178 GILBERT WHITE OF SELBORNE 1770 



White's handwriting. It is unsigned, and is probably 

 a copy kept for the purpose of future reference. 



To the Bev. John White* 



[Headed " Bro. John."] 



(I.) 



Selborne, May 26, 1770. 



Dear Brother, — I am to acknowledge first the receipt of 

 your kind letter of Feb. 19, which I should have answered 

 before now, had I not waited for your box of curiosities; 

 concerning which you would naturally expect I should give 

 some account. Farther obligations are now due for a second 

 letter of April 14 ; but tho' I have not yet received the box, 

 I must no longer omit to take notice of your agreeable 

 communications. It is probable the box may be in London ; 

 but I have lately intimated that I would not wish to have 

 it sent down at present, as I hope to be in town as soon as 

 Whitsontide is over. 



Your Vespae with purple wings are a beautiful and scarce 

 species: they are the Vespce crabroni congeneres in Italia 

 captce of Mr. Willughby, well described in Bay's *Hist. 

 Insectorum,' p. 250. Pray observe what they feed on ; 

 and enquire into their manner of nidification. Your 

 butterfly-like insect with long remiform wings is curious 

 and rare, and proves to be the Panorpa coa Lin. You 

 see it is to be found in few places; and Scopolif knows 

 nothing of it, though Carniola lies in a warm latitude. 

 Send some more specimens. Pray observe how and where 

 they breed. I suspect much that they come from the 



• At Gibraltar. 



t This refers to Scopoli's * Entomologia Carniolica,' published at Vienna 

 in 1763, and not to his 'Annus Primus Historico-Naturalis,' to which refer- 

 ence is often made by Gilbert White. — A. N, 



