118 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



Society of London, Sir Sidney was present, and read a somewhat 

 lengthy paper (his second this year) on the Pediculus melittce of 

 Kirby, which insect was described in 1802, and "whose natural 

 affinities still remain debatable ground," in the hopes that a 

 resume of what is already known about this curious creature might 

 induce " some of our younger members to direct their attention 

 to the habits of this remarkable group." The proof-sheets of 

 this characteristic paper were corrected and some additions made 

 thereto the day previous to his death — characteristic, because 

 probably nobody possessed the faculty of telling others what to 

 look for and how to do it more clearly than he ; his success in 

 this direction was great — various parasites, locust-egg parasites, 

 the anomalous fig-insects, and almost any aculeate Hymenoptera 

 were forthcoming from intelligent correspondents in almost all 

 parts of the world, where their presence surprised nobody more 

 than the educated observers themselves. The recurrence of a 

 severe attack of bronchitis, not improbably brought on by the 

 late stay at the Entomological Society's meeting, was the 

 immediate cause of death. Sir Sidney Saunders was the son of 

 William Saunders, Esq., of "Wandsworth, where he was born in 

 1810 ; he entered the Consular Department of the Foreign Office 

 in 1826, and was appointed Consul to Albania in 1835, was 

 transferred to Alexandria in 1859, an d v ; s Cc r.i Til- G< ta lah'n 

 the Ionian Islands from 1864 to 1870. His entomological studies 

 were necessarily somewhat guided by his place of residence, in 

 consequence of his diplomatic appointments, and many new 

 facts and unrecorded habits were speedily discovered. He 

 received the companionship of the Order of St. Michael and St. 

 George in I860, and was knighted in 1873. Sir S. S. Saunders 

 faithfully carried out in the Hynemoptera those large views which 

 he enunciated in the first paragraph, headed " Habits and 

 instincts," in his Entomological Society's Presidential Address 

 for the year 1875, in no way " limiting his investigations to mere 

 distinguishing characteristics." He had a large knowledge of the 

 Hymenoptera generally, especially of the Aculeata and their 

 wonderful and diversified life-histories. His contributions also 

 on the many messmates and parasites attending various species 

 exhibit most minute researches and observations. He was 

 especially interested in the habits of the South European briar 

 insects and their parasites, of the coleopterous Meloidce and 



