480 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS [Dec., 'l2 



The structure, life history and breeding habits, parasites and nat- 

 ural enemies are treated as well as chapters on their relation to the 

 spread of disease. The book concludes with a chapter on preventive 

 and control measures, bibliography and index. An inexpensive book 

 of this kind should have a wide circulation and be a considerable fac- 

 tor in educating the people to take measures to do away with this 

 dire pest and nuisance. H. S. 



POLYMORPHISM IN A GROUP OF MIMETIC BUTTERFLIES OF THE ETHIO- 

 PIAN NYMPHALINE GENUS PSEUDACRAEA. Nature XC, 36, 1912. In 

 the above mentioned article Prof. E. B. Poulton gives a very inter- 

 esting account of these butterflies and also their mimetic relationship 

 to the Acraeine genus Plancina. Dr. Karl Jordan came to the conclu- 

 sion that Pseudacrea eurytus and its allies hobleyi, terra, obscura, 

 rogersi and imitator were one species, based on studies of the genital 

 armature of the male. Prof. Poulton studied large series from various 

 localities and came to the conclusion that Dr. Jordan was probably 

 correct in his opinion, but that at that time the final proof, breeding, 

 was lacking. Dr. G. H. Carpenter recently found the egg of obscura 

 in the Bugalla forest and succeeded in rearing it to the imago stage 

 and it turned out to be terra, thus adding another link to the proof. 

 Prof. Poulton hoped to be able to present this evidence before the Second 

 International Entomological Congress, but the word (by cable) did 

 not come until August igth, after the Congress adjourned. Prof. 

 Poulton says it is really a very striking case, probably more so than 

 any that we shall discover in the future, because quite twelve species 

 sink as mimetic modifications of eurytus; the case also differs in a 

 very interesting manner from that of Papilio dardanus, because this 

 latter is only mimetic in the female, whereas the Pseudacreas are so 

 in both sexes. HENRY SKINNER. 



CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE LEPIDOPTERA OF 

 NORTH AMERICA. By WILLIAM BARNES and J. H. McDuNNOUGH, 

 Decatur, Illinois. 



Vol. I, No. 4, "Illustrations of Rare and Typical Lepidoptera," July 

 ist, 1912.' This consists of 27 plates containing over 500 figures of 

 moths in black and white half-tone. Many of the moths figured are 

 types and many from typical specimens compared with the types. 

 There are notes in relation to many of the species. It is exceedingly 

 laborious to identify moths from descriptions alone, and illustrations 

 are of immense value, even if they are only a partial aid -and it be- 

 comes necessary to verify from the descriptions. The authors give 

 their experience in the use of photography in illustrating moths and 



