Insects. 6819 



interesting, are, I fear, somewhat vaguely expressed. I shall entitle 

 them " Foreigners, and doubtful British Species." It is a subject 

 which has for some years been a source of controversy, and has 

 recently, as you all probably know, been touched upon by Mr. Stain- 

 ton, in one of his leading articles in the ' Intelligencer,' and has 

 brought forth remarks from one or two of our best entomologists, and 

 created some sensation amongst the many who do not put their 

 thoughts and opinions upon paper. 



I do not, in the limits of the present article, intend to put forward 

 any new facts, but rather to take a review of the opinions already 

 expressed, and make a few remarks upon the same. Before, however, 

 proceeding to the immediate subject of my paper, it will perhaps be 

 as well to ascertain the meaning of the terms with which I have pre- 

 faced it, more especially as they have in effect considerable bearing 

 upon the matter. 



As at present applied, the term " foreigners " includes indiscrimi- 

 nately those species which are of such rare occurrence as to leave a 

 doubt whether they are in reality inhabitants of this country, those spe- 

 cies which were formerly taken here, and even those which are yearly 

 captured in some numbers. This application is both vague and 

 incorrect; a foreigner, as I take it, being a species which does not 

 undergo its transformations in England ; and this, I think, is the true 

 and only explanation which can be given of the term. " Doubtful 

 British species" appears to me to be a phrase much more applicable, 

 and capable of greater extension in its meaning, and for the following 

 reasons. First, I do not consider the rarity of an insect any proof of 

 its non- British origin; secondly, many species, doubtful so-called, 

 are very likely to occur here in the larva state, from the presence of 

 their natural food, or from the fact of their existing on allied species 

 of plants ; and thirdly, the non-occurrence of an insect for a series of 

 years is no argument against its still being British. These, how- 

 ever, in an inverse sense, are the arguments put forward in favour of 

 the exclusion of many species from our lists. I cannot subscribe to 

 any of them. I will not say there are not cases where Lepidoptera 

 of foreign origin are introduced, for instance Sphinx Carolina, an 

 American species ; but I do object to all our rarities being included 

 in the same category. 



From the foregoing remarks it will easily be seen that I am in 

 favour of the retention of doubtful British species, and of species 

 coming within the meaning of the term as I have explained it ; and 



