4 THE ENTOMOLOGIST S RECORD. 



of the fungus-feeding larvae of this interesting species. Mr. Robbins' 

 specimen, however, was taken out-of-doors, flitting round a sugared 

 post in the evening ; and on the continent I believe its occurrence in 

 the open is quite usual. Is this really another migrant, introduced 

 from time to time by shipping, and only able to thrive when protected 

 from our climate within walls, just as we can easily breed many con- 

 tinental species in our houses which fail to thrive when planted out ? 



Turning now to the writings of the present year, I can mention 

 only a few of the more prominent, or of those which happen to have 

 come more particularly under my own notice. A good deal of the 

 most important work is done under the auspices of the entomological 

 and natural history societies, or through the medium of the periodicals, 

 and I would urge our members to support such organisations and 

 publications to the utmost of their ability. Especially it seems 

 desirable that every entomologist who takes any deep interest in the 

 progress of the science should unite himself to the " Entomological 

 Society of London," as it is very inappropriately called, seeing that it 

 is essentially a national, and not a local society. It is at present in a 

 flourishing condition financially, but with a larger income it could 

 still further increase its sphere of operations ; besides, there is room 

 for a considerable influx of new life, both in the direction of biological 

 research and in that of distinctively British entomology (faunistic, 

 &c.) ; at present a large part of the annual volume of Tramactions is 

 devoted to very necessary, but very uninteresting descriptions of new 

 species, and this kind of work needs supplementing (not supplanting) 

 by a great deal more of scientific work, for which at present it would 

 be difticult to find room in its pages. Apart from papers which are 

 essentially descriptive or enumerative, one finds in the volume for 1901 

 (so far as yet published), some very interesting " Observations on 

 some Species of Oreina," by Mr. Champion and Dr. Chapman, throwing 

 some valuable light on the early stages, especially in regard to the 

 viviparity of most of the species ; some notes by Mr. Elwes on 

 Mrs. Nicholl's " Catalogue of Butterflies met with in the Lebanon" ; 

 a welcome paper on " Cases of Protective Eesemblance, Mimicry, &c., 

 in the British Coleoptera," by Mr. Donisthorpe, which reminds us 

 that we lepidopterists can claim no monopoly in dealing Avith this 

 very important branch of study, although we remember with pride 

 that our favourite Order furnished nearly all the original material for 

 it ; and some valuable anatomical notes on Osinia, by the Kev. F. D. 

 Morice, which sufiice to raise his paper above the level of the ordinary 

 descriptive ones. I must not omit to mention that one of our secre- 

 taries, Mr. W. J. Kaye, has contributed an important faunistic paper 

 on the hitherto totally neglected "Lepidoptera-Heterocera of Trinidad," 

 and we are looking forward to other valuable contributions, on those 

 of British Guiana, from the same pen. 



Our own Society and our sister Society across the Thames (the 

 South London Entomological and Natural History Society) have 

 each published a creditable volume of Transactions and Proceedinns 

 during the year, the result of our work during 1900. I need not 

 remind you of the contents of our owai volume, but I must spare a 

 word of praise for that of our South London friends, which seems 

 to reach the high level attained in 1899, and is much in advance, 

 scientifically, of most of its predecessors in the series ; our inde- 



