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Excerpt from The Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation, Vol. 22 The additions to our list which I had the pleasure of recording last year were more numerous than they had been for many years. In view of this, one might expect that there would be a lull in the outburst of activity this year, but the following records will show that the output of the present year has been quite equal to that of the preceding one. It will be necessary, therefore, for me to condense the remarks I have to make in regard to the various additions which are to be chronicled. A few general remarks must be made, however, before I begin to record the various additions. First of all, it is necessary to point out that no fewer than seven of this year's additions are new to science; moreover, we have, for the first time for many years, to note the addition of a new Buprestid to our scanty list of insects belonging to this family. In regard to some of this year's additions, there will be differences of opinion. We have undoubtedly entered upon an era of "species-splitting," if I may use such an expression. With our present scanty knowledge of the life-history of the majority of beetles, this creation of new species, based generally upon obscure structural differences, differences moreover which are, as a rule, only comparative, is in my view of little real service to science. It is to be observed that this splitting into species is resorted to only in the case of insects which are so minute that they have to be examined under a fairly high-power microscope before the supposed structural differences can be detected; in the case of insects of comparatively large bulk, differences far more easily observable are either never noticed, or, if they are noted, no one dreams of proposing to divide into different species insects showing such differences. Laccobius scutellaris, Motsch. - Introduced by Dr. Sharp, Ent. Mo. Mag., xlv., p. 217. A specimen was taken at Chobham as far back as 1878 by Mr. Champion, and Dr. Sharp has himself recently captured specimens at Brockenhurst; it is most nearly allied to sinuatus, Motsch., but is much darker in colour. Anacaena orata, Reiche. - Mr. J. Edwards says (loc. cit., p. 169) that he can satisfactorily separate the insects so far known as limbata, F., into two distinct forms, and the lighter in colour of these two forms is the above species. In the latest European Catalogue, and by Ganglbauer, orata is considered a synonym of limbata. The whole question turns upon what constitutes a claim to specific rank. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.