ENTOMOLOGICAL NOTES FOR THE YEAR 1861. 223 
19 Byturus fumatus, Fab. Much like its congener tomentosus, 
but more elongate, and darker in colour. It appears to 
be equally common. 
20 Haliplus flavicollis, Sturm.=impressus Steph. In the 
quarry-hole at Closing Hill, near Killingworth. Rare. 
October. 
XXXV.—Entomological Notes for the year 1861. By 
V. R. Perxiys. 
Nor only in our own district, but throughout England, nay 
throughout Europe, have entomologists been complaining that 
there are no insects; from the beginning of the spring to the 
commencement of winter, there has been a very great scarcity of 
insect life. Cold and wet as last year was, larve of all kinds 
seemed abundant, and it was thought that this season, if fine, 
would have been an unusually good one for insect hunters; these 
predictions have not been verified, the prophets prophecied falsely 
and contrary to all expectations, insects never were scarcer. Bees, 
beetles, butterflies, and bugs, as our cabinets can testify, have 
made a sorry show. Some usually common, have not put in an 
appearance, of others, perhaps one or two solitary specimens have 
been seen, but nothing has been abundant, save and except 
Wasps; these certainly have proved the rule, they have had it 
all their own way, not only here, but in the south as well, “from 
John o’ Groats to Land’s End,” everybody says, we have plenty 
of wasps. ‘There was an abundance of them in the spring—at 
Gibside when we went to seek Andrende we found nothing but 
Vespide—when we went out, later on in the summer, for beetles, 
butterflies, and bugs, nothing was noticed but wasps, and in the 
autumn their numbers had not diminished. How are we to 
account for this superabundance of wasps, when even the com- 
mon house-fly was not found as usual in the cream jug at break- 
fast, nor on the sugar at tea? Such, however, was the case, and 
