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®n flDaftiiiG ITlacful Collcctione of 3n6cct6 : 



H plea for tbe /iDore General mse ot tbe 

 Compound /llMctoscope b^ Collectors* 



By Robert Gillo. 



THOSE who make collections of Insects ought to do so pri- 

 marily for two reasons : first, to study their construction 

 and habits ; and secondly, to admire for themselves, and 

 to be able to show their friends their marvellous beauty of form 

 and colour. I say they ought to do so, because there are those 

 who collect merely for the sake of making collections. To such 

 individuals the pleasure of acquisition is paramount, and the con- 

 sciousness of possessing and being able to say that they have so 

 many species or specimens without hardly ever seeing them, and 

 much less studying them in detail is their sole delight. It is true 

 that the desire to make a collection may be, and in fact often is, 

 the means of inducing an individual to commence the study, and 

 when he sees the immense variety of form, colour, and wonderful 

 modification and adaptation of the various parts, according to 

 the requirements and habits of the insects, clearly showing a unity 

 of design throughout the whole which he did not suspect, a 

 genuine scientific interest is awakened in him which ultimately 

 leads to good results. 



How is it that there are so many collectors of British Butter- 

 flies and Moths, and so few who study any of the other orders of 

 insects ? I think it is not only because Butterflies are prettier 

 objects superficially, of larger size and more showy appearance, 

 but also because there is no difliculty in finding their names ; 

 whereas all other orders of insects are difficult to name correctly, 

 owing to the immense number of species, superficial resemblance, 

 absence of striking marks, and often their minute size, so that the 

 only means to effect this is by patient study and comparison of small 

 details ; in fact, a thorough investigation of every external part of 

 the insect. This, I suspect, is the real reason of so few workers 

 in this field. Those who collect Lepidoptera only know nothing 

 of the hours of close study often spent in attempting to satisfacto- 



