33 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



ENTOMOLOGY v. 'COLLECTING.' 

 Too often is it found that an ' entomologist ' is no more 

 entitled to that designation than if he were a collector of the 

 scores of odds and ends that all school boys are heir to. A col- 

 lection of insects is, of course, necessary for purposes of study, 

 without which few g-enuine entomologists would exist. But 

 there are many different ways of collecting — mostly wrong ways. 

 In the very earliest stages of obtaining specimens their true 

 scientific value and purpose should be impressed upon the young 

 (or old) collector. His goal should not be to secure still another 

 addition to his cabinet, and nothing more. The man who has 

 the greatest collection of butterflies, moths, or beetles is by no 

 means necessarily the best entomologist. Rather is it he who 

 studies the life-histories of the specimens, their adaptation to 

 their surroundings, their variation in size and colour, their 

 varying dates of appearance, and the causes thereof. 



EVILS OF INJUDICIOUS COLLECTING. 

 Nowadays it frequently happens that too much collecting is 

 •done, and, in some known Yorkshire instances, even almost 

 to the extermination of rare species from their habitats. The 

 system of exchange is largely responsible for this, when the 

 collector, having obtained sufficient for his own needs, secures, 

 in some cases, hundreds of 'duplicates,' in order to add to his 

 collection by their trade. More than one case is on record when 

 most promising entomologists have slowly but surely ' evolved ' 

 into nothing more nor less than dealers as a result of their 

 trafficking. The foregoing remarks are made in no sense to 

 discourage the pursuit of entomology. The mere existence of a 

 collection, if the specimens are properly labelled and localised, is 

 of use to those interested in the distribution of our fauna. 

 Examination of old collections has frequently added most 

 valuable information relative to the former occurrences of certain 

 species in certain areas. But it is sincerely urged that the 

 * why ' and the ' w^herefore ' should receive first attention, and 

 the number of drawers in the cabinet be a ,matter of minor 

 importance. 



EXPERIMENTS WITH LARV^. 

 As an illustration of one of the many ways in which ento- 

 mologists might make valuable scientific observations, and 

 contribute something really substantial to our knowledge, 



^904 February i. C 



