98 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF ONTARIO 



The Genera of North American Melanopli : By S. H. Scudder. (Proc. Am. 

 Acad, of A. and S. V. 32, pp. 195-206, January, 1897.) 



Almost simultaneously with Dr. Scudder's " Guide to the Genera of Orthoptera " 

 two other important and extremely useful papers appeared, one on " The Genera of 

 North American Melanopli" and the other on <; The Species of the Genus Melanoplus." 

 These are both really advance issues of chapters in Dr. Scudder's great work on the 

 Melanopli, which is to be published by the U. S. National Museum. The Melanopli are 

 divided into thirty genera, seventeen of which are new and four have been previously 

 published by the author. The genus Melanoplus is characteristically American and is 

 widely disseminated. There are 131 species recognized, grouped under twenty-eight 

 series. The name furcula is given to the processes of the last dorsal segment of the male 

 abdomen. J. F. 



The Book of British Butterflies : A practical manual for Collectors and Naturalists ; 

 1 vol. pp. 247 (3s. 6d.) 



The Book of British Hawk-moths : A popular and practical Hand-book for Lepidop- 

 terists ; 1 vol. pp. 157 (3s. 6d.) 



By W. J. Lucas, B. A. London: L. Upcott Gill, 170 Strand, W. C. 



Many excellent works on British butterflies have been published during the last 

 twenty- five years and one would naturally suppose that there was little need of another 

 book on the subject. Mr. Lucas, however, has succeeded in producing a very useful and 

 excellent popular manual, which will be a welcome aid to those who wish to study the 

 life history of butterflies as well as to identify the specimens they may collect in the 

 British Isles. As it is intended for those who have made no previous study of the sub- 

 ject, the author begins at the beginning, telling the reader what an insect is, what place 

 the butterfly takes in nature, how to capture, set and care for specimens, and then 

 describes each British species from the egg to the imago in clear and simple language, 

 and in almost every instance gives admirable drawings of the caterpillar, chrysalis and 

 both surfaces of the imago. As there are no less than 266 figures in illustration of 

 sixty-eight species, the collector should have no difficulty in determining any specimen 

 of butterfly in any of its stages (except the egg) that he may chance to find. A book 

 such as this should give a great impetus to the study of the preparatory stages of British 

 butterflies, a section of entomology which is usually neglected in favor of the mere col- 

 lection and arrangement of the perfect insects. A volume such as this on Canadian 

 batterflies would be a very welcome aid to a large number of young people whose interest 

 has been aroused by the beauty and variety of our species, but whose enthusiasm is 

 dampened by the difficulty of obtaining any information about them. 



" The Book of British Hawk-moths," by the same author, deals with a somewhat 

 less familiar group, and gives much useful information that it would otherwise be hard 

 to find. The plan of the work is similar to that of the butterfly book, and it is written 

 in the same clear and simple style. As there are only seventeen species to deal with, 

 the writer is able to go more fully into details respecting them and to make his work 

 all the more complete and popular. He has also provided artificial keys to the larvae 

 and imagines, and tables for distinguishing the species where there is more than one 

 representative of the genus. The fifteen plates with which the volume is illustrated are 

 very beautiful and are admirably drawn by the author himself. Each species is repre- 

 sented life size, and is shown as a caterpillar on its food plant, chrysalis and imago. 

 There are eighteen wood cuts for the most part illustrating details of structure. It is to 

 be hoped that the author will continue his good work until he has completed the British 

 lepidoptera, or at any rate the more conspicuous and familiar families. C. J. S. B. 



Life Histories of American Insects : By Clarence M. Weed. 1 vol. pp. 272. ($1.50). 

 New York : The Macmillan Company, 

 yrhe publication of a popular book on insects is so rare an event on this side of the 

 Atlantic that we heartily welcome an addition to the number, especially when it is so 



