1907.3 26i 



most valuable part of the wurk in our opinion oousist.s in the eareful descriptions 

 ol the earlier stajjes ol a large proportion of the spoeies, m many c.i^es unknown up 

 to I lie present ; u,\\d in the biononiie notes and observations on tiie liubils of the 

 perluet inseels, whieli ainplj testily to Mr. Kershaw's powers as an obsiu'ver. We 

 may rel'er to the account of the very singular life-history of the Lyea;nid species, 

 Gerydus chinensls anil Spindasis lohitu, and their association with ants in their 

 earlier stages, first detailed in Trans. Knt. Soc. Lond., 1!J05 and 19u7, and here 

 reproduced, us being of special interest, i ho work is written in a clear, though not 

 severely scientific style (synonymy, for instance, being almost entirely omitted), and 

 the " General Notes " appeniled to each part make very pleasant reading, and include 

 much interesting information as to the region dealt with. 



" Adstkalian Inskcts :" by Waltuu W. Fuogoatt, F.L.S., Government 

 Entomologist, New South Wales. 8vo, pp. -ii'J, with 37 plates containing :i70 

 figures, also 180 text-blocks. Sydney : William Brooks and Co., Limited, 17, 

 Castlereagh Street. 1907- 



Of all the great divisions of the earth's surface the Island •Continent of Aus- 

 tralia presents us with an insect-fauna which is certainly the most isolated and 

 peculiar of any of the same extent (except perhaps in respect to one principal group, 

 the Diurnal Lejjidoptera), and ranks amongst the richest of them all. Our know- 

 ledge oi its infinitely varied forms of insect life dates from the time when Fabricius 

 described the insects brought home from its shores by Sir Joseph Banks and the 

 naturalists who accompanied Captain Cook on his first njemorable voyage. Until 

 quite recently, however, little has been written about the actual life-history of the 

 insects of Australia, and the descriptions of a large proportion of the earlier known 

 species — often inadequate without reference to the types— are embodied in rare, 

 costly, and not readily accessible works in many languages, and in the publi- 

 cations of learned societies. The want of a book treating of the insect fauna 

 of the region as a whole, has been much felt by the large and enthusiastic body of 

 Entomological workers that of late years has arisen in Australia, and this want Mr. 

 Eroggatt has endeavoured to supply in the present work. His chief diiEculty — which 

 he has effectually surmounted — has been to write in a sufficiently popular style to 

 interest the general reader as well as the beginner in the study of Entomology, 

 without sacrificing the requirements of the more advanceil student of the science. 

 Following the classification adopted by Dr. Sharp in his well-known volumes on 

 "Insects" in the " Cambridtje Natural History," with slight modifications, the 

 author, we note with satisfaction, treats the so-called " neglected Orders " with fully 

 adequate detail. Indeed, some of the most interesting sections of the book are 

 those devoted to the Termites (here regarded as belonging to the Order Orthoptera, 



