225 



Note Oll Mv. Kirl)y's receiit paper oii the Hemiptera 



of Ceylon. 



By l)r. E. Bergroth. 



Mr. Kirby bas bacl tbe kindness to send me a copy of 

 bis work on tbe Heteroptera and Homojitera of Ceylon (Journ. 

 Linn. Soc. XXIV, pag. 72 — 176, witb 3 plates). Tbe autbor says 

 in tbe introduction, tbat be bas tbougbt bis paper „would be 

 rendering a real service to science". I tbink no serious bemi- 

 pterist will be of tbe same opinion. As tbe autbor is assistant 

 in tbe Britisb Museum, one scbould expect to find informations 

 on tbe real systematic position of tbe many dubious Hemiptera 

 described from Ceylon by Walker, and it is tberefore witb 

 great regret we find Mr. Kirby's work to be entirely in 

 Walker's style and almost witbout any scientific value 

 Mr. Kirby furtber says, tbat be will not create many new 

 genera, „until tbose already proposed bave undergone a tborougb 

 and mucb-needed revision, wbicb at present I bave no time to 

 attempt". It is to be boped, tbat Mr. Kirby never will find 

 time to a sucb revision , as it seems to be unknown to bim, 

 tbat tbe genera of Hemiptera bave already undergone a 

 tborougb and most excellent revision by Stäl. Tbe autbor 

 seems to bave almost no knowledge of Stäl's works. Or bow 

 is it to be explained, tbat a work on Hemiptera, in wbicb 

 Walker's system is accepted instead of tbat of St;U, is pub- 

 lisbed anno mundi 1891 ? 



As a very great number of tbe species enumerated by 

 Mr. Kirby is placed in wrong (sometimes exclusively american) 

 genera,. it would take too great room bere to give a detailed 

 critic. It may only be said, tbat tbe mistakes in Mr. Kirby's 

 last paper are still more numerous tban tbose in bis works on 

 Odonata, elucidated by Dr. K a r s c b , and tbat bis new species 

 will ever remain enigmas , until tbey bave been examined by 

 a Hemipterist. I will bere only speak of tbe two new genera 

 of Heteroptera created by Mr. Kirby. Dicephalus Kirby 

 nov. gen. is tbe old well known genus Heincocephalus Westw., 

 wbicb forms a distinct family, Henicoce'pliaUdae. Mr. Kirby 

 places tbe genus among tbe Reduviidae between Tiarodes and 

 PetalocMrus (!). Tbe genus described under tbe name Fonnicoris 

 (an ortbograpbical monstrosity) is identical witb DuUchms Stäl. 



Wiener Eiituniologibcliu Zoituiig', XI. Jahrg., 7. Heft (SO. September 1892). 



17 



