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LEPIDOPTERA. 



New British Species in 1856. 



(By the Editor.) 



The past season has generally been unusually prolific 

 for Lepidoptera. A few of our correspondents have 

 indeed complained of the paucity of " moths at sugar ;" 

 hence, as we have no reason to suppose that those thus 

 complaining were themselves to blame, we are actually led 

 to believe, that, whilst in one locality Lepidoptera were 

 abundant, in another they were very scarce. But though 

 we think the season has been an unusually good one, it does 

 not thereby follow that we have an extra crop of novelties. 

 We have no new Sphinx, no new Bombyx, but one new 

 Noctua, and no new Geometra. Were there no Micro- 

 Lepidoptera, our list of novelties would indeed be a poor 

 one, but, fortunately, in the Tineina the crop of new 

 species is unusually large. This shows that there is yet a 

 mine that will repay working, and we trust, when the 

 Tortricina have been monographed, we shall find no- 

 velties there hardly less plentiful. Ten years ago " a new 

 British moth of the family of the Tineida" was considered 

 a most interesting topic ; now ten new species hardly attract 

 so much attention. 



Much no doubt is yet to be done by learning what species 

 1857. m ii 



