VI PREFACE. 



valuable cabinet, which, with few exceptions, had passed through 

 the hands of Mr Stephens, and been almost entirely named by 

 him. I had thus the advantage (second only to the use of Mr 

 Stephens' owti specimens) of examining what I may call types 

 of his species. The distance of my place of residence from 

 London rendered it impossible to avail myself with effect of 

 the well-known liberality with which Mr Stephens gave access 

 to his collection : and in estimating the value of any opinion 

 expressed in the following pages upon the synonymy of any of 

 his species, it must be borne in mind that I proceed upon 

 nothing further than the testimony of species named by him ; 

 and that, although in many instances I saw numerous series so 

 named, I have not always found the whole of the series to con- 

 sist of the same insect. 



I have further availed myself of Dr Schaum's two valuable 

 papers on the synonymy of Mr Stephens' species of Geodephaga 

 and Hydrocantharida3, published in the Annals of Fatural His- 

 tory and Zoologist, and of Mr Walton's papers on the Curcu- 

 lionidae in the Annals of Natural History. I have also been 

 benefited by M. Jacquelin Duval's paper on the genus Bembi- 

 dium, published in the Annals of the Entomological Society of 

 France, and by his kindness in comparing my own specimens, 

 and favoiuring me with his remarks upon them. To M. 

 Aube, Paris, I owe similar thanks for having compared and 

 authentically named my specimens of Cercyon, Anisotoma, 

 Atomaria, and other minute and difficult genera j also to M. 

 Jekel, Paris, for having performed a similar good office to my 

 Apions j and to Professor Lacordaire of Liege, for having solved 

 some doubts I had upon some of the Chrysomelidse. I have 

 received similar kindness from Mr Wilson Saunders and Mr 

 Jansen, Mr White of the British Museum, and Mr Walton of 

 London ; and I owe much to the good offices of M. Javet of 

 Paris. I need not make similar acknowledgments for the infor- 

 mation derived from the works of Mulsant, Heer, Redtenbacher, 

 iind others ; these are public property. 



