SOCIETIES. 99 



X I*, var. bryoniae from Switzerland, carried through three generations, 

 they had quite failed to obtain Mendelian proportions, but in the case 

 of Aplecta nebulosa the Mendelian proportions were absolute (see Proc. 

 Knt. Soc. Lond., 1907, p. liv., etc). Pupal coloration of Pieris. — 

 Mr. H. M. Edelsten showed a living pupa of Fieris rapae attached to a 

 blade of Cliria, the deep green pigment assimilating closely to the 

 coloration of the leaf. Possible Hybrid Anthrocera. — Mr. K. Adkin 

 exhibited what appeared to be a hybrid between Anthrocera filipendidae 

 andj A. achilleae, talien by Mr. A. W. Renton in the neighbourhood of 

 Oban, N.B. Mr. J. W. Tutt expressed doubt as to the specimen being 

 a hybrid. Birds as a Factor in the Production of Mimetic Resem- 

 blances IN Butterflies. — Mr, G. A. K. Marshall explained that one 

 of the chief criticisms directed against the theories of mimicry was to 

 the effect that, on the whole, birds did not destroy butterflies to any 

 appreciable extent ; he had, therefore, collected together all the available 

 evidence bearing on the question. As indicating the extent of such 

 observations, it was stated that these records refer to a considerable 

 number of species of both birds and butterflies, as might be judged 

 from these approximate figures : Palsearctic Region : 33 birds, 34 

 butterflies ; Ethiopian : 26 birds, 26 butterflies ; Oriental : 27 birds, 

 46 butterflies ; Nearctic : 46 birds, 20 butterflies. Unfortunately in 

 the Neo-tropical Region, from which the greatest amount of evidence 

 might have been expected, such exact observations had been almost 

 entirely neglected. It was intended that the negative evidence on 

 this subject, which appeared to have been very generally accepted, 

 was really of very little scientific value, because in no case had it 

 been shown that the observer had any adequate knowledge of the actual 

 food-habits of birds, or that any careful and exhaustive inquiry had 

 been made into the subject. Instances were also cited to show how very 

 easilj' destruction of this kind might be overlooked ; while negative evidence 

 derived from an examination of the contents of the stomachs of birds 

 might be very misleading, owing to the fact that, in so many instances, 

 the butterflies' wings are not swallowed, so that any recognition of the 

 remains becomes extremely difficult. Finally, it was urged that the 

 large body of evidence resulting from merely casual observations 

 indicated that the assumption that birds do not eat butterflies to any 

 extent is certainly premature, and that a fuller inquiry will probably 

 shoAv it to be entirely unfounded. Mr. W. Sharp maintained that the 

 actions of the sparrow, as a domesticated bird, were not evidence for 

 conditions which exist in the case of purely natural species. Dr. T. 

 A. Chapman suggested that the paucity of observations on the point 

 was largely due to the shyness of birds eating in the presence of 

 human beings. Mr. W. J. Kaye said that he had never observed 

 birds attacking butterflies in tropical South America, and Commander 

 J. J. Walker gave similar testimony with regard to the many Austra- 

 lasian and other oversea localities visited by him. 



The South London Entomological and Natural History Society. 

 — Fehruartj 25tli, 1909. — Nemoria viridata and Celastrina argiolus. 

 Dr. Hodgson exhibited series of Nt')iioria viridata taken in 1906-8, in 

 Lancashire and Surrey, and commented on the forms shown, including 

 ab. concarilinea. He also showed a third brood specimen of Celastrina 

 arjiioliis, in which the blue was almost wholly replaced by dull grey. 

 Yellow ab. of Euchelia jacob.e.e, etc — Mr. Main, for Mr. Baldock, 



