SOCIETIES. 187 



capture of this species appear to be the only ones :— Newcastle-on- 

 Tyne, at rest April, 1845, recorded V. R. Perkins, Ent. x., p. 99; 

 Kent, Parry and Edney, July and August, 1875 (three specimens); 

 Edney, (one specimen), 1873, Ent. viii., 229. Besides these there 

 are the two records in Newman's British Moths. The April date of 

 the first record above is a strange one. As is well known to a 

 few, the species has quite recently been taken in Aberdeenshire, and 

 amongst my long series of Aberdeen adusta I detected two specimens, 

 one very small, and another very worn. There is no doubt that the 

 species may be easily overlooked, as I practically overlooked the 

 specimens I captured at the time, but its richer colour and the 

 deeper coloured hind wings give it a very different appearance to 

 adusta when carefully examined. — J. W. Tutt. September 10th, 1891. 



fgOCIETIES. 



Entomological Society of London. — September 2nd, 1 891. —Mr. 



Frederick DuCane Godman, M.A., F.R.S., President, in the chair. 



Mr. G. F. Scott-Elliott exhibited a series of various species of Diptera 



collected on Ranunculacece, FapaveraccCE, and Cruciferc?, He said 



that during the past summer he had studied about forty species of 



plants belonging to the orders named, and that they had all been 



visited by insects which were probably necessary for nectariferous 



flowers. The majority of the Diptera caught were not confined to one 



species or even genus, but in view of the unmodified character of the 



flower in the orders named this was only to be expected. Mr. Verrall 



observed that certain insects affected certain plants, but that the 



Gerajiiacece were seldom visited. The discussion was continued by 



Mr. M'Lachlan, Mr. Kirby, and others. Mr. W. L. Distant exhibited 



a specimen of the orthopterous insect Hemisaga hastata, de Sauss, 



which, in the Transvaal, he observed to attack and feed on Danais 



chrysippus, a butterfly well known from its protective character and 



distasteful qualities to have a complete immunity from the usual 



lepidopteral enemies. The Hemisaga lurked amongst the tops of tall 



flowering grasses, being consequently disguised by its protective 



resemblance to the same, and seized the Danais as it settled on the 



bloom. From close watching and observation Mr. Distant could 



discover no other danger to the life of this well-known and highly 



protected butterfly. Mr. T. R. Billups exhibited four species of 



Diptera, which he believed to be respectively, Oxycera terminata, 



Meg., Pipezella annulata, Meg., Clidogastra pundiceps, Meg., and 



Oxyphora arnica:, L., taken at Oxshott, Surrey, on the nth July last. 



He mentioned that all of them were recorded in Mr. Verrall's list only 



as "reputed British." He also exhibited a specimen oi Hypoderma 



bovis, Deg., taken at Plumstead on the 29th July last. Dr. D. Sharp 



exhibited several species of Forficulida:, and called attention to the 



diverse conditions of the parts representing the wings in the apterous 



forms. Mr. H. Goss exhibited living larvae of Scoria dealbata, reared 



from ova. They were feeding on Polygonum aviculare, but not very 



freely ; Brachypodium sylvaticum had been named as a foodplant for 



this species, but he di 1 not find that the larvae would eat this or any 



