2o8 The Irish Nahiralist, October, 1908. 



A MOTH COLLECTOR S GUIDE. 



Practical Hints for the Field Lepidopterist. B) J. W. TuTT, 

 P\E.S. Part I., 2ud edition. Pp. 28 + 106. Londou : Elliot Stock, 

 190S. Price (interleaved), 6x. 



It is seven years since the first part of this well-known work was pub- 

 lished, and now the repeated calls for a second edition have led the 

 author to issue it in a revised form. The principal addition to the book 

 is the new introductory section, comprised in the first 28 pages and 

 divided into seven chapters, in which are given valuable "hints" on such 

 subjects as preserving, killing, pinning, setting, labelling, and holiday 

 collecting. An entire chapter is devoted to the important subject 

 of "Entomological Pins,'' and every naturalist who has handled a 

 large number of preserved insects, in his own collection or in a 

 museum, knowii the importance of these indispensable implements. 

 Mr. Tutt does not hesitate to write plainly on the merits and demerits 

 of the pins supplied by various makers, but he advises the collector to 

 look carefully with a powerful lens over his stock, and to pick out the 

 really good pins for use, rejecting those with points too fine, too blunt, 

 or hooked, and those with bent shafts. 



It is surprising to find in the chapter on " setting " that a naturalist 

 so open to new ideas as Mr. Tutt continues to acquiesce in the " British " 

 style of setting Lepidoptera low down on the pins so as to fall readily 

 a prey to mites and psocids, and with the wings drooping towards the 

 surface of the drawer or box, so as to give those pests every possible 

 chance. The example of modern museums must tell in time on all 

 collectors of insects, and the peculiar " British " style of setting must 

 give way to the rational "Continental" method in the future. In his 

 insistence on the necessity for labelling the specimens themselves, how- 

 ever, and not being content with a diary record, Mr. Tutt has our 

 warm sympathy. But, as he points out, the difficulty of effective 

 labelling is immensely increased b}- the irrational "British " setting. 



The bulk of the volume consists of " hints " for collecting and other 

 work arranged as a calendar. A section is devoted to each month— or 

 group of months — and the insects to be looked for at the particular time 

 of year are mentioned under their '* superfamily " or family headings. 

 Here the student will learn where and how to find eggs, larvae, and 

 imagos, how to dig for pupce, what plants to collect with a prospect of 

 emerging moths at a later date. In most of the statements made, it is 

 clear that the author is giving us the benefit of his unrivalled personal 

 experience — notabl}' in his directions for larvie-hunting among coast 

 sandhills or in the East Anglian fens. Some qualification might be 

 advisable to the statement that " during the second week in June larvae 

 of Lithosia caniola and L. cojnplaua are to be found at Howth." The 

 London collector who indulges in a trip to Dublin in confidence of taking 

 these rare species may be disappointed ! 



G. H. C. 



