1H13.J 21 



should be made for the conditions under which much of his work was done. 

 Inability to consult the rich collections at South Kensington, as well as an 

 almost entire ignorance of the doings of other workers in the same field cannot 

 but have had a prejudicial effect, especially on his later writings. There can be 

 no doubt that his best work as a systematist was done in the earlier years of his 

 study of the order, since between the years 1882 — 1900 his two most important 

 works, viz. .- " A Monograph of tlie British Phytophagous Hymenoptera " and 

 " Hymenoptera, Vols. I and II," of the Biologia Centrali- Americana, made their 

 appearance. For the first mentioned of these two works, which was published 

 in four volumes by the Eay Society (1882 — 1892), British Hymenopterists owe 

 him a debt of gratitude. Previous to its appearance the literature dealing with 

 these insects was veiy much scattered and no attempt had been made at its 

 collation into systematic form, and though alterations have since become 

 necessary to fit in with modern ideas of classification, nevertheless as a basis 

 upon which to build it has proved invaluable. His two volumes for the Biologia 

 Centrali- Americana covered the whole field of Hymenoptera, with the exception 

 of the ants, social and solitary wasps, and bees. A later series of papers, entitled 

 " Hymenoptera Orientalia," were devoted to the description of the fine collection 

 of Indian Hymenoptera formed by Mr. G. A. J. Rothney, now in the Oxford 

 University Museum. His own collection of British Phytophagoixs Hymenoptera, 

 upon which the monograph was based, in addition to a large nvimber of his 

 exotic types, is in the Natm-al History Museum. Papers from his pen appeared up 

 to within a few weeks of his death, one of the last being devoted to the collections 

 from the Belgian Congo contained in the Congo Museiim, Tervueren. At various 

 times he worked out collections for many museums abroad, including the 

 Sarawak Musemn ; the George Town Museum, British Guiana ; and various 

 institutions in South Africa. The Vespidie, Fossores, and Chrysididse of Sjostedt's 

 Kilimandjaro — Meru Expedition, belonging to the Stockholm Museum, were 

 also described by him. — G. M. W. 



Edouard Brabant. — We are sorry to annovince the death of Mr. E. Brabant, 

 of Cambrai (Nord), France, who died at his native place on November 29th last, 

 in his 64th year. For 50 years he had studied and collected butterflies, and 

 every other branch of natxiral history interested him. He described several new 

 species of Lepidoptera from French Guinea. In 1893 he was elected a Fellow of 

 the Entomological Society of London, and doubtless was personally known to 

 some of oui- British Lepidopterists. 



Societies. 



The South London Entomological and Natural History Society : 

 Thursday, Oct. 10th, 1912.— Mr. A. E. Tonge, F.E.S., President, in the Chair. 



Mr. Lucas exhibited specimens and detailed drawings of the species of 

 British earwigs to illustrate his paper, with living examples of the very local 

 Laiidura riparia from Christchurch. Mr. Tonge, a very dark marked example 

 of Acidalia ornata from E-eigate. Mr. Sheldon, a long series of Colias hecla 

 from N. Lapland, with examples of other European Colias species for com- 

 parison. Mr.' Adkin, specimens of Nola albulalis bred from larvre that had 



