94 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



" large copper," — now extinct in our islands, prefaced in every case by a 

 full account of the superfamily, family, and genus to which it belongs. 

 We cannot give a better idea of the thoroughness with which the work 

 is done than by taking as an example of it the common Rumicia phlceas. 

 This belongs to the superfamily Ruralides, comprising the " coppers," 

 " blues," and " hairstreaks," and a historical account of their grouping 

 by different authors, extending over sixteen pages. It is succeeded 

 by five pages devoted to the family Ruralidas. This is followed by 

 five pages of the subfamily Chrysophaninas, and four of the genus 

 Rumicia, occupying three or four pages more. To the species itself 

 eighty pages are appropriated. 



After the original Linnean description, and a modern one in 

 English, there follows a detailed description of the geographical and 

 climatal variations, and the connection of these with temperature. 

 These are succeeded by descriptions of variations in colour or mark- 

 ings — in ground colour, in the fore wings and hind wings, in suffusion, 

 and in the under side — with copious information as to the localities 

 and dates of capture of these varied forms. After this comes a full 

 history and description of their egg-laying — of the egg itself and its 

 parasites ; of the larva, its habits and variations, its pupation and 

 food-plants, and its parasites ; of the pupa, its variations, and its 

 pupal dehiscence ; the time of appearance of the imago in its widely 

 distributed localities over a large part of the world, its habits and 

 habitats. 



The plan observed in the author's 'British Lepidoptera,' of supply- 

 ing voluminous and detailed information on all the points above men- 

 tioned, is followed here. Thus, under the head " Time of Appearance," 

 are given more than eight pages of records, and afterwards, under the 

 title "Localities," four pages more in small type. It is fair to say 

 that these are not mere catalogues of dates and places. Some will 

 think that for so common and widely distributed a species they are 

 unnecessarily voluminous, and, standing alone as they do, their value 

 is perhaps not commensurate with the space they occupy. But, with 

 the aid of local climatologies and records of seasonal temperatures, &c, 

 they would, for purposes of reference, furnish abundant and in many 

 respects very valuable materials for any who may desire to construct 

 a comprehensive and exhaustive account of climatal, seasonal, and 

 other local influences on the distribution, abundance, normal times of 

 appearance, and habits of any of the species of which these particulars 

 are given. 



Having described in general outline the comprehensive plan on 

 which the book is written, an example, still drawn from the chapters 

 on Rumicia phlceas, may be given of its treatment of the subject under 

 the head of " Habitats " : — " It is difficult to say what are the chosen 

 haunts of this lovely little insect ; yet one may not write ' every- 

 where ' against it, for there are many spots where a specimen may 

 never be seen. Distributed as it is from the Atlantic to the Pacific, in 

 both the Old and New Worlds, and from the warmest north temperate 

 regions to far within the Arctic Circle, and from the low hot plains of 

 Southern Europe and Asia up the mountains to an elevation of from 

 8000 ft. (in the Basses-Alpes) to 15,000 ft. (in North-east Kumoa), it yet 

 selects chosen places in which to live ; and, as in America it is said 



