1840.J 



Himalayas aiid of India. 



Ill 



life than appears to be the case at present. Religious prejudice, and 

 the filthy and disgusting habits of these Insects, may be the causes why 

 they have been neglected. In India, if the Necrophaga are not so numer- 

 ous as elsewhere, yet the numbers of some particular species being ex- 

 cessive beyond measure, are sufficient, perliaps, to compensate for want 

 of variety. 



RANGE. 



In the consideration of the geographical distribution of Insects, 

 especial notice should be taken of the range over which genera and 

 families extend. From want of attention to this subject, entomologists 

 have not sufficient data to form any just views respecting it. Every 

 naturalist who has studied animals, must be aware that certain tribes, 

 genera, and species, are peculiar to particular regions of the globe. On 

 the contrary, in various countries of the earth the Botanist meets with 

 genera of plants which are common to Europe, and the other quarters of 

 the globe, to the Old World as well as to the New. In some instances, 

 identity of species has been recognized in countries remotely situated, 

 between which seas and oceans intervene. It becomes, then, a question 

 of considerable importance to determine if any species of plants have an 

 unlimited or universal range, as probably all those insect races which 

 feed on vegetables are regulated in their distribution by the same laws 

 which govern the distribution of the plants themselves. It must be 

 evident even to the most careless observer, that where the climate is 

 materially changed in temperature, that there vegetation will be propor- 

 tionately altered, and I imagine that eventually the entomological char- 

 acter of a country will be found much more dependent upon vegetation 

 than has hitherto been allowed. It is true, indeed, that although two 

 countries may agree in temperature and botanical character, the Insects 

 may be totally diiferent in form and appearance ; but, in looking to 

 their functions, if we find them the same, or nearly the same, we at once 

 acknowledge the resemblance, and imagine they take the place of other 

 known and existing groups elsewhere; a resemblance of character, which 

 Messrs. Kirby and Spence have very properly denominated representa- 

 tion, which representation will even be more perceptible as the soil and 

 general characters of the countries accord. 



INFLUENCE OF SOIL. 



Having already seen that both temperature and vegetation exercise 

 a powerful control over the geographical distribution of insect races, 

 there still remains a third subject of inquiry, namely, the influence of 



