212 [Septombcr, 



Tlip LancdMre Coast form of Hijpermecia rrticinna. — During a four days' 

 stay at Birkdale, on the Lancashire coast, from June 29th to July 3rd last, 

 J liad two evenings' collecting on the sandhills. Over the dwarf sallows, 

 which occur there in large areas, Hypermecia cruciana was flying in great 

 alnmdance ; but I was surjn-ised to find that practically all the specimens were 

 of the olive-green banded form, only a very small percentage indeed showing 

 any or very little trace of the red band which seems to be present in the form 

 so largely predominating in our woods, and in the very few there were the red 

 was not so bright. Another Tortrix T scarcely expected to find on the sandhills 

 was Eiipoecilia notulana, of which several specimens were boxed. An insect 

 in another order which occurred on the sandhills almost as abundantly as 

 H. cruciana w^as the Trichopteron Limnophihis vittata. Almost every tap 

 at the thistles or any other higli-growing plant brought them out in numbers, 

 but the only other species of this order I saw was an occasional Limiiophilan 

 (iffinis. No doubt their larvae had fed in the narrow dykes and ponds on the 

 sandhills. — Geo. T. roRKiTX, Elm Lea, Dalton, Huddersfield, August 6th, 

 1920. 



"An Introduction to Entomology." By Prof. .John Henry 

 CoMSTOCK. Part I. Second Edition. Entirely Re-written. Pp. xviii+220. 

 (Ithaca, N. Y. : The Comstock Publishing Company, 1920.) Price $2.50 net. 



Prof. Comstock's reputation as an entomologist is fully upheld in this 

 admirable text-book. We commend it as a clear and thoroughly up-to-date 

 elementary exposition of the general structure and metamorphosis of insects. 

 Li fact, we know of no similar work in which the subject is so admirably 

 treated within the same compass. It constitutes the first part of a treatise on 

 Eutoraology that the author has in preparation, and is published in advance of 

 the entire work in response to requests that it may be available for teaching 

 purposes. Prof. Comstock invites suggestions of any desirable changes to be 

 made before the present part is incorporated in the complete work. Cliap. I 

 deals with the relations of insects to other Arthropoda, and we note that he 

 regards (along with Berlese) the Myrientomata as constituting a separate class 

 equivalent in status to the insects. The chapter devoted to the external 

 anatomy of insects is particularly valuable. The recent detailed studies of 

 American morphologists have left the terminology applicable to the various 

 regions and sclerites in a state of confusion. Each author has started out 

 with the aim of clearing up the tangle and, at the same time, has coined new 

 terms to aid his object. The result is confusing even to the professed mor- 

 phologist, but, fortunately, the nomenclature adopted by Prof. Comstock is 

 particularly well selected and should aid in the establishment of stability. 

 Chap. Ill deals with internal anatomy, and includes, among other features, an 

 admirable short description of the sense organs. On tlie whole, we think a 

 somewhat fuller reference to function is desirable, particularly with regard 

 to the digestive system. It also seems rather inadequate to dismiss the 

 muscular system in less than two pages. The final chapter is devoted to a 

 very lucid exposition of the general facts relating to metamorphosis. Through- 

 out the book the author exhibits discrimination in the selection of the essentials 



