THE chairman's ADDRESS. 907 



locusts (sometimes referred to as Pachytylus australis, Brunn., but 

 reported as Chortologa australis by Mr. Koebele, as determined 

 by Saussure), which this year especially have so accumulated in 

 places as to impede railway traffic on some of our country lines by 

 reason of the greasiness imparted to the rails. Mr. Koebele in 

 his report quotes the opinion of a South Australian observer "that 

 only in such unusually dry seasons as the present (1888) would 

 the locusts migrate, there being no food left for them in the 

 interior of South Australia." This hypothesis does not seem to 

 be borne out by the experiences of last year which was anything 

 but a dry one. As yet we have had only preliminary reports on 

 these matters. There is much room for investigation on the lines 

 laid down in an article in "Nature" (Feb. 27th, 1890, p. 403) 

 based on a Report by Mr. Cotes of the Indian Museum, Calcutta, 

 from which we learn that India has been somewhat similarly 

 plagued with locusts of recent years. Locusts are not altogether 

 a new pest with us, though records of their depredations in the 

 past appear to be scanty, and their visitations not to have been 

 of so desperately destructive a character ; nevertheless a few 

 references to their prevalence in this colony in former years will 

 be found in Mr. Russell's " Climate of New South Wales," p. 27. 

 It is also possible too that we are now in some measure reaping 

 the results of the reckless and wanton destruction of many of our 

 native birds which has been going on for so long. 



In this connection also phylloxera as well as rabbits might 

 also claim mention, though I need not go into details. 



The past year has also furnished us with instances of migratory 

 flights of butterflies of at least one species Belenois (Pieris) 

 teutonia, Don., as reported at our last meeting. The specimens 

 then exhibited were from Inverell, but in the Echo of recent 

 date, swarms, probably of the same species, were reported from 

 Emmaville. In Vol. VII of our Proceedings will be found a 

 record of similar swarms of the same species observed at Tam- 

 worth by one of our members in December, 1882. 



In this, as in other cases of animals which periodically attract 

 notice by their appearance in migratory swarms, our country 



