98 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [April, 



1. The individual labels, or those attached to the pin of each 

 specimen, comprise (a) a colored locality label, {b) a label giving 

 the name of the collection in which the specimen formerly was, 

 together with the name of the specialist by whom this specimen 

 was referred to the species in question in the course of a mono- 

 graphic revision, and {c) a label bearing a number. In those 

 cases where the specimen has been used by several successive 

 monographers there are several labels of the kind ib). 



2. The white specific labels, attached to the bottom of the 

 drawer below the specimens to which they refer, bear the name 

 of the species, a number corresponding to that on label (t), and 

 at the right hand end a miniature map of the world on a Mercator 

 projection, about 20 mm. x 12 mm., on which the area of distri- 

 bution is shown in red. 



The policy of the Museum is to devote especial attention to the 

 acquisition of insects of those groups of which collections do not 

 elsewhere exist in Belgium. Thus the Odonata and the Elateridae 

 are not so extensively represented here for the reason that they 

 are to be found in the collections of the eminent Belgian special- 

 ists Baron de Selys-Longchamps and Dr. E. Candeze respectively. 

 In this way a duplication of labor is avoided. 



Mons. G. Severin, Aide-Naturaliste in charge of the Insects, 

 who very kindly conducted the writer through the building and 

 pointed out the chief features of interest, stated that the Coleop- 

 tera, the Hymenoptera and the Hemiptera are well represented 

 here, the other groups much less so. 



The most important contents are : 



COLEOPTERA. 



Carabidae. — Coll. Putzeys. 



Dytiscidae, Gyrinidae, etc. — Coll. Chevrolat, with many types 

 of Aube, Sharp and Regimbart. A list of these has been pub- 

 lished by M. Severin (Ann. Soc. Ent. Belg. xxxvi, pp. 469-478, 

 1892), in which he estimates the total number of species of these 

 aquatic Coleoptera as 2129, of which the Museum possesses 1301 

 (299 types) in 6000 specimens, exclusive of the duplicates. 



Scarabaeidae, Coprophaga, Melolonthidae and Dynastidae. — 

 Coll. Thompson. 



Malacodermata. — Coll. Guerin-Meneville. 



Heteromera. — Coll. Thompson, very rich. 



