6io 



NA rURE 



[April 27, 1899 



A POPULAR WORK ON INSECTS} 



THIS is a popular book on some>vhat new lines, being 

 entirely devoted to Orthopleru and Lepidoplera. It 

 lis well written, and up to date ; and has the merit of deal- 

 'ing mainly with branches of the subject which are not 

 hackneyed. The illustrations are new and well selected, 

 .and chiefly represent species which have not been figured 



in any easily accessible work. These were all executed 

 ■for the author by her sister ; and the life-size figures 



are very good. It has been necessary to reduce the 

 •dimensions of some of the insects figured ; which is a 

 ipity, for though this is sometimes necessary in the case 



of these insects are discussed generally, limited space 

 necessarily precluding many references to individual 

 species. Several very curious insects are figured, in- 

 cluding Dcroplatys Iruncata, a remarkable Mantis from 

 Borneo, which is represented at p. 32, and also on th^ 

 cover. When the book is held straight up, the latter^ 

 figure has been fancifully compared to a ballet dancer 

 but this odd resemblance is less obvious in the figure^ 

 in the text, owing to the shading. 



The chapters on Lepidoptera, some of which do, 

 not now appear for the first time, commence with' 

 " Symbols of Psyche," including a sketch of the story of 

 Cupid and I'syche from Apuleius, prefatory to general 

 observations on butterflies. The other chapters relate 

 to "Day-flying Moths" {Castniidae, Uraniidae, &c.) 

 "The Case Moths" (Psychidae) ; "The Hawk Moths* 

 {SphingidaO ; and " The Death's Head Moth." 



The book will be read with interest both by ento- 

 mologists and by any others who are interested in 

 natural history ; and it is not unlikely that many 

 may acquire information from it, which was pre 

 viously unknown to them. The book appears to have 

 been very carefully composed, and we have not noticed 

 any very serious errors. In one place, however, the 

 name of the American entomologist, Bruner, is spelt 

 lirunner, probably by confusion with the .Austrian ento- 

 mologist, Brunner von Wattenwyl ; and in the notice of 

 the colours of the Mantidae, the curious genus Metal- 

 lyticus, which similates those brilliantly coloured beetles, 

 the Bupres/idae, might perhaps have been mentioned. 

 But there is little to find fault with in so commendable a 

 piece of work as the book before us. W. F. K. 



THE SCIENCE BUILDINGS AT SOUTH 

 KENSINGTON. 



WE are glad that the Government has conceded to the 

 wish of men of science, and decided to place the 

 new science buildings at -South Kensington on the west 

 side of Exhibition Road, between the Natural History 

 Museum and Imperial Institute Road. It will be re- 

 membered that a year ago it was proposed to build the 

 new laboratories for the Royal College of Science on the 

 restricted site available on the east side of Exhibition 

 Road, notwithstanding the fact that the large plot on the 



First sketch of proposed Royal College of Science, South Kensington. View from Itnperial Institute Ro 



of a book of limited size, it always seems to us to spoil 

 the eflect of even a good figure. In the Orlhoptcrn the 

 families dealt with arc I'hasmidnc, Manlid,u\Airidiidac 

 and Locuslidae. The habits, transformations, and senses 



> " True Tale« of the Insects." By L. N. B.-idcnoch, author of " Romance 

 of the Insect World." With forty-four illusiialions hy Margaret J. D. 

 ..._ . .t «_ . . — (Ixmdon : Chapn.an ;iikI Hall, Ltd.) 



NO. 1539. VOL. 59] 



west side had been obtained by the Government from the 

 185 1 Exhibition Commissioners for a nominal sum on the 

 understanding that it was to be used for the erection of 

 science buildings. The proposal was condemned by both 

 science and art ; and memorials protesting against it 

 were signed by eminent Fellows of the Royal Society, and 

 by the leading representatives of art. These memorials, 



