201 



tliat marked one of the most important epochs in the annals of Ento- 

 mology. 



In addition to the above, the types of Kirby's ' Century of Insects,' 

 and also a large series of types of«Havvorth's ' Lepidoptera Britannica,' 

 have been presented by this Society. 



Numerous as are the presentations already mentioned, I have to 

 include in my report 2171 foreign insects, many of which ai'e new to 

 Science ; amongst them are species presented by Earl Russell from 

 the Zambezi ; others by Captain Speke from central Africa ; by Dr. 

 Livingstone and Dr, Kirk.* Amongst the other donors the names of 

 Sir John Hearsey, Mr. Ilaliday, Mr. Moore and Mr. Walker will be 

 found. 



The number of British insects presented is very small, and such 

 must now be expected to be the case. The collections of British 

 insects have been greatly increased by purchases during the last ten 

 years, so that every additional species now presented is sure to be 

 one of some rarity ; seventy-five have been added during the past 

 year through the liberality of Messrs. Waterhouse, Sharp, E. A. Smith, 

 J. C. Dale, and the Revs. W. Tylden and Mathews. The gross num- 

 ber of insects presented during the last year to the national collection 

 is 86,486 specimens. 



Entomological Publications of 1863. 

 The Transactions of the Society. 



The ' Transactions ' of our Society constitute the Entomological 

 thermometer whereby the state of the Science in this country will be 

 measured throughout Europe. We have published four Parts during 

 the past year, and I submit that they may fearlessly challenge the 

 ordeal I have alluded to ; the papers generally are characterized by 

 great care and research, the new species described being constantly 

 compared with their nearest allies, and at the same time their specific 

 differences pointed out. I particularly wish to impress this fact upon 

 the attention of members, and to express a hope that none of us will 

 in future neglect so important and necessary an appendage to every 

 description, when it is possible to give it. The magnitude into which 

 all families of insects are now expanding renders it a paramount 



* Amongst the insects presented by Dr. Kirk is a fine new species of Goliathus ; 

 this has been described by Mr. George Gray, and named Goliathus Kirkianus ; a figure 

 will accompany the description when published in the ' Transactions' of the Zoological 

 Society. 



