46 THE REPOET OF THE No. 36 



The lectures given by professors and graduates of Agricultural Colleges, and 

 by others who have given the matter thought and study, upon all branches of 

 Nature Study at meetings and gatherings of various kinds, also greatly assist 

 in disseminating in a more or less successful way, the knowledge of this science 

 and the useful application of what we know about insects. 



Among some of the latest and best works upon the subject of insects published 

 during the past year may be mentioned "Our Insect Friends and Enemies,'^ by Dr. 

 J.-B. Smith; "Insects and other Allied Pests, etc.," by Fred V. Theobald; and 

 "Fruit Trees and Their Enemies," by Spencer W. Pickering. 



It is to be regretted that in the cause of research the methods employed are 

 not always calculated to bring about the best possible results. Persons engaged in 

 this work are often too easily contented with the discovery of individual insects 

 and fail to profit by the study of a family group of them. In this regard the pur- 

 suit of research should be continued with more and better system and it would be 

 well to inculcate into the minds of all entomologists that this science must be 

 studied, not from individual insects alone, but also from observing the life history, 

 the habits, the qualities and working of whole families. However, the proper 

 methods have been adop^ted by a number of eminent scientists in this country and 

 the United States as we learn from the reports of their successful researches. 



It is to be hoped that the governments of the day will be as generous, or even 

 more so, in giving aid for the benefit of the science of entomology as they have been 

 in the past, so that the work or research and the diffusion of information may not 

 suffer from want of the means to carry them on. When able men, aided by the 

 necessary means, are active, great results may be expected, and with the stimulus 

 of new discoveries constantly before them, there is no fear that we should suffer 

 disappointment; the benefits to our country and its people derived therefrom, will 

 in all probability be equal to, if they do not surpass, any investment of energy and 

 means in other causes. 



In closing my remarks I desire to thank j^ou very heartily for your attendance 

 here, for the excellence of your addresses, and the patience and close attention you 

 have exercised during this meeting. If the enthusiasm for the science of ento- 

 mology which you have displayed during this session is a true exponent of the spirit 

 within you, it augurs well for profitable and successful years to come for the 

 Entomological Society of Ontario. 



THE OEIGIN AND DIFFUSION OF ENTOMOLOGICAL EERORS. 

 By Henry H. Lymaist, Montreal, Que. 



Though using the word entomological, I shall confine my remarks to the 

 Lepidoptera as the only order which I have studied, but doubtless similar condi- 

 tions have given rise to similar errors in the other orders. 



Anyone who_has looked over many collections of North American Lepidoptera 

 must have been struck by the number of mis-identifications of species, or trans- 

 positions of names to be found in them, and an interesting study could be made of 

 the numerous popular errors which have become current in time past, and which 

 in many cases still persist. Indeed, their universality and persistence is quite 

 remarkable and it seems almost hopeless to try to eradicate them. 



