HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



"5 



Butterfly's Eggs, etc. — At the last meeting of 

 the Entomological Society, Mr. W. L. Distant 

 exhibited, on behalf of Mr. Lionel de Niceville, a 

 branch of a walnut-tree on which was a mass of eggs 

 laid by a butterfly belonging to the Lycsenidae. He 

 also exhibited two specimens of this butterfly which 

 Mr. de Niceville had referred to a new genus and 

 described as Chcetoprocta odata. The species was said 

 to occur only in the mountainous districts of North- 

 West India, at elevations of 5000 to 10,000 feet 

 above the sea-level. At the same meeting, Capt. 

 Elwes read a letter from Mr. Doherty, in which the 

 writer described his experiences in collecting insects 

 in the Naga Hills by means of light and sugar. Mr. 

 Doherty expressed an opinion that light, if used in 

 very out-of-the-way places, rather repelled than 

 attracted insects ; in fact, that they required to be 

 accustomed to it, and that the same remarks applied 

 to sugar. Mr. F. Merrifield read a paper entitled 

 " Systematic Temperature Experiments on Some 

 Lepidoptera in all their stages," and exhibited a 

 number of specimens in illustration of his paper. 

 The author stated that the darkness of colour and the 

 markings in Ennomos autumnaria resulted from the 

 pupae being subjected to a very low temperature. 

 In the case of Selenia illustraria, exposing the pupae 

 to a low temperature has not only affected the colour 

 of the imagos, but had altered the markings in a 

 striking manner. Lord Walsingham observed that it 

 appeared that exposure to cold in the pupa state 

 produced a darker colouring in the imago, and that 

 forcing in that stage had an opposite effect ; that 

 insects subjected to glacial conditions probably derived 

 some advantage from the development of dark or 

 suffused colouring, and that this advantage was, in 

 all probability, the more rapid absorption of heat. 

 He said he believed that an hereditary tendency in 

 favour of the darker forms was established under 

 glacial conditions, and that this would account for 

 the prevalence of melanic forms in northern latitudes 

 and at high elevations. Capt. Elwes, Mr. Tenner 

 Weir, Dr. Sharp, and others continued the dis- 

 cussion. — H. Goss, <&° W. W. Fowler, Hon. Sees. 



Western Slugs. — Mr. H. F. Wickhand recently 

 sent me a number of slugs in alcohol, from the Pacific 

 slope of America, some of them of great interest. 

 The familiar Litnax agrestis is extending its range, 

 and turns up in force at Portland, Oregon. Amalia 

 hewstoni comes from Cceur d'Alene, Idaho, and from 

 these, and especially larger Californian examples 

 received from Mr. W. G. Binney, it appears that, 

 without doubt, this is nothing but our old friend 

 Amalia gagates, under a different name. Two species 

 are new ; one, Prophysaon humile, n. sp., from Cceur 

 d'Alene, has a striate but ribless jaw, though in some 

 respects close to P. Audersoui. It has distinct bands 

 on the back. The other, Prophysaon paci/icum, n. sp., 

 is a small ochery-brown slug, with a black band on 



each side of the mantle. It is from Victoria, 

 Vancouver I., and might be suspected to be the 

 young of the lost species i( Arion " foliolaius of 

 Gould, but that it differs in the want of a mucus 

 pore, in its reticulations on body, &c. Its jaw is 

 prominently ribbed. Descriptions and figures will 

 shortly be published of the new species. — T. D. A. 

 Cockerell, West Cliff, Custer Co., Colorado. 



Variation in the Mollusca.— Perhaps I need 

 hardly reply at all to Mr. Williams's remarks on 

 p. 42, partly because I have already published about 

 all I have at present to say on the subject, and partly 

 because it is not very useful to dispute on pure 

 matters of opinion. But a word, nevertheless, on 

 Limncea stagnalis var. fragilis. The main point 

 about this variety is its narrow tapering spire, with 

 a compressed body-whorl — -and these characters are 

 not given for pumila. The var. fragilis, as now 

 understood, approximates to some of the North 

 American forms of the species. The same tendency 

 occurs in examples found in the Thames near 

 Barnes — where, however, I have only discovered 

 dead shells. Moquin's pumila is probably near to 

 both fragilis and speciosa, but until we get evidence 

 that it is the same it should have the benefit of the 

 doubt.— T. D. A. Cockerell, West Cliff, Custer co., 

 Colorado. 



Rare Fish.— Mr. J. B. Beckett, of Great Yar- 

 mouth, dating February 25th, writes to us as 

 follows : " Whilst walking along our beach at 

 noon last Sunday, I found, between the Jetty and 

 the Britannia Pier, washed up on a clean tide 

 mark, a few yards from each other, three specimens 

 of what at first sight appeared to be young herrings. 

 Minuter inspection, however, showed them to 

 be something out of the ordinary run, so I took 

 them home and rummaged through the books I 

 have at my disposal, but could find nothing to 

 answer their description. On Monday I showed 

 them to Mr. A. Patterson, and he, after carefully ex- 

 amining them, thought they were the rare Muller's 

 Scopelus {Alaitrolicies pennantii), but, not being sure, 

 I forwarded two of them to T. Southwell, Esq., 

 F.Z.S., of Norwich, and that gentleman has con- 

 firmed Mr. Patterson's opinion. Muller's Scopelus 

 is a small deep-water fish, and only once before has 

 its capture been recorded on the whole east coast of 

 England, one specimen being found by Mr. Patterson 

 near the harbour's mouth in March last. Thomas 

 Edwards, the Scotch naturalist, found several off the 

 coast of Banff, and no doubt it is less rare than is 

 supposed, but being so small is easily overlooked." 

 Dr. Day says : " They are generally found thrown up 

 on the shore after bad weather, and doubtless the 

 continual east winds and rough weather we have 

 lately had accounts for them coming into my 

 possession." 



