46 



from the Huntingdonshire female referred to above, also a male 

 taken wild in the same locality, one of several that he had taken a 

 few years previously, and explained that believing O. ilispar was a 

 common species he had taken no special care to look for it. 



Mr. B. W. Adkin also exhibited, among others, a series reared 

 from wild larvae taken on hedges in the neighbourhood of Malvern 

 in 1907, and it was noted that the females much resembled the old 

 fen captured examples. 



In the discussion which followed Mr. F. W. Frohawk remarked 

 that the shape of the wings, more particularly of the females, of the 

 old specimens taken in the fens, appeared to be somewhat different 

 in shape from those that had been reared in confinement, and the 

 President said that it had been frequently noted that specimens that 

 had been long in-bred often showed peculiarities of wing formation. 



Mr. C. B. Williams said that he had recently visited those parts 

 of the United States of America where (h-neria dispar was devasta- 

 ting the fruit trees, and where a large number of trained entomolo- 

 gists were continually engaged in an endeavour to cope with the 

 mischief. In the course of their investigations it was very 

 necessary for them to find out how the^species spread from one 

 part to another with such rapidity as was known to be the case. 

 It w^as noted that the very young larvje were covered with abnor- 

 mally long hairs which rendered them easily dislodged from the 

 trees by the wind. With a view to ascertaining whether the larvag 

 in this stage could thus be carried to any considerable distance, a 

 large wire screen was erected on an island eleven miles off the coast 

 of a badly infected district, at a time when a strong wind was 

 blowing oft" the land, and the meshes of the wire were well greased. 

 Upon subsequent examination considerable numbers of the young 

 larvHB were found adhering to the screen, evidently having been 

 carried over the eleven miles between the mainland and the island 

 on the breeze. 



Mr. Sich thought it was also quite possible that the range of the 

 species might be increased by the migration of the impregnated 

 female moths. 



Mr. R. Adkin in winding up the discussion said he agreed with 

 Mr. Sich in thinking that it was quite possible that migration 

 might, in some cases, account for the spread of the species ; it was 

 true that it had been asserted that the female moths did not Hy to 

 any great distance, but he thought that in this, as in the case of 

 some other sluggish species, the powers of flight were very great 



