236 
THE SUBSTITUTE. 
ably, beg those better iuforined 
than themselves, to put them on a 
level with the Lepidopterists. If 
those gentlemen who have set 
themselves to the revision of our 
native Coleoptera would only take 
up the families in consecutive 
order and work in concert, the re- 
quisite book could be produced in 
parts, and proceed close in the 
rear of those of the continental 
authors, having nearly all the ad- 
vantages of the collation of their 
labours which would be available 
if the publication were postponed 
until the foreign books were 
finished. 
The “ Notices of Serial Publi- 
cations ” extend to forty - four 
closely printed pages, and embrace 
works both British and Foreign 
on all the branches of Natural 
History. The naturalist may here 
see what is doing both in Europe 
and America up almost to the pre- 
sent date, and the editorial notes 
occasionally given enhance the 
value of these ‘‘Notices.” Ento- 
mologists and others are thus put 
in possession of information which 
they cannot obtain from any other 
single publication, and this portion 
of the review deserves all praise. 
EXTRACTS. 
Notes on Noctu®: fiiom 
Guenee’s Noctuelites. 
[Continued from p 215. ] 
Orthosidee. 
This is a family of which the 
characters are doubtless very 
slight; it is rather difficult to 
point out the differences between 
it and the Nvcluidce and the IJa- 
denid(B, and yet we recognise at a 
glance either the larvae or perfect 
insect: indeed the word orthosi- 
form is used adjectively to charac- 
terise whatever resembles them. 
The larva) are regularly cylin- 
drical, always smooth, elongate, 
without projection, and w’ith the 
spots level vvith the surface ; some 
live on trees, and some on low 
plants : sometimes even when 
young they are tree-feedei's, and 
afterwards feed up on low plants; 
of this the genera Ceraslis and 
Xanthia furnish us with examples ; 
some of them feed indifferently on 
either growth when nearly full 
fed. It may be said that they 
avoid the light, rather than that 
they conceal » themselves, by re- 
tiring under the leaves ; some even 
remain almost exposed. They are, 
perhaps, of all the Noctiue, most 
generally diffused, and they 
abound around us ; they are not, 
however, generally very destruc- 
tive, with the exception of Tra- 
chcca. 
The perfect insect, as I have 
said, has an aspect sui generis, the 
palpi generally slender or incum- 
bent, and the reniform stigpia, of 
which the lower portion is almost 
always dusted with black, are the 
two most striking characters by 
which we can recognise the greater 
number at a glance; but these 
are not rigorously necessary to 
characterise an Orthosia; the 
wings are generally disposed at a 
considerable angle when the in- 
sect is at repose. The Orthosid(B 
only fly by night, and are found 
by day resting on the trunks of 
trees or palings ; the greater 
number do not ap|»ear till the 
autumn, but some appear in the 
first days of spring, yet they are 
