234 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS ( XXXli, '21 



We find that many species occur commonly in spring, less 

 commonly in late summer and fall, and sparingly if at all in 

 midsummer, thus our seasonal record of a species may be 

 fairly complete for April or May and for September, long 

 before we are able to show its presence throughout July and 

 August. This also has its economic significance, as it gives a 

 strong hint of the general life-history. 



We have intended that these records shall adequately answer 

 three simple questions (others incidentally): (1) What is 

 it? (2) Where does it occur in the state? (3) When is it to 

 be found? 



The undertaking involves the handling of numerous speci- 

 mens and much routine work in arranging and recording. It 

 involves much work in classification, in which we enlist the 

 help of specialists as far as possible. Always admitting the 

 possibility of error, we consider that on the whole our collec- 

 tions and records are reliable. Specialists working in any group 

 may call on us for our records, and in man)' groups we would 

 be glad to submit unnamed material for determination. One 

 of our difficulties has been to secure determinations in the 

 various groups. More than once it has occurred that preten- 

 tious papers have recorded the distribution of a species in such 

 a way as to indicate that it does not occur in the southeast, 

 when we have named specimens of the species in our state 

 insect survey collections presumably correctly named. 



We believe that an entomologist should have some conception 

 of the variety and distribution of his insect fauna, and if this 

 be co-ordinated with a similar knowledge of birds, reptiles, etc. 

 (as has been done to a large degree in this state) so much the 

 better. 



At the end of 1914 we counted the species listed in our card- 

 catalogue, and this has been repeated each year since, at the 

 same time making occasional eliminations and changes to cor- 

 respond with latest nomenclature as best we can. While some 

 of our records are from literature and represent species not in 

 our collections, yet in the main our records are substantiated 

 by our specimens, or by ones "retained" by specialists would 

 that we had more specialists in public employ and elsewhere ! 



