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INDEX TO THE NEW BRITISH COLEOPTERA 

 ENUMERATED IN THE ENTOMOLOGIST'S 



ANNUAL, 1856— 186L 



By W. F. Kirby. 



In accordance with tlie suggestion in the preface to the 

 Entomologist's Annual for 1861, I have occupied myself in 

 drawing up this Index. I am no great Coleopterist, but I 

 hope perseverance will make up for my deficiencies in other 

 respects. I have collated almost every species with Mr. 

 Waterhouse's and the Stettin Catalogues. I have adopted 

 the nomenclature of the former. The figures under the 

 various years always refer to the consecutive number of any 

 species in Mr. Janson's paper for that year ; except in a few 

 of the Geodephaya marked (*), where the reference is to the 

 pages of the Annual. When I have used a name difi'erent 

 from that employed by Mr. Janson, I have placed the 

 Annual name underneath in italics. I thought it needless 

 to include 1855 in my Index ; for 227 species being therein 

 enumerated, the notices are necessarily so short and con- 

 spicuous, that they strike the eye at once. I may mention 

 that I did not find my task so difficult as I expected, nor, 

 except the collation of synonymes, by any means unpleasant. 

 Dean Trench, in his little book on the Study of Words 

 (pp. 3, 4), mentions a scholar who found compiling a Greek 

 lexicon, so far from being a drudgery, a very delightful 

 occupation. To compare small things with gieat, I have 

 experienced a somevrhat similar feeling in drawing up the 

 present Index. I mention this for the encouragement of 

 those who are afraid of this unattractive kind of work, 

 whether connected with Entomology or any other subject. 



