THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 87 



Cyrtostylis reniformis ; and, in addition, ornithology had not 

 been neglected, as nest, eggs, and young of the New Holland 

 Honey-eater, and nest and eggs of the White-fronted Sericornis, 

 were secured. 



J. SHEPHARD. 



VISIT TO THE ENTOMOLOGICAL DEPARTMENT. 



Some twenty members of the Club visited the Government Ento- 

 mological Department at the Exhibition Buildings on Saturday 

 afternoon, 29th August, at the invitation of Mr. C. French, F.L.S., 

 the Government Entomologist. It was a typical spring day, and 

 those assembled in the somewhat gloomy buildings had smothered 

 longings for the bright sunshine outside. These impressions, 

 however, lasted only so long as we were waiting for the tour of 

 inspection to begin. Directly the specimen cases were opened 

 the sense of gloom vanished, and the highly coloured butterflies 

 gathered in from every quarter of the globe, together with the 

 sombre but rich tints of the varied forms of beetles, rivetted atten- 

 tion, and seemed for the time being a fair exchange for the 

 glorious weather outside. It is impossible to describe in detail 

 the rare and beautiful specimens in this collection, or their marvel- 

 lous adaptation to the surroundings in which they lived. Let it 

 suffice to state that it includes types of the different groups, genera, 

 and species of butterflies, moths, beetles, &c., not only for pur- 

 poses of comparison, but also for exchange, and Mr. French will, 

 as we know from experience, give the most courteous attention to 

 enquiries in this, one of his special branches of study and research. 



We should, however, be neglecting an obvious duty if we passed 

 over in this hurried manner the cases set apart for illustrating the 

 life-history of our insect pests. Thus the eggs, larval stages, and 

 perfect insects, together with examples of their ravages, are given, 

 so that one can see at a glance not only the various stages in 

 growth and development, but also the particular food and circum- 

 stances under which they live. Amongst other pests so treated 

 may be mentioned the Victorian Locust, the Codlin Moth, the 

 Pear Slug, the Cherry Borer, and the Potato Moth. 



Mr. French thus sets an example which could be followed with 

 profit by many collectors. He does not simply secure his 

 " beasts," but he arranges them so that they have an educational 

 value, not according to details of colour, but rather from an 

 economic and scientific standpoint. His specimens are not 

 simply so many isolated items in the animal kingdom, but rather 

 so many links in that chain of nature which it is the object of the 

 true naturalist to aid in completing. The study of the life-history 

 of insect pests is, however, not confined to mere dried specimens, 



