Bibliographical Notices. .389 



the Entomological Society of London ' includes nine new genera 

 and ten new species of Mymaridie ( Micro- Hymenoptera) captured 

 within a few miles of London, and a new genus and species of 

 Noctuidae captured ne ir Aberdeen. We may also note that within 

 the last few weeks the discovery of a new species of Mymaridae 

 (said to be the smallest insect known) has been announced from 

 India. 



The orders of insects are discussed in the following series : — 

 Aptera, Orthoptera, Neuroptera, Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, Lepido- 

 ptera, Thysanoptera, Diptera, and Rhynchota. There are also 

 separate essays under each order on various subjects of general 

 interest, such as Deceptive Colouring, Relative Duration of Life, 

 Sex, Myrmecophilous Insects, Insects as Food, Silk, Blood-sucking 

 Insects, Song in Insects, &c. ; and the book concludes with a Plant 

 Index and a General Index. 



The better-known families of insects are treated with much 

 detail, and are freely illustrated both with plain and coloured figures. 

 The lesser-known families are more briefly dealt with, but the 

 available sources of information are clearly indicated, and special 

 attention is given to insect pests of all kinds. 



We can hardly speak too highly of this most useful and compre- 

 hensive work. The only faults which we can find in it are its 

 weight (which in comparison to its size is only approached by that 

 of Comstock's ' Manual for the Study of Insects ') and its size. 

 These defects will make it difficult for a travelling entomologist 

 to add it to his impedimenta ; and we might perhaps be allowed to 

 suggest to the painstaking author and his colleague that a small 

 " pocket " manual of Indian entomology might be a great boon to 

 entomologists travelling in India, without interfering with the 

 usefulness or circulation of the larger work. W. F. K. 



The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Pub- 

 lished under the Authority of the Secretary of State for India in 

 Council. Edited by A. E. Shipley, M.A. &c. Dermaptera 

 (Earwigs). By Malcolm Burr, D.Sc. 8vo. Pp. xviii, 217. 

 Pis. 10 (1 col.) and 16 text-figures. 



In the present half- volume of the ' Fauna Indica,' the first published 

 under the editorship of Prof. Shipley, Dr. Burr has given an ex- 

 cellent Monograph of the Earwigs of British India; and as the 

 group is a comparatively small one (135 species are described in the 

 work before us, a number that could doubtless be easily quadrupled 

 in a few years if collectors in India took up the group systemati- 

 cally), the author has been able to deal with it very fully, and to 

 figure more than a hundred species, often with enlarged details of 

 legs, forceps, &c. 



Much useful information is also given about structure and habits, 

 bibliography, geographical distribution, collecting and preserving, 



