OURRENT NOTES. 69 
GXYURRENT NOTES AND SHORT NOTICES. 
In the January number of the Naturalist the following two notes 
occur on the naming mania so prevalent among some British coleop- 
terists. That the criticism is justified the contents of these two netes 
clearly show. 
THE ‘“ NAMING’? MANTA. 
“In The Entomologist’s Monthly Magazine for December, Mr. Pool 
states that the insects standing in British lists as Ptinus testaceous, 
must all be referred to P. pusillus. Mr. Gahan adds that ‘ Mr. Pool’s 
note, as it stands, may lead to continued error. The P. testaceous to 
which he refers is not the P. testaceous of Olivier or Boieldieu, which 
is @ Species quite distinct from P. pusillus, Sturm.= P. pusillus, Boield., 
but is merely the species known to British collectors as P. testaceous. 
What Mr. Pool has shown in his notes is that the female of 
P. pusillus has been wrongly identified in British collections as P. 
testaceous or P. brunneus.’ On the next page Mr. HK. R. Newberry 
points out that ‘‘ Uchthebius powert is a variety of metallascens, Rosen. 
: In the Exchange List recently published the above note was 
forgotton, and the insect referred to a var. of dentifer, Rey, evidently 
in error.’ All these errors and corrections may be very interesting, 
but surely there is some fault or carelessness somewhere. On the very 
next page is the following note by Mr. D. Sharp: ‘ Meotica exiliformis 
and M. exillima. Dr. Joy and I are agreed that these names apply to 
the same species; the explanation being that he is so much occupied 
that he altogether overlooked the description of exillima.” It seems a 
pity that those who have not time to examine previous descriptions, 
should still have time to examine alleged ‘“‘new species’’ which so soon 
after require correcting. [‘‘testaceows” is the Naturalist’s error.’ — 
H.J.T.| ; 
In The Entomologist’s Monthly Magazine Mr. Norman H. Joy points 
out that a species which he has described as Gabrius primigenius, Joy, 
was previously named G. velox by Sharp. ‘G. primiyenius, Joy, is 
therefore a synonym of G. velow.” There has also been a mistake 
with regard to an illustration. We may be mistaken, but it certainly 
seems to us, in view of these frequent “ corrections,” that some of our 
entomological friends are much too Sharp in describing new species, 
and the result can only be that one’s Joy will be turned to Sorrow!” 
A pretty double wedding took place at St. Michael’s Church, Bed- 
ford Park, on Wednesday, February 23rd, when the Misses Holloway, 
daughter’s of Dr. Holloway, were married, the one to Captain Dollman _ 
(late of the Mammal Dept., Brit. Mus. Nat. Hist.), instructor in bomb- 
throwing, and the other to Hereward Dollman, F.H.S., Entomologist 
to the South African Company. The latter takes his bride back with 
him to Africa on the expiration of his leave in March. A number of 
the guests present were in “ khaki” or “blue”; one of the former 
being Lieutenant Donisthorpe, 1.C., son of our colleague, who was up 
on leave for the occasion. He has recently been promoted from 2nd 
Lieutenant, to be Lieutenant, and is now O.C. at the Army Wireless 
Station at Devizes. 
We have received a ‘‘ Separatum ” from F. N. Pierce, F.E.8., with 
descriptions of two new additions to the British Tortricina. The first, 
Peronea fissurana, has been differentiated from P. ferrugana by the Rev. 
