RECENT LITERATURE. 



183 



May 4th. — The same lane; night. Rather strong south-west wind, 

 with showers. Sky usually clear, with crescent moon. Altogether a bad 

 night, and we took nothing but a few T. orbona larvse, certainly not worth 

 a walk of some six or eight miles. 



The great matter of interest with me was how many of these species 

 came to our electric lamps. Only three, as far as my observation went: 

 T. ffothica, H. progemmaria, and S. ilhmana. This evidence may be 

 useful in the future. — J. Aukle ; Chester. 



RECENT LITERATURE. 



Malcolm Burr. Essai sur les Eumastacides, tribu des Acridiodea, 1899, 

 Anal. Soc. Esp. Hist. Nat. xxviii. pp. 75-112 and 253-308 (sep. 

 pag. 1-94), plates viii.-x. [Orthoptera.] 



The Eumastacides (formerly " Mastacides ") are a tribe of " short- 

 horned Grasshoppers," remarkable for their bizarre forms and curious 

 colours, displaynig great superficial resemblance to certain other insects, 

 viz. Tipula, Mantispa, Sirex, Agrion, &c. They are diagnosed by Mr. 

 Burr as follows : — 



" Statura minore vel mediocri ; ungues tarsorum arolio instructi ; 

 antennae brevissimae, femoribus anticis breviores, genere unico Gom- 

 phomastace excepto, quo antenna longiores, interdum corpore super- 

 antes, apice clavatfi! ; caput breve, ab autico compressum ; presternum 

 muticum ; corpus nonnale, baud inflatum, uec valde elongatum, 

 tympano nullo primi segmeuti abdominis." 



They are divided into eight groups, embracing thirty genera (of 

 which nine are new, viz. : Bennia, Mastacides,* (Jldna, Eumastax [n, u.] , 

 Paramastax, Pseudothericles, Stpnbellia, Parathencles, and Phaidotypus) 

 and ninety-four species (of which twenty-eight are new). 



The Eumastacides are confined to the warmer parts of the globe, 

 and it is remarkable that no genus occurs in more than one of the 

 principal "regions." The Oriental claims twelve genera, the Ethiopian 

 eleven, the Neotropical five, Nearctic and Australian one each, while 

 the Palearctic is not represented ; the Oriental and Ethiopian regions 

 therefore contain nearly seventy-seven per cent, of the total number 

 of genera. 



The Essay is evidently the product of laborious and practical 

 research, and a thorough knowledge of the previous literature upon 

 the group. The analytical tables of genera and species and the 

 descriptions have been drawn up with great care, and are elucidated 

 by the three plates of figures prepared by Mr. E. H. J. Shuster. It 

 is to be hoped that in due course this at present indispensable revision 

 will be superseded by a detailed monograph by the same author. 



G. W. K. 



Inadvertently ascribed, with its two species, to Bolivar, by Mr. Burr. 



