128 Psyche [August 



BOOK REVIEW. 



A New List of North American Hemiptera, 



The New York Entomological Society has recently published a 

 "Check List of the Hemiptera of America, North of Mexico," by 

 Professor E. P. Van Duzee, the first complete enumeration of the 

 group as found in the Nearctic region and a most valuable contri- 

 bution, fully upholding the reputation of its author as the foremost 

 American Hemipterist. Though modestly designated a "check 

 list, " the paper gives full synonomy, dates, a complete view of the 

 present classification of the group, and the general distribution of 

 the species, in addition to the numbered list of forms. Thus the 

 work is similar in character to Oshanin's excellent "Katalog der 

 Palaarktischen Hemipteren" (1912), making it easy to draw 

 faunistic comparisons. Professor Van Duzee has adhered strictly 

 to his well-known nomenclatorial beliefs, applying the principle of 

 priority not only to generic and specific designations but also to 

 those of higher groups, a procedure which seems logical and results 

 happily in the retention of most of the long-used family names. 



In going over the work critically, I have noted a few points to 

 which exception might be taken. Personally I believe that the 

 Corizidae, Alydidse, Meziridse (Dysodiidse) , and Piesmidte should 

 have family rather than subfamily rank, but further studies, espe- 

 cially in Embryology, will be necessary to answer finally this and 

 many other questions in the taxonomy of the higher groups. Per- 

 haps it will not be out of place to suggest that submission of the 

 parts of the work to specialists on the various families would have 

 improved it in certain details, as may be noted here and there, for 

 instance in the families Lygseidae, Nepidae, and Corixidse. As in 

 most catalogues, a large number of new names are proposed and 

 new synonomies given without explanations or references. It 

 is to be hoped that in his large catalogue, or in a special paper, the 

 author will fully explain synonomies proposed by himself, and give 

 references to those proposed by others. The absence of such in- 

 formation in most catalogues has always seemed to me to be a 

 serious defect. 



