56 NEUROPTERA. 



generic characters, they must be carefully arranged under the 

 body and on no account taken ojff. I lately received a nice col- 

 lection of the larger species for examination, but as the col- 

 lector had carefully denuded the intermediate pair of legs in 

 most of them, their value was greatly reduced. As a rule 

 they will require to be kept on the board longer than Lepi- 

 doptera, being more full of juices. In concluding this part 

 of my subject, I would remark, that " what is worth doing 

 at all is worth doing well;" a nicely set specimen is much 

 easier to determine than an ill-set one>with the wings awry, 

 and probably the antennae and legs broken; and besides 

 setting so much enhances the beauty of the specimen. 



I fear I have been thought tedious and prosy, in the length 

 of the foregoing remarks ; my excuse is, that they are 

 intended for those who have never paid the slightest attention 

 to any but Lepiduptera : from such I hope to receive ma- 

 terial assistance in specimens and notices of habit, and I ' 

 shall be happy to assist any gentleman in determining the 

 names of such as he may have collected. As an encourage- 

 ment I may add, that I have now by me at least five species 

 not hitherto Included in the British list; of these I can at 

 present only determine one with any certainty. 



To my fellow-lepidopterists, and to those who pay their 

 attention exclusively to the macros, I can especially recom- 

 mend the study of the Phryganidce, as tending to rectify 

 those habits of careless and superficial examination, which 

 have gained for us the reputation of being the least scientific 

 among Entomologists. 



In conclusion, I hope that next season will throw ad- 

 ditional light on the vexed question, the true location of 

 Acentropus niveus. In the "Annual" for 1858, Mr. Stainton 

 commences a paragraph thus : — " this insect having been 

 finally handed over by the Neuropterists to the Lepidopterists, 



