Queenslander (Brisbane, Qld. : 1866 - 1939), Thursday 29 December 1932, page 18


Collection of Beetles.

THE late Mr. Thomas G. Sloane of Morilla station, Young (New South Wales), was well known throughout the scientific world as an expert on

certain.-kinds of Australian beetles. In. the "Poet at the Breakfast^Table" there is a passage in which an entomologist.. exclaims: "I am often spoken of as_&-. coleopterist, but I have no .right to . so comprehensive a name. The genus . Scarabaeus is what I have: chiefly coni fined myself to—call me, a Scarabeeisi" The late Mrf Sloane, •on thisprinciple, fully ; merited- the title of C&rabidist, for he was an expert on the great group of ground beetles, or Carabidae, and on .the smaller, families related to this group. On >hjis death Mr. Sloane-willed all' his possessions •to his wife; but Mrs., Sloane knew that he had intended to present his. great collection- to the Museum of Economic -Entomology at Canberra, of = which ; Dr. R. J. Tillyard is the director. Ac-; .■• . cordingly Mrs. Sloane has generously ; donated the collection to the museum afc ! .Canberra. Commenting on the gilt Dr. j .Ti.'lyard said: "If the man in the street ! wants to comprehend what the study ! .'of beetles means, let him contemplate the following figures:—There are more • species of insects in the world than.; there are of all.other species of ani- ' mals and plants combined. About half r a-million species of insects have al- ' ready-been scientifically described, and ;' many more remain to- be dealt with.: j •OX^ these, ■ .about. 42 per cent. ; are \ bettles! Australia alone possesses about•l7,ooo described species, of beetles, and \ only one man, the.late Mr. A. M. Lea, \ ever got within, nodding acquaintance i of mbstofrtheni. The great group, of j .Ctjraboid beetles, of which the JaiW j Mi\ iSloane was an authority, number- I cd. some 2000 Australian species; 'for { the whole world the number in this ' group is about -30,000. He added that i Mi. Sloane had been interested in : '(Jnraboid beetles from all over ihe ! world. Some years ago he purchased ; for £600 the Van der Poll collection j of about 300 boxes- of these beetles ; ;from all parts of the world, and this \ .fine collection now formfe part of the j Thomas Sloane collection. : . . ;

Inhabitants of the Ward of Cripple- J gate have passed a resolution calling ■ .on the-Corporation of London to take-; 'steps to stop the noise caused by loud i speakers on shop premises.