©U4-H 



PREFACE. =.^*» 



With this number we conclude our 19th volume, and again we 

 tender our heartiest thanks to all those who have so kindly helped to 

 make it as successful and useful as its predecessors — to contributors, 

 subscribers, donors of plates, etc. 



There has been a tendency during recent years for our British 

 collectors to give us fewer and fewer of their observations on British 

 insects. This has probably been partly due to the series of wretched 

 collecting-seasons through which we have recently passed, partly to 

 the wish not to repeat oft-recorded observations, and partly also to the 

 raid that certain collectors make on a new collecting-ground, when a 

 rare species of the Macro-lepidoptera is found in new haunts ; all of 

 which, however, tends to lower the actual amount of the output of 

 scientific notes, bearing on the habits, habitats, and distribution of our 

 indigenous species. During the last year or two this has been less 

 noticeable, and this year we have still less reason to complain, several 

 comprehensive notes on collecting in the British Islands having been 

 received during the past few months, but the interesting notes on 

 collecting in Ireland and Scotland by native collectors which were a 

 feature of the magazine of some ten to fifteen years since, are no 

 longer forthcoming, and field-work in Ireland and Scotland is now 

 largely restricted to visitors from England who make a short stay in 

 one of the better-known localities. An account of the lepidopterous 

 fauna of Ross-shire and Sutherland would be most useful at the 

 present time, i.e., a fauna comprising the Macros and Micros, for the 

 hints of Buchanan-White as to the more lowland character of the fauna 

 of these counties, possibly due to the influence of the surrounding ocean, 

 have never been fairly proved or disproved. Nor is the fauna of the 

 northern Pennines and Cheviots at all well-known, and one could 

 wish that notes from these and other little-worked districts could be 

 received. 



Our own exhaustive work on " Practical Hints " has rendered our 

 neglect of this phase of field entomology less marked, although we had 

 hoped to have continued the series by dealing with special groups. 

 We desire, however, to proceed with these during the coming year. 

 At our request, Mr. Selwyn Image has generously written us one of his 

 delightful poems to conclude our present volume ; for his kindness 

 we offer our grateful thanks. 



We are again indebted to Mr. H. Donisthorpe and Professor T. 

 Hudson Beare for taking entire charge of the " Coleoptera " section, 

 and have been fortunate in obtaining the aid of Mr. Chitty to help us 

 with other less-worked orders. The Rev. C. R. N. Burrows has again 

 kindly made himself responsible for the " Societies' Reports " and 

 the " General Index," whilst Professor T. Hudson Beare, Messrs. M. 

 Burr, J. E. Collin, and H. J. Turner have again kindly undertaken 

 the "Special Index," which we hope to publish with the January 

 number. For the various plates we have been able to give, we have 

 to thank Messrs. F. B. Browne, H. Donisthorpe, H. M. Edelsten, 

 A, H. Jones, Dr. T. A. Chapman, and Dr. Joy. 



To all who have helped us during the past year we offer our best 

 thanks, and at the same time crave a continuance of their support for 

 the coming year, which we trust may be fruitful to the collector, and 

 result in the accumulation of many new facts by entomologists of all 

 grades and tastes. 



