ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS [April, 'll 



The geographic scope of the work covers the region "west of Vienna," 

 to pass beyond which "would mean the inclusion of Eastern Europe, 

 with Russia, and the Balkans." It might be well to emphasize even 

 more' strongly than the author does the fact that the present work is 

 the first of anything of a similar character published in the English 

 language, our great works of reference on European Orthoptera be- 

 ing in German, French and Spanish. 



The generic tables seem to be very carefully constructed, while the 

 specific tables present in most cases a wealth of differential characters 

 instead of the meagre alternatives so frequently found. Under the 

 species are given very graphic descriptions with beclouding technicali- 

 ties reduced to a minimum, while such as are used are explained under 

 the family headings. 



The geographic information is of the sort which makes one who is 

 more than a taxonomist happy, as the author has the ability to give 

 in a few terse sentences a clear yet fairly detailed statement of the 

 range of a species, generally prefacing the limitations of the range with 

 the general region or regions inhabited. 



The number of species of Forficulidae treated is twenty-four, of 

 Blattoclea twenty-two, of Mantidea thirteen, of Phasmidea four, of 

 Acridiodea one hundred and thirty-five, of Locustodea one hundred and 

 sixty-one, of Gryllodea thirty-five. On tabulating the species accord- 

 ing to the sections of Western Europe to which they are restricted one 

 is first struck with the great number of Iberian (Spain and Portugal) 

 forms, thirty-three Acridiodea, sixty-three Locustodea and fourteen 

 Gryllodea being found nowhere else in the territory covered, a few 

 of them being found in northern Africa as well, although the vast ma- 

 jority are indigenous to the peninsula. The next numerical element in 

 a tabulation of the species is a Mediterranean one, including species 

 found in Spain and Portugal as well as the south coast region of 

 France, Italy and the portion of the Adriatic country covered by the 

 work. The Acridiodea of this element number twenty-eight, the 

 Locustodea forty-eight and the Gryllodea ten. The boreal element is 

 numerically far less than either the Iberian or Mediterranean elements. 



In the reviewer's opinion the splitting up of the old blanket genus 

 Stenobothrns (pp. 27-28, 32-47) is greatly to be commended, al- 

 though the author may not be universally followed in according the 

 divisions generic rank. Although Bolivar had previously applied these 

 divisions in a subgeneric sense to the Iberian species, the present work 

 is the first to assign the more numerous extra-Iberian forms. 



A curious lapse occurs near the bottom of page 16 where Blatta 

 germanica is used instead of Blatta orientalis, germanica being properly 

 used on the middle of the same page. The latter species, our familiar 



