SOME DIARY NOTES ON THE SEASON’S COLLECTING. 233 
developmental histories, have constant occasion to postulate inter- 
calation or suppression of stages, almost no variations of this kind 
have yet been systematically observed. Those instances recorded in 
lepidoptera offer an unusually good field for research. 
When an author has done so much for his readers it is a thankless 
task to find fault. Still one cannot help reflecting what a magnificent 
book this might have been if the mass of material here “brought 
together had been fully digested and arranged. It is no doubt 
impossible for a very busy man to carry out such a task, and we are 
erateful for what is already done. But on turning over the pages it is 
sad to find a profusion of matter relating to questions of general 
scientific importance buried in the sy stematic chapters of both volumes, 
where probably they will never be seen by those who would most 
value them. To urge that these should have been extracted and 
printed together with the chapters on general morphology apart from 
the course of the systematic work is a counsel of perfection. Mr. Tutt 
will, however, greatly increase the gratitude of students if he will in 
the next volume provide a copious subject-index, which, though an 
arduous task for any one else to perform, would cost him comparatively 
little labour. So long as merely the names of the insects are indexed 
as they occur, half the author’s labour is in vain. 
As another practical point it may be urged that the references 
should be more freely repeated. In a good many cases references to 
publication of notes or observations of a special character are not given 
with sufficient emphasis, and are only to be found by working through 
the profuse lists given under the heading ‘‘Synonymy.” ‘To remedy 
this is doubly important in a work where so much is taken from 
manuscript and other private sources. After a long hunt for the 
original source of a statement here given with a name of an authority 
affixed, it may prove at last that the statement was privately com- 
municated to the author. In all such cases it should be plainly 
indicated that the authority was manuscript or verbal. This need not 
lengthen the book, and on the other hand space might be saved by 
cutting down some of the long lists of localities, which, in the case of 
generally distributed species are hardly worth the considerable trouble 
they must have taken to prepare. It will be understood that these 
remarks are made in no unfriendly spirit, but simply in the hope that 
we may lose none of the benefits which Mr. Tutt’s industry has con- 
ferred upon us. 
Some Diary Notes on the Season’s Collecting. 
By W. J. KAYE, FES. 
The first insects noted during the year were Phiyalia pedaria, 
Alybernia rupicapraria and Anisoptery. aescularia, Which were seen on 
gas lamps on February 26th, at Worcester Park. On March 8rd 
Amphidasys strataria appeared in the breeding-cage, and the weather 
appeared so favourable that an outing was made a week later to 
Wimbledon Common, in company with Mr. May. Asphalia flavicornis 
was unusually common, something like twenty specimens being secured 
after a search of about two hours. Textbook directions for fmding 
this imsect recommend that bushes in preference to trees should be 
searched. This is no doubt sound advice, as the larve certainly prefer 
the bushes to feed up on. But once the imagines have had a flight 
