230 [September, 



The South London Entomological and Natural History Society. — 

 June 25th, 1903 : Mr. E. Step, F.E.S., President, in the Chair. 



Mi\ Councillor Newberry, of East Greenwich, "was elected a Member, 

 Mr. Turner exhibited living imagines of Coleophora nigrieella from Benfleet, 

 and of C. fuscedinella from Dumbartonshire. Mr. Jiiger, examples of Papilio 

 polydnmas from South Texas ; a larva of Chelonia plantaginis, which had been 

 probably attacked by a Oordius aquations ; and a large Tarantula sp. ? from India. 

 Mr. Enock, a very large species of Ichneumon which he had just bred from a larva 

 of Eumorpfia Elpetior found at Woking. Mr. West (Greenwich), a series of a very 

 local species of Rhi/nchophora, Poli^drusus chrysomela, taken on Chenopodium near 

 Gravesend. Mr. R. Adkin gave a short report of the Annual Congress of the S. E. 

 Union of Scientific Societies which had just been held at Dover. 



Juli/ 9th, 1903.— The President in the Cliair. 



Mr. West (Greenwich) exhibited several species of Hemiptera taken by Mr. 

 Ashby at Deal, including Podops inuncta, Sciocoris cursltans, Pseudophlceus Falleni, 

 Rhyparochromns prfttextatu^, R. chiragra, and Aphanns lynceus ; he also showed 

 from Horsley Eysarcorls mel anocephahn; and Onathoconus albomarginatus,a.ud the 

 following CoJeoptera : — Apion rnalvcB from near Gravesend^ Hcemonia Curtisi, 

 Cercyon Uttoralis and C. depressvs from the shore at Yarmouth. Mr. Sich, a living 

 example of Oeometra vernaria, which he had just captured atChiswick. Mr. Turner, 

 cases with living larvae of Coleophora ccelibipennella, which Dr. Chapman had just 

 sent to him from Spain, and living imagines of C. limosipennella from Lewisham 

 and of C. ccespititiella from Loughton, both bred from larvae. Mr. Lucas reported 

 that a number of examples of the Dragon-fly, /Eschna isosceles, had recently been 

 taken in the eastern counties. — Hy. J. Turner, Hon. Secretary. 



THE RELATIONSHIP OF VESPA AUSTRIACA TO VESPA RUE A* 

 BY GEO. H. CARPENTER, B.Sc, M.R.I.A., 



AND 



DENIS R. PACK-BERESFORD, D.L. 



If the naturalist in Ireland must be content with a somewhat 

 poorer fauna for his studies than his colleagues in Great Britain have 

 at their disposal, he can congratulate himself on being able to find, 

 often in large numbers, species of animals that are uncommon across 

 St. George's Channel. Of particular interest among these is the 

 wasp Vespa austriacn, which until the last few years was considered 

 one of the rarest insects in the Britannic fauna. 



First described as a British wasp by Smith ('43) under the name of 7'. borealis, 

 it was later re-namedf by him T'. arborea ('49 and '58), on account of the fact that 



* Published siinultaiicously in the " Irish Naturalist," September, 1903. 



t Because the name V. borealis had already been applied by Kuby to a North American wasp. 



