148 



of a great quantity of the insect remains discovered in these 

 formations rendered it impossible, even for so skilled an entomolo- 

 gist as Professor Westwood, to determine, in many cases, the 

 species, or even the orders, to which they belonged. A great 

 many have, however, been identified, and, according to the lists 

 given by Mr. Brodie in his " History of the Fossil Insects in the 

 Secondary Eocks," and by Dr. Gliebel in his " Fauna der Vorwelt " 

 (Insekten and Spinnen), the following orders are represented by 

 some sixty-four species, distributed amongst them in the 

 following proportions, viz. : — 



Coleoptera 18 species. 



Orthoptera 10 ,, 



Neuroptera 9 ,, 



Hemiptera 14 ,, 



Diptera 13 ,, 



64 



The Coleoptera appear to have been very well represented, 

 and to have included Buprestklce, Carabidce, Curculionidoe. 

 ChrysomeMce, Elaieridce, Cantlmridce, Tencbrwnidce, and Ealophoridoe, 

 Professor Westwood also detected amongst the insect remains 

 from this formation Cercopidce, Cimicidce, Tipul'dce, Simulium, 

 Blatta, Aphis, Acheta. Of the species which have been determined 

 a large proportion are said to be herbivorous, and as the remains 

 of plants are stated to be abundant in this formation, we have 

 reason for beheving that the flora of the period was luxuriant. 

 Some of the species detected are certainly not herbivorous, but 

 the number of species which are vegetable feeders implies some 

 abundance of carnivorous or predaceous ones. On the subject of 

 the remains from the Dorsetshire Purbecks, Professor Westwood 

 observes, " With the exception of the dragon flies, of which there 

 . are as many as 34 fragments of single wings (from, which however, 

 it is impossible to affirm either a moderate or tropical climate) 

 and of a large Ant wing, it is worthy of remark that the whole of 

 these remains, not fewer than 700 or 800, are those of minute 

 insects, not more than a fourth or a third of an inch in length." 

 Further on in the same paper he says, " If we take into consideration 



