140 



PSTCHE. 



[September 1S91. 



45? 4 6 > 47' 4 S > 49' & 5°- The history 

 of some of them, particularly the 5 or 6 

 last, is interesting to the agriculturist, 

 etc. On the cover are 3 more Lepi- 

 doptera, with whose changes I have 

 made myself acquainted ; & wish to be 

 sure that I have ascertained the species. 

 No. 129 I take to be Papilio Troilus, 

 F., No. 130 P. asterias, F., & No. 

 131 P. cardni, F. All three were 

 raised from the young larvae. No. 75 

 is the parasite of Papilio Asterias. I 

 have sent but few specimens of the 

 Order Lepidoptera, because they are 

 large, and occupy too much room. 



Do you know the larva of Papilio 

 Hyale ? & its habitat ? Of Diptera the 

 box contains but 3 species. The Myopa 

 & Asilus are curious from their resem- 

 blance of Hymenopterous insects. 



On the cover are a few shells, ob- 

 tained from a pond of stagnant (fresh) 

 water. These & some from our beach 

 which I picked up last summer are not 

 sent as curiosities, but to convince you 

 of my desire to comply with your 

 wishes, as far as it is in my power. 



If you have no use for the insects I 

 shall esteem it a great favour to obtain, 

 through your means, an exchange of 

 specimens with any collectors in your 

 vicinity. You have several insects wh. 

 are desiderata, e. g. Cremastocheilus 

 castanea; Knoch., Geotrupes Titytis, 

 F. ; Bolitophagus comutus ; Brentus 

 anchorago, & other species of the same 

 genus ; Rhagium inquisitor, F. ; 

 Elaphrus riparius; Tipula tritici ; 

 &c, &c. 1 have not yet found native 

 species of Blaps; but very few of 



Dytiscus, of which No. 23 in Box 1 is 

 the largest ; & but one small Hydro- 

 philus. Those insects which I have 

 sent are such as are the most common 

 here : you can thence form some idea 

 of what my collection must consist. 



I am desirous to know whether Xenos 

 Peckii is common with you ; & whether 

 you have discovered any other species 

 either of Xenos or Sty/ops. I could in 

 summer obtain any number of Xenos 

 Peckii, but do not know how to pre- 

 pare them for the Cabinet. 



I will now bring this long letter to a 

 close, hoping that you will excuse me 

 if I have trespassed on your time and 

 patience ; for I am like a traveller in a 

 strange land, anxious to obtain infor- 

 mation, & the best of guides. 



Be pleased, Sir, to accept the best 

 wishes & grateful acknowledgements 

 of 



Yours, very respectfully, 



T. William Harris. 



[DRAFT OF REPLY BY THOMAS SAY.] 



Jan'y Sth, 1S25. 



Dear Sir! 



Your interesting letter with 

 the boxes of fine insects came to hand in 

 excellent order by Mr. Fuller, at whose 

 lodging I called several times, but 

 probably owing to his engagements, I 

 saw only once for a few minutes. 



With respect to the pinastri I think 

 it highly probable that I have adopted 

 the name from Melsheimers Catalogue 

 without examination since I do not find 

 the insect desc'd in my Mss. Since 

 the reception of y'r letter, I have looked 



