (a genus interesting from the brilliancy of the perfect insects, among which are the smallest known Lepidoptera), and three spe- cies of Cemiostoma (a genus of small species, remarkable from the neatness of the design on the anterior wings of the perfect in- sects) ; and it is intended that each of the subsequent volumes should contain twenty-four species, either all of one genus, or, at least, in allied genera. " I must again beg, that each Entomologist who discovers the transformations of any species of Tineina will at once communicate with me ; and when possible that he will also forward me the living larvae, for the purpose of being figured and described. It is to en- courage such communications that I offer to present to every one who shall first discover and communicate to me the transformations of twenty species, with which I was previously unacquainted, a copy of the entire series of this "Work.* If each Entomologist would send me a list of the species of which he knows the trans- formations, I would at once point out to him which are new to me, and in reference to the British species I have already indicated in the Second Edition of 'The Entomologist's Companion' all those whose transformations wTere unknown to me." * When this proposal was first made, I received the following letter from one of my most useful correspondents : — " I received your letter and the annexed Prospectus, and am very much pleased with the idea of the Publication of the transformations of the Tineina, in the manner proposed, and shall be most happy to become a Subscriber for one copy of the proposed work. " With respect to your proposal ' to present a Copy of the entire Series to every one who shall first discover and communicate to you the transformations of twenty species of Tineina with which you were pre- viously unacquainted,' I hardly know, as far as I am concerned, what to say, for if you had never commenced or proposed this work, whatever discoveries I might have made would have been freely communicated to you ; but, however, I will enter the lists, and if I come off a successful competitor, I shall prize the volumes thus obtained far more than if they had cost me in cash ten times their value, and if I fail (of which at pre- sent I have no idea) it shall not be from any fault of mine ; and if a winner, I will make a present of the Subscription Copy to some less fortunate ' Brother of the net and pin.' " Yours very truly, " Richard Shield. " 6, Fleet Street, Dublin, January 80th, 1854." NEW WORKS ON ENTOMOLOGY. 147 The following extracts from the body of the work will show the mode in which the subject is treated. " No. I.-NEPTICULA AURELLA. "Plate I. Fig. 1. " How noticeable.— Larva. " Few persons can have failed to observe, especially at the com- mencement of spring, that the leaves of the common bramble are frequently marked with small serpentine whitish blotches — some- times several in one leaf. These blotches are the mines of the larvae of N. aurella. "When they are very conspicuous, that is of itself an indication that their tenants have deserted them ; but, if we search more closely, we shall probably find among many mines some which are only slightly discoloured, and in these the larvae still feeding. " How noticeable.— Imago. " In windy yet sunny weather, in the months of May and August, this little moth may sometimes be observed on palings and trunks of trees. "Mode of Life. "The egg is deposited on the under surface (rarely on the upper surface) of the bramble leaf; immediately it is hatched, the larva bores into the leaf and commences feeding between the skins on the upper layer of parenchyma, and proceeds in an irregular, not contorted, wavy path of moderate width. The mined place, which is only visible on the upper surface of the leaf, is at first green- ish grey, gradually changing to greenish white, and along the centre of it is a string of blackish excrement. When the larva is full fed, it makes a fissure in the upper side of the leaf and creeps out, the place it had just occupied being distinguished by the ab- sence of any grains of excrement. Arrived at the outside of the leaf, the larva hastens to seek a secure place (probably on the ground amongst leaves), and there spins a rather flat cocoon, of an irregular shape with scalloped edges, and of a colour varying from pale dirty-green to pale brown ; in this it changes to a pupa, and at the expiration of three weeks, or longer if the weather be cold, the pupa protrudes its head through one end of the cocoon, and its skin cracking, the imago is liberated. There are several broods in the year, and the brambles being evergreen, the larva may be found in mild seasons throughout the winter. April, July and October may be considered as the principal months in which the larva feeds, and its imago is plentiful in May and June, and not uncommon in August." h2 148 NEW WORKS OX ENTOMOLOGY. Then follow— " Description of the Imago ; " Description of the Larva ; " Geographical Distribution ; " Synonymy ; " Remarks on the Synonymy ; And Observations of Authors;" and. the same detailed account is given for each species ; those of recent discovery being fortunately blest with the very briefest synonymy, and thus not requiring &o lengthened a notice as species of the antiquity of Aurella and Anomalella. The first idea (afterwards developed into this -work) originated with Mr. Douglas on the 9th of April (Professor Zeller's birth- day), 1852, as recorded in the Entomologist's Companion, 2nd Edition, p. 101. The actual idea was put into writing in the spring of 1853, and made generally known in January, 1854. In October. 1855, Vol. I. was published. The following Entomological Works of considerable im- portance have lately been published on the Continent. GUIDE DU JEUNE AMATEUR DE COLEOP- TERES ET DE LEPIDOPTERES, indiquant les usten- siles necessaires a la chasse de ces Insectes, les lieux et epoques les plus favorables a cette chasse, suivi de la ma- mere de les preparer, et de les conserves 12mo. Pp. 122. Paris: Deyrolle, Rue de la Monnaie 19. 1847. Prix 2 fr. 50 c. This is a very useful work, the Coleopterous portion is written by M. Leon Fairmaire, the Lepidopterous portion by the late M. A. Pierret ; thirty-four pages are devoted to the Coleoptera, eighty- eight to the Lepidoptera— the modes of catching, and localities fre- quented by the various species are very instructive to the English Entomologist, as many insects which, guided by this work, he might probably find with ease, are reckoned amongst our greatest rarities.* * I have imported several copies of this work, with which I shall be happy to supply any Entomologist at the price of 2s. 3d. each. NEW WORKS OX ENTOMOLOGY. 149 SYNOPSIS DES CALOPTERYGINES. Par M. E. de Selys-Longchamps. 8vo. Pp. 73. Bruxelles: M. Hayez, Iraprimeur de l'Academie Royale. 1853. This is a synoptical table of the species which will be described in the Histoire dcs Insectes Odonates, undertaken by M. de Selys Longchamps, in conjunction with that great Neuropterist Dr. Hagen. In the Sub-family Calopterygines, one hundred species are here enumerated, whereas only two were known to Linnaeus, and only twenty-seven to Rambur in 1841. HISTOIRE NATURELLE DES INSECTES— SPE- CIES GENERAL DES LEPIDOPTEKES. Noctue- lites par M. A. Guenee. 3 vols. 8vo., with Plates. Paris: Librairie Encyclopedique de Roret, Rue Hautefeuille 12. 1852. Price (with plain Plates) 23s. 6d. (Messrs. Williams and Norgate, of 14, Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, London, will be happy to execute orders at that price.) An elaborate work, and one which every French scholar, who takes an interest in the Noctuae, should possess. It embraces the Noctuae. not only of Europe, but of the whole world, and will thus be very useful to those exploring foreign countries. The habits of the larvae of the different genera and families, as detailed in the " generalites" at the commencement of each group, render it ex- tremely interesting to the scientific Entomologist, and very useful to the energetic collector. Many of our rarities will be rendered common when this work becomes more generally read ; it speaks very little for the energy of Entomological book-makers in England, that an abstract of this work has not already been published here. Let no one mistake us : it is not a Monograph ; descriptions are only given of those species which had not been previously described, or which had been ill-described— consequently reference must be continually made to the works of Ochsenheimer, Treitschke, Iliib- ner, Duponchel, Herrich-Schaffer and Freyer ; and the work only attains its maximum of utility in the hands of those who poss - the works of the above authors. On two points the author has developed new crotchets; both highly absurd— in the first place, he puts after the specific name of the species, not that of the writer who gave it that name, but that of the author who first described and figured the insect at all, whether he gave it any name or not: thus Tryphcena pronuba, 150 Linnaeus, becomes TBrPHiXA peovtba. All in. N m A:bin never caHe I - pronuba at all : why then should it be called pro- nuba. Albin ? 1 named it pronuba. and, ther^: _ :o the rule universal :r _ . xcept among -- -. insens. A more . - - F i - sense is the J phia Ba/ r called it Bamburii — how forsooth could he. as Dr. Rambur was not born till I : . - deac rlgured th:- insect as 2 t Linnaeus de- scribed another £ -hat name, and so the Leuco: sti ane, Bamburii. B:i- 1 I v to the to the name £ :;k, because he first figured the in- - In the second to set Englishmen Eng - . . . i of " " - : -. -: " est I . ' . . E:._lishman will be . " teach him how to - th French lang. g Inns at page 2 re told that the English trans- ^ " If Ol ---.;-. . Ixvii, I that Barbut published, in 17CJI . n English ith all the Nocturnal -- I . ../--. which according to that author u equivalent to the Linnaxin Phalceaa ! ^t beg 1 - M that S - ite right: the ?terophori are all called moth* in England, by the English. ~ - -s in the sun : the work is one of extreme value - toe - read, but knowing that the rsinl - -'-try, who for ought we know wor- 11 attention to them. . . . book-buyers, thep:. -is something is a work containing y printed page 2 thna containing about as Lames of the Inseota Britannica/and to be I I NEW WORKS OX ENTOMOLOGY. 151 HISTOIRE NATURELLE DES IXSECTES— SPE- CIES GENERAL DES LEPIDOPTERES, DEL- TOIDES ET PYRALITES. Par M. A. Guenee. 1 vol. 8vo., with Plates. Paris: Librairie Excyclopediqt/i: de Roret, Rue Hautefeuille 12. 1854. Price (with plain Plate) 7s. (3d. We have not had time to give sufficient attention to this work to give our readers any notice of it. BERAETTELSE OM FRAMSTEGEX I IXSEK- TERNAS, MYRIAPODERNAS OCH ARACHXI- DERXAS XATURAL HISTORIA FOR 1851 OCH 1852. Till Kongl. Vetexskaps-Akademiex af given af C. H. Bohemax. 1 vol. 8vo. Pp. 342. Stockholm : P. A. Norstedt och Soxer. 1854. A very elaborate and systematic report on the Entomological publications of the years 1851 and lSo-2: written in the Swedish language. As a means of informing- Swedes of what is doing out of Sweden this work is of great >ervice, and to us it is extremely useful for the detailed notices it contains of what is being done in Sweden. HISTOIRE XATURELLE DES IXSECTES-GE- NERA DES COLEOPTERES. Par M. Th. Lacor- daire. 8vo. Vols. I. and II., 1854; Vol. III., 1855. Paris: Librairie Excyclopedique de Roret, Rue Hautefeuille 12. Price, to Subscribers, 5s. (3d. per Volume: to Non-Subscribers, 6s. I am indebted to the courtesy of Mr. Westwood* for the follow- ing notice of this publication. " This work contain- the characters of the families and genera of Coleoptera, and indications of the species. The first volume, containing 50(5 pages, comprises the families CieimL lite-. Carabi- <[ues, Dytiscides, Gyrinides and Palpicornes. The second volume, * The Council of the Royal Society has awarded one of the two Royal medals this year to J. 0. Westwood, Esq., lor his various Monographs and Papers on Entomology. — Athenaum, November 17th. L855. 152 NEW WORKS ON ENTOMOLOGY. containing 548 pages, comprises the families Paussides, Staphyli- niens, Pselaphiens, Scydmenides, Silphales, Spheriens, Trychop- terygiens, Scaphidides, Histeriens, Phalacrides, Nitidulaires, Trogo- sitaires, Colydiens, Rhysodides, Cucujites, Cryptophagides, Latri- diens, Mycetophagides, Thorictides, Dermestins, Byrrhiens, Geo- ryssiens, Parnides and Heterocerides. The third volume comprises only the two great groups Lucanides and Lamellicornes. And the fourth volume, which is considerably advanced, will contain the Serricornes, Malacodermes, Lymexylonides, Ptiniores, and pro- bably the Melasomes. " Those who are at all acquainted with the advance of Entomo- logical literature during the last thirty or forty years must be well aware to what a vast extent the study of the Coleoptera has been carried in comparison with that of any other order of insect ; and at the same time how great an amount of labour must be re- quired in order to bring into one focus the numbers of Genera which have been described during the period by authors who have profited by the Transactions of Societies and the various periodical publications devoted not only to Natural History but to Science in general, in order to give to the world from time to time descriptions of a few species or genera, instead of following the plan of the old authors, and waiting until they had severally amassed materials for a weighty folio or quarto. Ten years ago Erichson enumerated 5,180 genera of Coleoptera ; to these we may add at least 820 others as omissions or subsequent creations, giving not fewer than 6,000 genera of beetles ! " With such a mass of materials before him, the plan which M. Lacordaire has adopted appears to be the most satisfactory which could have been chosen. Instead of following in the steps of his predecessors in the volumes of the ' Suites a Buffbn,' who have not only re-described the previously characterized genera, but have also established numerous new ones, as well as numbers of new species, our author has considered that the science rather needed a strict revision of the already existing materials scattered in so many quarters, in order, as he well says, ' de voir oil elle en est, pour me servir d'une expression vulgaire.' The result has been the production of a work which, although it will extend at least to five or six thick octavo volumes, will be only a Genera Coleopte- rorum, without the creation of a single new genus, the description of a single species, or the introduction of extended details of ana- tomy, economy and habits ; although the author had made large collections of observations on these branches of the subject, which he has been compelled to suppress. " A short but excellent introduction furnishes us with the views of the author upon the general classification of the Coleoptera, and their distribution into families 5 in which he gives due honour to NEW WORKS ON ENTOMOLOGY. 153 the views of the late lamented Dr. Erichson, and to those of M. Redtenbaeher. We must however claim for one of our own countrymen the merit of having broken up the tarsal system, ar- tificial as it was, when applied to the Xylophaga of Latreille and other small groups. This was done by Mr. Macleay in the ' An- nulosa Javanica/ and it was subsequently adopted and extended by Stephens, in his Systematic Catalogue and Illustrations ; in fact, the list of families which M. Lacordaire has given at pages xv and xvi, is almost identical with the arrangement of Mr. Stephens. " The preceding observations will, we trust, satisfactorily show the character as well as prove the great value of the work before us, which is published at the low price of 5s. 6d. per volume to subscribers. " The author bespeaks indulgence, in his Preface, for the plates which are to accompany the text, but as yet we have not received any such illustrations." CONSPECTUS SYSTEMATICA ORTHOPTE- RORUM EUROPE. Auctore Leopold Henrico Fischer of Freiburg. 8vo. Pp.16. Lipsirc: Guiliel- mus Engelman. 1854. A reprint from the same author's large work, " Orthoptera Europaea," containing a list of the species, with indications of their respective " patriae." DIE GEOGRAPHISCHE VERBREITUNG DER EUROPAEISCHEN SCHMETTERLINGE IN AN- DEREN WELTTHEILEN. Yon Gabriel Koch. 8vo. Pp.153. Leipzig: Hermann Costenoble. 1854. Price 4s. 6d. A very interesting work, written in German, containing notices of the occurrence of European Lepidoptera in other parts of the world. To those about to visit the East Indies, the Cape, America or Australia, this work will serve as a guide to show which of their old friends they are likely to meet with in * foreign parts.' Such a work is necessarily incomplete from the want of more numerous observations, but it is an approximation, and as such of extreme value. Too many are deterred from writing for fear of not achiev- ing perfection. H 5 154 NEW WORKS ON ENTOMOLOGY. GENERA DES COLEOPTERES D'EUROPE. Par MM. Jacquelin Du Val et Jules Migneaux. 8vo. Paris : Deyrolle, Rue de la Monnaie 19. Price, to Subscribers, 1 i'r. 75 cent, per Number. Published bi- monthly. The following notice is from the pen of Mr. "Westwood. " The first twelve numbers of this work contain the whole of the genera of Curculionidce, with thirty plates, containing 150 coloured figures of types of genera, and 125 pages of text. The Carabidce form the subject of the subsequent numbers. Each genus is represented by a beautifully coloured figure and descrip- tive text, and catalogues of the European species belonging to each genus." To be completed in about 86 numbers. ESSAI SUR LA FAMILLE DES VESPIDES. Par M. H. de Saussure. Vol. III. 8vo. Mr. "Westwood has obligingly furnished me with the following notice of this work. " The third volume comprises the social wasps (the solitary wasps Eumenides, and the false wasps Masarides, being treated upon in the two former volumes). The number of social species is much smaller than that of the solitary wasps, but the plates are rendered very interesting, by the introduction of great numbers of nests of various forms and textures." FAUNE ENTOMOLOGIQUE FRANCAISE, OU DESCRIPTION DES INSECTES QUI SE TROU- VENT EN FRANCE— COLEOPTERES. Par Leon Fairmaire et le Dr. A. Laboulbene. Small 8vo. Paris: Deyrolle, Rue de la Monnaie 19. Livraisons I. et II. 1854. Price (of each Livraison) 5 francs. A descriptive work on the Coleoptera of France being much wanted to facilitate the studies of incipients, this work has been commenced to supply the want. The first livraison of 180 closely printed pages contains descriptions of all the French Carabidse. The second livraison, of 192 pages, contains the Dytiscidse, Gyrini- dae, Hydrophilidse, Histeridse, Silphidse, Trichopterygida?, Scaphi- didae, Scydmsenidse, Pselaphidse, and commences the Staphylinidse. NEW WORKS ON ENTOMOLOGY. 155 In the descriptions the object has been to render them short, but at the same time sufficient to recognize the species treated of. Syno- nymy is also much curtailed, as however useful in a monograph, being here, where the object was to compress information, out of place. The work aspires to be a Manual of French Beetles ; and whilst the Coleopterists of this country are waiting for a good de- scriptive work on the whole of our Coleoptera, we have no doubt that this French Manual will be extensively used on this side the Channel.* LINN^A ENTOMOLOGICA (Zeitschrift heraus- cje^eben von dem Entomolocnschen Vereine in Stettin). Neunter Band, mit drei Tafeln Abbildungen. 8vo. Pp. 403. Berlin: E. S. Mittler und Sohn, Zimmerstrasse 84, 85. 1854. Price 6s. We believe there are few Entomologists in this country, who can read German, who are not already well acquainted with this work, of which a volume has appeared annually since 1846. The ninth volume contains three valuable papers : one for the Coleopte- rists, viz. a Catalogue of the Asiatic Cryptocephali known up to the present time, by Dr. SurTrian, extending to 169 pages; one for the Hymenopterists, viz., a Contribution to the Knowledge of German Bees, by Dr. Kriechbaumer, of 20 pages; and one for the Lepidopterists, viz., the Depressarise, and some genera nearly allied to them, described by Professor Zeller, and extending to 211 pages. The names of the different writers are the best guarantee for the value of their respective papers. HANDBUCH DER ENTOMOLOGIE. Von Dr. Hermann Burmeister. Vol. IV., Part II. 8vo. Pp. 570. Berlin : Theod. Chr. Fr. Enslin. 1855. The following notice of this publication has been kindly furnished me by Mr. Westwood. " The present part or Abtheilung of Dr. Burmeister's great work is devoted to that portion of the Lamellicorn beetles which feed on leaves, and have the two claws of each foot of equal size and shape, and comprises the five families Maerodactylidce, Sericidce, Lipare- tridce, Melolontlddce and LeptopodidcB, each divisible into numerous * Foreseeing' a demand for this work, I have imported a number of copies, and shall be happy to supply any Entomologist ; price of each Part Is. (id. 156 NEW WORKS ON ENTOMOLOGY. sub-families, and the whole into not fewer than ninety-three genera, all of which are carefully described with their respective species, often amounting to a considerable number ; thus there are fifty-four species of Ancylonycha, sixteen of Melolontha, thirty- two of Rhiso- trogus, twenty-four of Leucopholis, thirty of Se?'ica, twenty of Di- phucephala, &c. The entire volume offers a striking contrast to the second part of the Catalogue of the Coleoptera in the Paris Museum, in which the same families were contained, the meagre and unscientific treatment of which made us even thankful for the rude figures contained in Chenu's volume.'7 ••' A Supplement of 100 pages contains — 1. A Memoir on the Natural Relations of the group Anthobia. 2. Additions to the Ajithobice, amongst which are introduced the two curious genera Aclopus, Er., and Pk\ Contains notices and coloured figures of several of our most showy and commonest species of Butterflies and Moths. The colour- ing is very gaudy and little resembles the productions of Nature. For babies both young and old, who like to look at picture-books, it may not be uninteresting, but as a nursery toy it is rather expens MORRIS" NATURAL HISTORY OF BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. With Coloured Illustrations. Royal Svo. Cloth, gilt. Price 20s. Groombridge and Sons. This is not a scientific book, neither indeed does it purport to be so. It is the kind oli work we have often been asked for : one in which English names are put prominently forward, but many of the English names here applied are not those by which the s\ are known to any but the readers of Mr. Morris" work. Those to whom money is no object may do well to buy it. It is more and of less value than Westwood's Butterflies of Great Brit but perhaps more readable and pleasantei for the young. STAINTON'S IXSECTA BRITAXXICA— LEPI- DOPTERA, TTXEIXA. 1 vol. Svo. With 10 Plates. Cloth. Price '25s. L. K - riptions ox all the Tineina (a group of small moths') known to inhabit Great Britain, with notices of their habits, meta- morphoses, &c. 1(3:2 LIST OF ENTOMOLOGICAL BOOKS. STAINTON'S ENTOMOLOGISTS COMPANION. Second Edition. 12mo. Price 3s. Van Voorst. A complete Manna] for the collector of the Tixeixa. with a list of the species appearing in each month of the year, whether in the states of larva, pupa and imasfo. with information what local- ities they frequent and on what plants they feed— also with notices of tfa - efferent genera. STEPHENS" ILLUSTRATIONS OF BRITISH ENTOMOLOGY. The Lepidoptera, complete in 4 vols., may be had separately. Svo. With Coloured Plates. .£4 : 4s. Bohx. Though far behind the present state of the Science, this is by far the best general work on the British L-r idoptera. WESTYTOOD'S BUTTERFLIES OF GREAT BRI- TAIN. With '20 Coloured Illustrations. Large Svo. Cloth, gilt, 15s. ; or morocco, :21s. Orr axd Co. The best work that has yet appeared on this subject, though still far from what we could wish. Absurd blunders are repeated, and fresh ones perpetrated, but Entomologists of the present day are so little given to reading, that few are likely to notice the errors and perhaps few will be misled by them. WESTWOOD AND HUMPHREYS" BRITISH MOTHS AND THEIR TRANSFORMATIONS. With 1*24 Coloured Plates. 2 vols. 4to. Cloth lettered, £4 : 4s. ; or halfbd. morocco, £5. Orr axd Co. The letter-press is inferior to Stephens, and the plates far inferior X)d : the important distinguishing feature is the figures of the larva? : these are copied from various foreign works, and where the foreign author had mistaken or confused two larvae the error is ".after part of the second volume is probably a good sample of how badly a scientific book may be written, by an un- scrupulous author, with little knowledge of the subject, copying wholesale from previous authors, who were themselves not trust- worthy. We trust the day when such books can be written on Entomology is now past— an inquiring spirit is abroad — which will not accept such trash, even though in the form of quartos, half bound in morocco. LIST OF ENTOMOLOGICAL BOOKS. 163 WOODS INDEX ENTOMOLOGICUS. New Edi- tion. By Westwood. 8vo. With Coloured Plates. £4:4-. G. Willis. Contains figures of all the British Macro-Lepidoptera, and most of the Micro-Lepidoptera known at the time of publication. The figures are in general sufficiently accurate to enable an Entomo- logist to name the specimens he has caught. WOOD'S INDEX ENTOMOLOGICUS. The Sup- plement of the New Edition, with Figures of 179 New Species, may be had separately. 8vo. 12s. 6d. G.Willis. To those who have the original work, this supplemental portion will be found very useful. WORKS ON LEPIDOPTERA (not exclusively British). DOUBLEDAY AND WESTWOOD'S GENERA OF DIURNAL LEPIDOPTERA. 2 vols. Impl. 4to. Half bd. morocco. £15 : 15s. Longmans. A magnificent work for the drawing-room table, and well fitted to o-ive an idea of the number, variety and beauty of the Butter- flies of the whole world. HEWITSON'S EXOTIC BUTTERFLIES. (Pub- lishing Quarterly, in os. Parts.) 16 Parts published. 4to. With Coloured Plates. Van Yoorst. A beautiful work, intended to pourtray the numerous new species of Diurnal Lepidoptera, which such enterprising collectors as Air. Wallace and Mr. Bates are continually sending us from tropical countries. To those who collect Exotic Rhopalocera this work will prove very useful, and it is to some extent supplemental to the last- mentioned work. 164 LIST OF ENTOMOLOGICAL BOOKS. OCHSENHEIMER UND TREITSCHKE— DIE SCHMETTERLINGE VON EUROPA (The Lepidop- tera of Europe). 10 vols, in 17. 8vo. Price £2 : 10s. Williams and Norgate. A German work, without plates, but containing much useful in- formation to the collector of British Lepidoptera. At the price at which it is now offered it is certainly cheap. WOUKS ON BRITISH C0LE0PTEE-A. DAWSON'S GEODEPHAGA BRITANNICA: a Monograph of the Carnivorous Ground Beetles indigenous to the British Isles. 1 vol. 8vo. With Coloured Plates. Price 12s. Van Voorst. Those who collect Coleoptera, and wish to name their specimens and to study their specific differences, must have this work, which is the only authority we have, on the group on which it treats. S PRY'S BRITISH COLEOPTER A DELINEATED, containing Figures and Descriptions of all the Genera of British Beetles. Edited by Shuckard. 8vo. With 94 Plates, comprising 638 Figures of Beetles. Cloth lettered. £1 : Is. Bohn. To the young Coleopterist who wants types of the different Genera, the figures in this work will be of the greatest use. STEPHENS' ILLUSTRATIONS OF BRITISH ENTOMOLOGY. The Coleoptera, complete in 5 vols., may be had separately. 8vo. With Coloured Plates. £4 : 4s. Bohn. This has been superseded to a considerable extent by Stephens' Manual of British Beetles, but this latter work appears to be out of print. LIST OF ENTOMOLOGICAL BOOK.-. 165 WORKS 01* COLEOPTERA (not exclusively British). FAIRMAIRE AND LABOULBENE'S FAUNE ENTOMOLOGIQUE FRANCAISE — COLEOP- TERES. Vol. I. Parts I. and II. Each part, 5fr. Williams and Norgate. See ante, p. 154. HOPE'S COLEOPTERIST'S MANUAL. Two parts in 1 vol. 8vo. Cloth. Price 15s. Bohn. This was intended as a guide to the descriptions of Coleoptera occurring in Linnseus and Fabricius, but also contains descriptions of a few new Genera and Species. WOLLASTON'S INSECTA MADERENSIA; be- ing an Account of the Insects of the Islands of the Madeiran Group. Large 4to. With 13 Coloured Plates. Price £2 : 2s. Van Voorst. Three-fourths of the genera comprised in this volume, which is restricted to the order Coleoptera, are indigenous to Great Britain. To the Madeiran Coleopterist, this volume, in spite of its bulk, will become almost a necessary adjunct to his baggage. WORKS ON BEES. BEVAN ON THE HONEY BEE. Post 8vo. With Wood-cuts. Cloth. 5s. Bohn. HUISH ON BEES : their Natural History and General Management. Thick 12mo. With numerous Wood-cuts. Extra cloth, gilt. 6s. 6d. Bohn. RICHARDSON'S RURAL HAND-BOOKS. Bees: the Hive and the Honey Bee. Is. Orr and Son. 166 LIST OF ENTOMOLOGICAL BOOKS. MISCELLANEOUS WOKXS OH ENTOMOLOGY. DENNY'S MONOGRAPHIA ANOPLURORUM BRITANNIA, OR BRITISH SPECIES OF PARA- SITIC INSECTS. 8vo. Cloth. Price £1 : lis. 6d. BOHN. DONOVAN'S NATURAL HISTORY OF THE INSECTS OF INDIA. New Edition. By J. O. West- wood. 4to. With 58 Coloured Plates. Extra cloth, boards. Price £2 : 5s. Bohn. DONOVANS NATURAL HISTORY OF THE INSECTS OF CHINA. New Edition. By J. O. West- wood. 4to. With 50 Coloured Plates. Extra cloth, boards. Price £2 : 5s. Bohx. DRURYS ILLUSTRATIONS OF FOREIGN EN- TOMOLOGY. New Edition. By J. O. Westwood. 3 vols. 4to. With 150 Coloured Plates. Half bd. mo- rocco. £6 : 16s. 6d. Bohn. ENTOMOLOGIST'S ANNUAL FOR 1855 (THE). Second Edition. l'2mo. With Coloured Frontispiece. Price '2s. 6d. Van Voorst. Contains instructions in Collecting, Preserving and Arranging Lepidoptera and Coleoptera; Notices of the New British Lepi- doptera detected since 1835; New British Coleoptera since 1838; and New British Bees since 1802. This being the first of a series of annual volumes it became necessary in it to enumerate all the new species discovered since the last standard works on the dif- ferent orders or groups, so as to obtain a clear starting-point for the annual records of future discoveries. See ante, p. 135. KIRBY'S ENTOMOLOGIA BOREALI-AMERI- CANA, OR NATURAL HISTORY OF THE IN- SECTS OF NORTH AMERICA. 4to. With Co- loured Figures. Extra cloth, boards. j£l : 4s. Bohn. LIST OF ENTOMOLOGICAL BOOKS. 167 LINN^A ENTOMOLOGICA. A German work, published annually by the Entomological Society of Stettin. 8vo. With Plates. Vols. I.— IX. Price 6s. each. Williams and Norgate. Each volume contains about four papers of a Monographic Nature on Genera or groups of Insects, written by some of the most talented and painstaking Entomologists of the day. Its cheapness is marvellous. KOLLAR'S TREATISE ON INSECTS INJU- RIOUS TO GARDENS, FORESTS AND FARMS. Translated into English by Loudon and Westwood. Fcp. 8vo. With 60 Wood-cuts. Extra cloth. 4s. Bohn. There is much in this little book worth studying. MAUNDER'S TREASURY OF NATURAL HIS- TORY. New Edition. Revised by Adam White. Fcp. 8vo. Price 10s. Longmans. Contains much well-written Entomological matter, with numer- ous Wood-cuts. Also a description of Entomological apparatus, p. 762, with remarks on collecting insects, a glossary, and a " List of persons in London or its vicinity who can supply Insects and Entomological Apparatus," Introduction, p. 5. STEPHENS' ILLUSTRATIONS OF BRITISH ENTOMOLOGY. Dermaptera, Orthoptera, Neuroptera and Tri- choptera, in 1 vol., may be had separately. With Co- loured Plates. Price £1 :1s. Bohn. Hymenoptera, in 2 vols., may be had separately. With Coloured Plates. Price £2 : 2s. Bohn. 168 LIST OF ENTOMOLOGICAL BOOKS. TRANSACTIONS OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. 8vo. With numerous Co- loured Plates. Longmans. First Series. New Series. Vol. I. 25s. 6d. Vol. I. 27s. Vol. II. 23s. (V. Vol. II. 28s. 6d. Vol. III. 21s. 6d. Vol. III. Part I. 3s. 6c?. Vol. IV. 22s. 6d. II. 3s. 6rf. Vol. V. -255. 6rf. III. 2s. 6d. IV. 3s. V. 5s. VI. 2s. WALKER'S INSECT A BRITANNIC A — DIP- TERA. Vols. I. and II. With Plates. Price 25s. each. L. Reeve. MONTHLY PERIODICALS Which contain Entomological Papers or Information. ANNALS AND MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY, including Zoology, Botany and Geology. 8vo. Pp. 80. Generally with a Plate. Price 2s. 6d. Taylor and Francis. A learned periodical, and by no means intelligible to the mul- titude. Entomologists hardly ever write in it, because there are very few Entomologists who take it in. NATURALIST, THE. A popular Monthly Magazine, illustrative of the Animal, Vegetable and Mineral Kingdoms. Conducted by Beverley R. Morris. 8vo. Pp. 24. Price 6d. Groombridge, A popular periodical and extensively read by the unlearned. A little more learning would not be a disadvantage, as it is necessary to caution our readers not to believe everything because they see it in print in the ' Naturalist.' This periodical is a useful one, but we believe its utility might be increased. LIST OF ENTOMOLOGICAL BOOKS. 169 ZOOLOGIST, THE. A Popular Monthly Magazine of Natural History, and Journal for recording Facts and Anecdotes relating to Quadrupeds, Birds, Reptiles, Fishes, Annelides, Insects, Worms, Zoophytes, &c , their Habits, Food, Retreats, occasional Appearance, Migra- tions, Nests and Young. 8vo. Pp. 32 or 40. Price Is. Van Voorst. Popular and learned ; at least it tries to combine the two. Insensibly I believe this periodic;il has become more learned than formerly, and is found too abstruse by incipients; communications from new naturalists now growing up are hardly welcomed as cor- dially as they ought to be. I have a filial respect for the ' Zoologist,' as my first published writings appeared in it, but I am not blind to its faults and do my best to rectify them. 1856 ( 170 ) GEODEPHAGA BRITAXXICA: a Monograph of the Carnivorous Ground Beetles indigenous to the British Isles. By J. F. Dawson, LL.B. Co- loured Plates. London : John Van Voorst. Price 12s. Opinions of the Press. " We unhesitatingly pronounce the work an invaluable contri- bution to British Entomology. The subject investigated by Mr. Dawson is surrounded with difficulties ; the species themselves are obscure ; the prior descriptions are very imperfect, and the syno- nomy is involved in all but inextricable confusion ; nevertheless our pains-taking author has dissipated much of the obscure, unveiled the tangled synonymy, and thrown a flood of light on every part of his subject. Hence it is with sincere pleasure that we recommend the ' Geodephaga Britannica'* to our readers as a work that must take its place beside those classics of British Entomology, Hawortb/s Lepidoptera. Kirby's Bees, and Shuckard's Fossorial Hymen- optera/' — The Zoologist. " If we turn to the pages of this Monograph and compare the results arrived at with those of the standard works which have gone before it, we shall perceive that it has not been taken in hand wantonly ; but that it is the fruit of much close observation and practical research, and that it may in fact be looked upon as the most successful attempt which has been hitherto made to clear up the difficulties of nomenclature, and the confusion which has arisen as regards the species themselves, in so large a section of the British Coleoptera." — Annals and Magazine of Natural History. ( 171 ) THE ENTOMOLOGIST'S COMPANION. By H. T. Stainton. Second Edition. London: John Van Voorst. Price 3s. Containing: Horn to catch Micro- Lepidoptera— Where to catch Micro-Lepidoptera — When to catch Micro-Lepidoptera — To collect the Larvae of Micro-Lepidoptera — Table of Appearance of British Ti- neina — Calendar of British Tineina appearing in the Imago state — On the Habits of Tineina Larvae — Calendar of Bri- tish Tineina appearing in the Larva or Pupa state — How to rear Micro-Lepidoptera from the Larvae — How to kill Micro-Lepidoptera — How to set Micro-Lepidoptera — Ento- mological Localities — Ten Days at Kilmun, with a Trip to the Isle of Arran — On the Necessity of the Collector keep- ins; a Journal — Journal of a Larva Collector for 1835. o " The present volume is more than an amplification and correc- tion of its predecessor. It has been my aim, by the insertion of more readable matter, to render the ' Companion' more entertaining without sacrificing any of its usefulness, and without enhancing the cost." — Preface. " For those interested in the study of the smaller moths, this book will be found of great use. The ways of catching, keeping, rear- ing, killing and setting these minute creatures are fully detailed. " — Athenceum. i 2 ( 1^2 ) BOTANICAL WORKS. As every Entomologist must know something* of Botany, books on that branch of Natural History form a necessary portion of his library. As a compendious work, with desertions of all our in- digenous Flowery Plants and Ferns, we recommend BABINGTON'S MANUAL OF BRITISH BOTANY, Third Edition, 12mo. Price 10s. 6d. Van Voorst. And as the technical terms in this render it rather unintel- ligible to the uninitiated, we cannot speak too highly of HENFREYS RUDIMENTS OF BOTANY, 16mo., with Illustrative Woodcuts. Price 3s. 6d. Van Voorst. We much wish that we had a similar work on the " Ru- diments of Entomology." ( 173 ) NATURAL HISTORY REVIEW. PUBLISHED QUARTERLY. London : Samuel Highley, 32, Fleet Street. Each Number to contain from 80 to 100 pages, besides Woodcuts and Lithographs. Price 2s. (>LO< lST'S ( • ION. By^ .1 i\ Statni • U-'. I E ENTOMOLOGIST'S ANSfiB&L f;OR 1355, £§} id Edition. Pp.153. Coffered . Priced 7 P i! Tfl] , HISTORY 01 It. T. Stai assisted bv . ! ;Ive ; fillings and Six£( OPINlbrfS OF THK Pfti ,ig the curiosities of literature published ». this elaborate contribution to the Natural History old a distinguished place. The 'Tineina' are a g scopic moths, numerous in species, and their habits and trail ate here given on a scale of completeness and extended #.rtai] not hitherto reached by naturalists on any subject." — Literary Gas ■•' It is with sincere gratification t£i& we hail the advent of the present volume, as promisi; o us much minute, yet distinct, information u}; ;i these little atoms. '. . . We can only further commend this vn! a id its successors most cordially to our readers, feeling a^su^ed 'hat all who become purchasers will be not only in Mr. Stainton's d**b? ■ • i i tor bringing this admirable history under their notice. On the 1st March, ) H •/■- Price Threepenr. A MANUAL O] BKIlIiB BUTTERFLIES AJ*D H. T, STAIN 1 s i^ } 5 I | Tflis I contain Djscriphoks of all t,ie Bri ' : Sp.s'cj::- 'vith popu! rearla! In \ actions where to l. i them ai ' ;> w to knots Jiero, > . i wil. be Illustrate ith numerous W$9D-cM T .>e completed in about \ hirty Monthly Ntfm! "'he first Four Pans will corr prise the whole of the Bu'JL /ERFLIES!' Lond .-.;;: John Van V orst. Vitc ;•;,*. si*11 THE ENTOMOLOGIST'S ANNIU J MixrcLVlI. ■ WITH A COLOURED PLATE. v LONDON: JOHN \ \N \ OORST, PATERNOSTER ROW Mix CCLVII. ,»■'• ■&* v/'/ '4k THE ENTOMOLOGIST'S ANNUAL MDCCCLYIL Vires acquirit eundo. (Driginal ftetnra. LONDON : JOHN VAN VOORST, PATERNOSTER ROW MDCCCLYII. loxdon: PRINTED BY C. ROWORTH AND SONS, BELL YARD, TEMPLE BAR. PREFACE. On this our third appearance before the public, we assume a triple form — in other words the present Annual is issued simultaneously in three editions. The Library Edition in cloth gilt, printed on superior paper, and with more carefully coloured plate. The Original Edition in yellow boards as heretofore, and The People's Shilling Edition in thick paper wrapper, with uncoloured plate. By this method we hope to reach, though we fear we cannot expect to satisfy, all classes of readers, and we trust it will be found that there is no falling off in the amount of interesting matter provided by our contributors. At the present day, when so much stir is being created at the neglect which all orders of insects, save the Lepidoptera and Coleoptera, experience from British Entomologists, a Synopsis of the British Dragon-flies, from the pen of so competent an authority as Dr. Hagen, will be welcomed as a real step towards further progress. Mr. Janson's paper on Ants'-nest Beetles will be read with interest by many who have never yet troubled themselves with that curious page in Natural History, u the love of the ant for the beetle." We apprehend that on our next appearance we shall be compelled to enlarge our size ; Ave shall probably then have more than one new contributor, and more than one group of IV PREFACE. insects, hitherto neglected, will probably be made the basis of an article. If the anticipated expansion in bulk takes place, we do not see how we can prevent an increase in price. At present, though we print three thousand, no margin of profit is left, and any outlay in advertising entails a loss. If our readers should decide for us that we might safely print even a larger issue, we would willingly increase in bulk without any additional charge— but time will show. A year hence the cheap Edition of Kirby and S pence, of which the fourth thousand is already advertised, will have had time to produce fruit, and to swell our crop of readers. The " Times" recently, in an article on Book- Hawking, asks " what becomes of the gift of reading among the labour- ing poor of this country?" and then, commenting on the class of books which are hawked about the country, observes, " that though book-hawking may supply only the vilest trash, it is in itself a natural machinery for supplying the country poor with literary food. The poor will buy books ; and if they have any money to spare from their household expenses, little as it may be, this is a very good use of it, provided the books be good. It is much better, too, that they should buy books than that books should be given in charity. People value what they buy a great deal more than what comes to them by mere official charity." This is very true. In another column of the " Times," of the same day, we find another article on the same subject, from which we quote the following : " Many there are who would turn away from a professedly religious book, who might yet be tempted by some useful or entertaining secular work." And this as true of scientific books as of religious works. A writer in the " Times," a few days later, alluding to this PREFACE. very paragraph, remarks, " The great fault of those who choose books for the working classes is in their desire that they shall read none but " good books ;" that is, as they the choosers would express it, — " books which should contribute to the religious and moral improvement of working men." The greater part, therefore, are religious books, and the re- mainder no doubt highly moral and instructive; but, un- happily, just the sort that the majority of working men would open only to shut again, after glancing over half a page. It is entirely forgotten that a taste for reading is yet to be created among working men. To give such religious book or books inculcating morals simply, without their being at the same time very entertaining — a quality often deemed improper for labouring people — is only to make them feel a disgust for reading." " Labouring men, and workmen generally who do read, are affected by reading precisely the same as the classes above them. They are entertained with the narration of what they can understand and appreciate, and oppressed with dulness or ' bored' with what they do not understand or appreciate. Books, therefore, for their use must be highly entertaining, if you would have them voluntarily read or purchase them. But as with the greatest number a taste for reading has yet to be created, books must be procured for them of a suffi- ciently engrossing tendency to their minds to overcome the distaste, or perhaps the difficulty, of reading them." It may seem strange to some that we should say so much about " book-hawking" in these pages ; but we have re- peatedly felt the difficulty which some of our poorer readers have in getting possession of our works. They get to hear of them in some round-about" way, and want to procure them, but the bookseller in the nearest village or town, when ap- "VI PREFACE. plied to, has not the " Entomologist's Annual" in stock, perhaps he has not even heard that there is such a publica- tion,—and is it natural that he should be at the trouble of specially procuring from London a book which he fears he may never sell ? for the party applying for it at the time is a perfect stranger to him and may never enter his shop again ; the applicant, on the other hand, does not like the notion of making a deposit beforehand of the price of the book, and so we lose a reader and our friend misses the in- struction he was anxious to obtain. I hope that all who wish for any information on Entomo- logical subjects will still, without hesitation, continue to apply to me. H. T. STAINTON. MOUNTSFIELD, LEWISHAM, December ±th, 1856. CONTENTS. PAGE The Seasons. (By the Editor.) 1 Is Entomology progressing ? (By the Editor) .. .. 7 Supplemental List of British Entomologists. (By the Editor.) 13 Hymenoptera. By Frederick Smith. Notes and Observations on the Aculeate Hymenoptera .. 27 Neuroptera. A Synopsis of the British Dragon-Flies. By Dr. Hagen. 39 Explanation of Terms used in Dr. Hagen's Paper. By A. H. Haliday 164 Coleoptera. Notes on British Geodephaga. By J. F. Dawson, LL.B... 61 New British Species noticed in 1856. By E. W. Janson.. . 69 Observations on the Myrmecophilous Coleoptera, or Ants- Nest Beetles, of Britain. By E. W. Janson. .. .. 85 Lepidoptera. (By the Editor.) New British Species in 1856 .. .. .. .. ..97 Rare British Species captured in 1856 .. .. .. 113 Observations on British Tineina .. .. .. .. 121 Answers to Enigmas .. .. .. .. .. .. 131 Enigmas still unanswered .. .. .. .. .. 132 New Enigmas for Solution .. .. .. .. .. 133 Diptera. By W. Wilson Saunders, F.R..S. Dipterous Notes and Queries .. .. .. .. 154 How Insects Breathe. By John Lubbock, F.G.S. .. .. 135 Natural History of the Tineina. (By the Editor.) .. 160 Entomological Works published in England in 1856. (By the Editor) .. 166 Entomological Works published abroad in 1856. (By the Editor) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 167 EXPLANATION OF PLATE. Fig. 1. Oxyhemus cylindricus, see page 79. 2. Laoerna conturbatella, see page 107. 3. Laverna Ra.se/ikiclla, see page 108. 4. Trochilium Scolieeforme, see page 114. 5. Mixodia Hawkerana, seepage 119. 6. Laphygma esigua, seepage 115. 7. Hetcerius sesquieornis, see page 77. 8. Adelops Wollastoni, see page 70. 9. Cryphalus binodulus, see page 83. " In former times there were many men eminent in all the branches of human learning, but, as regards the great masses of mankind, the avenues of knowledge were to a certain degree closed ; but the arrangements of later periods, which are improving from day to day, tend to diffuse among the great mass of the community, or, at all events, among all who are willing to receive instruction, the results of the labours of science and the fruits of the investigations of the learned. " The intellectual qualities, as well as the moral feelings of our nature, are scattered broadcast over the face of the earth. We find them everywhere, in the lowest classes as in the highest." Lord P aimer ston, at Manchester, Xovember 6th, 1856. ERRATA. Page 47, line 6 from bottom, after " Harris's figure" insert " (Exposition, _ pi. 27, fig. 2)." „ 51, line 19, for " jEschnia'' read " JEscJma." ,, 55, line 10 from bottom, after " ( $ ) ;" insert " ( $ )•" „ ,, line 2 from bottom, after " ( $ ) ;:' insert " ( $ )." „ 57, line 4 from bottom, after " Dublin" insert " University." „ 63, line 10 from bottom, for " Whitsund" read " Whitsand." „ 64, line 2, erase " Dej. Spec." „ 70, line 14, for " Fig. 7" read " Fig. 8." THE SEASONS. (By the Editor.) It is well for Entomologists it is not always summer. Sum- mer is to the eager collector a period of such intense activity, — moths to be found here, beetles there, caterpillars in other directions, then insects coming out in the breeding-cages, insects spread out on the setting-boards, live insects too, — those horrid mites running about on the setting-boards rub- bing off a leg here, an antenna there, or, if the insect be very precious, carefully removing the wings, — (the clever rascals) — that it is well the duration of summer is limited ; few would like to have to work for even six months at the full summer high-pressure rate. A member of parliament in July can have some concep- tion of the labours devolving on an Entomologist during the summer months; but, unfortunately, the M. P.'s labours are of a less exhilarating nature : whilst he is drearily dozing over an endless and unmeaning debate, the Entomologist is more pleasantly employed in culling his moths from his sugared trees ; he is in the open and fresh air of the woods and heaths, unexposed to the ventilating draughts which a Reid inflicts upon the Commons — his acquaintance with reeds is limited to those growing in marshes ; though it strikes one as not improbable that in days long gone by, Wainscots and other marsh insects must have occurred freely between 1857. m b ; 2 THE SEASONS. Westminster and Milbank, and probably the very ground on which the Penitentiary stands served as their metropolis. When the M. P. sits down to his daily digest of blue- books, the Entomologist is busy setting out his captures of the previous evening ; when at 11 a.m. the M. P. goes to the House to attend a committee, and amuse himself with hearing a witness examined for three or four hours, the Entomologist (supposing he had nothing else to do, which is, in fact, how- ever fortunately rarely the case) sallies forth and proceeds to interrogate nature, by peering over the mossy trunk of a tree, beating the branches and raking in the roots of the grass — and whether he finds any thing, or merely finds indi- cations of where something has been, all is gain to him, and on his return home he forthwith opens his journal and makes an entry of what he has seen and met with. The post arrives : to the M. P. it brings budgets of letters, some from his constituents asking for all imaginable and unimaginable things (just as we are often asked for a small cheap book with coloured figures and descriptions of all our British insects) ; to the Entomologist it brings packets of letters applying for some rarity of which he had announced the capture in the previous Saturday's " Intelligencer." Alas ! a great number of the letters received both by the M. P. and the Entomologist show but too clearly the selfishness of the writers. Winter is not a period of the year in great favour with Entomologists, but it is not without its uses. Things which ©7 © we least appreciate are often of the greatest service to us. Now, in the good old times of farming, fields were allowed to be fallow at certain intervals, in order to recruit the ex- hausted condition of the ground — a fallow field was itself unproductive, but was destined to be the cause of greater THE SEASONS. 3 production hereafter — so with the winter of the Entomologist : the almost entire cessation of out-door Entomological labours drives him to look over and study his collection, and sets him a re-reading his Entomological books, and he is surprised to find how much more pregnant with meaning they now ap- pear than they did the previous winter ; many passages of which he did not gather the full purport before, now he at once understands, because they confirm some of his own ex- perience during the past season : he makes notes of insects to be looked for at particular times and in particular places during the ensuing season, consults the herbarium of some friend, and rubs up his Botanical knowledge in order that he may learn to know some particular plants, on which he finds some caterpillars are only to be found. Grant that during mid-winter the Entomologist says daily, " Oh ! I wish it were summer !" Yet that very wish drives him to work harder at his studies in order that when summer comes he may be the better prepared for it. The summer he knows goes but too quickly, and there is hardly a possibility of finding time during the summer to rummage books and see what one should be looking for ; those who are wise will get all this book-work done beforehand, and those are wise who are not given to procrastination. Nor let it be for a moment thought that these remarks about study and making notes are addressed only to our elder readers. Our own literary labours commenced before we were fourteen, by the compilation (from Rennie's Conspectus) of a Calendar of British Butterflies and Moths, which showed under each month the species occurring in that month, whe- ther they were plentiful or scarce, and in what parts of the country they occurred. This list filled six copy-books, and though not intended for publication, only for our own private use, proved to us most serviceable j and we strongly b2 4 THE SEASONS. recommend such of our juvenile readers as want some occu- pation for their winter evenings to try the same or some similar dodge. By writing a thing out yourself, you learn it more thoroughly than by merely reading it (don't you find this so, when you have to write out your lessons ?), and you will soon acquire a habit of tabulating any information which you wish to have clearly placed before you. As winter advances, the feeling of intense anxiety to be doing something increases in the Entomologist to an almost morbid degree, and the first tolerably tempting day in Ja- nuary or February you are sure to see him a-field. Spring comes, and then the Entomologist emerges, as it were, from his long pupa state, and enjoys all the pleasures of a new existence. He is a year older and a year wiser than he was the spring of the previous year : to the experience of the preceding spring and summer, he has added the knowledge gained by his winter studies ; and though in no great hurry to think that he knows everything, he finds the immense advantage of the increase of knowledge he has ob- tained in the twelve months. This is the great charm of knowledge ; the pleasures of that we have acquired, urge us to increased industry in adding to our store. Were summer to come immediately after winter, the transition would be so great that the Entomologist would not have time to adapt himself to the altered state of things; but by the gradual advent of spring, he has the opportunity afforded him of bit by bit accustoming himself to a complete change of occu- pation. The very variableness of the weather too in spring is not without its uses in trying the steadiness of purpose of the Entomologist : by persevering in collecting during the cold ungenial weather of April, and facing sundry cool showers of rain and sleet, he testifies that there is some stuff THE SEASONS. 5 in him, and it is only when it meets with obstacles and over- comes them, that we appreciate the full force of any strong current. Besides, this sameungenial temperature, which often comes suddenly after a week of pleasant balmy weather, enables the Entomologist to cultivate a cheerful disposition ; like Mark Tapley, he can then show whether he has the capability of being "jolly" under aggravating circumstances ; it is quite absurd to say you can cultivate cheerfulness when everything goes smoothly — it is when things will perversely go wrong, that one's philosophy gets put to the test. Moreover, the Entomologist must be sharp indeed, if he has not put off some of the winter's work to the last, and probably he finds, as the labours of the spring season begin to press upon him, several matters of importance had been overlooked in the winter, but which yet it will be desirable to get completed before the summer sets in, in full earnest. But, alas ! how few have the foresight and industry to get all their work ready beforehand. Autumn, though it has less to be distinctively said of it than the previous seasons, cannot be passed altogether un- noticed. Long ago we remember we used to slacken our Entomological energies towards the close of the season, and used to pass unheeded in October moths, which we should have eagerly chased in March ; as it was with us then, per- haps it now is with many of our readers. At the close of the day one gets lazy and indisposed to work, at the close of summer a like feeling of drowsiness overtakes the incipient Entomologist. Of course we can understand that what with " Intelligencers," " Naturalists," " Substitutes" and " Zoolo- gists," it is less easy to drop off quietly to slumber than it was in our juvenile days, when such things were unknown. Yet autumn is a prolific time for many things, and those 6 THE SEASONS. who are energetic will find that though one has much " game" to look after out of doors, — for is not the ivy in bloom in Oc- tober and November ? the arrangement of summer captures, and determination of the names of species, will afford plenty of in-door occupation ; so that those who wish to be Ento- mologically employed can amuse themselves both with summer-work and winter-work. ( 7 ) IS ENTOMOLOGY PROGRESSING? (By the Editor.) An apparent increase of crime may be caused by a greater efficiency of the police. More criminals will be captured, more will be tried, and more will be convicted : statistical tables will show, to the horror of the civilized portion of the community, a great increase of crime, whereas after all the increase is not in the crimes committed, but in the criminals detected. In like manner many persons are apt to take up the idea that a greatly increased number of persons are now occupying themselves with Entomology, simply because, owing to the greater efficiency of our Entomological police, a collector can hardly make a day's excursion without finding his doings in print. So that the apparently increased activity of our col- lectors may only arise from the movements of each being noted. That this publication of each other's movements reacts favourably upon Entomologists may readily be admitted : it produces the sympathy of a crowd; each finding himself no longer isolated, and working only for his own amusement, finds himself placed in a higher and more unselfish position ; he works now for the amusement and instruction of others as well as for his own. Each collector may thus be led to more vigorous exertions, and an increased crop of insects will be found in his store 8 IS ENTOMOLOGY PROGRESSING? boxes at the end of the season ; for till one gets to know of those who are in want of one's duplicates, but little attention is paid to the collection of them. But granted that each collector is more active, and granted even that there are a few more collectors than formerly, still we may recur to the question — Is Entomology progress- ing ? Entomology is the study of insects ; the collector catches insects, but it does not follow that he studies them ; to assume that an increase in the number of collectors necessitated the progress of Entomology, would be as rational as to assert that Mineralogy was now making vast advances, because so many had gone to the gold-diggings of California and Australia. In 1850 the following passage appeared in the pages of the Zoologist. " I imagine all persons commence a collection of insects with the notion that they are thereby making something pretty to look at. Yet, the desire to have them named and arranged, treads very closely on the heels of the desire to form a collection. And this naming and arranging is no child's play, no baby-work : if they are to be named, they must be named correctly ; if they are to be arranged, whose arrangement should be followed ? In the first place, how is the collector to ascertain the names of the species he has col- lected ? He may consult books, and refer to descriptions or figures, or he may compare specimens with some collection which is supposed to be rightly named ; and nine-tenths of our collections, I regret to say, are named in this latter way : they are copies of copies ; they have never been compared with the original ; if there was a blunder in the copy, still they copy it, having no notion of correcting it. The conse- quence has been that our collections of Lepidoptera} and IS ENTOMOLOGY PROGRESSING? 9 probably of other orders, were a disgrace to the age and to the country. This is now to be rectified ; a new catalogue of British Lepidoptera (except the Famece) has appeared : all collections are to be named and arranged by this, — but are they not still all to be copies ? Who refers to the original descriptions to prove their correctness ? Every one takes on trust the saying of this or that Entomologist, and names his cabinet accordingly. Why is this so ? . This is an inquiring age : we do not generally take things on trust in this way, but we make diligent search and inquiry in order to prove them." The evil here complained of still exists. But very few dive into the literature of Entomology, but very few devote themselves to the analysis and correction of genera. Nay a recent writer in the Natural History Review is actually so violently opposed to the further study and consequently im- proved arrangement of a group of insects, that he energetically protests against any re-arrangement, because it will be so inconvenient to our collections ; a collection is not to be used for the furtherance of science, but is to form a bar to its progress. We have often been accused of being severe upon our countrymen, but we were never guilty of so great a libel on them as the reviewer in question. The Natural History Review, we may observe en passant, has done wisely to in- port its best paper from abroad, so great is the lack of Ento- mological writers in this country. A fair idea of the crop of Entomological writers may be formed by referring to the papers published in the Trans- actions of the Entomological Society of London. It is well known that every paper read before that society is referred to a committee called the Publication Committee, which decides whether or not the paper is worthy of publication 5 so that the list of contributors may be assumed not to be a 10 IS ENTOMOLOGY PROGRESSING I list of mere scribblers, but to be restricted to those who have elaborated something of scientific value. The following is the list of contributors to the Trans- actions of the Entomological Society, in each year from 1846 inclusive. 1846.. Rev. F. W. Hope A J. W. Douglas, Esq I J. O. Westwood, Esq. , . . . > R. Templeton, Esq | Rev. T. Savage ) 1847-. J. W. Douglas, Esq ^ W. W. Saunders, Esq | J. O. Westwood, Esq { J. E. Gray, Esq ( W. F. Evans, Esq Dr. Schaum J 1848.. J. O. Westwood, Esq J. W. Douglas, Esq W. S. Dallas, Esq Edward Doubleday, Esq. . . William Wing, Esq H. T. Stainton, Esq J 1 849.. J. F. S. Parry, Esq. .. W. S. Dallas, Esq. . . J. O. Westwood, Esq. W. W. Saunders, Esq. Thomas Desvignes, Esq. J. W. Douglas, Esq. . . H. T. Stainton, Esq. . . 1850. . H. T. Stainton, Esq. . . F. Smith, Esq S. S. Saunders, Esq. .. Adam White, Esq. . . J. W. Douglas, Esq. . . W. W. Saunders, Esq. W. C. Hewitson, Esq. . . 1851.. J. W. Douglas, Esq. W. S. Dallas, Esq. . . H.T. Stainton, Esq. .. W. W. Saunders, Esq. J. O. Westwood, Esq F. Smith, Esq R. F. Logan, E, John Davy, Esq 5 Contributors; of whom 2 were new. 6 Contributors; 1 (a foreigner) new. 6 Contributors ; 3 new. 7 Contributors; 1 new. *? ., M.D J 7 Contributors; 1 new. 8 Contributors ; 2 new. IS ENTOMOLOGY PROGRESSING .' 11 1852.. J. W. Douglas, Esq... J. O. Westvvood, Esq. John Curtis, Esq F. Smith, Esq W. S. Dallas, Esq. . . W. C. Hewitson, Esq. W. W. Saunders, Esq. H. W. Bates, Esq S. S. Saunders, Esq. . . 18-53. . W. Wilson Saunders, Esq. Mr. IV. Varney G. R. Waterhouse, Esq. . J. W. Douglas, Esq F. Smith, Esq J. O. Westwood, Esq. . . . A. R. Wallace. Esq John Scott, Esq 1354. . W. C. Hewitson, Esq. . . . Edward Newman, Esq... . John Curtis, Esq John Davy, Esq., M.D. . W. W. Saunders, Esq. . . . J. O. Westwood, Esq. .. . G. 11. Waterhouse, Esq. . H. T. Stainton, Esq F. Smith, Esq J. S. Baly, Esq 1855. .G. R. Waterhouse, Esq. . E. W. Janson, Esq F. Smith, Esq J. G. Desborough, Esq. . . . J. O. Westwood, Esq. . . . E. Newman, Esq John Lubbock, Esq 9 Contributors ; 2 new. 8 Contributors ; 3 new. 10 Contributors; 1 new. 7 Contributors ; 3 new. Thus in the years 1846 — 1850, the average number of con- tributors per annum was 6A, and in the five years eight new- writers made their debut. In the second period of five years 1851 — 1855, the average number of contributors per annum was 8f , which includes eleven new writers ; an increase in both respects of one-third. Taking therefore this as a criterion, we may infer that Ento- mology is progressing. 12 IS ENTOMOLOGY PROGRESSING ? Yet at the same time the progress is not great, and by no means to the extent that is actually desirable. Either Ento- mologists are not clever, or clever men do not become Ento- mologists ; a disagreeable statement no doubt, but one from which apparently there is no escape, and we never shirk stating the truth, just because it happens to be unpleasant. At the present day the collectors of beetles in this country want a clever man to write them a Manual of British Beetles; and whether we hunt high or low amongst our Coleopterists, the fitting man cannot be found. Surely this state of things will not always last ! ( 13 ) SUPPLEMENTAL LIST OF BRITISH ENTOMOLOGISTS. (By the Editor). The List of Entomologists in last year's Annual having been generally accepted as one of the most useful portions of that periodical, a Supplemental List is now given of all those Entomologists whose names and addresses have reached us since last year, and who were not unwilling to be thus enumerated. Very few of these were desirous of being thrust upon the public ; we had to seek them out in their retreats, pathetically appeal to the Entomological patriotism, and then came the modest reply, " I should not have thought myself worthy of being classed amongst Entomologists, but if you think any good purpose would be served by the in- sertion of my name in your Supplemental List, I leave you to do as you think best ;" so that the whole responsibility of publishing this list has been thrown upon our shoulders. However we entertain no qualms but what it will be bene-> ficial : each unit thus obtains a better chance of beino* thrown, in contact with other units of similar dispositions. An amusing result of our last year's list has become known to us. Two gentlemen were on visiting terms and had known one another for some years, but neither had any idea that the other collected insects, till one of them finds his friend in our 14 SUPPLEMENTAL LIST " List- of Entomologists ;" thereupon the next time they meet there ensues the following conversation : —A. says to B., " I had no idea you collected insects." B., " Oh ! yes ; I have been collecting many years ; have you any taste that way ?" A., "Yes; and I have often wanted to meet with a kindred spirit, and little thought that you were one." A good many of our new names are school-boys ; in our eyes this enhances rather than detracts from the value of the list. Each " incipient Cuvier/' who finds his name thus paraded to the public gaze, will feel that he cannot relax his efforts without discredit, that to have had a fever for one pursuit and afterwards to have grown cool therein will be a damaging blow to his character for perseverance, which he will not be disposed rashly to encounter. The following alterations have taken place in the Address or Title of the Entomologists enumerated in our last year's List : — Changes of Address. Buxton, E. C, Esq., Daresbury Hall, near Warring- ton. Drane, Robert, 22, Frederick Street, Cardiff. D'Urban, W. S. M., Esq., Canada. Hodgkinson, Mr. J. B., 41, St. Peter's Street, Preston. Plint, Henry, Esq., 25, Tokenhouse Yard, London. Reading, J. J., Esq., 42, Gibbons Street, Plymouth. Shield, Mr. Richard, 9, Shrub Place, Leith Walk, Edinbro\ Smith, Frederick, Esq., British Museum, and 27, Richmond Crescent, Richmond Road, Islington. Wollaston, T. Vernon, Esq., 10, Hereford Street, Park Lane. OF BRITISH ENTOMOLOGISTS. 15 Changes of Title, eye. Bostock, Rev. G. J., Bideford, North Devon. Hogan, Rev. A. R., Corsham, Wilts. Jones, Captain John M., Dolarddyn Hall, near Welshpool, Montgo merysh ire. Newnham, Rev. P. H., Guildford, Surrey. Norman, Rev. Alfred Merle, Christchurch, Oxford. (Supplemental List of British Entomologists. Marked * are willing to assist young beginners with specimens or information. Alington, A. M., Candlesby Rectory, Spilsby, Lincolnshire. Allen, William, Western Terrace, The Park, Nottingham. Coleop- tera and Diptera. Allen, C. F., Western Terrace, The Park, Nottingham. Hymenoptera. Andrews, Percy, Esq., 17, Montpelier Villas, Brighton. British Lepidoptera. Archer, F., Jun., 49, Rodney Street, Liverpool. Aris, H., 149, St. John Street, West Smithfield. Aubertin, Edmund, 8, Charing Cross. British Lepidoptera. Baker, Henry, 90, Hatton Garden. (Glass Tube Maker.) Baker, Mr. Richard, Brockenhurst, New Forest, Hants. British Lepidoptera. Bakkr, William, New Road, Abergavenny. Balding, Mr. James, Wisbech. Banks, E., at Mr. Stlbbs', 1, Sadler Street, Durham. Barker, William, Church Fold, Kirkstall, Leeds. Barrett, Mr. C. G., 37, Park Street, Mile End. Bartlett, Rev. J. P., Exbury Parsonage, near Southampton. Barton, W. H., Rev. W. Metcalfe's, Brockdish, Scole, Norfolk. Bateman, H. William, 6, Islington Green, London. British and Foreign Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. Berry, John, Duke Street, Beeston Hill, Holbeck, Leeds. 16 SUPPLEMENTAL LIST ♦Bingham, Seymour, Esq., Bank, Xewnham, Gloucestershire. Bri- tish Lepidoptera. Binning, Mr. (Mr. Roakes, Pawnbroker), 13, Bartholomew Street, Newbury, Berks.' *Birchall, Edwin, Esq., 27, Eden Quay, Dublin. British Insects of all Orders. Birks, Mr. John, 4, Market Street, York. Black, Mr. John, 23, Justice Street, Aberdeen. *Blackmore, Trovey, Wandsworth. British Lepidoptera. Boggis, Rev. W. R. T., Curate of Lilley, near Luton, Beds. Bolitho, Edw., Arnold Point, No. 3, Cottage, Embankment Road, Plymouth. Coleoptera and Lepidoptera. Bolt, Henry, 6, Clarence Place, Kingsdown, Bristol. Bolt, John, Broad Street, Bristol. Boot, Alfred, Esq., 16, Park Row, Greenwich. British Insects of all Orders. Boscher, E., 3, Prospect Villas, Twickenham. Bouchard, Mr. Peter, Marling Pits Cottage, Sutton, Surrey. Col- lects for Entomologists, and sells. Boulaye, Mr. W. Galbois de la, SO, Dover Terrace, Lloyd Street, Greenheys, Manchester. Bowman, Mr. Jesse, Stanhope, via Darlington. Braikenridge, Rev. Geo. Weare, Broomwell House, Brislington, near Bath, and Clevedon, near Bristol. Braund, Mr. E., Martock, near Ilminster, Somersetshire. British Lepidoptera. Bray, Edwin, Esq., Senior Lane, Hunslet, Leeds, Bree, Rev. H., Wolverstone, Ipswich. Bremner, Dr. James, Jun., Duke Street, Huntley, Aberdeenshire. Bristow, John, Esq., Prospect, Belfast. Irish Lepidoptera. Browne, H. W., 1, Westbourne Street, Hyde Park Gardens. British Lepidoptera and Coltoptera. Brydges, C. E., 4, Priory Terrace, Cheltenham. British Lepidoptera. Buckler, William, Lumley Cottage, Emsworth, Hants. Buckton, Frederick, 6, Beech Grove Terrace, Leeds. British Lepidoptera. Bungey, Mr. Thos. J., Spennymoor, near Ferry Hill, Durham. Butterfield, Rev. H., M.A., Fulmer Rectory, Gerrard's Cross. OF BRITISH ENTOMOLOGISTS. 17 Campbell, Angus, 6, Cave Terrace, Crescent Road, Plumstead, Kent. British Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. Campbell, Thomas, Congreve Street, Birmingham. Canham, Mr. Thomas J., 29, South Street, Cambridge. Canham, Mr. Thomas, Jun., 6, John Street, City Road, Cambridge. Carter, Mr., 42, Crouch Street, Colchester. Cartmel, Richard, 13, William's Grove, Walworth. Caswall, Mr. R. C, Fighelden, Amesbury, Wilts. Chalmers, J. H., Esq., 14, Union Terrace, Aberdeen. Chaney, Mr. W. C, 20, Upper Britton Street, New Brompton, near Chatham. Chapman, Algernon, 114, Bothwell Street, Glasgow. British Lepi- doptera. Chapman, Thomas, 56, Buchanan Street, Glasgow. British Lepi- doptera. Chappell, Joseph, 2, Partington Street, Tontine Street, Salford. Clark, John, Raglan House, Regent Street, Cheltenham. British Lepidoptera. Clarke, Thomas, Bedern Bank, Ripon. Clarke, William, Holme, near Stilton, Hunts. Clayton, E. G., 47, Waterloo Street, Brighton. British Lepidoptera. Clowes, Mr. G. A., Ashbocking Vicarage, Needham Market, Suffolk. Constantine, W. L., 7, St. Andrew Street, Blackburn, Lancashire. British Coleoptera. Cook, Robert, Esq., 79, Long Westgate, Scarborough. British Lepidoptera. Cooke, Benjamin, 49, Ardwick Place, Manchester. British Insects of all Orders. Cooke, Mr. Nicholas, 6, Wentworth Street, Everton, Liverpool. Cowmeadow, Mr. James, Jun., Newnham, Gloucestershire. Cox, W., Esq., Uttoxeter Road, Derby. Coxon, Mr. John, Sun Place, Sodom, Holbeck, near Leeds. Cracknell, James, Essendon, near Hatfield. Crotch, W. D., Esq., Cemmaes, near Shrewsbury. Crotch, G. R., Esq., 2, Albert Buildings, Weston-super-Mare. Crozier, H. D., Esq., Seafield, Donnybrook Road, Dublin. Crump, Thomas Lacy, Winchcomb. British Lepidoptera. Cundall, Robert, Crown Point, Coal Staith, Leeds. 1857. m C 18 SUPPLEMENTAL LIST Dawson, Samuel Taylor, Esq., Botesdale, Suffolk. Draper, W. H., Chichester. Duke, F., Brighton College. Durand, Mr. J. L. E., Postern Street, Nottingham. British and French Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. Dyson, David, 17, Newall's Buildings, Manchester. Eales, Christopher, 8, King Street, Darlington. British Lepidop- tera. Edmondson, Mr. James, Plymouth Grove, Manchester. Edmondson, Mr. Townley, Plymouth Grove, Manchester. Ed on, R., East Sheen, Mortlake, Surrey. Edwards, George, 24, Acacia Road, St. John's Wood. British Coleoptera and Hymenoptera. Edwards, Mr. J. A., 57, Camden Road Villas, Camden New Town. Edwards, W., Pound Hill, Worth, Sussex. Edwards, Rev. Z. J., Axminster, Devon. Egles, Edward Henry, Esq., Emanuel College, Cambridge, and 30, Park Crescent, Brighton. Egles, G. M., Esq., 30, Park Crescent, Brighton. British Lepidoptera. Elliott, J., West Croft, Stanhope, via Darlington. Enoch, William, Bath Street, Leamington. Fairlie, Evelyn, Esq., Cheveley Park, Newmarket. Fairlie, John, Esq., Cheveley Park, Newmarket. Farrow, William, Woburn, Beds. Fathers, Thomas, Witney. Farren, William, Jun., King's Old Gateway, Cambridge. Collects for Sale. Fawkes, F. H., Esq., Upton Park, near Slough, Bucks. Fedarb, J., 113, Snargate Street, Dover. Fenton, Mr. John, Parkwood Springs, Sheffield. Fordham, Thomas, Esq., Snelsmore Hill East, near Newbury, Berks. Forrest, B. G., Legh Street, Warrington. British Lepidoptera. Fremlin, Mr. R. H., Wateringbury, near Maidstone. Fryer, Charles, Esq., 83, Rumford Street, Chorlton-on-Medloek, Manchester. British Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. Fuller, A., Esq., Broyle House, Chichester. British Lepidoptera. OF BRITISH ENTOMOLOGISTS. 19 Gatcomb, John, Esq., Wyndham Place, Plymouth. Collects all Orders. Keeps no Collection. Gates, William, 122, Shaftesbury Street, Ashley Crescent, City Road. Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. Gibbs, Herbert F., 20, Robert Street, King's Road, Chelsea. Gilbert, Mr. R., 17, Upper Phillimore Place, Kensington. Goadby, Rev. Jos. J., Market Harborough. Gore. Rev. H. J., Rusper Rectory, Horsham. Gower, Mr. W. H., Ham Road, Kingston, Surrey. British Lepidop- tera and Coleoptera. Graham, W. B., Superintendent of Police, Sharnbrook, Beds. British Lepidoptera. Grainger, John, Esq., A.B., T. C. D., Palatine Club, Liverpool. British Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. Grant, Rev. Jos. B., Oxenhope, near Keigbley, Yorkshire. Grantham, Henry, Esq., Scawby, near Brigg, Lincolnshire. Bri- tish Insects. Gray, R., 3, Oriel Place, Cheltenham. Green, J., Market Place, Wisbeach. Greenip, William, Plosh, Keswick, Cumberland. Gregor, Walter, Parochial Schoolmaster, Gowkstanes, Macduff, Banff. Gregory, William, Sen., 24, Clandon Street, near South Street, Walworth. Gregory, William, Jun., Ditto. Grierson, T. B., Esq., Surgeon, Thornhill, Dumfriesshire. Griesbach, Rev. A. W., Wollaston, Wellingborough. Griffin, Isaac, 261, Aston Road, Birmingham. Griffith, Thomas, Esq., 4, St. Peter's Place, Brighton. Groom, Miss S., Alfred Square, Dover. Guise, W. V., Elmore Court, Gloucester. Hale, William W., Ascension House, Montpelier, Bristol. Halpin, Charles, M.D., Cavan, Ireland. Hardy, John, 43, Radnor Street, Hulme, Manchester. Coleoptera and Lepidoptera since 1834. Hare, N., Jun., Esq., Liskeard. Hargreaves, William, 9, John Street, Gravesend. c2 20 SUPPLEMENTAL LIST Harris, Jos. William, Esq., Cockermouth. Harrison, E., Esq., 5, Ebenezer Terrace, Plumstead Common. Harrison, J., Esq., 5, Ebenezer Terrace, Plumstead Common, "Woolwich. Harvey, George, Baitsbite Sluice, near Cambridge. Hawley, A., Esq., 55, Hall Gate, Doncaster. Hayward, W. R., Norwood. Head, John D., care of H. Burlingham & Co., Evesham. Heales, G. S., Esq., Doctors' Commons. British Insects. Healy, Chas., Mr., 4, Bath Place, Haggerstone, near Hackney, Middlesex. British Lepidoptera. Heys, Abraham, Grange Road, Accrington. Hill, G. N., Jun., 2, James Street, Penton Street, Islington. Hill, H. W., Jun., 8^, William Street, Margaret Street, New River Head. Hill, Samuel, 2, Ann's Place, Margaret Street, Clerkenwell. British Insects of all Orders, for Sale or Exchange. Hodgson, C. B., Hockley Hill, Birmingham. British Lepidoptera. Holcroft, William, Upholland, Wigan, Lancashire. Horton, Rev. E., Littleton House, Lower Wick, Worcester. House, Samuel, 82, St. James's Street, Brighton. British Lepidop- tera. Howarth, Mr. Thomas, Mottram Road, Hyde, near Manchester. Hunnybun, W. Martin, Esq., Chadleigh House, Godmanchester, Huntingdon. Hydes, William, Bagshaw's Buildings, Park Spring, Sheffield. Image, Rev. J., M.A., 127, Eastern Road, Brighton. Inchbald, Peter, Esq., Storthes Hall, Huddersfield. Iverach, J. G., Esq., Kirkwall. British Coleoptera and Crustacea. Jeffrey, W., at Mr. Nickalls, High Street, Reigate. Jessop, John, Jun., Back of Church, Rawmarsh, Rotherham. Jones, A., 16, York Place, Fulham Road, Brompton. Jones, J. (Gardener), New Hall, Builth, Breconshire. Josling, James, Jun., 8, Nottingham Place, Charlotte Street, White- chapel. OF BRITISH ENTOMOLOGISTS. 21 Kearley, George, Esq., South Grove, Walthamstow, Essex. Keeley, R. G., Esq., 11, Sydney Terrace, Marlborough Road, Chelsea. Kenderdine, Mr. Frederic, 2, Abercrombie Place, Stretford New- Road, Manchester. British Lepidoptera. Kendrick, Mr. B., Bold Street, Warrington. Key, Edward B., Esq., 3, Arundel Square, Barnsbury Park, Isling- ton. British Coleoptera and Lepidoptera. Killingback, H. W., 10, Oldham Place, Bagnigge Wells Road. Kinahan, J. R., M.B., T. C. D., Seaview Terrace, Donnybrook, Dub- lin. British Crustacea to the end of the Decapoda. King, Mr. Edward L., 17, London Road, Lynn. King, Rev. P. Meade, Norton Rectory, Atherstone. King, Mr. Robert, 30, Challcot Villas, Haverstock Hill. British Lepidoptera. Knight, F., Jun., Melbourne Place, Aston, near Birmingham. Lambert, Mr. Henry, M.R.C.P., Grammar School, Cheltenham. British bisects generally. Lang, W., John Street, Hamilton, Scotland. Latchford, W. H., 1, Plumber's Place, Corporation Lane, Clerken- well. British Lepidoptera. Laycock, William, 154, Bath Street, Sheffield. British Lepidoptera. Legg, Henry J., 100, Lambeth Walk, Lambeth. Legg, Thomas, 100, Lambeth Walk, Lambeth, Surrey. Letiibridge, Mr. E., 40, Old Town Street, Plymouth. British Lepi- doptera. Lighton, Rev. Sir C. R., Bart., Ellastone, Ashborne, Derbyshire. Linnell, John, Jun., Red Hill, Surrey. Coleoptera and Lepidoptera. Mackie, W. Lewis, Sittingbourne. Malham, George, Lear's Yard, Horse Market, Darlington. Manning, John, Jun., Market Hill, Cambridge. Mansfield, Richard, 15, Bradford Street, Birmingham. Marris, Mr. Robert, Lynn Road, Wisbeach. Marsh, John, Macclesfield. Marshall, Rev. T. A., The College, Cheltenham. Insects of all Or- ders. Marshall, W., Esq., 6, Billiter Square, London. 22 • SUPPLEMENTAL LIST Mathews, Murray A., Esq., Merton College, Oxford. British Le- pidoptera. ♦Matheavs, G. F., Esq., Raleigh House, Pilton, near Barnstable. British Lepidoptera. May, W., East Grinstead, Sussex. Mercer, Henry William, Spital Square. *Meyer, Frederick, Sand Street, Birmingham, or Churchhill, Hands- worth, near Birmingham. British Lepidoptera. Mitchell, C. B., Esq., Deddington, Oxon. Mitford, Robert, Esq., 1, Haverstock Place, Hampstead. British Lepidoptera. Middleton, Rev. C. H., Wath-upon-Dearne, Rotherham. Mori son, David P., Esq., 49, King Street, Perth, N. B. Morris, W. Whytehead, Esq., Gildersome, Leeds. All Insects, especially British Coleoptera. Morris, Mr. Reginald F., Nunburnholme Rectory, Hayton, York. British and Foreign Insects of all Orders. Morris, Mr. Marmaduke C. F., Nunburnholme Rectory, Hayton, York. British and Foreign Insects of all Orders. Morton, J. Lockhart, Esq., 26, Parliament Street, Westminster. Norcombe, Edward S., 5, Salutary Mount, Heavitree, near Exeter. Oakley, Alfred C, Jun., Hope Villa, Southampton. Oates, F., St. Anne's, Burley, Leeds. Oates, W., Meanwoodside, near Leeds. Oliver, George, Wisbeach. Ordf, Jonathan, 6, East Street, Darlington. Oxley, Thomas R., 39, Queen's Road, Bayswater. Has a small Col- lection of Australian Insects. Page, John, 15, King Street, Darlington. British Lepidoptera. Parry, Thomas, Esq., Bank, Merthyr Tydvil. Partridge, A. W\, Esq., Adwell, near Tetsworth, Oxon. Payne, Mrs., Chickerell, near Weymouth. Payne, J. F., Esq., The Mansion, Leatherhead, Surrey. Pearson, Edward, Craven Lodge, Boston Spa, Yorkshire. British Lepidoptera. OF BRITISH ENTOMOLOGISTS. 23 Pearson, John, Bentley Fold, Sheep Bridge, Holbeck, Leeds. *Peckover, Algernon, Esq., Wisbeach, Cambridgeshire. British Coleoptera and Lepidoptera. Philbrick, Master G., Katesgrove, Reading. Philbrick, Master T., Katesgrove, Reading. Pickard, H. Adair, Esq., Hooton Roberts, Rotherham (Christ Church, Oxford, during Term time.) Pinder, Rev. George, Godmanchester, Huntingdon. Powell, B. H., 6, Stanhope Street, Hyde Park Gardens. Pocock, Mr. Crawford J., 42, Cannon Place, Brighton. Poole, J., Ordnance School, Carshalton. Pownall, G., Ordnance School, Carshalton. Prentice, C, Esq., 1, Oxford Villas, Cheltenham. Pretor, A., Esq., Wyke House, Weymouth. British Lepidoptera. Priest, B. W., 14, Parliament Street. Pristo, J., Alverstone Farm, Whippingham, Isle of Wight. British Lepidoptera. Proctor, W., Jun., Esq., University Museum, Durham. Pugh, Thomas R., 9, Everton Gardens, Preston. British Lepidop- tera. Puncher, Robert, 14, Parliament Street, Westminster. Purchas, A. J., Ross. Purnell, George, 8, Amelia Place, Villa Road, Plumstead. British Lepidoptera. Putnam, George, Leek, Staffordshire. Randall, Mr., Old Town Street, Plymouth. Lepidoptera. Read, Rev. G., Rudston, Sutton-in-Derwent, York. Lepidoptera. Rees, Howard, 45, Finsbury Square. Reeve, Mr. Walter, Weeford School, near Lichfield. Reeve, J. J., Esq., Newhaven, Sussex. Rice, Mr. Edward, care of Rev. R. J. Gabbett, Vicarage, Foynes, Co. Limerick, Ireland. *Rix, Joseph, Esq., F.R.C.S., St. Neots, Hunts. British Coleoptera. Roake, J. W., Literary and Scientific Institution, Newbury. Roberts, William, Holbeck Lane, Holbeck, Leeds. Robinson, Edward W., Esq., 42, Harmood Street, Hampstead Road. Robinson, J. C, Ordnance School, Carshalton. 24 SUPPLEMENTAL LIST Robixsox, G. W., Esq., Ranelagh, Dublin. Rodgers, William (Gardener), Moorgate Grove, Rotherham. Roe, William James, Ollerton. Rogers, Charles, 11, St. Andrew Street, Plymouth. British Lepi- doptera. Ruspixi, F. O., Rev. M. Metcalfe's, Brockdish, Scole, Norfolk. Ryder, Mr. J. B., 15, Navy Row, Morice Town, Devonport. Salt, Samuel, Manor House, Ardwick, Manchester. Sauxder, W. J., Charlbury, near Enstone, Oxon. Scott, George G., Esq., Grove House, Hampstead. Sealy, A. F., Esq., 70, Trumpington Street, Cambridge. British Le- pidoptera. Seddox, George, St. Helen's. Sellwood, Rev. John Bixford, Collumpton, Devon. British Lepi- doptera. Sharples, Richard, Reedmaker, Preston, Lancashire. Siggs, George, 1, Bedford Street, "Walworth. Silvester, E. T., Pound Hill, Worth, Sussex. Simmoxs, Mr. W., Wentworth Woodhouse, Rotherham. Simpkix, E., 15, Eden Street, Bury, Lancashire. Smith, Hexley G., Esq., 4, Warnford Court, Throgmorton St, London. Smith, H. S., Esq., Headingly, near Leeds. Smith, Mr. Edward, Turkey Street, Worcester. Smith, Mr. George, 9, King Street, Brighton. Collector, Purchaser and Seller of British Insects. Smith, Mr. Johx, Turkey Street, Worcester. Smith, W. N., 12, Glyn Square, Wolvertori Station, Bucks. Smithsox, Mr. T., 5, Brunswick Place, Upper Grange Road, Ber- mondsey. Somerville, Alexaxder (Rev. A. X. Somerville's), 328, Renfrew Street, Glasgow. British Lepidoptera. Somerville, James E. (Rev. A. X. Somerville's), 32S, Renfrew Street, Glasgow. British Coleoptera. Spilsbury, Rev. F. M , Somershall, Derby. British Lepidoptera. Squire, Mr. H., 20, Foley Street, Fitzroy Square. British Coleoptera. Staixtox, Master T. J., 34, Belsize Road, St. John's Wood. Statham, William, Esq., Green Bank House, Brailsford, Derbyshire. OF BRITISH ENTOMOLOGISTS. 25 Stockley, George, 2, Leachdale Place, Old Ford. British Lepi- doptera, Diptera and Coleoptera, especially the Carabidce. Stone, J. B., Esq., 89, Lupin Street, Birmingham. Stowell, Rev. Hugh A., M.A., (Curate of) Luddenham, near Faversham. Swann, William, 9, Everton Garden, Preston. Tagart, Wm. Robert, Esq., A.B., (Gen. Sec. Dub. Univ. Zoolog. Asso.), Blenheim, Kingstown, Dublin. British Lepidoptera. Talbot, W., Mount Pleasant, Wakefield. British Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. Taylor, James, 15, Salop Street, Cavalier Hill, Bank, Leeds. Thomas, John H., Florist, &c, 16, John Street, Blisset Street, Greenwich. *Thomas, William, Park Gate, near Rotherham. Thomas, J. P., 33, Finsbury Square. Thyxne, J. C, Esq., Haynes Park, Bedford. Tinker, Mr. Jethro, Stalybridge. Tisdall, W. G., Charlesfort, Navan, Ireland. Travers, Francis, Esq., West Street, Poole. Trimen, Roland, Jun., Esq., 71, Guildford Street, Russell Square. British Macro- Lepidoptera. Tomlinson, J. H., Newark. British Lepidoptera. Tugwell, W. H., 112, Cheapside. Wagstaff, E., Chippenham, Newmarket, Cambridge. Wailes, George, Esq., Ryton, near Newcastle-on-Tyne. British Insects. Waite, Mr. Josiah, Leslie House, Markinch, Fife. Coleoptera and Lepidoptera. Walker, M., Dewsbury. Walker, Alfred O., Esq., Chester. Walker, Francis, Esq., St. Michael's House, Grove, Highgate. ♦Wallace, Alexander, Esq., 5, Green Terrace, Clerkenwell. Watney, Daniel, Box Hill, near Dorking, Surrey. Coleoptera and Lepidoptera. Were, Mr. Robert B., 35, Osborne Terrace, Clapham Road. Wesley, John, Esq., 2, Canonbury Place, Canonbury. *26 SUPPLEMENTAL LIST OF BRITISH ENTOMOLOGISTS. Weston. William. 37, Com Street, Bristol. British Lepidoptera. White, F. B. W.. Athole Place, Perth. Whitfield, Edwin, Esq., Trinity Hall, Cambridge. British Lepi- doptera. ♦Whittingham. Thomas, Leytonstone, Essex. British Coleoptera and L- ::idoptera. Wigginton, A. J., Esq.. Sussex County Hospital, Brighton. Wigglesworth, Robert, 60, Whalley Road, Accrington, Lanca- shire. British Coleoptera. Wigxall, Johx U., Secretary to the Holbeck Entomological Society, Holbeck, Leeds. Wigxall. Samuel, 4, Turk's Head Yard, Briggate, Leeds. Wildmax. T., Esq., Grove Place, Southampton Street, Caniberwell. British Lepidoptera. Wilkinson, J. N.. Esq.. 47, Stanley Street, Chelsea. Wilkinson, Mr. E.. Shittlehope Burn. Stanhope, via Darlington. Wilkinson, Rev. Walter G.. Fellow of Worcester College, Oxford. Williams. Mr., 37, Old Town Street, Plymouth. Lepidoptera. Wilson, Andrew, Esq., 18, Young Street, Edinburgh. Scottish Lepidoptera. Wiltox. E. R., High Street, Ely. British Lepidoptera. Wood, Johx. Framwellgate Gate Bridge, Durham. Wright, E. Percival, Esq., (Hon. Sec. Dub. Univ. Zoolog. and Bot. Aseo.), 5, Trinity College, Floraville, Eglinton Road, Dublin, Ireland. British Coleoptera and Heteroptera. Young, Morris, 7, Old Sneddon Street, Paisley. British Coleoptera and Lepidoptera. ( 27 ) HYMEXOPTERA. Notes and Observations on the Aculeate Hymknoptera. By Frederick Smith. Another year has passed since we were called upon to register the observations and discoveries made in this country, in the order Hymenoptera. At the commencement of an Entomological season, it is to us an agreeable pastime, to speculate on what may possibly occur during the ensuing campaign. We have possibly obtained some little insight, have made some trifling observation, which the coming season, we fondly hope, will give us an opportunity of fol- lowing up, and of thereby unravelling some hitherto impene- trable mystery ; but alas ! we cannot " look into the seeds of time," nor tell " which grain will grow." The records of the past season contain some interesting discoveries of which our speculations had no foreshadowing : these, however, will doubtless appear, to some, matters of small account, and our annual register scarcely worth the trouble of perusal ; but, in what estimation should we hold a register of the doings of our Entomological predecessors of the year 1806,? Our best thanks should be awarded to Mr. Marsham, for his list of Coleoptera — with what a relish we should dwell upon the localities pointed out by that eminent Entomologist! Special indeed would be our obliga- tions to the Rev. William Kirby, for having noted down 28 HYMENOPTERA. the localities of his unique species of Andrenida, and for the interesting observations which he made upon their economy. These reflections are somewhat consolatory, and we look forward with hope, that in the year 1906, a grateful pos- terity will award to us their warmest acknowledgments, and will duly estimate the energetic endeavours of Mr. Stainton in the cause of Entomology. We have to chronicle but few notable discoveries of new species, but these are extremely interesting, and we trust the interest will be increased, by additional observations on the habits and economy of the species. This paucity of novelty is in a great measure attributable to the fact of there being so few labourers in the fruitful field of Hymenopterous research ; notwithstanding the engrossing interest which attaches to the study of the Hymenoptera, he who enters upon it must expect frequently to toil long and laboriously, uncheered by the encouraging presence and fel- lowship of brother Hymenopterists. To one who has quietly, but perseveringly, laboured year after year on this enchanting ground, it is a matter of much regret that so few have shared the pleasure which the study of the Hymenoptera so pe- culiarly affords. The individual histories of the Aculeata are amongst the most instructive, entertaining and marvellous records which have appeared in the entire range of Entomological lite- rature. In support of the position which we have assigned to the Hymenoptera, it will only be necessary to examine carefully a bee or a wasp ; what insect surpasses either of these in intelli- gence, or in the instinctive faculties which they possess ? in structure, how admirable in all respects! unsurpassed in power of flight, gifted with powers of vision in a superior NOTES ON THE ACULEATE HYMENOPTERA. 29 degree to many other insects, and possessing a development in other respects unsurpassed by any of the tribe. Possessed of the above qualifications, we cannot hesitate to place the Hymcnoptera in the highest rank of the orders of insects; such being the case, it is somewhat surprising, that so few Entomologists avail themselves of the opportunity of studying the most attractive pages in the book of nature, and of tracing out themselves, histories equally marvellous as those which Reaumur and others have so graphically de- scribed. During the past season, the minds of Entomologists have been powerfully directed to a most important subject, con- nected as it were with the very foundation of the science ; namely, that of specific distinctions and their variations. The masterly work upon this subject by Mr. Wollaston has directed our attention specially to the inquiry, and it appears to us that a few parallels to some of the instances recorded by Mr. Wollaston, of the effect of climate upon particular species, may neither be out of place, nor unin- teresting in the pages of an Annual. In 1853, we recorded an opinion, that the Halictus Jlavipes was found throughout Europe, in Nova Scotia, in Ohio, and in North America. To the geographical range of this species, we appended a note, to the efFect that '• the spe- cimens from America are larger than any yet observed from other localities, but that in other respects, no difference could be detected ; the sculpture of the metathorax and the neu- ration of the wings being the same. The Halictus paral- lels of Say is certainly the representative of the H. rub/- cundus of Europe, if indeed it be not the same species, slightly altered by climatal influences. The Andrenapilipes of this country, I consider to be identical with specimens from North Africa j and we possess specimens of Andrena Clark" 30 HYMENOPTERA. ella from Nova Scotia which cannot be separated from examples taken in Scotland ; yet both are much less rich in the colouring of their pubescence than any individuals found in the London district. Perhaps the most widely distributed species of bee known is the Megachile centuncularis ; in the British Museum are specimens from all parts of Europe, including Finland and Lapland ; others from North America, Hudson's Bay and Canada : not the slightest difference can be detected in examples from the above widely distant locali- ties. Osmia hirta, of the European Continent, is found in the Island of Madeira and also in the Canary Islands ; Osmia cenea of this country is also found in the Canary Islands. Nomada ruficornis occurs in this country and in North America. The only species of Bombus from North America, which appears to be identical with the European one, is the JBombus hortorum; this insect was captured by Sir John Richardson, at Lake Winnepeg, on his last Arctic expedition. The Vespa vulgaris of Europe cannot be specifically dis- tinguished from what has been considered to be its American representative. The JPompilus Americanus we have regarded as the American form of the European P.fuscus — not to mul- tiply examples, we will only mention the well known insect Chrysis ignita, the common ruby-tailed fly, which is found in no way differing from British examples, at the Cape of Good Hope. That difference of locality is an index to difference of species, need scarcely be denied; but nothing can possibly be more insecure than building upon such an hypothesis: the knowledge which we have acquired of some species of Hy- menoptera in this country proves that nothing but an inti- mate acquaintance, with variable insects, can enable the na- turalist to distinguish between the variety and the species. In support of the above opinion, it is only necessary here to quote a single instance; namely, the Bombus subter- NOTES ON THE ACULEATE HYMENOPTERA. 31 raneus, which in its most highly coloured form is a black insect, with bright yellow bands on the thorax and abdomen, having the apex of the latter white ; from this form, every gradual change is to be met with, until we arrive at the last, which presents an insect totally black : no one. possessing the extremes of the range of varieties only, and only one or two of the intermediate stages, could possibly satisfy himself that these constituted but one species ; supply the intermediate links, and the difficulty ceases at once. Such being the case in one instance, we may reasonably conclude that it is a cir- cumstance of frequent occurrence ; such in fact it is well known to be amongst British insects. The above observations tend principally to establish the fact, that great range must be allowed to differences in coloration, whilst endeavouring to settle its limits, when de- scribing a species. We will now advance a well-known insect, as an instance of differences to be met with in a single species, in sculpture and form. No better illustration of this can probably be produced than Chrysis ignita. This insect is entirely covered with punctures ; but the differences in the coarseness or fineness of the punctation is immense. The apex of the abdomen is armed with four teeth; but the relative length as well as position of these is known to assume nine distinct types of form ; in the last, the two central teeth are nearly obsolete ; in a tenth type, which we possess, all the teeth are obsolete. The above instances should, we think, induce the young naturalist to resist the spreading rage for the multiplication of species, and to avail himself of 'every information which either collections or books afford, before he venture to create a species, probably out of a variety, or to do that which another has accomplished before him. The attention which is now being given to this subject will doubtless create a re-action, and we may even 32 HYMENOPTERA. observe a tendency on the part of some to allow little less than the contents of most of our modern genera to rank as a species ; the order itself, consequently, falling into what we now consider to constitute a genus. It was our province last year to record an unusual scarcity of the aculeate tribe ; the season of 1856 produced them in tolerable abundance generally ; but it is a remarkable fact, that the Vespidce, which were scarce in 1855, have been still more so in 1856. Indeed persons, not Entomologists, in certain districts have remarked their scarcity. We have observed, that, in seasons when fruit is abundant, wasps are abundant also. This is what might indeed be expected. The same warm genial weather which causes your fruit trees to blossom, rouses the wasps from their winter's torpidity. When this is followed by severe, cold and wet weather, with sharp frosty nights, the blossoms are nipt and the fruit crop destroyed. The same causes prove destructive to the Vespidce. In limited districts I have been told that wasps have been plentiful, but, generally, I have ascertained, they have been unusually scarce. Bees, on the contrary, have been abundant; and in the Isle of Wight, which I believe " to surpass all other localities in this country for its richness in Hymenopterous treasures," their abundance was such, that in one spot at Freshwater, Mr. Bond informed me, that he had no doubt he could have captured upwards of a hundred specimens of a species of Halictus, by one swoop of his net. In the month of April, we observed a greater number of Andrena Clarkella on Hampstead Heath than we ever remember to have observed on any previous occasion; it would appear indeed to have been unusually abundant in many other situations, as several correspondents forwarded the species to us from different parts of the country. NOTES ON THE ACULEATE HYMENOPTERA. 33 I have this year obtained 3fonodontomerus nitida from the cells of Osrnia bicornis ; upon the larva of the latter insect it is parasitic ; as many as eight or ten of the Chal- cididous parasite are nourished by a single larva of the bee. Another and more interesting insect, of the same family, was bred from the cells of the bee, namely, MeUttobia Acasta. After the most careful comparison and exa- mination of this insect, I believe it to be identical with the Anthophorabia return of Newport. I had not the op- portunity of observing the parasites in their early stages of larva and pupa, as they were enclosed in the cocoons spun by the larvae of the bee, so that I am unable to state con- fidently, whether both these parasites feed upon the bee larvae or not. When I first met with the larvae of MeUt- tobia in 1843, in the cells of Anthophora, they were feeding upon the larvae of Monodontomerus. This was easily observed, as the species of Anthophora do not spin cocoons, but undergo their changes in the clay cells con- structed by bees. I captured about a dozen specimens of JExetastes fe- morator, a species first described by Mr. Desvignes in his Catalogue of British Ichneumonidce, recently published by the Trustees of the British Museum. This insect has not been met with in any other locality than the Deal Sands, where I found it. Its mode of running and flying s > closely resembles a Pompilus, that at first sight I mistook it for one. Sphinctus serotinus, only a few specimens of which have occurred in this country, was captured by Mr. Thomas In- gall on the 13th of September last ; it Mas beaten out of an oak in the Wickham Woods ; it appeared very sluggish and made no attempt to escape. Although diligent search was made a second example could not be found. We are indebted 1857. m d 34 HYMENOPTERA. to Mr. Ingall for kindly communicating the above informa- tion. Mr. Desvignes, we understand, has captured several rare species of Ichneumonidce, but we have not been favoured with their names. A winged female of Ponera contracta was captured by Mr. Baly of Kentish Town, whilst reading by an open window in his house ; the Ponera flew into the room and settled on the page of his book. This insect is extremely rare in this country; so much so, that, although I have searched diligently for insects of the family to which it belongs for many years, T never met with a single in- dividual. Mr. VVestwood has also captured a female of Ponera, attracted to pieces of meat laid in his garden as baits for insects. Fossores. Tachytes unicolor was captured in July on the sands near Deal ; the only other localities for it known, are Luc- combe Chine, Isle of Wight; W ey bridge ; and Sandhurst, near the Military College. Miscophus spurius? Dahlb. This is one of the most interesting discoveries which I have had the good fortune to make. The genus Miscophus hitherto contained only a single British species, and has always been accounted one of extreme rarity; Mr. Westwood first discovered it in this country at Coomb Wood, and subsequently both sexes were taken by myself at Weybridge. In July last I met wTith the second species at Deal on the sand-hills. Like its congener it is only to be found on the hottest summer days; when cloudy or windy they disappear. Miscophus spurius differs from M. bicolor in both sexes being entirely black ; the metathorax is proportionably longer and has a central longi- tudinal carina ; it is also a larger species. Dahlbom says, that NOTES ON THE ACULEATE HYMENOPTERA. 35 M. spurius is rather smaller, -which alone induces me to add a note of doubt to my insect ; but as it possesses, in com- mon with M. spurius, a central longitudinal carina on the dorsal surface of the metathorax, I am unwilling to consider a little difference in size as of much specific value. Astata stigma. The female occurred at Deal in the month of July ; last year I captured one in September ; the male has not yet been taken in this country. I had the pleasure of adding the species to our fauna in 1836, by capturing a single female ; it was not again met with until last year, when I took a second example, and my capture of 1856 makes the third : these are all which have occurred in this country to my knowledge. Oxybelus mucronatus. This insect was described by Mr. Curtis as a new species, which he named 0. argentatus ; it has been frequently taken at Bideford, Devon, and I be- lieve it has occurred near Liverpool ; this season I took it on the Deal sand-hills. The scarce Mellinus sabulosus has been taken at Notting- ham by Mr. C. F. Allen of that place. Apid^. Colletes marginal a. This hitherto extremely rare species occurs in July at Deal ; it was first taken in this country by Dr. Leach, and Mr. Samuel Stevens next took it at Little Hampton, Sussex ; at Deal it is not uncommon, but con- fined to one particular locality ; I did not observe a single example in any other situation. Andrena decorata. The rare species has been taken by Mr. Parfitt in the neighbourhood of Exeter. Cilissa tricincta. This very local species I found not un- common at and in the neighbourhood of Deal : nearly all d2 36 HYMENOPTERA. which I captured were males ; the female I have very rarely taken. Megachile maritima is an abundant insect on the sand-hills at Deal during July ; there it burrows in the ground, which proves it to be an insect of varied habit. I have observed it burrowing in decayed wood in Hampshire ; but in the Isle of Wight it burrows in the cliffs of Sandown Bay in mul- titudes ; at Deal, as in Sandown Bay, it is accompanied by its parasite Ccelioxys Vectis. Megachile argentata. This is the M. Leachella of Stephens and of all our cabinets a few years ago, an insect then con- sidered a great rarity; in 1844 I met with one or two at Weybridge, and four years ago I again took two or three at Southend. The metropolis of this species is on the sand-hills at Deal ; in the month of July they are to be found settling on every hillock, the place is literally alive with them, their cheerful piping sound is heard everywhere ; the male is usually found chasing the female from flower to flower; sometimes they are pursued by two or more males at once whilst settling on the trefoil. This insect burrows in the ground, and lines its tunnel with the leases and petals of Lotus corniculatus ; the latter appear to be most fre- quently selected for the inner lining of the cells, and are also used together with cuttings of leaves in forming the divisions between the cells. The industrious little creature having lined its burrow as described, deposits a sufficient quantity of semi-fluid pollen and honey for a single larva, and then closes in that portion of the tube with circular pieces of leaf, thus forming the first cell ; the process is re- peated until five or six cells are furnished, when her task is completed. There can be little doubt of the same bee con- structing several burrows of this kind. NOTES ON THE ACULEATE HYMEN OPTERA. 37 Ccelioxys 4-dentata. This bee is the parasite of 31. argentata; but is not so numerous, as I should have expected to have found it. By very assiduous search, I captured about twenty specimens. It is worthy of remark that in the Isle of Wight, where I found Megachile maritima abundant, its parasite Ccelioxys Vectis was very numerous, as were also Saropoda bimaculata, and its parasite Ccelioxys umbrina ; but at Deal, although Megachile maritima and argentata were both abundant, their parasites Ccelioxys Vectis and 4-dentata were scarce. JDasypoda hirtipes. We notice the capture of this beautiful insect, by Mr. Dossetor at Redhill near Reigate, and by myself at Deal, principally for the purpose of re- cording a new phase in bee history. Entomologists are well acquainted with the fact of immense numbers of Lepidopterous and also Coleopterous insects flying by night ; and thirteen years ago I recorded the fact of Vespa crabro carrying on its labours by moonlight. Until the present season I was not aware that any species of Apidce took flight after dark ; but one moonlight night, walking in the streets of Deal, I captured males of Dasypoda hirtipes on the wing ; several large insects had flown about our faces, but were supposed to be moths, until one got entangled in my wife's head-dress, and on releasing it, it proved to be Dasypoda. I should observe, that the situation of the colonies of this bee are upwards of a mile from the spot where we captured them at night. Stelis aterrima and phceoptera have both occurred this season ; the first at Deal, and the latter near Exeter, where it was captured by Mr. W. H. Parfitt, who observed it about the burrows of Osmia cenea. Nomada borealis. Both sexes of this species were captured by Mr. Dossetor and myself on Hampstead 38 HYMENOPTERA. Heath at the end of April. Mr. Bold also found it plentifully near Newcastle. Apathus rupestris. I captured about twenty specimens of the female of this bee on the heads of thistles, at Sandwich in Kent. Twenty years ago I met with a similar number in a gravel- pit at the top of Coomb Wood ; these are unusual occurrences, the insect being rather scarce, at least the female, and only captured at intervals. It may appear to some that in the above summary we have done little more than chronicle our own doings. To this we answer, the fault lies not at our door; we shall be ready to hail joyfully any number of companions in the selfsame fruitful field, which only needs to be toiled in with industry, and every one may ensure to himself a most abundant harvest of never-failing enjoyment. ( 39 ) NEUROPTERA. A Synopsis of the British Dragon-Flies. By Dr. Hagen. The object of this paper is to enable the inexperienced collector of Dragon-flies to name readily any species he may meet with in this country ; the special characters which distinguish the species and genera are therefore put pro- minently forward ; and in the characters of the genera and groups, those are made use of which apply to all the British species, even though, in other parts of the globe, species may occur to which the characters here laid down will not rigorously apply. The British Dragon-flies are 46 in number ; besides enu- merating these, the characters of several other species not un- likely to occur in Britain are given, in order to facilitate the naming of new British species by those who are so fortunate as to meet with them. These probable British species have no numeral prefixed to their names, which are printed in Italics, not in Capitals. 40 neuroptera. First tribe. Things not similar ; the posterior dilated at the base. First division. Lower lip smaller than the palpi. First sub-family. Eyes simple, not prolonged pos- teriorly: LlBELLULINA. Genus Libellula, Linne. A. With 10 — 16 antecubital neryures ; large species; abdomen broad and depressed. f. 4 ROWS OF POST-TRIGONAL cells. 1. L. quadrimaculata, L. ; Steph. ; Revue, p. 7. Ey. pi. 17, fig. I, -2. Length 19 lin. ; exp. 32 lin. Habitat England, Scotland, Ireland generally. Olivaceous, villous ; sides of the thorax yellowish, streaked with black ; abdomen rather conical, black towards the tip; wings yellowish at the base; the pterostigma, a spot in the middle of the costal mar- gin of the anterior, and a triangular spot at the base of the posterior, black. Tar. Tip of the wings brown. L. prcenubila Xew- man. f f, Three rows of post-trigonal cells. a. A blackish triangular spot at the base of the POSTERIOR WIXGS. 2. L. depressa, L. ; Steph. ; Revue, p. 8. Ev. pi. 16, figs. 1, 2. Length 19 lin. ; exp. 32 lin. Habitat England, Scotland, Ireland ; generally. Olivaceous, villous; abdomen very broad and much A SYNOPSIS OF THE BRITISH DRAGON-FLIES. 41 depressed, with yellow spots on the sides ; powdered with blue in the adult $ ; anterior wings with a longitudinal rusty blackish band at the base ; poste- rior wings with a triangular spot of the same colour ; accessory membrane white. 3. L. fulva, M tiller; Revue, p. 9. L. conspurcata, F. ; Steph. Ev. pi. 16, fig. 3. Length 19 lin. ; exp. 32 lin. Habitat England ; local. Dusky reddish, villous ; abdomen with an apical black- band ; powdered with blue in the adult $ ; anterior wings with a rusty black line at the base ; posterior wings with a line and triangular spot of the same colour; accessory membrane blackish, Var. The tips of the wings brown. b. Posterior wings without a blackish spot at the BASE. 4. L. cancellata, L. ; Revue, p. 12; Steph. Evans, pi. 17, fig. 3, and pi. 18, fig. 1. Length 19 lin. ; exp. 32 lin. Habitat England ; local. Yellowish ; abdomen with two black bands ; powdered with blue in the adult $ ; wings hyaline ; pterostigma and accessory membrane blackish. L. albistyla, Selys ; Revue, p. 13 ; closely resembles the preceding, differing chiefly by the whitish anal ap- pendages; (these are black in L. cancellata). It occurs at Lvons. 42 NEUROPTERA. 5. L. c^irulescens, F. ; Revue, p. 22; Steph. Ev. pi. 18, fig. 2, 3. Length 16 lin. ; exp. 26 lin. Habitat England, Scotland, Ireland ; local. Olivaceous ; abdomen little depressed, rather carinated ; powdered with blue in the adult $ ; wings hyaline ; pterostigma yellow ; accessory membrane whitish, L. brunnea, Fonscol. ; Revue, p. 18. Length 19 lin. ; exp. 32 lin. Very similar to the last, a little larger; the adult <£ entirely powdered with blue, the genital organs little protruded; (tolerably prominent in L. ccerulescens) ; ? with the vulvar scale broadly emarginate, the corners rounded ; (in L. ccerulescens abruptly emar- ginate, with the corners swollen). Common in Belgium. L. erythrcea, Brulle ; Revue, p. 24. Length 17 lin. ; exp. 27 lin. Olivaceous; the adult $ bright red; wings hyaline, slightly tinged with saffron at the base ; pterostigma yellow ; accessory membrane blachish. Near Paris, and in Anjou. B. With 6 — 8 antecubital nervures ; small species ; ABDOMEN SLENDER, NEARLY CYLINDRICAL. Z. pedemontana, F. ; Revue, p. 28. Length 14 lin. ; exp. 22 lin. Small ; reddish or olivaceous ; wings hyaline, with a broad brown transverse band towards the tip ; ptero- stigma yellowish. In Belgium. a. Posterior wings without a triangular blackish spot at the base. A SYNOPSIS OF THE BRITISH DRAGON-FLIES. 43 f. Legs black, externally yellow ; abdomen reddish- olive IN THE ADULT in the collections of Evans and Wailes. Yellowish, sides of the thorax immaculate ; wings hya- line, almost uncoloured at the base; pterostigma narrow, yellow; vulvar scale of the $> not projecting , rounded. 9. L. striolata, Charp. ; Revue, p. 40. L. vulgata, Steph. ; Ev. Charp. pi. 10. Length 17 lin. ; exp. 28 lin. Habitat England, Scotland, Ireland. Olivaceous, sides of the thorax with three oblique black streaks ; the incisures of the abdominal segments, and 44 NEUROPTERA. two very small dots towards the hinder edge, yellow ; wings hyaline, almost uncoloured at the base ; ptero- stigma reddish ; vulvar scale of the $ projecting, broad, emarginate at the end. 10. L. vulgata, L. ; Revue, p. 45. Charp. pi. 11. Length 17 lin. ; exp. 28 lin. Habitat. A $ taken near Hull ; on the authority of Mr. Dale. Olivaceous, sides of the thorax with three oblique black streaks ; abdomen without yellow dots ; wings hyaline, almost uncoloured at the base ; pterostigma reddish ; vulvar scale of the $ very 'prominent, not emarginate at the end; straightened. f f. Legs black. 11. L. sanguinea, Miiller; Revue, p. 31. L. Jtoeselii, Curt. L. rufostigma, basalis, angustipennis, Steph. Charp. pi. 10, L. nigripes. Length 16 lin. ; exp. 26 lin. Habitat England, local. Olivaceous or reddish ; underside of the thorax behind the legs of the ground colour ; abdomen with a lateral black band ; base of the wings tinged with saffron ; pterostigma reddish ; in the adult $ the abdomen is reddish. 12. L. Scotica, Donov. ; Revue, p. 48 ; Steph. ; Curtis. Charp. pi. 12. Length 14 lin. ; exp. 23 lin. Habitat England, Scotland, Ireland. Olivaceous or blackish ; underside of the thorax behind the legs with three yellow spots forming a jieur-de- lys; abdomen short, black, spotted with yellow; wings of the $ hyaline j in the $> a little tinged with A SYNOPSIS OF THE BRITISH DRAGON-FLIES. 45 saffron at the base; pterostigma square, and black. The adult $ almost entirely black. b. Posterior wings with a blackish triangular spot at the base. Front white, lower lip black, upper lip of the male white, of the female black ; abdomen short, with angular spots above ; pterost1gma square. f. Anal appendages black. 13. L. dubia, Vander Lind. ; Revue, p. 50. L. rubicunda, Curt. pi. 712. Length 15 lin. ; exp. 26 lin. Habitat England, rare; near Dorchester. Black, spotted with orange, villous ; abdomen slender, spotted above as far as the seventh segment ; wings hyaline, a dot and a basal spot (larger on the posterior wings) blackish ; pterostigma reddish ; vulvar scale with two little valves, which are quadrangular and contiguous. L. rubicunda, L. ; Revue, p. 53. Charp. pi. 13, L. pec- t oralis, var. Length 18 lin. ; exp. 28 lin. Black, spotted with red or orange, villous; abdomen slender, spotted above as far as the seventh segment ; wings hyaline, a spot on the anterior, a dot and a spot on the posterior blackish ; the pterostigma reddish, $ ; or black, 5 ; vulvar scale with two very small triangular valves, very remote from one another. In Belgium. L. pectoral is, Charp. pi. 13 ; Revue, p. 56. Length 18 lin.; exp. 28 lin. Black, spotted with red, or orange, villous; abdomen 46 NEUROPTERA. thick, spotted above as far as the seventh segment ; wings hyaline, the base a little yellowish, the posterior with a triangular black spot; pterostigma black; vulvar scale prolonged into two long triangular ligulce, which are contiguous except at the end. In Belgium. t f. Upper anal appendages whitish. Z. albifrons, Burm. ; Revue, p. 59. Length 16 lin. ; exp. 26 lin. Black, spotted with orange, villous ; abdomen slender, cylindrical, spotted above as far as the sixth segment ; powdery blue in the adult male ; wings hyaline, pos- terior with a triangular black spot; pterostigma black ; vulvar scale with two broad, contiguous la- mellce, very short. In Sweden, Prussia and Austria. L. caudalis, Charp. pi. 44 ; Revue, p. 62. Length 16 lin. ; exp. 28 lin. Black, spotted with orange, villous ; abdomen much dilated at the tip, depressed, spotted above as far as the sixth segment ; wings hyaline, the base tinged with saffron, the posterior with a triangular black spot ; 'pterostigma black; white above in the male, of which the abdomen is powdery blue ; vulvar scale prolonged into two long ligulce, contiguous except at the end. In Belgium ; and in France, near Paris. A SYNOPSIS OF THE BRITISH DRAGON-FLIES. 47 Second sue-family. The eyes with a slight pro- longation BACKWARDS. CORDULINA. A. A triangular blackish spot at the base of the posterior wings. Genus Epitheca, Charp. E. bimaculata, Charp. pi. 1 ; Revue, p. 66. Length 26 lin. ; exp. 38 lin. Large ; testaceous, villous ; abdomen long, depressed in the middle, with a dorsal black band ; wings yellow- ish, tinged with saffron on the costal margin ; acces- sory membrane very large, whitish. In Belgium. B. Posterior wings without a blackish spot at the base. Genus Cordulia, Leach, a. Triangle of the anterior wings inequilateral, INCLOSING A TRANSVERSE NERVURE. f. Face spotted with yellow, lower anal appendages OF THE MALE TRIANGULAR. 14 ? C. metallica, Vander Lind. ; Steph. ; Revue, p. 62. Charp. pi. 15. Length 23 lin. ; exp. 32 lin. Habitat. No specimen is known with certainty to have been caught in England. Harris's figure is very doubtful. Bronzed-green ; a transverse yellow band on the front; anal appendages of the male bent inwards at an angle near the end, smooth beneath ; vulvar scale very lung, subulate, straightened. 48 NEUROPTERA. C. alpestris, Selys; Revue, p. 71. Length 20 lin. ; exp. 28 lin. Very similar to the preceding, but a little smaller; a yellow spot before each eye, instead of the band ; the vulvar scale short, rounded. In Sweden and Switzerland. 15. C. arctica, Zetterstedt; Revue, p. 71. Length 21 lin. ; exp. 30 lin. Habitat Perthshire, in July. Bronzed- green ; a yellow spot before each eye ; anal ap- pendages of the male closely approximated, with three teeth beneath, semicircular at the extremity ; vulvar scale short, triangular, pointed at the end. C. fiavo-maculata, Vander Lind. ; Revue, p. 73. Charp. pi. 16. Length 23 lin. ; exp. 32 lin. Similar to the preceding, but a little larger ; abdomen stouter, spotted with yellow at the sides ; anal ap- pendages of the male with the ends approximating ; vulvar scale bifid at the tip. In Belgium. If. Face not spotted with yellow, lower anal ap- pendages OF THE MALE FORKED. 16. C. -enea, L. ; Donov. ; Steph. ; Revue, p. 75. Charp. pi. 14. Length 20 lin. ; exp. 30 lin. Habitat England, local ; Ireland (?) Bronzed-green, upper anal appendages of the male sub- cylindrical, the point turned outwards ; vulvar scale strongly bifid. b. TRIANGLE OF THE ANTERIOR WINGS EQUILATERAL, WITHOUT AN INCLUDED NERVURE. A SYNOPSIS OF THE BRITISH DRAGON-FLIES. 49 17. C. Curtisii, Dale; Steph. ; Curtis, pi. 616; Revue, p. 77. Length 20 lin. ; exp. 30 lin. Habitat England, local ; (New Forest). Bronzed-green, face of the ground colour ; abdomen cylindrical ( $ ) or compressed ( ? ), with dorsal yel- low spots; anal appendages of the male sub-cylindric, with an internal spine at the base, the lower a little emarginate at the end ; vulvar scale short and rounded. Second division. Lower lip larger than the palpi. Third sub-family. Eyes not contiguous, or scarcely so. GOMPHINA. A. Eyes remote, lower lip rounded at the tip. Genus Gomphus, Leach. 18. G. vulgatissimus, L. ; Revue, p. 82; Steph.; Curtis. Evans, pi. 14, f. 1. Length 22 lin. ; exp. 28 lin. Habitat England ; local. Ireland. Thorax yellow, with six straight broad black stripes; abdomen black, with a dorsal yellow stripe, not ex- tending beyond the seventh segment; costal nervure black outwardly ; legs black; anal appendages of the male cylindrical, suddenly pointed, the lower with the branches wide apart ; vulvar scale cleft in the apical half. 19. G. flavipes, Charp. ; Steph., pi. 30 ; Revue, p. 84. Length 24 lin. ; exp. 33 lin. Habitat England (Hastings in August). A single 1857. m e 50 NEUROPTERA. male in the collection of the British Museum, for- merly in that of Mr. Stephens. . Thorax yellow, with six curved stripes ; abdomen black, with a dorsal yellow stripe continued to the end; costal nervure black outwardly ; legs yellow, streaked with black ; anal appendages of the male cylindrical, pointed, the lower with widely separated branches ; vulvar scale short, divided to the base. G. pulchellus, Selys; Revue, p. 91; Charp. pi. 30 (an- guina). Length 22 lin. ; exp. 27 lin. Thorax yellow, with six narrow straight black streaks ; abdomen black, with a dorsal yellow stripe continued to the end; costal nervure yellow outwardly ; legs yellow, streaked with black ; anal appendages of the male cylindrical, truncate externally at the end, the lower with the branches widely separated, vulvar scale broadly emarginate in its apical half In Belgium. 20. G. forcipatus, Revue, p. 98 ; Charp. pi. 27. Length 23 lin. ; exp. 28 lin. Habitat England. One female in the collection of the British Museum, formerly in that of Mr. Stephens. Thorax yellow, with six curved black streaks ; abdomen black, with lanceolate dorsal yellow spots ; legs black, yellow at the base ; anal appendages of the male hooked, the point bifid, the lower with the branches contiguous; vulvar scale prolonged in two ap- proximating lamellae. B. Eyes slightly contiguous, lower lip cleft at THE END. A SYNOPSIS OF THE BRITISH DRAGON-FLIES. 51 Genus Cordulegaster, Leach. 21. C. annulatus, Latr. ; Steph. ; Evans, pi. 13; Revue, p. 104. Length 32 lin. ; exp. 42 lin. Habitat England, Scotland, Ireland. Large, black; thorax with eight yellow stripes; ab- domen with the median segments yellow ; back of the head yellow ; costal nervure yellow outwardly ; upper lip yellow. C. bidentatus, Selys ; Revue, p. 107. Length 30 lin. ; exp. 40 lin. Very similar ; back of the head and costal nervure black ; upper lip yellow, edged with black. In Belgium. Fourth sub-family. Eyes completely contiguous. ^SCHNINA. A. Anal angle of the posterior wings acute ( $ ) OR ROUNDED ( ? ). Genus zEschnia, Fabr. 22. M. pratensis, Miiller (yernalis auctorum) ; Revue, p. 113. Charp.pl. 21. Length 26 lin. ; exp. 34 lin. Habitat England, Scotland, Ireland. Brown, very hairy ; thorax with two yellow bands in front ; abdomen almost cylindrical, attenuated towards the end, spotted with blue ( $ ) or yellow ( ? ) ; anal appendages of male long, triangular, with the end obtuse, the lower very short, truncate, emarginate, tri- angular; pterostigma long, eery narrow; accessory membrane small ; anal angle of the posterior wings but slightly angular in the male. e2 52 NEUROPTERA. 23. M. mixta, Latr. ; Revue, p. 122. Charp. pi. 19. Length 28 lin. ; exp. 36 lin. Habitat England, Scotland ; local. Brown ; thorax with two dots in front and two bands on the sides, yellowish; abdomen slender, cylindrical, coarctate behind the base in the male, spotted with blue ( $ ) or yellowish ( ? ) ; accessory membrane cinereous, lighter at the base ; anal appendages of the male long, leaf-like, their end pointed, without a basal tubercle beneath ; the lower long and triangular. JE. affinis, Vander Lind. (non Stephens) ; Revue, p. 124. Charp. pi. 18. Length 28 lin. ; exp. 36 lin. Brown ; thorax with two yellow dots in front, the sides yellowish, with three black lines, the middle one the shortest ; abdomen slender, cylindrical, coarctate be- hind the base in the male, spotted with blue ( $ ) or yellowish ( ? ) ; accessory membrane cinereous, paler at the base ; anal appendages of the male long, leaf- like, their end pointed, a very distinct basal tubercle beneath ; the lower long, slender, triangular. In Belgium. 24. M, borealis, Zetterstedt; Revue, p. 119. Length 26 lin. ; exp. 34 lin. Habitat Scotland. A single male in the cabinet of M. De Selys. Brow^n ; thorax with two small blueish lines in front, and two narrow blueish bands at the sides; abdomen slender, cylindrical, coarctate behind the base in the male, spotted with blue ( $ ) or yellowish ( ? ), acces- sory membrane of a uniform cinereous; anal appen- dages of the male long, leaf-like, their end pointed, an A SYNOPSIS OF THE BRITISH DRAGOX-FLIES. 53 inconspicuous basal tubercle beneatb ; the lower broad, triangular. ^E. borealis is easily recognized because it is the only one of which the subnodal sector is simple, and not bifurcate at the end; the subnodal sector is the fifth longitudinal nervure from the costa, counting that as one, in the end of the wing. 25. M. juncea, L. ; Stepli.; Revue, p. 116. Charp.pl. 20. (JE, picta.) Length 32 lin. ; exp. 46 lin. Habitat England, Scotland, Ireland. Brown ; thorax with two straight yellowish stripes in front, interrupted in the female, and two oblique yellowish bands at the sides; abdomen slender, cy- lindrical, coarctate behind the base in the male, spotted with blue ( $ ) or yellowish-white ( ? ) ; accessory membrane cinereous, paler at the base ; pterostigma very large ; anal appendages of the male long, leaf- like, their end pointed, without a basal tubercle ; the lower triangular, lono;. 26. M. cyanea, Miiller; (maculaiissima auctorum) ; Revue, p. 115. Charp., pi. 23. Length 32 lin. ; exp. 46 lin. Habitat England, Scotland, generally. Brown ; thorax with tiro large oval green spots in front, and two black lines on the sides ; abdomen slender, cylindrical, coarctate behind the base in the male, spotted with blue ( $ ) or yellow ( $ ) ; accessory mem- brane short, whitish ; pterostigma short, almost square ; anal appendages of the male long, leaf-like, the end turned inwards; the lower short, obtuse, tri- angular. 54 NEUROPTERA. 27. M. grandis, L. ; Revue, p. 131. Charp., pi. 24. Length 32 Jin. ; exp. 44 lin. Habitat England, Scotland, Ireland, generally. Reddish ; thorax with two yellow bands at the sides, immaculate in front ; abdomen cylindrical, coarctate behind the base in the male, slightly spotted with blue; wings of a reddish yellow ; pterostigma more rufescent ; anal appendages of the male long, leaf- like, their end obtuse; accessory membrane yellowish white. 28. M. rufescens, Vander Lind. ; Steph. ; Revue, p. 129. Charp. pi. 25. Length 30 lin. ; exp. 40 lin. Habitat England, local in the South. Reddish, thorax with two yellow bands at the sides, immaculate in front ; abdomen cylindrical, coarctate behind the base in the male ; a triangular basal yellow sjwt above, the rest of the ground colour, unspotted ; wings hyaline, the base a little reddish ; pterostigma fulvous ; accessory membrane large, brown ; anal ap- pendages of the male long, leaf-like, the end obtuse ; a basal tubercle beneath. B. Anal angle of the posterior wings rounded in BOTH SEXES. Genus Anax, Leach. 29. A. formosus, Vander Lind. ; Steph. ; Revue, p. 110. Charp. pi. 18. Length 34 lin. ; exp. 46 lin. Habitat England, local in the South. Large ; thorax green ; abdomen broad, depressed, blue with a dorsal black band ; front with a black spot encircled with blue ; wings broad, pterostigma small ; A SYNOPSIS OF THE BRITISH DRAGON-FLIES. 55 anal appendages of the male rather spatulate, the point truncate ; the lower oblong-quadrate. Parthenope, Selys; Revue, p. 111. Length 30 lin. ; exp. 42 lin. Similar to the preceding, the thorax reddish olive ; the anal appendages of the male externally with a spinous point ; the lower square, short, broader than long. In France, near Paris. Second tribe. Fore and hind wings similar. First division. Antecubital nervures numerous. Fifth sub-family. Large species. CALOPTERYGINA. Genus Calopteryx, Leach. 30. C. Virgo, L. ; Steph. ; Revue, p. 134. Charp. pi. 31. C. xanthostoyna, anceps, Steph. C. hamiorrhoidalis, Evans. Length 17 lin. ; exp. 21 lin. Habitat England, Scotland, Ireland. Metallic blue; wings broad, deep blue, the base coloured; network very fine ( $ ) ; green or metallic brown ; wings brown ; pterostigma white, rather distant from the apex. 31. C. splendens, Harris ; Revue, p. 139. C. Parthenias, Charp. pi. 33. Length 17 lin. ; exp. 21 lin. Habitat England, Scotland, Ireland. Metallic blue ; wings narrower, deep blue, the base and tip hyaline, network more open, $ ; metallic green ; wings hyaline; pterostigma white, apical. 56 NEUROPTERA. Second division. Two antecubital nervures. Sixth sub-family. Small species. AGRIONINA. A. Tibi^: dilated. Genus Platycnemis, Charp. 32. P. pennipes, Pallas ; (platypoda, Steph. ; auctorum) ; Revue, p. 168. Charp. pi. 43. Length 12 lin. ; exp. 16 lin. Habitat England, Scotland. White or blue ( $ ) and green ( $ ) ; streaked with dull bronzed green : a band on the top of the head between the eyes, two anterior bands, and two lateral lines ; abdomen with double black dorsal line, or two black dots at the hinder edge of each segment ; the four posterior tibiae dilated, whitish ; pterostigma fulvous. B. Tibije cylindrical. a. Pterostigma large, oblong. Genus Lestes, Leach. f. Back of the head bronzed. 33. L. viridis, Vander Lind. {not of English authors')', Revue, p. 148. Charp. pi. 35. Length 15 lin. ; exp. 18 lin. Habitat England? (One in the collection of Mr. Evans). Bronzed green, long and slender ; thorax with three fine yellow lines in front ; pterostigma large, light reddish ; upper anal appendages like pincers, with a basal tooth, and a tubercle inside before the end ; the lower ones very short, conical, almost contiguous. A SYNOPSIS OF THE BRITISH DRAGON-FLIES. 57 34. L. Nympha, Selys, Revue, p. 151. Length 12 lin. ; exp. 14 lin. Habitat England, Ireland. Metallic green, powdered with blue ( $ ) ; stout, of variable size ; pterostigma smaller, black ; upper anal appendages like pincers, with two pointed teeth, inter- nally rather far apart; the lower ones long, dilated at the end. 35. L. sponsa, Hansem ; Revue, p. 154. Charp. pi. 34. Length 12 lin. ; exp. 14 lin. Metallic green, powdered with blue ( $ ), slender ; pterostigma smaller, black; upper anal appendages like pincers, with two pointed teeth, internally approx- imated ; the lower ones long, not dilated at the end. t f. Back of the head yellow. 36. L. virens, Charp. ; Revue, pi, 156. Charp. pi. 34. Length 12 lin. ; exp. 14 lin. Habitat England ; New Forest (two specimens in the collection of the British Museum, formerly in that of Mr. Stephens). Metallic green, slender ; thorax beneath with three black spots on each side ; pterostigma reddish ; upper anal appendages like pincers, with a little basal tooth, and a little median dilatation internally ; the lower ones very short, converging at the end, which is rounded and very villous. 37. L. Barbara, Fabr. ; Revue, p. 159. Charp. pi. 35. Length 12 lin. ; exp. 17 lin. Habitat Ireland? (one specimen in the Dublin Mu- seum). Metallic green, stout ; thorax unspotted beneath ; pterostigma brown, external half yellow; upper anal 58 NEUROPTERA. appendages with a basal tooth, and a little median dilatation internally ; the lower ones a third shorter, conical, the end slender, villous. L.fusca, Vander Lind. ; Revue, p. 161. Charp. pi. 36. Length 12 lin. ; exp. 14 lin. Brown, spotted with yellow ; wings narrow, pointed. In Belgium. b. Pterostigma small, rhomboidal. Genus Agrion, Fabr. -f. Head without spots behind the eyes. 38. A. Najas, Hansem ; Revue, p. 177. Charp. pi. 37. Length 13 lin. ; exp. 18 lin. Habitat England, Ireland (Haliday). Blackish bronzed, yellow beneath, with the abdomen blueish at the end {$)) thorax immaculate ( $ ), or with an interrupted yellow line on each side ( ? ). A. viridulum, Charp. ; Revue, p. 175. Similar, but smaller, the line of the thorax uninterrupted in both sexes. In Belgium. 39. A. minium, Harris ; Revue, p. 178 ; Charp. pi. 36. Length 13 lin. ; exp. 17 lin. Habitat England, Scotland, Ireland. Carmine-red ; thorax blackish bronzed, with a lateral red or yellow stripe ; leys black ; anal appendages of the $ long, equal ; the lower ones bifid. 40. A. tenellum, Villers ; Revue, p. 180. Length 12 lin. ; exp. 14 lin. Habitat England ; local in the south. Red, thorax immaculate, blackish bronzed; legs reddish; A SYNOPSIS OF THE BRITISH DRAGON-FLIES. 59 anal appendages of the male very short ; the upper with a truncate tubercle ; the lower ones simple. f f. Head with a round spot on each side behind THE EYES. 41. A. Pumilio, Charp. ; Revue, p. 182. Charp. pi. 39. Length 10 lin. ; exp. 12 lin. Habitat England, Ireland. Black; thorax with two blue bands in front; hind lobe of the prothorax raised, rounded; abdomen black, the ninth segment blue ( $ ), or bronzed ( $ ) ; ptero- stigma of the anterior wings blach internally (