Bibliograjjhical Notices. 53 



BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 



The Entomologist s Annual for 1855. Edited by H. T. Stainton. 

 London: Van Voorst, 1855. 12mo. With one Plate. 



The Editor of the "Entomologist's Annual" proposes, by means 

 of this publication, to render British Entomology a service, very 

 similar to that done for the science in general by the admirable re- 

 ports furnished for so many years in Wiegmann's * Archiv ' by the 

 late Dr. Erichson, and still so ably continued by Dr. Schaum. The 

 information required is of course, to a great extent, of a very dif- 

 ferent character : — instead of a view of the general progress of the 

 science, the collector of British insects desires only to know what 

 new species may have been discovered in this country ; what once 

 rare species may have turned up in unexpected profusion ; what 

 changes may have been made in the nomenclature of well-known 

 species ; and, if he gets this information, coupled, perhaps, with an 

 account of any discoveries made in connection with the transforma- 

 tions of British insects, which may enable him to procure good 

 specimens for his cabinet, he will probably remain satisfied. To 

 supply these wants, by bringing together at the commencement of 

 each year the scattered information on British Entomology accumu- 

 lated during that which has just elapsed, is the object of the present 

 little work, which we have no doubt will prove highly acceptable to 

 the class of naturalists for whose benefit it has been prepared. 



The "Annual" for 1855, however, which must be regarded 

 merely as preparatory, departs considerably from this general plan ; 

 consisting almost entirely of notices of the new species of Coleoptera, 

 Aculeate Hymenoptera, and Lepidoptera discovered in Britain since 

 the dates of the last general works upon those branches, with re- 

 ferences to the English works in which the occurrence of these 

 species has been recorded. The Coleoptera have been worked up by 

 Mr. Janson, the Aculeate Hymenoptera by Mr. F. Smith, and the 

 Lepidoptera by the Editor ; and these reports, which are apparently 

 executed with all the care and accuracy that might be expected from 

 gentlemen whose attainments in their several departments are so well 

 known, will no doubt prove exceedingly useful to many a student of 

 British Entomology. The space occupied by these reports, extending, 

 as they do, over periods varying from fifteen to more than fifty years, 

 has necessarily precluded the insertion of any other information ; but 

 this cause of omission can, of course, only occur once. Amongst 

 the Lepidoptera, the occurrence of several hitherto unrecorded British 

 insects, including some new species, is noticed, and of these descrip- 

 tions are given. 



In his preface, Mr. Stainton gives us to understand, that, besides 

 the miscellaneous information above alluded to, several papers of a 

 lighter character, such as " Sayings and Doings at St. Osyth," by 

 Mr. Douglas, and " Results of a Summer's Residence at Fochabers," 

 by Mr. Scott, which, in his opinion, would have rendered the work 

 more popularly attractive, have also been excluded from want of 



