12 THE entomologist's RECORD. 



Contemporaneously with Meigen, though practically as his followers, 

 came Wiedemann and Macquart, who dealt also very extensively with 

 exotic diptera. 



In 18i0, Loew appeared on the scene in a small pamphlet on the 

 Diptera of Posen, and while Meigen firmly founded the arrangement 

 of diptera, Loew specialised it, and it has been through Loew's 

 marvellous Avork both in European and exotic diptera from 1840 to 

 1879 that the scientific study of the order is now firmly established on 

 a sound basis. There is still, however, a vast amount of work required 

 in some of the less known families, and the knowledge of the species 

 in these families is far below the least known families of lepidoptera 

 coleoptera, &c. 



The next epoch-marking work was Zetterstedt's Diptera Scan- 

 dinaviae, which Avas published in fourteen volumes from 1842 to 1860, 

 after which came Schiner^'s Fauna AHxtriaca Diptera in two volumes 

 (1862-1864), Avhich finally condensed the European species up to 

 that date, though of course many workers had published papers and 

 monographs in the meantime, and to Baron R. Osten-Sacken 

 must be given the credit of a most masterly arrangement of the 

 North American Tipalitlae, an arrangement which has thoroughly 

 stood the test of the Avhole species of the world for nearly forty years. 

 Rondani wrote from 1840 to 1880, at first on Italian diptera, but 

 subsequently on both Italian and exotic diptera, and although, at 

 first sight, his work appeared to be hasty and superficial, it is not so, 

 as it will bear, in most cases, close testing. There have been many 

 writers on the order, in quite recent times, but nearly always through 

 small monographs and notes. 



There appears to be a curious coincidence that whereas the early 

 writers on diptera were nearly all northern, e.[f., Linne, De Geer, 

 Fabricius, MuUer, &c., the next set of Avriters were mid-European, <?.//., 

 Meigen, Macquart, &c., and, after them, authors became still more 

 southern, e.;/., Schiner, Brauer, Rondani, Mik, Kowarzc, so that 

 there was scarcely a south European worker (except Rossi) until 1840, 

 Avhile there has not been a north European worker (except Bergroth in 

 a limited group) since Zetterstedt (unless notice need be taken of 

 Bonsdorif) ; though of course Van der Wulp has been Avorking in the 

 Netherlands. The result is that modern AA^riters on diptera have 

 practically no acquaintance Avith the northern species except through 

 descriptions. 



The Century's work among the Aculeate Hymenoptera. 



By (Rev.) F. D. MORICE, M.A., F.E.S. 

 It is not Avithout misgivings that I accede to the request that I should 

 attempt a slight sketch of the progress made during the closing century 

 in our knoAvledge of the Aculeate Hymenoptera. To treat such a 

 subject otherwise than most superficially, AA'ould require a knoAvledgeto 

 Avhich I cannot pretend, of an enormous mass of literature in many 

 languages, Avhilst many branches of it, including all the copious 

 American literature (Cresson, x\shmead. Fox, &c.), I must perforce 

 ignore, since I have never paid attention to other than Palnsarctic 

 insects. HowcA'er, since no more competent Avriter stands forth for 

 the AA'ork, I Avill state Avhat little is known to me about the general 

 outlines of the subject. 



