THE ENTOMOLOGISTS 
WEEKLY INTELLIGENCER. 
No. 212.] SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27, 1860 [Price Id. 
DIFFERENCE OF OPINION. 
“This,” writes one of our esteemed 
correspondents, “is the best year for 
larvEe I ever knew. I’ve a long way 
over 2000 all right, and a good 500 or 
600 still feeding Everybody grumbles 
that they can get nothing this year ; 
but the fact is they were afraid of the 
rain, and did not turn out. I asked 
my friend B. how he found it, and he 
is of my opinion.” 
We believe it is unnecessary to state 
the county in which the letter above 
quoted was written. The writer evi- 
dently assumes that his experience 
ought to have been the experience 
of all other entomologists. We had 
imagined that the sun might shine in 
Peru whilst it was raining in Kams- 
chatka, and we can conceive the pos- 
sibility of insects being plentiful in one 
place and scarce in another. 
It is, however, interesting to record 
that in one part of our island entomo- 
logists have found that success which 
some of their brethren have sought in 
vain, even in the rain. 
What right has one man to say 
that twenty others did not turn out be- 
cause it rained? Has he any grounds 
for the statement, or is it merely a 
surmise — a vague conjecture? 
If other entomologists have found 
this such a profitable year we should 
be very glad to hear from them ; the 
general complaint, not only here, but 
on the Continent, has been that in- 
sects have been scarce, in addition to 
the weather being bad. 
Even from the extreme north of 
Norway Dr. Staudinger writes, “The 
weather was very bad, yet we found 
several pretty new species, and also a 
new Ornix, which probably feeds on 
Beiula nana. We took a number of 
the beautiful Ornix interruptella of 
Zellerstedt. We collected many Nep- 
ticula mines in Ruhus Chamcemorus, 
Betula nana and Comarum palustre ; 
though it is yet problematical whether 
we shall succeed' in rearing them.” 
There is no appearance here of a 
plethora of insect life. 
We believe th^t a full report of 
Dr. Staudinger’s doings in the North 
will shortly appear in the pages of 
the ‘ Stettin Entomologische Zeitung.’ 
E 
