82 [March, 



narrower than the third ; and yet Bedel gives both B. muticus and B. longitarsis as 

 synonyms of B. claudicans, which has short tarsi. In our British collections there 

 are evidently two species j the order, however, of Bedel appears to have been re- 

 versed by British Entomologists, the species with short tarsi standing under B.frit, 

 and the species with long tarsi under B. suhcarinatus, which Bedel gives as a syno- 

 nym of his B.frit, which also has long tarsi. 



It appears to be impossible to tell which is the true B.frit of Herbst. I wrote 

 to Mr. Champion (who has to-day furnished me with British examples of the species) 

 on the subject, and he answers as follows : — " I canncJt find anything in Herbst, 

 Schonherr or Gyllenhal to help you. It is all very involved. Brisout (Ann. Soc. 

 Ent. Fr., 1863, pp. 502, 503) described our species with long tarsi under the name 

 of suhcarinatus, Sch., particularly mentioning the tarsi as ' tres greles,' but he says 

 the species may be the trwefrit, Herbst." The B. frit of Brisout, however, accord- 

 ing to Bedel (who gives the reference to Ann. Fr., 1863, p. 503) is synonymous with 

 B. claudicans, which has the shorter and thicker tarsi. 



The above is a good instance of the utter confusion that the best authors some- 

 times fall into over a doubtful species, and the present system of nomenclature on 

 the Continent, which seems to be getting worse and worse, only makes confusion 

 more confounded. 



If it could be done, I would propose to abolish the name of B.frit altogether, 

 and to adopt Thomson's name of longitarsis for the species with long tarsi, and a 

 new name, Irevitarsis, for the species with short tarsi. It is only by some such 

 alteration that we can avoid the difficulty. — W. W. Fowlee, Lincoln : February 

 imh, 1892. 



An Elementaey Manual of New Zealand Entomology, being an intro- 

 duction to the Study of our Native Insects ; with 21 Coloured Plates : by Gr. V. 

 Hudson, F.E.S. 128 pp. 8vo. London : West, Newman & Co. 1892. 



A bad habit has latterly sprung up amongst writers of books on Natural History, 

 and especially on Entomology, viz., that of styling their productions " Manuals," 

 " Hand-Books," or " Text-Books," when they are notliing of the kind. A better 

 title for this work would have been " Illustrations of New Zealand Insects, and 

 their Transformations." It commences with a few generalities, followed by a 

 somewhat lengthy chapter on collecting. The remaining portion of the text is 

 chiefly explanatory of the plates, which are executed in the best style of chromo- 

 lithograpliy from the author's drawings ; and these latter are generally con-ect, 

 but sometimes fail where details of structure (such as neuration, &c.) are con- 

 cerned. As a book of illustrations it will enable beginners in the Colony to 

 name such species as are figured. The really valuable features in the work 

 are the accounts and figures of the transformations of most of the species treated 

 on, and their habits. Here the author has done good work, and of lasting 

 scientific interest, and this part is mainly quite original, for very little has been 

 published on the habits and transformations of some of the most common species, 

 and he here shows his powers of close observation. 



