116 fMay, 



once brought up a magnificent male D. dimidiatus ; the next haul afforded a glorious 

 spectacle to the Coleopterist, two males and one female, and soon after I toot two 

 more females. I thus secured three pnirs in about fifteen minutes. I visited the 

 Bog again two days after, but though I worted hard, T could not find another spe- 

 cimen. It was rather curious that D. marginalis, and that species only, occurred just 

 in the spot where two days before I took only D. dimidiatus. I obtained several 

 Hydroporus ohlongiis, Scaleaianus and decoratus on this occasion, as well as many 

 other good insects. — W. C. Hey, Westayton, York : April, 1894. 



Extraordinary abundance of jEcJiinomyia ursina. — On Saturday, March 24th, 

 in company with a friend, I went to Wyre Forest, in the hopes of doing a little 

 collecting, but we were not prepared for what occurred. In the afternoon a few 

 specimens of this fine insect were taken. On Sunday, the 25th, however, they 

 appeared in gradually increasing numbers until after mid-day, when four to six 

 could be taken at one stroke of the net from off the sallow blooms. We found it 

 sunning itself in the road and on posts wherever we collected, and some friends 

 working three miles the other side of the Eorest said it was equally common there. 

 It is difficult to account for this comparatively rare insect appearing in such pro- 

 fusion ; but whatever larvae it is parasitical upon must have had a bad time of it last 

 year, judging from its numbers. — Ealph C. Beadley, Sutton Coldfield, Warwick- 

 shire : April Wth, 1894. 



John Jenner Weir, F.L.S., &;c., who came of a family of Scotch descent, was 

 born at Lewes, Sussex, on August 9th, 1822, and died suddenly at Beckenham, Kent, 

 on March 23rd, 1894. In 1831 his family removed to Camberwell, near London, 

 and he was educated chiefly at Dr. Rogers' school in that suburb. In November, 

 1839, he entered the service of the Custom House, and by 1874 had attained the 

 high position of Accountant and Controller General, which he held until his retire- 

 ment in 1885. From his early days he was passionately devoted to Natural History, 

 especially Entomology, and in 1845 was elected a Member of the Entomol.^gical 

 Society of London, at the Meetings of which he was one of the most constant 

 attendants for very nearly half a century, was often on its Council, Treasurer from 

 1876 to 1879 inclusive, and Yice-President in 1886. He joined the Linnean Society 

 in 1865 and the Zoological in 1876, and had been on the Council of both. He was 

 appointed on the Scientific Committee of the Eoyal Horticultural Society only a 

 month or two before his death. In addition he was an original Member of the 

 West Kent Natural History, &c.. Society, and was several times President ; was 

 President of the South London Entomological, &c., Society for the year imme- 

 diately preceding his death ; and was for long on the Council of the Ray Society. 

 His intimate knowledge of accounts caused him to be frequently appointed Auditor 

 at all of these Societies. 



His first published notes appeared in the " Zoologist " for 1845, and the last, 

 being the description of a new species of Butterfly (the only species we think he 

 ever described), was published posthumously in the " Entomologist " for last month. 

 Weir was a man of vast general knowledge in all branches of Natural History, and 



