SOCIETIES. 248 



Society of Northumberland, Durham, and Neivcastle-upon-Tyne, and far 

 exceeds in scope what one would imagine from the title, for, as the 

 author remarks in the preface, it contains a guide to the specific 

 characters of 2,210 British species, and of 318 European species, 

 which may yet be found in Britain, while the List of Durham. Diptera 

 numbers only 634. A short introduction explains the object of the work, 

 and this is followed by hints on collecting and preserving specimens, 

 an explanation of the numbering and a description of the terms 

 employed illustrated by a "Fly Chart" of a hypothetical species of 

 Diptera ; six other plates contain illustrations of various structural 

 details. It is a pity the author should have felt obliged to attempt 

 to introduce yet another system of terminology for the wing- veins of 

 Diptera, if, for the sake of brevity, a system of numbering and lettering 

 were preferred, Comstock's system, founded upon a morphological basis, 

 was ready to hand. The general arrangement of the tables is excellent, 

 and the repetition of the distinctive numbers for each family and 

 genus at the top of every page makes it exceedingly easy to refer to 

 any family, generic, or specific, table. The tables are mainly translations 

 and compilations, a few families are not dealt with at all, and a 

 number of British species are not included in other tables, possibly, 

 because the author was unable to refer to the descriptions. One 

 cannot help noticing several orthographical errors, such as Ramphormyia 

 for Rhamphormyia, Ramphidia for Rhamphidia, ylabifrons for glahrifrons, 

 etc., and the author should have referred to p. 5019 of Zetterstedt's 

 Diptera Scandinaviae, vol. xiii., before asserting that there was 

 no such name as Rhamphomya furnipennis, Zett. The work is 

 admittedly for beginners, and should be of great assistance in inducing 

 people to take up the interesting study of this neglected order, while 

 if carefully used, it should soon give anyone a general idea of the 

 families and genera, but a beginner must look forward to difficulty at 

 times in using the tables, and, in no case, should he come to hasty 

 conclusions as to species, without reference to descriptive works. It is 

 impossible for anyone but those who have studied the Diptera to 

 realise the enormous difficulties attending the compilation of analytical 

 tables for our British species ; all the author hopes for his attempt is 

 that it should be found "better than nothing;" this there can be no 

 doubt it is, and, in spite of the many unavoidable imperfections, it 

 may honestly be called a useful guide to the study of British Diptera. — 

 J.E.C. 



SOCIETIES. 



iSouTH London Entomological and Natural History Society. — 

 July 12th, 1906. — Exhibits. — Phytometra viridaria. — LarvfB feeding 

 upon Polygala vulgaris, Mr. Goulton. Ova in siitr of Coleophora 

 viMiNETELLA on willow, C. soLiTARiELLA on Stellaria holostea, and an 

 imago of Goniodoma limoniella, bred from stems of Statice limonium, 

 from Southend, Mr. Turner. Cryptocephalus parvulus and C. 

 PUNCTIGEE. — A short series, and several Balaninus cerasorum from 

 Darenth Wood on July 1st, Mr. West. Sarrothripus undulanus 

 (revayana). — A cocoon and pupa, Mr. F. B. Carr. July 2Qth. — 

 PoLYOMMATus coRYDON. — PupsB from larvffi reared on horse-shoe vetoh, 

 and Callophrys rubi, pupae from ova laid on flower-heads of dogwood, 



