SOCIETIES. 227 



Nyssia zonaria $ and Biston hirtaria 5 • Smerinthus populi, var. and 

 GYNAN0ROMORPH. — Mr. L. W. Newman, S. popidi var. pallida, and a 

 5 suffused with pink ; also a fine gynandromorph, one side typical g 

 and the other pink form of $ ; the body showed both colours evenly 

 divided, and the legs corresponded in colour to that side of the body 

 on which they were situated. Angerona prunaria larvae — response 

 TO environment. — Mr. C. P. Pickett, pale larvfe fed under white 

 muslin, darker reddish larvffi from pink muslin sleeves, and still darker 

 forms from red sleeves. Mai/ IGth.- — Luperina gueneei. — Mr. B. S. 

 Williams exhibited two examples of the type and one of var. viurrayi, 

 from St. Anne's-on-Sea. Retarded emergence of Endromis versi- 

 color. — Mr. A. W. Mera, imagines that had gone through two winters 

 in the pupal stage. 



Lancashire and Cheshire Entomological Society.- — March 21st. 

 — Paper. — Mr. G. H. Watson of Manchester gave a lecture on " The 

 Saturniidae, a Group of Wild Silk Moths." After reviewing the 

 classification of the group the lecturer detailed the work that is 

 being done, by himself and others, in order to discover new sources of 

 supply of silk, and also to strengthen the races of silk producing 

 moths cultivated in Europe and Asia. The true silk moth is not 

 known as a wild insect, although in China there are records of its 

 cultivation for upwards of 4,000 years. Occasionally disease ravages 

 the bred races of the insect, hence the necessity to introduce new 

 blood. So far hybridisation has not been very successful, thus the 

 efforts of practical entomologists are directed towards finding out and 

 investigating new species of wild moths whose larvse make a cocoon 

 of serviceable silk. Mr. Watson showed the Japanese silk moth, Antherea 

 yama-inai, and also the Tussor, or Indian, silk moth, A. mylitta, as in- 

 stances of wild insects capable of culture and yielding a large quantity 

 of valuable silk ; Satiiniia pyratonon, the moth whose larva 

 yields the gut used for fishing lines, the production of which forms 

 the staple industry in the Island of Hainan (China), also came in 

 for attention. The lecture was illustrated by Mr. Watson's collection 

 of twenty large drawers containing many very rare species arranged 

 with the silk they produce, the whole forming an educational exhibit 

 of exceeding interest. April 9th. — Grapholitha n^vana and G. 

 geminana. — Mr. Wm. Mansbridge gave an address on Grapholitha 

 naevana and G. (? var.) yeminana, in which he dealt with the various 

 forms of these insects in Lancashire and Yorkshire. He stated that 

 in the West Riding the two species were in the imago state at the 

 same time in localities near to one another, where the holly form 

 (naevana) and the bilberry form {yeminana) occurred. At Delamere, 

 however, the bilberry feeder was worn at the time the holly feeder was 

 beginning to emerge in the district round Liverpool. Although 

 naevana from holly had a variation like yeminana, it was never so pale 

 as the latter, and the moth from bilberry was always smaller in size ; 

 yeminana did not possesss a black variation like naevana, but a very 

 small percentage were unicolorous dark grey. Mr. F. N. Pierce 

 then described the results of his examination of the genitalia of 

 the two species ; after critically comparing a long series of 

 preparations of both males and females he had failed to distin- 

 guish any point of difference. In discussion by the members 

 it was held that the negative character of Mr. Pierce's results was 

 not sufficient, in this instance, to sink yeminana to the level of a 



