SOME DIAEY NOTES ON THE SEASOn's COLLECTING. 233 



developmental histories, have constant occasion to postulate inter- 

 calation or suppression of stages, almost no variations of this kind 

 have yet been systematically observed. Those instances recorded in 

 lepidoptera offer an unusually good field for research. 



When an author has done so much for his readers it is a thankless 

 task to find fault. Still one cannot help reflecting what a magnificent 

 book this might have been if the mass of material here brought 

 together had been fully digested and arranged. It is no doubt 

 impossible for a very busy man to carry out such a task, and we are 

 grateful for what is already done. But on turning over the pages it is 

 sad to find a profusion of matter relating to questions of general 

 scientific importance buried in the systematic chapters of both volumes, 

 where probably they will never be seen by those who would most 

 value them. To urge that these should have been extracted and 

 printed together with the chapters on general morphology apart from 

 the course of the systematic work is a counsel of perfection. Mr. Tutt 

 will, however, greatly increase the gratitude of students if he will in 

 the next volume provide a copious subject-index, which, though an 

 arduous task for any one else to perform, would cost him comparatively 

 little labour. So long as merely the names of the insects are indexed 

 as they occur, half the author's labour is in vain. 



As another practical point it may be urged that the references 

 should be more freely repeated. In a good many cases references to 

 publication of notes or observations of a special character are not given 

 with sufficient emphasis, and are only to be found by working through 

 the profuse lists given under the heading " Synonymy." To remedy 

 this is doubly important in a work where so much is taken from 

 manuscript and other private sources. After a long hunt for the 

 original source of a statement here given with a name of an authority 

 affixed, it may prove at last that the statement was privately com- 

 municated to the author. In all such cases it should be plainly 

 indicated that the authority was manuscript or verbal. This need not 

 lengthen the book, and on the other hand space might be saved by 

 cutting down some of the long lists of localities, which, in the case of 

 generally distributed species are hardly worth the considerable trouble 

 they must have taken to prepare. It Avill be understood that these 

 remarks are made in no unfriendly spirit, but simply in the hope that 

 we may lose none of the benefits which Mr. Tutt's industry has con- 

 ferred upon us. 



Some Diary Notes on the Season's Collecting. 



By W. J. KAYE, F.E.S. 

 The first insects noted during the year were Phu/alia pedaria, 

 Hybernia rupicapraria and Anisopteri/.r cwacularla, which were seen on 

 gas lamps on February 26th, at Worcester Park. On March 3rd 

 Aiiipliidaays strataria appeared in the breeding-cage, and the weather 

 appeared so favourable that an outing was made a week later to 

 Wimbledon Common, in company Avith Mr. May. AspJialia Jiavicomis 

 was unusually common, something like tAventy specimens being secured 

 after a search of about two hours. Textbook directions for finding 

 this insect recommend that bushes in preference to trees should be 

 searched. This is no doubt sound advice, as the larvaB certamly prefer 

 the bushes to feed up on. But once the imagines have had a flight 



