No. 425-] NOTES AND LITERATURE. 407 



One might wish to see a more extended notice of the biology 

 of the Phoridas, but as long as we have not yet nearly reached the 

 point where we can extend our classification to the larval stages, it 

 is not improper to allow the natural history of the species to form a 

 separate subject. 



This paper will be of great advantage to American workers, as 

 it will enable them to ascertain how far our species are identical 

 with the European, Becker's descriptions being so exact that it will 

 be possible to determine without comparison of specimens, I should 

 judge. 



To take up a family that is in a state of chaos and transform it 

 into order and beauty by a single publication is a great achieve- 

 ment, and one not accomplished without long and arduous study. 

 Mr. Becker has produced a monumental work, easily the greatest 

 he has yet attempted, and one which may well be taken as a model 

 by younger entomologists. j ■» r . 



Habits of Insects. — An English rendering of the first volume of 

 Fabre's delightful Souvenirs entomologiqiies. Etudes sur V instinct et les 

 vixurs des insectes, though with an exceptionable title and an over- 

 burdened title-page,^ is to be heartily welcomed. It makes access- 

 ible to a larger circle some of the early work of a keen inquirer into 

 the faculties of insects. Well and favorably known since 1879, 

 Fabre's observations have instigated similar and successful work 

 elsewhere, and it is only from the philosophical side, Fabre being a 

 rigid opponent to any form of evolution, that his writings are open to 

 hostile criticism. 



The volume under notice begins with an account of the habits and 

 life history of Scarabceus sacer, and is devoted almost wholly to the 

 higher Hymenoptera, though incidental observations concerning other 

 insects are given. 



With due allowance for the many difficulties, the translation is 

 fairly well done. Editorially the volume cannot be considered as 

 altogether satisfactory ; the supervision of an entomologist should 

 have precluded the translation of grillon indifferently as "cicada," 

 "cricket," or "grasshopper," the almost universal use of "feet" 



1 Fabre, J. H. Insect Life. Souvenirs of a NaUcralist. Translated from the 

 French by the author of Mademoiselle Mori. With a preface by David Sharp. 

 Edited by F. Merrifield. With illustrations by M. Prendergast Parker. London, 

 Macmillan & Co.; New York, The Macmillan Company, 1901. xii -|- 320 pp., 

 16 pis. 



