174 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



would be removed and effectively disposed of, at any rate the insects 

 produced from them would never have a chance to renew their attack. 



ClYNANDROMORpnous Lepidoptera. — HeiT Oskar Schultz has pub- 

 lished a list of Gynandromorphous (Hermaphrodite) Macro-lopidoptera 

 of the PaliBarctic fauna. He refer.-! to the literature of the subject, 

 and gives particulars of instances which woi-e not previously known or 

 recorded. The 30G (123 species) enumerated are distributed among 

 the families as follows: — Khopalocera, 151 (48 species); Hphingidte, 

 43 (39 species); Bombycida3, 131 (39 species); Noctuidae, 11 (9 species) ; 

 Geometrid;e, 27 (16 species). 



Attention may also be called to " Die Lepidopteren-Z witter meiner 

 Sammlung." This is a list of 161 gynandrous specimens in the 

 collection of the author, Herr Max Wirthott, of Breslau ; there are 

 four plates, on which 72 of the examples are represented. Since the 

 year 1761 about 400 cases of gynandromorphism in Lepidoptera have 

 been made known. 



Uniformity in Setting Lepidoptera. — With reference to this sub- 

 ject, one of the reasons put forth by some of your correspondents in 

 favour of the adoption of the foreign method of setting, in substitution 

 for that more generally in use in this country, appears to be that those 

 entomologists who study continental as well as British Lepidoptera 

 cannot do so conveniently, on account of the unsightly appearance 

 given to their collections by having a mixture of high- aiad low-set 

 insects in their cabinets. This is undoubtedly a drawback to those of 

 us who are fortunate enough to be able to extend their studies to the 

 continental species, but surely the difficulty can be got over by having 

 separate collections of British and continental specimens— all those 

 insects captured abroad being kept in a distinct collection from those 

 captured in this country. This might not perhaps afford quite the 

 same convenience in comparing British and foreign examples of the 

 same species, but surely the extra trouble of comparing two series of 

 insects in two separate cabinet-drawers, instead of in the same drawer, 

 would be trivial. Whether the high or low method is the best is, and 

 always will be, a matter of opinion. Each very likely has its own 

 advantages over the other. To my mind the "happy medium" of 

 having the insect set at the centre of the pin, as described by Mr. 

 Tunstall (Entom. xxix. 800), is the best. This method keeps the 

 insect well off the bottom of the drawer, without giving it the "painted 

 cardboard" appearance which is always suggested to my mind on 

 looking at a specimen set in the strict continental style. I rather 

 fancy this "happy medium" has been very largely adopted in this 

 country by most of our leading entomologists (I mean those who collect 

 only British species and who have not taken up the continental system 

 of setting), and it is erroneous nowadays to suppose that " British 

 setting" means allowing the insects to rest on the bottom of the 

 drawer of the cabinet. Uniformity in the setting of British specimens 

 is most desirable for very many obvious reasons, and if the leading 

 entomological societies of this country would act on the lines suggested 

 by Mr. Tunstall, they would be doing an excellent work ; but I cannot 

 see the necessity for the adoption of the continental method. — H. 

 AiNsuE Hill ; 9, Addison Mansions, Kensington, W. 



