40 B.C. Entom()LO(;u'al Socikty. 



together will form an interesting rei-onl t'f.v Intnro retVrence. I Inive i)nt my lie^ii.i- 

 tiou at using them on one side. 



All records point to one man, the late Rev. George W. Taylor, F.R.S.C., F,Z,S., 

 as the first active entomologist in this Province. He settled (m Vancouver Island in 

 about the year 1S77 and studied for the mini.stry. In 1,SS1 he was made a Fellow 

 of the Royal Society of Canada, obtaining this honour largely through his interest 

 in entomology. During the next few years Mr. Taylor proved himself an active 

 collectnr and a keen student in the order. At the annual meeting of the Eutomo- 

 lo;;i.al S(m iety of Ontario, held in Loudon, Ontario, October l-jth, 1884, he presented 

 the Society with a collection of Diurnal Lepidoptera through the medium of Mr. 

 James Fletcher. 



In ISSo a record is found on the " Entomolog.v of Vancouver Island; Notes 

 on Seventy-six Species of Ciciudelidie and Carabidie collected near Victoria, Van- 

 couver Island," by George TV. Taylor, Victoria, B.C. In the remarks on this paper. 

 Mr. Taylor says: "The beetles enumerated were all taken by m.vself in the neigh- 

 -bourhniid of Victoria during the past few seasons. ... A large number (40) of 

 those I now record are new to the Canadian fauna, that is as far as my knowledge 

 of the same goes, and some of these additions are very interesting ones." Mr. Taylor 

 adds further in the same paper : " I have added to the list two Hi>ecies taken on 

 the Mainland of British Colnmliia by Mr. .lames Fletcher (of Ottawa) in 3883 and 

 ver.v generously given to nic." 



A demand for entcmiological knowledge was evidently beginning to be felt within 

 the I'rovince at this time, for in 1887 Mr. Ta.vlor was appointed Honorary Provincial 

 Fntomiilogist for British Columbia. 



The next evidence of activity is in 1893, when In a bulletin of the Natural 

 History Societ.v of British Columbia, which was printed under the auspices of the 

 Government, we find a " Report on the Entomology of British Columbia," prepared 

 by Messrs. W. H. Danb.v and C, De Blois Green. In the text of this report we 

 receive light on the status of entomology at the time. A " Preliminary Check List 

 of Lepidoptera collected in British Columbia " is included therein. This list contains 

 the nances of ninety species of Diuruals and seventy-one species of Heterocera, all. 

 with the exception of one species of butterfly, given on the authority of the two 

 authors, Messrs. Danby and Green. There is also included a plate illustrating seven 

 new sjiecies, viz., Eumclin (Iiiiihjii. Xiilomines Candida. Rancora strigata, Pleroma 

 oiilKixilii. Xjilomif/cs piitclirJIii. Xjilomigcs cognata. and Taeniocampa ferrigera. 



Working Lepidopterists here tliis evening will form a judgment from this list 

 of species recorded as new in 1803 how little collecting had been done before that 

 date. for. with the exception of the last two of the species mentioned, the rest are 

 now known to be more or less common. The list does not include any of the 

 Geometrid» nor any of the Microlepidoptera. In explanation of the omission, the 

 following note is recorded : " Tlie names of species belonging to the Geonietrina 

 cannot be included iu this report, for the reason that to get them named by competent 

 autliorities takes considerable time, in consequence of the great care necessary to 

 avoid mistakes." The report further states: "No great work was done (in 1892) 

 in collecting Coleoptera, with perhaps the exception of capturing that rare beetle 

 lliii-hii It'K Iciiiiiiiiis. wliich is one of the few short-winged species of this family in 

 our fnuiia. a single siiei-inien being taken at Alert Ba.v, and a few other rare species 

 being collected in Victoria, names of which have yet to be recorded. Many Diirtera 

 were collected, names unknown, with the exception of Aiiinopogoii liidiiis. n. .sp. nam. 

 ed., by Mr. D. W. Coquillet, Los Angeles. Cal., which was captured at Gold.streaui 

 on Jlount Austen. Amongst the Arachnida very little was achieved, the species 

 taken being collected more for friends than for stud.y. However, a few specimens 

 were kiudl.v named by Dr. Nathan Banks, of Washington, D.C., amongst them being 

 new species of Pardova and Conatactiiie. also a variety of E/jeiia infuilariK. Hentz." 



No entomological work of importance seems to have been done in the Province 

 between the date of this liulletin (ISO:-!) and liKll. the year in which the British 



