157 



He there classes it with what appears from the figure and 

 description to be one of the darkest of the curtisii form ; in 

 this I can hardly agree with him. It appears to me that we 

 have two distinct forms of almost black varieties, the one 

 traceable downwards through varying shades of greys to a 

 very pale grey type, the other similarly through the reds to 

 a light red type. 



Altogether this species offers a very good example of the 

 difficulties attending any attempt to supply varietal names to 

 the forms of a species known to be liable to great variation. 

 It must be remembered that Treitschke's, and indeed New- 

 man's names, which we now know to represent but forms, were, 

 when given, believed, in all good faith, to be applied to 

 distinct species ; but if we, knowing the forms that we are 

 dealing with to be but forms, attempt to designate each by 

 a descriptive name our work must be endless. I have not a 

 word to say against the trinominal system when used to 

 designate a distinct and constant aberration, but when it is 

 attempted to apply it to every individual showing a slight 

 variation from what we regard as the type, the whole thing 

 becomes ridiculous, and a stumbling-block to those who are 

 to follow us. 



Notes on the Hymenopterous and Dipterous Parasites, 

 bred by Members of the South London Entomological 

 and Natural History Society during the years 1889 

 and iBgo. 



ByT. R. BiLLUPS, Esq. Read March 12th, 1891. 



This paper is an addition to the one I had the honour of 

 reading before the Society in December of 1888, in which I 

 purpose continuing the List of Parasites reared by our 

 members. It is necessarily very incomplete, owing, I fear in 

 a great measure, to the apathy or, perhaps I ought to say, 

 irritation of my Lepidopterist friends leading them to 

 destroy so many of these little creatures which perhaps have 

 caused sad havoc amongst the larvae from which they had 

 hoped to produce choice specimens. My best thanks are, 

 however, due to the 22 gentlemen who have so liberally 

 responded to my appeal made in 1888 to preserve the para- 

 sites that might come under their observation from time to 

 time, thus enabling me to add to our original list some 95 

 species of Ichneumonidse, and several species of Chalci- 



