30 Proceedings of the Roi/al Irish Aeademji. 



than six or seven of the counties is the neuropterous fauna tolerably well 

 known ; for it should be pointed out that in many places only a few species 

 were collected. It wiU be seen that extensive tracts of country in all of 

 the four provinces are practically unexplored ; while from the counties of 

 Longford, Meath, Leitrim, and especially Cavan, with its extensive chain of 

 lakes, no records are forthcoming. 



The late A. H. Haliday formed a collection of local IKeuroptera; and a 

 manuscript " Catalogue of Irish Insects," which he compiled, gives a fair idea 

 of what was known of the Irish species in his time. This distinguished 

 entomologist, however, did not devote as much attention to tlie Neuroptera 

 as he did to other orders of insects ; otherwise there would certainly have 

 been a more satisfactory basis to work on when the preparation of an Irish 

 list was undertaken more tlian twenty years ago. Many of the species in 

 the Haliday catalogue are recorded with reserve, and very few exact localities 

 are mentioned; yet it was the means of supplying useful information relat- 

 ing to the capture of such uncommon insects as Gomplms vulgatisdmiis' 

 Ertfthromma nnjns, and Cliri/sops abbrcviata, which have not been observed 

 in this country since Haliday's time. This manuscript catalogue is now 

 preserved in tlie library of the Irish National Museum. 



It seems desirable to refer briefly to some of the changes and additions 

 which it has been found necessary to carry out in the present list. 



Although our knowledge of the native Dragon-tlies is far from complete, 

 there can be no doubt that the Irish fauna is much poorer in these insects 

 than is that of Great Britain. Twenty-five species were included in the 

 Irish list of 1889: it would appear, however, that one of these, Ortlietnim 

 cancdlatum, was certainly included in error. A second species, Cordulia 

 aenca, said to have been taken many years ago at Killarney, is, in our opinion, 

 more likely to have been Sonwlochhra arctica, which is known to occur in 

 that locality ; while a third species, LcMcs barharn, remained for many years 

 on the British list on the strength of a supposed Irish sijecimeu seen by 

 De Selys, as long ^o as 1845, in the Dublin University Museum. No trace 

 of this specimen is now to be found ; and the record must be regarded as 

 extremely doubtful. Allowing for these changes, there are reliable records 

 of twenty-three species of Di^agon-flies in this country, including Lihelhda 

 fulva, an Irish example of which has recently been brought to light in the 

 collection of the late C. W. Dale. 



The Ephemeridae (May- flies) have been much neglected, so that there 

 are few changes to record. The recent finding of the northern form 

 Leptophlcbia vespertina in the west of Ireland may be refened to as the only 

 unrecorded species observed since 1889. 



