THE BRITISH HEMIPTERA. 15 



whether it is only a single species, or whether there are seve- 

 ral, that thus affect our raspberries. 



Possibly many of these insects, like the too well-known 

 Acantliia lectularia', are lovers of darkness and nocturnal in 

 their habits; but many of the gay, lively, active, flower-fre- 

 quenting species seem as truly formed for a life of daylight 

 and sunshine as any insects we have, and observation will no 

 doubt now be directed to their habits. 



The Ray Society has done very wisely in issuing such a 

 volume as this; but wdiy should it not issue more publica- 

 tions devoted to entomological science : even one of our best 

 studied orders, the Coleoptera, is terribly in want of a good 

 descriptive British work; and though if worked out on the 

 same elaborate scale as this volume on the JBritisk Hemi- 

 j)tera — Seteroptera, the British Coleoptera would require at 

 least ten volumes of this size, still we think it might be pos- 

 sible, by selecting individual groups, to attack the order piece- 

 meal. 



And besides the Coleoptera many other groups of insects 

 are still much in want of good descriptive works. The Or- 

 thoptera are sadly neglected, and even the Neuroptera 

 scarcely meet with the amount of attention that we should 

 expect. 



Even in Lepidoptera is the field of publication entirely 

 exhausted ? Now that so much has of late years been done 

 in rearing larvae from the egg, would it not be possible to 

 bring out (not as a booksellers' speculation, but as a solid 

 contribution to science) a work on the Transformations of 

 the British Geometrina? The united labours of a Buckler, 

 a Harpur Crewe and a Hellins might, we should think, 

 do something in that direction. 



There is one important omission in the volume of Messrs. 



