Sir,--In the explanation of the term Bishop Barnaby, given by J.G., the
prefix "Bishop" seems yet to need elucidation. Why should it not have
arisen from the insect's garb? The full dress gown of the Oxford
D.D.--scarlet with black velvet sleeves--might easily have suggested the
idea of naming the little insect "Dr. Burn bug," and the transition is
easy to "Dr. Burnabee," or "Bishop Burnaby." These little insects, in
the winter, congregate by thousands in barns for their long slumber till
the reappearance of genial weather, and it is not impossible that, from
this circumstance, the country people may have designated them "Barn
bug," or "Barn bee."