298 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



BOOK NOTICES. 



The Book of British Butterflies. — A practical manual for Collectors 



and Naturalists : i vol., pp. 247. (3s. 6d.) 

 The Book of British Hawk-Moths. — A popular and practical Hand- 

 book for Lepidopterists : i vol., pp. 157. (3s. 6d.) By W. J. Lucas, 

 B. A. London : L. Upcott Gill, 170 Strand, W. C 

 Many excellent works on British Butterflies have been published 

 during the last twenty-five years, and one would naturally suppose that 

 there was little need of another book on the subject Mr. Lucas, how- 

 ever, has succeeded in producing a very useful and excellent popular 

 manual, which will be a welcome aid to those who wish to study the life- 

 history of butterflies as well as to identify the specimens they may collect 

 in the British Isles, As it is intended for those who have made no 

 previous study of the subject, the author begins at the beginning, telling 

 the reader what an insect is, what place the butterfly takes in nature, how 

 to capture, set and care for specimens, and then describes each British 

 species from the egg to the imago in clear and simple language, and in 

 almost every instance gives admirable drawings of the caterpillar^ chrysalis, 

 and both surfaces of the imago. As there are no less than 266 figures in 

 illustration of sixty-eight species, the collector should have no diflSiculty 

 in determining any specimen of butterfly in any of its stages (except the 

 egg) that he may chance to find. A book such as this should give a great 

 impetus to the study of the preparatory stages of British butterflies, a 

 section of entomology which is usually neglected in favour of the mere 

 collection and arrangement of the perfect insects. A volume such as this 

 on Canadian butterflies would be a very welcome aid to a large number 

 of young people whose interest has been aroused by the beauty and 

 variety of our species, but whose enthusiasm is soon dampened by the 

 difficulty of obtaining any information about them. 



" The Book of British Hawk-Moths," by the same author, deals with 

 a somewhat less familiar group, and gives much useful information that it 

 would otherwise be hard to find. The plan of the work is similar to that 

 of the Butterfly book, and it is written in the same clear and simple style. 

 As there are only seventeen species to deal with, the writer is able to go 

 more fully into details respecting them, and to make his work all the more 

 complete and popular. He has also provided artificial keys to the larvre 

 and imagines, and tables for distinguishing the species where there is 



