WCP2918

Letter (WCP2918.2808)

[1]1

BRITISH MUSEUM (NATURAL HISTORY)

CROMWELL ROAD,

LONDON: S.W.

Nov[ember] 25th 1908

Dear Dr. Wallace,

I can only give you very rough figures of the number of described insects

Hymenoptera 45,000 (estimated from De la Torre’s2 catalogue)

Diptera 28,000

Lepidoptera 60,000

Neuroptera 5,000

Orthoptera 8,000

Coleoptera 120,000

Rhymchota 18,000

239,000

[2] These numbers differ a little from those given by Kirby3 in his 2nd Edition of his text book4, but I think the numbers given above are about right —

Yours faithfully | Cha[rle]s. O. Waterhouse5 [signature]

1
Page numbered 306 in pencil in top RH corner. The Royal Coat of Arms (in the letterhead of a National Institution) appears in the top LH corner. ?
2
de la Torre-Bueno, Jose Rollin (1871-?)
3
de la Torre-Bueno J. R. (1937) A Glossary of Entomology. New York Entomological Society, N.Y., is an expanded and modified version of John B. Smith (1906) An Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology, Brooklyn Entomological Society, N.Y. However, the published work is not the catalogue referred to in the letter dated 1908. An earlier unpublished catalogue available at the date of the letter has not been traced.
4
Kirby, William & Spence, William (1816) An introduction to entomology: or, Elements of the natural history of insects. 4 vols., 2nd Edition. Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, London.
5
British Museum stamp underneath.

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Letter (WCP2918.2808)]

For more information about the transcriptions and metadata, see https://wallaceletters.myspecies.info/content/epsilon

Revision history

Transcribed by O'Dell, Sandra [2015-04-09] Transcription checked by Benny, Ruth [2015-04-09] Transcription checked by Sherwood, Danni [2020-08-10]

Please cite as “WCP2918,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 3 May 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP2918