502 ENTOMOLOGICAL PECULIARITIES 



thorax brevis, convexus : abdomen purpureo-cupreum, nitens, 

 thoracis longitudine, acuminatum, non attenuatum ; segmentum 

 l um . cupreo-viride : pedes fulvi; coxae aeneo-virides ; femora 

 obscure fusca ; meso- et metapedum tibiae apice basique, genua 

 et tarsi flava, hi apice fulvi : alae fere limpidae, minime fulves- 

 centes ; maculis quaeque 2 fuscis, quarum una ubi costam nervus 

 attingit, altera sub stigma ; squamulae et nervi fulva, illas antice 

 fuscae ; stigma pallide fuscum, parvum. (Corp. long. | lin. ; 

 alar. 1 lin.) 



September ; Isle of Wight. 



Art. XLVI. — Notice on the Entomological Peculiarities of 

 Van Diemans Land ; being Extracts from a Letter by 

 Thomas Winter, Esq. Communicated by William 

 Swainson, Esq. 



Sir, — Among the circumstances which evince that a more 

 enlarged and philosophic spirit of inquiry has arisen in the 

 minds of our entomologists, is their increased attention to 

 generals, rather than an exclusive devotion to particulars. 

 The animals of distant regions are not only sought after, but 

 it has at length been found that great interest attaches also to 

 the physical peculiarities of the districts they inhabit, as exer- 

 cising a powerful influence on the local distribution both of 

 genera and species. Unfortunately, however, this sort of in- 

 formation can only be acquired by personal research ; and 

 naturalists, in a foreign country, are usually so absorbed 

 in the fascinating occupation of collecting, that they are gene- 

 rally unmindful of the localities and situations where their 

 different acquisitions are procured. Hence, while our cabinets 

 are daily augmented by new or undescribed species, our 

 knowledge of entomological geography is quite in its infancy. 

 With a view to stimulate the attention of such of our brethren 

 of the net, who reside abroad, to circumstances of this nature, 

 and at the same time to contribute something towards so de- 

 sirable an object, I beg to inclose you the following short 

 notices, written by my friend, Thomas Winter, Esq. now resi- 

 dent in Van Dieman's Land, a gentleman who devoted much of 

 his leisure to entomological pursuits when in his native country, 



