300 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



RECENT LITERATURE. 

 H. Garman, Enemies of Cucumbers and Related Plants, dc. : The Food 

 of the Toad. (1901 Bull. Kentucky Agric. Exper. Sta., 91 pp. 1-68; 

 5 Plates and 10 text figs. [1-16] ). 



Among the most destructive enemies of cucumbers are — Dlahrotica 

 rtttata •A,ndi 12- punctata, among beetles ; Aphis gossi/pU (melon louse) , Anasa 

 tristis (squash bug),&c., amongbugs; Margaronianitidalis (pickle worm), 

 among moths ; Thrips tabari, &c. These and others are fully described 

 and figured, particulars of life-histories added, and remedies discussed. 



"The Food of the Toad" is the result of a continuation of the 

 author's earlier studies. Protection and encouragement are urged for 

 the toad on account of the numerous destructive insects that it 

 devours ; among these, Prof. Garman found in the toads' stomachs — 

 BlissK.s leucnpterus (chinch bug), various aphids and leaf-hoppers, 

 Colorado potato-beetle, wireworms, &c. On the other hand, coccinel- 

 lids, spiders, and parasitic hymenoptera were also found. The fondness 

 of toads for ants is remarkable, fifty of these having been found in the 

 stomachs of three toads. The total number of individual insects 

 devoured is also very remarkable. Four cases are instanced : — 



No. 1 — A toad of medium size, captured in October, had eaten 27 

 ants, 19 wood-lice, 3 spiders, 1 caterpillar, and 10 plant-lice — total 60. 



No. 2 — A toad, one inch long, captured in a celery patch in Sei^t- 

 ember, had eaten 1 caterpillar and 14 ants — total 15. 



No. 3 — Captured in a strawberry patch in August, had eaten 2 

 large ground beetles, 1 tiger beetle, 1 Diabrotica beetle, 1 coccinellid, 

 8 small ground beetles, and 9 ants— total 22. 



No. 4 — taken in July, had eaten 2 Colorado potato-beetles, 1 click- 

 beetle, 4 bugs (Cydnids), 1 tiger beetle, 1 moth, 7 ground beetles, 6 

 ants, 1 millipede, and 1 wood-louse — ^total 24. 



That is to say : four toads had nrcnthj eaten 56 ants, 20 wood-lice, 

 3 spiders, 2 caterpillars, 10 plant-lice, 1 millipede, 1 moth, 24 beetles 

 of varying sizes, and 4 bugs — total 121 ! P W K 



The Lepidoptera of the British Islands. By Charles G. Barrett. 

 Vol vii. Pp^ 1-336. London : Lovell Reeve & Co. 1901. 



In this volume the remainder of the Boarmiidfe, together with the 

 GeometridsB and part of the Acidaliidne, are treated. Altogether, forty- 

 three genera and eighty-five species are referred to. Among the latter 

 Abraxas pantaria, Dasydia torraria, and Mniophila cineraria are men- 

 tioned, but the author does not consider them to be British species. 

 Tephrosia biundularia, Esp. (= crepuscularia, Hiibn.) is discussed at 

 some length, and Mr. Barrett, in his remarks on the crepuscularia form 

 of the species, says : " The subject of its distinctness as a species has 

 been treated upon and debated in this country at enormous length, 

 and not wholly without acrimony ; but this healthy and somewhat 

 drastic treatment has had the eftect of crumbling away every atom of 

 evidence which had been brought forward to establish its distinctness 

 as a species, and of leaving no choice to an unprejudiced mind but the 

 conclusion that these two races form but one species." 



We think that an error has been made in referring B. ani/ulifera, 

 Butl., to B. repandata, Linn., as a Japanese form of that species, and, 

 unless B. admissaria, Guen., is to be considered as a form of B.gemmaria, 

 Bralim., we believe the latter species does not occur in Eastern Asia. 



