NOTES, CAPTURES, ETC. 187 



for many of our common ones ; but at the same time I should be 

 among the last to discourage collectors of an exploring disposition. 

 — W. H. Wright ; Secretary's Department, Inland Eevenue, 

 Somerset House, May 5, 1884. 



Influence of Civilisation upon Insects. — The number of 

 species of insects is prodigious, and the number of individuals to 

 us infinite. Their fertility is proverbial, but the world is not 

 destroyed by them, as the enemies which prey upon insects are 

 innumerable. One of the most interesting branches of Entomo- 

 logy is the study of the relations existing between insects and 

 their foes ; and of all the great agencies man is the most potent. 

 Man, from the earliest times, has fought against the advances of 

 insect tribes. The nearer perfection man becomes, the more 

 civilised, the greater is his power; and civilisation tends to 

 produce less variety and more uniformity in Nature. I purpose 

 enumerating a few facts in support of the last sentence. When 

 the facts relating to the decrease of Mammalia are examined, 

 man's influence is appreciated, and with Aves to a less degree ; 

 but with the Insecta his power is frequently overlooked. Com- 

 paring the British Isles of to-day with those of the early 

 Britons, the first thing which strikes us is the large area 

 occupied by villages, towns, and cities. What an area of forest, 

 wood, and undergrowth must they have supplanted. Were a 

 census possible of insects, taken as to numbers and species 

 in a.d. 84 and a.d. 1884, would it not present a singular 

 contrast? The increase of buildings, railroads, and canals 

 has certainly lessened considerably the numbers of insects. 

 The growth of towns is a necessity, and cannot be pre- 

 vented. By cultivation of the land man destroys many 

 species of indigenous plants, and consequently the insects 

 which feed upon them. Land being drained causes plants which 

 flourished previously to languish and die. Insects depending 

 upon these given plants become extinct, e. g., Polyommatus 

 hippotlwe ; the area of distribution of Papilio machaon is much 

 diminished by drainage. Forests and woods being cut down 

 alter the amount of moisture in the atmosphere, making the 

 climate colder and drier, and so affecting insects. Man causes 

 changes by his laws. The Bird Protection Act is already making 

 a different result in the numbers of insects. Man is the only 

 creature who collects and preserves insects. This makes a slight, 



