256 THE entomologist's record. 



Current notes. 



Every now and again the common Cordyceps {Torrubid) robertsii 

 awakens the interest of lepidopterists in general. The younger 

 lepidopterists look on it in wonder, and the older as a curiosity. 

 Comparatively few look at it from a scientific point of view, and we 

 presume that those few would be astonished to find that it were possible 

 to write a book of 364 pp. on the " Entomogenous fungi, or fungi 

 parasitic upon insects." This work has been excellently done by Dr. 

 M. C. Cooke, M.A., who calls his book Vegetable Wasps and Plant 

 Worms. He describes the fungi known to be parasitic on Hy- 

 menoptera, Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, Diptera, Neuroptera, Orthoptera, 

 Heteroptera, Homoptera and Arachnidae, and figures most of them. 

 It is to be hoped that entomologists, who observe larvae, pupse or 

 imagines, attacked by fungi, will, instead of rushing into print with no 

 actual knowledge of what the fungus is, turn to the pages of this work 

 and write a scientific note under its proper name, and thus add 

 valuable scientific matter. This is a book to be bought by every 

 entomologist who is in the slightest degree interested in the advance of 

 the science. It is published by the Society for Promoting Christian 

 Knowledge. 



Whilst, on the one hand, some of our friends explain that the 

 " mudthrowing " recently indulged in, was not meant to spatter anyone, 

 on the other hand two or three public cases of " whitewashing " occur 

 in the current numbers of more than one of our contemporaries. 



Mr. Jenner records the occurrence of Melissoblaptes gielaris, Zell., 

 bred from larv^ of pupae detected in September, 1891, in some rice 

 from Japan, which arrived about that time in this country. 



Chcerocampa celerio is recorded as captured in Sherborne, Dorset, on 

 October 1st, by Mr. Benthall, and from Ashford, in Kent, on 

 October 21st, by Mr. Viggers. Lyccena arion is reported from the 

 Forest of Dean by Mr. E. G. C. Brooke. Unfortunately, Mr. Brooke 

 was on a bicycle, had no net, and was unable to capture any specimens. 

 This is unfortunate, as such a record as this really needs verification. 

 Mr. Sich records the capture of a larva of Deilephila galii, found 

 feeding on the common red fuchsia in a garden at Chiswick. 



Specimens of a Thecla, which Mr. Bromilow supposes were hybrids 

 between T. spini and T. tlicis, prove to be T. spini var. lynceus. 

 Records of hybrids taken in a state of nature, always want inquiring into 

 most carefully. 



Probably no mass of reference work equal to that recently brought 

 out by Mr. W. F. Kirby under the title of A Synonymic Catalogue of 

 Lepidoptera Heterocera, vol. i., has ever before been presented to the 

 entomological public. It is well known that Mr. Kirby has a greater 

 knowledge of entomological literature, than any entomologist living; 

 and it would certainly be hypercritical to attempt to deal with the 

 work in the way of ordinary criticism. Such a monument of labour as 

 this can never repay the author, except the knowledge that its use to 

 future workers is unquestionable and almost beyond calculation. Every 

 entomologist ought to support the publication of such a work as this. 



