week; x 
H ENTOMOLOGIST, 
“ENTOMA QUIDQ.UID A HUNT NOSTltl EST FARRAOO LIBEIXI.” 
Vol. 2. No. 23.] SATURDAY, JULY 18,1803. [Price 2d. 
TI1E SEASON. 
npHB speculative nature of the 
-L mind of man may be seen in 
every pursuit that he follows, 
aud in entomology, as in every 
other science. Who does not, 
at the commencement of every 
season, almost before the first day’s 
sun has given notice that it has 
commenced, form an opinion, or 
rather endeavour to form an opinion 
as to what, in an entomological 
point of view, is to be the g'eneral 
character of the year? And it is 
marvellous how often we are mis- 
taken — how very rarely the expecta- 
tions formed are realised. 
Early in the present year the 
view generally taken with regard 
to the season was a favourable 
one. The mild winter, and the con- 
sequent captures in December and 
January of hybernating insects that 
had found it unnecessary to hyber- 
nate, and others that had been 
cheated into the belief that it was 
March, and when March and April 
did come, the brilliant weather with 
which they were welcomed and bid 
adieu — these causes no doubt served 
to give too sanguine a hue to our 
dreams. We must confess to having 
been ourselves among the prophets 
of good— we fear we must say mis- 
taken prophets. 
Correspondents pretty generally 
complain of the present scarcity of 
insects, and some seem to wonder 
that such complaints should be 
called forth in a season so unusually 
fine and favourable for entomological 
work as it has been hitherto. Has the 
promise of the spring been proved 
false by the summer ? On the 
whole we think not. While we are 
quite ready to admit that the season 
is singularly unproductive, especially 
for Lepidopterci , we are prepared to 
maintain that the early part of the 
year gave no particularly bright 
prospect. It cannot be denied, cer- 
tainly, that many species put in an 
appearance at an earlier date than 
in other years of late, but as a rule 
they were by no means common. 
As instances of this we may cite 
the facts that we ourselves captured 
two insects which are generally 
taken at the end of March and in 
April, N. liispiWana and A. prodro- 
uicma, in February, but with the ex- 
ception of one year (1801) in no 
