ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 



PHILADELPHIA, PA., JUNE, 1916. 



A Duty of Specialists. 



We recently received a letter from a specialist on a group of 

 insects, with which none of the Editors or Advisory Commit- 

 tee of the NEWS are familiar, criticizing unfavorably the work 

 of another writer on the same group published in the NEWS. 

 The criticism was chiefly directed against the creation of 

 synonyms by the second writer, who was taxed with ignorance 

 of the existence of the Zoological Record, the Concilium 

 Biblio graphic wn and the bibliographies given in the NEWS. 



The author of the letter suggested an editorial on this sub- 

 ject, but at the same time appears to overlook certain aspects 

 of the case. An exact knowledge of the species of any group 

 of organisms is possessed only by the specialists on that group 

 and on them devolves not only the right but also the duty of 

 pointing out the errors committed by other students. It so 

 happens that descriptions of alleged new species by the writer 

 complained of have appeared in the NEWS for several years 

 without calling forth any protest until this present. The Edi- 

 tors of the NEWS must take into account, as far as possible, 

 all the various motives which actuate entomologists (who, after 

 all, are human), and must refuse to undertake those tasks with 

 which as non-specialists they have no business to meddle. At 

 the same time they must remind the specialists of their own 

 duties to be performed either by direct communication to 

 offending authors or by frank and open criticism which the 

 NEWS will always be glad to publish, as evidenced by its record 

 in recent similar cases. 



Index to Minnesota State Entomologist's Reports. 



We have received from Prof. F. L. Washburn, State Entomologist 

 of Minnesota, Circular No. 38 from his office, dated April 4, 1916, 

 entitled "Index to the Fifteen Annual and Biennial Reports of the 

 State Entomologist of Minnesota, published between 1895 and 1914, 

 both dates inclusive, together with an appendix listing other publica- 

 tions of the State Entomologist and the Division of Entomology, Uni- 

 versity of Minnesota." This pamphlet of 40 pages has been compiled 

 by O. J. Wenzel. The Index is "a combination of the indices of the 

 fifteen annual and biennial reports of the State Entomologist of Minne- 

 sota . . . and it is hoped that it will be found useful to those pos- 

 sessing a complete or even partial set of the reports." 



Every bibliographic work of this kind is a valuable guide in tlu> 

 great maze of entomological literature and the State Entomologist of 

 Minnesota deserves our hearty thanks for this Index. Prof. Washhurn 

 asks us to state that his office, at St. Anthony Park, Minn., will be glad 

 to mail copies to Entomologists as long as the supply lasts. 



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