110 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 
the 500 ova of EH. autumnaria for sale—quite apart from any 
desire for knowledge ? and why, if not for mere pounds, shillings, 
and pence, are the importations from abroad almost limited to 
species which as British are of extreme rarity? When viewed 
by this light your importer does not figure favourably as one who 
does a great “service to entomological science.” ‘The man ‘‘ who 
ransacks every nook and corner to hunt down”’ (which does not 
mean exterminate) “rare species” does render great service to 
entomological science, by not only discovering species new to the 
country he may be in, but also species absolutely new to science. 
This has been done over and over again, even by those British 
entomologists on whom M. Wailly is so hard. It surely is 
unnecessary to point out the aid to science which a more or less 
definite knowledge of the purely British Lepidoptera renders. 
It never seems to strike M. Wailly that a man can study foreign 
Lepidoptera and yet keep a collection of purely British speci- 
mens. What is protested against—and simply on the score of 
morality, and quite independent of any entomological love—is, 
that dealers should import almost entirely foreign specimens— 
ova, larvee, pup, or imagos—of species which may be fraudulently 
used. Does M. Wailly think that the demand for his ova of 
EF. autumnaria would have been so great if they had been of a 
species which had never occurred in this country, and which was 
never likely to do so? 
M. Wailly then goes on to discuss, “ What is a British 
subject?” Not, however, it would appear with a view to 
answer his question, but rather to throw as much doubt as 
he can upon species some of which, at least, are British. As 
regards Vanessa antiopa, M. Wailly states that, so far as he 
knows, it has only occurred singly. It may interest him to know 
that two gentlemen saw a great many one morning flying round 
poplars near Cambridge; and six or seven or more specimens 
have been taken by one person, and that on more than one 
occasion. M. Wailly seems to infer that this species is not able 
to “be in existence during the winter” here. It may interest 
him to know that hybernated specimens have been taken in this 
country. M. Wailly appears to think that A. atropos is not “a 
British subject,” as it appeared two or three years ago so abun- 
dantly on the Southern Coast of England, and has not devastated 
the potato-fields. He asks, ‘‘ What has become of those thousands 
of Atropos found in Sussex and Kent?” I must confess my 
