RECENT LITERATURE. 229 
capsincola.—Myr. Newman demonstrated a method of killing Anthro- 
cerids (Zygzenids) by immersion in petrol for a few moments, which 
appeared to be quite successful—Mr. H. Moore, a living specimen of 
Ligrotera phymateus, a large Orthopteron from the Cape.—Mr. 
J. Platt Barrett, living male crickets, Gryllotalpa vulgaris, small 
larvee and ova shells of Melanargia pherusa, a large centipede, &c., 
all from Sicily—Mr. W. West (Ashtead), the Phylloxera of the oak, 
P. punctata.—Mr. Step, several Hemipterous pests, including 
Phyllaphis fag in masses under leaves of beech, and Phyllopsis 
fraximi in a similar manner under leaves of ash, with P. fraxiucola 
and Pediopsis tue—Mr. R. Adkin, a bred series of Celastrina 
(Cyaniris) argiolus, from 1913 autumn larve on ivy, one or two of 
which were of the facies of the autumn emergence.—Mr. Hy. J. Turner, 
the whole of the plates of Résel’s Insekten belustigung, 1746 (1)-1761, 
with Kleemann’s additional volumes of plates, and an autograph 
letter re the volume from W. Spence, 1812.—Mr. A. E. Gibbs, a 
drawer of species and forms of Parnassius, including P. mnemosyne, 
P. apollo, P. stubbendorfir, P. delphius, P. apollonius, P. imperator, 
P. hardwicku, P. discobolus, P. romanovi, &e.—Mr. Step read a 
Report of the Congress of the S. E. Union of Scientific Societies, held 
at Bournemouth, June 10th-13th, and which he and Mr. Hy. 
J. Turner attended as the Society’s delegates.—Hy. J. TurNER, Hon. 
fiep. Sec. 
RECENT LITERATURE. 
Studies on the Mecoptera of Japan. By T. Miyake (Journal of the 
College of Agriculture, Imperial University of Tokyo, vol. iv, 
No. 6, pp. 265-400). Tokyo: December, 1913. 
No Neuropterist can well afford to miss this paper, in which Mr. 
Miyake gives a full and interesting account of his studies in connec- 
tion with the Scorpion flies and allied insects to be found in Japan. 
Though he gives them ordinate rank, as do some other entomologists, 
it is probably more usual to consider them as a subdivision of the 
Neuroptera. All are placed in one family, Panorpide, which is 
divided into four genera :—Panorpa (including Aulops) with twenty- 
seven species, Panorpodes with four, Leptopanorpa with two, and 
Bittacus with six. Thus there are thirty-nine (or forty with the 
doubtful Panorpa hagenz) species in all, as compared with four to be 
found in Britain and but twenty in either Europe or America. One 
species only, Panorpa communis, Japan shares with us. We have 
no example of the peculiar Tpwla-like genus Bztiacus, of which 
Japan has six but, on the other hand, Japan does not possess a 
Boreus, one species of which peculiar genus of tiny insects is found 
with us. 
Distinctive wing-markings, prolongation of the mouth-parts into 
a beak, and scorpion-like extremity of the male abdomen make, 
Panorpa, Panorpodes, and Leptopanorpa very distinctive insects, while 
the beak and Tvpula-like build differentiate the genus Bittacus. That 
the “beak” is a recent acquisition seems clear, for the head of the 
larva of Panorpa is of quite normal form. The beak reaches its 
