84 



THE ENTOMOLOGIST S RECORD. 



At the same meeting, Mr. H. J. Elwes exhibited two cases of 

 arctic butterflies. The first contained specimens from a collection 

 formed by ]\Ir. David Hanbury on the arctic coast of North America, 

 in the region where the Parry expedition ^Yas lost. Of the butterflies 

 observed, fifteen species in all, two of them had not been taken since 

 they were first described by Curtis sixty years ago. Among them was 

 Ciilias huothii. This species, in comparison with (olios hecJa, Lef., is 

 undoubtedly distinct in l)oth sexes, l)ut it is most remarkable that the 

 male, in coloration and markings, appears to approximate more closely 

 to the characters usual in the females of other members of the genus. 

 The collection contained nothing new. but included the rare and 

 curious Arfn/iniis im/ooha. Butler, hitherto taken only in Novaya 

 Zemlya (r/'. ]\Iarkham's I'nlar Tlfcnnvaixsanre, p. 851), which j\rr. 

 Elwes believed to be nothing more than a high arctic form of A. 

 fn'mia, Thnb. ; a remarkable aberration of A. charideo, Schn., in 

 which the black netting marks were resolved into smeared black lines ; 

 IlirntJiu pali'ii, for the first time from this i-egion, precisely similar to the 

 form taken on the east of the Lena river in Siberia, and Coenonipnpha 

 tiplion closely resembling the form from Kamtschatka. The second 

 case contained specimens collected between Jakutsk and Verkhojansk, 

 north-eastern Siberia, at about the same latitude, 67 % as the preceding 

 exhibit. They included many species which occur in the western 

 Pahearctic region, such as A/mria crataeiji, Trii>/n/sa phrijne, ('omio- 

 iij/iii/i/ia i/i/ris, Jireiit/tis svlfn,', 1>. inn, Mditaea jihoebe, etc., and most 

 remarkable of all, Ncptis Inrilla. ParjiaxsiKs ileliiis, was also present, 

 and Mr. Elwes said that this was the first Paniossiiis he had seen 

 from within the arctic circle, whilst Cnlion riluiensis, Men., an insect 

 peculiar to Siberia, showed remarkable aberrant female forms. 



At the same meeting, Mr. C. 0. Waterhouse gave an account of a 

 nest of a bee, Triijona rolliva, recently received from Malacca. The 

 whole resinous mass weighed 401bs. A section of the nest which was 

 exhibited showed the cavities in the resin filled with pollen. The 

 central portion of the nest was constructed of more waxy material, 

 and honey-combed with numerous cells containing the immature bees. 

 The bees were still alive when the nest arrived, and among them males, 

 as well as workers, were found. Specimens were exhibited, as were 

 also males and a worker of the much smaller species, Tiit/ujia niji- 

 coniis. Smith, received at the same time from Singapore, and sent by 

 Mr. H. N. Ridley. 



We are pleased to learn that Mr. W. F. Kirby has completed the 

 rearrangement of the collection of Orthoptera in the Natural History 

 Museum, and that his working Catalogue of the Order, is now in the 

 press, and will, it is hoped, be issued in the course of the present year. 



In order to get the matter for British Lcpidoptera well in hand, we 

 should be glad of all possible observations, &c., on the Hepialids, 

 Zeuzerids and Cossids, that our readers have already made, or are able 

 to make. Eggs, newly- hatched larvae, and pupa*, dropped in formalin 

 for future reference, will be particularly useful, as will also all tabulated 

 data relating to any stage. The exact time taken for the change of 

 colour in the newly-laid Hepialid eggs (all species), and exact details 

 of such change is particularly wanted. Material obtained this spring 

 — until mid-May — should be sent to Mr. A. W. Bacot, 154, Lower 

 Clapton Road, N.E., as we hope to be abroad during this time. 



