ENrOMOLOGrCAL SOCIETY OF OyrARTO. 93 



liours." To the Neuroptera belong also the anVlions, dragjnfltes aad other well kaown 

 insects. A large proportion are aquatic in their earlier stages, and most interesting in 

 their habits, either as residents of the water or the air. 



The last one hundred pages of Dr. Sharp's charminw portrayal of the insect world 

 is devoted to a portion of the Hymenoptera, the species of which are estimated at 250,000. 

 This order contains, am^ng its almost inexhaustible forms, those which are of exceptional 

 interest, from the intelligence which governs their actions. Dr. Shirp has called atten- 

 tion to an error which has occurred through hasty writing of the explanation of the 

 anatomy of Sphex chri/sis (page 490, Fig. 333), where the letter f is called a division of 

 the metanotum, whereas it really balongs to the mesonotum. This error will be corrected 

 in the portion dealing with the Aculeata The present volume only treats of the Ses- 

 siliventres, those in which the abdomen is broadly and closely joined to the thorax, and 

 the paraaitic families of the Petiolata, in which the abdomen is attached by a pjtiole, or 

 stalk, often remarkably slender and prolonged. The first division includes the sawflies, 

 of which the caterpillar-like larvse are so injurious to vegetation, and the horntails, 

 whose larvaj bore in the trunks of trees. The parasitic families exhibit much more 

 variety of structure, and the species, even in our noithern fauna, are exceedingly num- 

 erous. They vary in size ; some Pimplids raaasuring several inches from the head to the 

 tip of the very long ovipositor, while among the Proctotrypids and Chalcids are forms 

 almost invisible to the naked eye. Dr. Sharp clearly tabulates the conditions under 

 ■which the early life of such parasites is passed. 



" 1. The egg may be laid outside a larva, and the embryonic and larval develop- 

 ments may both be passed on the exterior, 



2. The egg may be laid and the embryonic development passed through, outside the 

 host, but the parasite on hatching may enter the host, so that the post-embryonic develop- 

 ment is passed in the lymph of the host. 



3. The egg may be laid inside the host, both embryonic and post-embryonic develop- 

 ments being gone through in the fluids of the host. 



4. The egg may be laid inside another egg, the embryonic and post-embryonic 

 developments being passed therein." 



A large section of the OynipidtB are not parasitic, but subsist upon plant ti3sues, 

 producing swellings and distortions, known as galls, in which the larvae live and develop. 

 Among the illustrations of the hymenoptera are excellent figures of four insects occurr- 

 ing in Ontario and other portions ot Canadi, viz., Ory^sui S%yi, Tfeimx Colimbx, 

 Thalessa lunator and relecinus polyturator, the last three b3iug quite common insects. 

 The illustrations throughout the volume, 371 in all, are both accurate and artistic, and 

 many have been specially drawn for the work. The paper and press work are of the 

 best, and the result is a very handsome volume. The appsarance of the next volume, 

 completing this most valuable and enjoyable account of the insects, will be eagerly 

 awaited. 



W. Hague Harrington. 



R\MBLBS i\ Alpine Valleys, by -J. W. Tutt, F. E.S. ; 208 pages, five plates 

 London: Swan, Sonnenschien ik Oo. 



The E liter of Th", EatomologUti R'',Gord and Journil of Variation has added 

 another to his popular books on the beauties of nature. This time h * takes the reader 

 abroad to the lovely scenery of Switzerland on the Italian slopes of Mont Blanc, where 

 he wanders for the most part out of the beaten track of the ordinary tourist. Much of 

 the volume is filled with charming pen-pictures of the infinite variety of grandeur and 

 beauty to be found among the lofty mountain tops, the towering crags, the densely 

 ■wooded ravines and the dashing torrents of this secluded Alpine region. The eye of 

 the naturalist does not fail to observe the marvellous variety of animal and vegetable 

 life that is to be found in this limited area ; and the author describes many a plant 

 and flower^ and espe:!ially the gay butterflies and pretty moths with which the region 



