CURRENT NOTES. 241 



1909, by Mr. Hamm, and at Logie, in July, 1908, by Dr. Sharp. (3) 

 Per/omyia scjtenstetteyisis, Strobl, common in one spot at Bonhill. 



An " African Entomological Research Committee," has been 

 appointed by the Earl of Crewe, with " the object of furthering the 

 study of Economic Entomology with special reference to Africa " ; the 

 Earl of Cromer will act as chairman. The committee is constituted 

 as follows: — Colonel A. Alcock, CLE., F.R.S., London School of 

 Tropical Medicine; Mr. E. E. Austen, Natural History Museum; Dr. 

 A. G. Bagshawe, Director Sleeping Sickness Bureau ; Dr. J. Rose 

 Bradford, F.R.S., Secretary Royal Society ; Colonel Sir David Bruce, 

 C.B., F.R.S. ; Dr. S. F. Harmer, F.R.S."' Keeper of Zoology, British 

 Museum ; Dr. R. Stewart MacDougall, Entomological Adviser, Board 

 of Agriculture : Sir John Macfadyean, Royal Veterinary College ; Sir 

 Patrick Manson, K.C.M.G., F.R.S. ; Mr. R. Newstead, Liverpool 

 School of Tropical Medicine; Dr. G. F. Nuttall, F.R.S., Quick 

 Professor of Biology, Cambridge; Professor E. B. Poulton, D.Sc, 

 F.R.S., Hope Professor of Zoology, Oxford ; Lieut.-Colonel D. Prain, 

 CLE., F.R.S., Director Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew ; Mr. H. J. 

 Read, CM.G., representing the Colonial Office ; The Hon. N. C 

 Rothschild; Dr. D. Sharp, F.R.S., Dr. A. E. Shipley, F.R.S., 

 Cambridge University; Mr. S. Stockman, Chief Veterinary Officer, 

 Board of Agriculture; Mr. F. V. Theobald, Agricultural College, Wye; 

 and Mr. C Warburton, Cambridge University. Mr. A. C C Parkin- 

 son, of the Colonial Office, is acting as Secretary to the Committee, 

 and Mr. Guy A. K. Marshall as Scientific Secretary. 



Arrangements are now being made to send out two entomologists 

 to East and West Tropical Africa respectively, with the intention of 

 stimulating local research, and of affording expert instruction in 

 scientific methods. Although, essentially, the Committee will have to 

 do with the application of entomology to medicine, agriculture, etc., 

 one supposes a fair amount of pure scientific entomology must result. 



It was with the greatest regret that we recently observed, in one of 

 the German magazines, a notice of the death of Lajos Aigner-Abafi, the 

 well-known Hungarian lepidopterist, in June last. We have been so 

 indebted to him for information about the Hungarian forms of our 

 British butterflies during the last few years, information that we hope 

 has been of use to all those advanced lepidopterists who use our 

 Natural History of British Lepidnptera for reference, that we feel as if 

 we have lost a personal friend. We knew that he was in ill-health, 

 but had no idea that his illness was likely to terminate fatally. His 

 work in connection with the Rovartani Lrt;;oA- is too well-known to need 

 more than passing mention here. 



So well do the British entomologists know the greater number of 

 European butterflies, a.nd so easily can they be named by reference to 

 the better-known private collections, or to the national collection at 

 the Natural History Museum, where the cabinets are always at the 

 disposal of students for this purpose, that, when Wheeler wrote his 

 Buttertiifis of Switzerland, he did not even think it worth while to 

 describe the usual type, let alone give figures of the species. But, with 

 the continental Noctuids and Geometrids, the matter is entirely 

 different. Few Britishers have got any real grip of the European 

 species, and hardly anyone can name at sight all the species picked up 

 in an ordinary trip on the continent. A book, therefore, with all the 

 species well-figured, correctly named, and with sufficient catalogue 



