ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 



[The Conductors of Entomological News solicit and will thankfully receive items 

 of news likely to interest its readers from any source. The author's name will be given 

 in each case, for the information of cataloguers and bibliographers.] 



To Contributors. — All contributions will be considered and passed upon at our 

 earliest convenience, and, as far as may be, will be published according to date of recep- 

 tion. Entomological News has reached a circulation, both in numbers and circumfer- 

 ence, as to make it necessary to put " copy " into the hands of the printer, for each num- 

 ber, three weeks before date of issue. This should be remembered in sending special or 

 important matter for a certain issue. Twenty-five "extras," without change in form, 

 will be given free, when they are wanted ; and this should be so stated on the MS., along 

 with the number desired. The receipt of all papers will be acknowledged.— Ed. 



Philadelphia. Pa., February, 1900. 



Our fo7'mer printer made a blunder in regard to the January' 

 News, in placing on the title-page Vol. X, No. 11, instead of 

 Vol. XI, No. I. The copies had all been mailed to sub- 

 scribers, and we feared double references if we reprinted the 

 number and started the pagination with page i. We have 

 decided to put a reprint of the first leaf of the January num- 

 ber in this number, and continue the .same paging through 

 this volume (Vol. XI). 



We have already spoken of what might be termed peripa- 

 tetic entomology, or walking — nowadays riding — over the 

 country in search of types, with a view of getting correct names 

 by comparison of specimens. There have been so many per- 

 sons afflicted with the mihi itch who have described slight 

 geographical variations as species that it becomes necessary to 

 see the identical specimens from which their descriptions were 

 made. If entomologists would only wait until proper .series 

 of specimens were at hand, or until they become sufficiently 

 ver.sed to know the meaning of variation.s — whether specific or 

 the contrary — much of this trouble could be avoided. Lately 

 we have had a number of gentlemen visit us on the errand of 

 type-seeing, and we have wondered whether the time would 

 come when entomologi.sts would only describe species that are 

 specific enough in character to enable an identification to be 

 made without a railroad ticket in one's pocket. Probably 

 there will always be persons who will describe the.se geographi- 

 cal forms ; and .so long as this is done, peripatetic entomologj'' 

 M'ill be necessary, as ever\- hundred miles changes the facies of 

 a species, and evolution makes any description or identification 

 impossible unless one's specimens came from the very fence- 

 corner where the types were found. It is true that individuals 

 in the human species are given names, and also cats and dogs ; 

 but, unfortunately, the individuals in insects are so numerous 

 that their identification — to us, at least — seems impossible. 



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