THE YOUNG NATUEALIST 



211 



career. Although the 25th of June was a 

 tempting evening for collectors to be in the 

 lanes or on the sand-hills, a good quantity 

 preferred to meet a fellow Entomologist, in 

 the lecture room of the Liverpool Museum, 

 to hear a paper on " Natural History Educa- 

 tion." Judging from the way in which the 

 paper was received and the discussion which 

 followed, Natural History is making steady 

 progress, and ere long will be found to form 

 part of a child's regular education. Among 

 the exhibits was a speciman of Rumia cvatcB- 

 gata, exhibited by Mr. T. S. Morgan, having 

 the whole of the gruund colour pure white, ex- 

 cept along the costa of the fore wings, which 

 had a lemon tint. It was recently captured 

 somewhere in the vicinity of Liverpool. 



While in Liverpool I was taken by Mr. 

 Capper to see a most interesting collection 

 of Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. The collec- 

 tion is over 60 years old, and the excellent 

 preservation of the specimens is wonderful, 

 this being owing, in some measure to a 

 a solution with which each specimen has 

 been saturated, and which has left a clear 

 crystalization upon the bodies of some. All 

 the insects are pinned with the old-fashioned 

 loose-headed pins, and, although it is im- 

 possible now to say whether all the speci- 

 mens are really authentic Britons or not, it 

 is worthy of remark that they are all pinned 

 and set in exactly the same style, and in- 

 cludes the following species — Papilio Podala- 

 rius, Polyommatus chrysitis (worn) and virgau- 

 rea, Plusia illustris and aurifem. 



July 2nd to 17th I spent in the district of 

 Marlborough, in Wilts, collecting for and 

 arranging some portion of the College 

 Museum. They have had a typical set of 

 insects arranged for general inspection. 

 These kind of collections are truly educa- 

 tional, and should be found in every place 

 intended for instruction, both museum and 

 school. 



Savernake Forest cannot be looked 

 upon as good collecting ground, but one or 



two outside copses, such as Rabley and 

 Black Burney, are more promising. Among 

 the captures at the former copse is one 

 which I think is Pteropherus Loweii. Cymata* 

 phora duplaris was fairly common, and 

 others such as Heliothis marginata, Apleda 

 nehulosa (very light), Acronycta ligustri, Xylo- 

 phasia sublustris, &c., came to sugar more or 

 less freely. Argennis aglaia, Adippe, and 

 paphia.-were met with rather sparingly in the 

 day time, but Arge galathea was pretty plenti- 

 ful, but I did not meet with the variety 

 having the dark markings brown instead of 

 of black, although I was told it occurred 

 there occasionally. The ground colour of 

 the specimens varied from white to lemon 

 yellow. 



THE "YOUNG NATURALIST 

 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE 

 OF BRITISH INSECTS. 



COLEOPTERA, Plate 6. 



With this part we issue the sixth plate of 

 Geodephaga, containing, as usual, figures 

 of sixteen species. This has been prepared 

 for the September part, but owing to the 

 one for August not being ready we issue the 

 present one in its place. It represents the 

 following species : — 



Pterosticus striole. — Generally common 

 under stones, &c. 



Pt. madidus. — Very common everywhere. 



Pt strenuus and diligens — Not so common 

 as the two last. They are very nearly alike 

 and can only be distinguished by the aid of 

 a magnifying glass. In strenmis the under- 

 side of the thorax is punctured at the sides, 

 and in diligens it is plain. 



Pt. niger. — Common. 



Amarob. — The insects comprising this genus 

 are generally fond of hot sun, and may fre- 

 quently be found plentifully running across 

 paths, especially sandy roads near heaths. 

 Very often, like other sun-loviog insects, 



