Revieiv. £ 



coloured plates and text figures. Where- 

 ever possible, particulars of life-histories 

 and habits are given ; and where no such 

 information is available, the fact is not 

 slurred over, but. attention is pointedly 

 drawn to the gaps in our knowledge. 

 This, in itself, is a valuable feature of 

 the book, calculated— as it is— to inspire 

 the student to attack some of the many- 

 problems that still await solution. One 

 of the charms of entomological work in 

 the tropics is the knowledge that there 

 are endless new species to be discovered 

 and new facts to be garnered about the 

 species that are already known. 



After a useful general introduction, 

 the different orders of insects are dis- 

 cussed in detail according to a scheme 

 of classification that is fully set out at 

 the commencement of the work, starting 

 from the lowest (wingless) insects. 



In reviewing a book of this kind, 

 which depends upon hard facts, dis- 

 cussion of individual statements must 

 almost necessarily be of the nature of 

 criticism. After having drawn atten- 

 tion to the merits of the work, what 

 appear to be small errors may be pointed 

 out without detracting from the favour- 

 able opinion of the whole. Under Phas- 

 midse (p. 72), the author is not quite 

 correct in his statement that the " eggs 

 pre laid singly, dropped like seeds on 

 the ground." This is certainly true 

 of the Leaf Insects and of some 

 Stick Insects. But other Stick Insects 

 attach their eggs, either singly or 

 in small groups, to the leaves and 

 stems of the plants upon which they 

 feed. The section on Termites is dis- 

 appointing. There is no proper des- 

 cription of the queen, nor of the economy 

 of the nests. Reference is made to 

 the sponge-like fungus beds; but their 

 arrangement and disposition in the 

 termitarium is not explained. Al- 

 together the pages devoted to this 

 interesting and extremely important 

 family of insects are rather weak and 

 poorly arranged. 



Under Hymenoptera, a most interest- 

 ing account of the tactics of Salius in 

 the capture of its prey is given on page 

 216. Such original observations afford 

 an example of what may be done by any 

 patient observer in India. On page 227 

 is a note on the supposed " mimicry of a 

 species of Polyrachis by the nymph of a 

 Coreid bug Dulichius inflatus. The 

 apterous adult of Dulichius is almost 

 exactly like the ant in question ; but it 

 does not appear to be a specially myrme- 

 cophilous species. It is abundant, in 

 Ceylon, amongst grass, quite dissociated 

 from its supposed model. On page 231 

 is a remarkably good reproduction of 



I [December, 1909. 



the webbing of the large red ant 

 CEcophylla smaragdina, and an account 

 of the extraordinary manner in which it 

 is produced. It is also noted that the nests 

 of Polyrachis are constructed in the same 

 manner as those of OEcophyilla, the 

 web being produced by the larvae of the 

 ant. It is probable that many other 

 nest-building ants employ the same 

 means, as no adult ant has any spinning 

 organs. 



The Coleoptera are treated very fully. 

 The section renders useful assistance 

 in the determination of the different 

 families of this huge oiderof insects. 



The section of Lepidoptera naturally 

 occupies considerable space, and con- 

 tains some useful life histories. The 

 directions (on p. 398) for recognising the 

 caterpillars of the several families appear 

 to be rather too positive. Numerous 

 exceptions might be cited in nearly 

 every case. It should be noted that, on 

 page 495, a figure of what is really the 

 larva and moth of the Pyralid Hypsi- 

 pyla robusta (adapted from " Indian 

 Museum Notes," Vol. I., Part I, fig. 3) 

 has been unaccountably labelled Cossus 

 cadambce—a, totally different insect — 

 and tacked on to the description of this 

 species. The caterpillar of robusta is 

 common in Ceylon, where it bores in 

 the terminal shoots of Cedrela and 

 Swietenia (Mahogany). The original 

 figure in the '' Indian Museum Notes " 

 was a reproduction of a drawing by the 

 writer of this review. 



Following that on the Lepidoptera 

 comes a very well arranged and useful 

 section on the Diptera, by P. M. Hovvlett. 

 It is pleasing to find this much- 

 neglected order so well handled and 

 receiving the attention that is so badly 

 needed, 



The last section of the book presents 

 the remaining order Hhynchota, which 

 contains many of our most troublesome 

 insect pests. Here, as with the Lepidop- 

 tera and Hymenoptera, the author has 

 had the advantage of the volumes of 

 the "Fauna of British India" series 

 whieh he has supplemented by many 

 original observations. On page 685, 

 Serinetha augur and S. abdominalis 

 are accused of cannibalism. In Ceylon, 

 both of these species are preyed upon 

 by the Pyrrhocorid bug Antilochus 

 nigripes which so closely mimics the 

 Coreid Setinetha, There are both red 

 and ochreous varieties of both the 

 Serinetha and the Antilochus. Is it 



Eossible that the supposed carnivorous 

 abits of Serinetha have been mistakenly 

 attributed to these species instead of to 

 their mimic ? Serinetha most certainly 

 sucks fruits and seeds in Ceylon, and 



