Notices of New Books. 38 1 9 



the perfect insect. He is aware that the love of the study of the ha- 

 bits of the Micro-Lepidoptera might induce but few persons to come 

 to his assistance in the somewhat Herculean task he has undertaken, 

 were they not stimulated to extra exertion by the desire of obtaining 

 a rarity. 



Mr. Smith has long been known as a successful observer of the 

 habits of bees, and his valuable papers on those interesting insect ar- 

 chitects have a freshness about them peculiar to out-of-door natural- 

 ists. No amount of midnight in-door work will impart the peculiar 

 charm which all records of original observations possess. Witness 

 among others the papers by Mr. Douglas, intituled " Entomological 

 Localities," which have from time to time appeared in our pages, and 

 which have shown his accuracy as an observer, as well as evinced his 

 partiality for the wood, the heath, and the down. Judging from the 

 specimens of his papers on the Micro-Lepidoptera now before us, the 

 habits of the larvae of these insects appear capable of affording plenty 

 of interesting occupation for the entomologist; we however regret that 

 Mr. Douglas has said nothing of the habits of the perfect insects, as 

 we imagine they must be as interesting as those of the larvae. 



We must not omit to notice the two plates by Mr. Wing (the new 

 Secretary of the Society) which illustrate Mr. Douglas's papers, since 

 they deserve especial mention for the care with which they have been 

 executed ; indeed, they reflect the highest credit on the skill of the 

 artist, the magnified figures of the larvae really looking as though they 

 were alive and crawling about. We presume the apalpous appearance 

 of fig. 1 c, in Plate XL, is correct; it strikes us however as extremely 

 curious. 



We heartily commend the zeal with which Mr. Douglas has en- 

 tered on the wide field of observation that lies before him. The larvae 

 of many genera of Micro-Lepidoptera would appear to be altogether 

 unknown ; for example, Micropteryx, Nematopogon, Nemotois, ^Ech- 

 mia, Zelleria, Opostega, and others ; we trust however that they will 

 not long remain shrouded in their present obscurity. 



Nor do we see why other orders of insects should not be treated in 

 a similar manner ; and trust ere long to have occasion to call the at- 

 tention of our readers to the further results of researches similar to 

 those of Mr. Douglas, records of which we may hope to see in future 

 parts of the Society's ' Transactions.' 



