SOCIETIES. 23 



bury Park, and Calymnia affinis from Arley. Mr. E. C. Tye, a box 

 full of captures made this year, including Chcencampa porcellus, 

 from Sutton, Lithosia inesomella from Wyre Forest, Noctiia glareosa 

 etc., from Sutton. Mr. P. W. Abbott, a box of this year's captures, 

 including Fhibalapteryx lignata, Nociua dahlii etc, from Sutton. 

 Mr. G. T. Baker showed four boxes full of Scotch insects, collected 

 at various times in the Shetlands, Hebrides, Rannoch and Forres, by 

 the Messrs. Salvage. 



December 21st, i8yi. — Mr. P. W. Abbott exhibited Ag,rotis obelisca, 

 taken by Mr. A. J. Hodges in the Isle of Wight, also Noctua c-nignim, 

 which Mr. Hodges said was often confused with it on the sugar. Mr. 

 R. C. Bradley, PyreUia lasiophthahiiia, from Sutton. Mr. G. W. 

 Wynn, two specimens of a Noctua, from Sutton, which he had been 

 unable to name, and with which members present could not assist 

 him. Mr. Abbott read a paper on " A fortnight's collecting in the 

 Isle of Wight in 1891." He said that he had had the advantage of 

 the assistance of Mr. Hodges, who knew the ground well. They had 

 worked specially for Agtotis Iiua'gera, with which they were very suc- 

 cessful ; among other good species, they took a very fine and variable 

 series of Zygcena trifolii, many being blotched forms ; yellow varieties 

 of Zygcetia filipendulce were also taken. — Colbran J. Wainwright, 

 Hon. Sec. [I have since seen the two specimens mentioned above, 

 which prove to be females of Rtisina tenebrosa. — Ed.] 



Lancashire and Cheshire Entomological Socieiy. — Monday^ 

 December i^ih. — Mr. Willoughby Gardner, F.R.G.S., read a paper 

 entitled " A preliminary list of the Aculeate' Hymenoptera of Lanca- 

 shire and Cheshire, with notes on the habits of the genera." The 

 author remarked that although but little had been done in the district 

 in the order Hymenoptera compared with the more favoured Lepi- 

 doptera and Coleoptera (of which very full local Faunas had been 

 compiled and published by members of the Lancashire and Cheshire 

 Entomological Society), still much quiet work had been done during a 

 series of years by several observers ; it was now very desirable, he 

 said, that those scattered records should be brought together so that 

 they might be permanently preserved in a form that would serve as a 

 basis upon which future information on the subject might be con- 

 veniently built up. The writer acknowledged the valuable assistance 

 of the following local workers from whose notes, along with his own, 

 he was enabled to compile his paper, viz., Miss E. C. Tomlin, Mr. J. T. 

 Green, the Rev. H. H. Higgins, Mr. J. R. Hardy, Mr. R. Newstead, 

 F.E.S. and the late Mr. B. Cooke. The paper included a list of r6i 

 species, hitherto recorded in the counties of Lancashire and Cheshire, 

 giving full particulars of localities etc. This out of 373 species at 

 ]>resent described as indigenous to Great Britain. The records in- 

 cluded notes of the occurrence of such interesting and local insects as 

 Astata stigma, ^scybelus mucronaius, Colletes cu?iicularia, Halictus 

 atricornis and ^smia xanihomelana. In order to afford some infor- 

 mation to members of the Society who had not studied the order 

 Hymenoptera, Mr. Gardner gave a running resume of the general 

 habits of the insects of each genus seriatim, throughout the paper, 

 illustrating his remarks by specimens of the various species, cases 

 containing nests, " life-histories " etc. Mr. S. J. Capper exhibited a 



