CURRENT NOTES. 181 
of 50 pages and 19 plates, treats of all the known species of North 
American Poduridae, except the sub-family Onychiurinae. A “ Generic 
Revision of the American Moths of the Sub-family Hypeninae, with 
descriptions of New Genera and Species,” by Wm. Schaus, consisting 
of 144 pages, considers mainly the species and genera of tropical 
America. The North American species having been worked out by the 
late Prof. T. B. Smith are not included in this revision except where 
necessary for reference. About 776 species and 164 new geneia of the 
Hypeninae are referred to, and a key to the genera is given. Of new 
species there are 150, and descriptions are given of them, with diagnoses 
of no less than 41 new genera. Of many of the species described there 
is either no, or only the most meagre, indication whatever of characters 
distinguishing them from allied species. In our opinion all descrip- 
tions of new species should be largely relative to what has gone before, 
and not diagnoses isolated from every other. For example, there are 
ten new species described in the genus Bleptina, of these only three 
have the note as being near another previously described species, 
and only one has a differential note as to characters (fringe and intensity 
of colour). This is most inadequate in a genus where many species are 
listed. No type is given to some of the genera, ¢.g., Hypena, Salia. 
There is one great omission to all these extended papers, and that is an 
index to the specific and generic names used in any way. It isa 
simple matter, and saves no end of time and trouble to all future 
workers, who otherwise have literally to “dig out” their references with 
much quite avoidable trouble. 
Prof. T. Hudson Beare has recently given us an account of the 
multitudinous duties that he has had since his belated return from the 
British Association Meeting in Australia in 1914, with a longing to 
again find time to pursue his entomological studies. In addition to 
his duties in the University as lecturer, Dean of the Faculty of Science 
and member of the University Court, he has been for many months 
Chairman of the Military Education Committee, which deals with the 
training of the four branches of the Edinburgh O.T.C., investigates all 
applications for commissions, runs a sehool of instruction for young 
officers, and reports on each in detail after a few weeks attendance, he 
has been more or less responsible for raising and grouping thousands 
of volunteers as a regular speaker in the street and elsewhere during 
the whole of the recruiting period. When the Derby scheme was 
begun Prof. Beare became Chairman of the Committee for Kastern 
Hidinburgh and the supervision of all the subsidiary work fell upon 
him. When work is to be done, ’tis the busy man on whom it falls 
to do it. 
Our colleague, Mr. R. 8. Bagnall, is continuing his studies of the 
long neglected but economically important order Thysanoptera. We 
have just received three separata from him of papers published in the 
Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist., ‘‘ Brief Descriptions of new Thysan- 
optera,” containing an account of new species mainly from the Aus- 
tralian region obtained through the untiring energies of the workers 
of the Hope Museum, Oxford, at the instance of Prof. Poulton. Critical 
points are illustrated by diagrams. 
In a contribution to the Jr. of Econ. Biology for December last Mr. 
R. §. Bagnall introduces and describes two new species of Machilidae 
(Thysanura). Petrobius carpentert Was obtained in large numbers near 
