Review 405 



fail to be of great interest to the Coleopterist as well as being of 

 economic value. 



The Scolytidae (Ipidae) are treated the fullest of any of the famihes, 

 some 150 pages being devoted to them. The author has brought 

 to light many species, some of them very obscure and easily overlooked. 

 It is, however, hard to recognise some of Mr Stebbing's species from 

 his descriptions. The writer of this review has devoted many hours 

 over Tomicus (Ips.) longifoUa and T. ribbentropi without being able 

 to separate the one from the other. The same may be said with regard 

 to certain of his Polygraphus and other species. In view of their great 

 economic importance, the Indian Scolytidae are badly in need of revision. 

 The government of India would do well to issue a monograph of all known 

 Indian species with detailed figures, exhibiting beyond any possibility 

 of doubt the diagnostic characters in each case. The monographs 

 of Dr Hopkins in America would serve as an admirable model to emulate. 

 In the Scolytidae closely allied species often exhibit dissimilar habits, 

 and it becomes a matter of the greatest importance to name any par- 

 ticular species with certainty. In no other group of forest insects, 

 that we are acquainted with, does the work of forest protection depend 

 so much upon accurate specific determinations as in the Scolytidae. 



We would impress upon the author that it is neither necessary 

 nor desirable to describe new species in a general text-book of this 

 description. We find that Mr Stebbing appears to have done so in 

 more than a dozen instances. Furthermore to designate already 

 described species as "sp. nov. " is contrary to all recognised procedure. 

 The expression "sp. nov." in such cases is highly misleading; for 

 instance on p. 621 the reader would at first sight conclude that "Platypus 

 snffodiens Sampson, sp. nov. " is a new species described immediately 

 below by Sampson. On the contrary the reference is given to the 

 Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist, for 1913 where the original description is to 

 be found. 



Notwithstanding the points over which we disagree with the author, 

 we think that the book will prove a distinct stimulus to Indian forest 

 entomology. Most of the divisional forest ofiicers, scattered through 

 the length and breadth of the Indian Empire, are familiar with one 

 or other form of destructive insect life in the lands under their charge. 

 With the aid of this book perhaps some of them may be tempted to 

 make a more serious study of the subject, or by collecting specimens 

 and information help others to extend the boundaries of our knowledge 

 of a wide and little explored field. 



