5076 Insects. 



making the entire length 6 lines ; expanse of wings 5 lines. This is the most magni- 

 ficently coloured British insect I am acquainted with: the genus Chrysis is very beau- 

 tiful, but the splendid green of this insect by far surpasses it. — E. Parfitt ; 4, Weirfield 

 Place, St. Leonard's, Exeter, April 7, 1856. 



What is llybius angustior ? — Whoever undertakes to untie this knot is certainly a 

 bold man. The Rev. Mr. Clark has very kindly attempted a revision of the nomen- 

 clature of our water-beetles, and the results have been made public, first in the 

 'Zoologist' (Zool. 4846, 5005, 5048), and, secondly, in a separate list. Now having 

 long been puzzled as to the meaning of the names guttiger and angustior, I was truly 

 glad to have the opportunity of examining some carefully-named Colymbetes which 

 Mr. Clark had lately presented to Mr. Douglas, expecting that my "entomological 

 difficulty" would at once be removed; but it was not so: from the said specimens I 

 immediately learned that llybius guttiger of Clark was llybius obscurus of London 

 collections. Shortly afterwards I saw Mr. Stevens's rich collection, recently revised 

 by Mr. Clark, and there the same change of names occurred. I then wrote to Mr. 

 Clark, staling my difficulty, and that gentleman, with his usual prompt courtesy, re- 

 plied by sending a series of what he really wished should be understood by the names 

 " guttiger" and " angustior,'' and behold the whole of them were of one species, and 

 that the species we take at Woking. It is a remarkably uniform species; no percep- 

 tible difference exists in sculpture, form or colour, but there is a difference in size, 

 and Mr. Clark's guttiger, as published, represents the larger examples, his angustior 

 the smaller examples, which any clay's fishing at Woking may produce: every inter- 

 mediate gradation of size will be found in the same day's work. Are all the Woking 

 examples guttiger, for so we used to call it? And if guttiger, then what is llybius 

 angustior? To reverse the question, suppose them all angustior, then what has become 

 of guttiger? — Edward Newman. 



Whom shall we folloiv P another Necessity. — With the appearance of Mr. Stain- 

 ton's 'Manual of Butterflies and Moths' we are introduced to a new nomenclature, 

 and I need scarcely point out to any of my brethren how very tantalizing it is, just 

 after they have arranged and rearranged their collections, to find that another candi- 

 date offers himself for election. There seems to be a sad want of unity amongst us, 

 — the more noticeable, perhaps, because we are so small a body, — such a continual 

 shifting and changing of names, that to all appearance we shall never arrive at any- 

 thing definite ; and I think that perhaps it would not be out of place if the leading 

 members of the Entomological Society were to call a meeting and consider the matter 

 dispassionately, whether the arrangement by the late Mr. J. F. Stephens, as now 

 standing in the British Museum, should be adopted; whether that of Mr. Doubleday, 

 whom I believe all of us have of late unanimously followed ; or whether that of Mr. 

 Stainton, now appearing, is to be the list. Perhaps these remarks will call up some 

 other kindred spirits to take an active part in such an important matter, and I at pre- 

 sent forbear from making any further comment until I see how this idea is received. — 

 John Scott; South Stockton, March 31, 1856. 



A few Words about Advertisements: another Thing hoped for. — Whilst con- 

 demning the passing off of undoubted foreign insects as bonct fide English ones, it 

 might be well to say a word or two as to the facilities placed in the way for assisting 

 such as have a penchant after this fashion in obtaining them, and also for showing 

 how such insects might get ranked amongst legitimate members without any intention 

 oil the part of those who had them from the sellers to pass them off as British. These 



