156 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



impartiality ; but I would ask him, and this shall be my first 

 question, why he has omitted Papilio Machaon ? There are 

 no less than three authorities given in my list for the occur- 

 rence of this species, as follow : — '^ Mr. Haliday ; seen on the 

 wing (Mr. Hardy) ; larva found at the Botanical Gardens, 

 Ball's Bridge (Mr. Coulter)." I should not myself have 

 thought this insect likely to occur in Ireland, since, as Mr. 

 Birch all observes in another place, the fen insects seem to 

 be scarcely represented in Ireland at all; but as three 

 authorities are given, I think the species ought not to be 

 rejected, especially as others are retained on the testimony 

 of single individuals, and without any locality given. 



Sesia culiciformis. — This insect is inserted in my list on 

 the authority of Mr. Haliday. I see no reason why it should 

 not occur in Ireland, but Mr. Birchall has omitted it. Pro- 

 bably it escaped his notice. 



There remains only one other omission to which I wish to 

 direct Mr. Birchall's attention, but it is a startling and 

 formidable one, viz., that of all the Fseudo-Bombyces. This 

 must be pure inadvertence. [It was an editorial mistake, 

 corrected at p. 109 of the October No.] Or is it the fact 

 that he unconsciously overlooked them altogether, owing to 

 what I must always call it, the unnatural divorce of these 

 so-called Pseudo-Bombyces from the so-called Nocturni, and 

 the still more unnatural introduction of the Geometrae between 

 them ? It irresistibly reminds me of the following story in 

 Lord Lytton's ' My Novel :' — " A worthy couple, named John 

 and Joan, had lived happily together many a long year, till 

 one unlucky day they bought a new bolster. Joan said the 

 bolster was too hard, and John that it was too soft. So of 

 course they quarrelled. After sulking all day they agreed to 

 put the bolster between them at night. After they had thus 

 lain apart for a little time John sneezed. ' God bless you ! ' 

 says Joan over the bolster. ' Did you say God bless me ? ' 

 cries John ; ' then here goes the bolster ! '" Now the Geo- 

 metrae are, in m}^ judgment, the "bolster" of this story, and 

 in arranging my cabinet 1 have used John's words, " Here 

 goes the bolster!" and the Nocturni and Pseudo-Bombyces 

 are re-united. But to return. As this Catalogue will un- 

 questionably for many years be the standard of reference for 

 tlie Irish LcpidojHera, Mr. Birchall will no doubt give these 



