SOCIETIES. 109 



Species. On Marcli 12tli, Mr. W. E. Sliarpe, whose interesting paper 

 on "■ The New EntomologN" " in the Entomolotjitit, should be read by all 

 students, gave a brief description of the Britisli species of the coleopter- 

 ous genus Silpha, particularly of those which occurred locally, and 

 exhibited illustrative s]iecimens. He (|Uoted some remarks l^y Prof. 

 A. Giard, on Silpha opucd, which is very destructive to the French 

 beet-root crops. 



City of London Entojiological .\ni) Natural History Society. — 

 Feb. 20th, 1894. — ^[r. Heasler having sent in his resignation of the 

 curatorshi}), Mr. Bayne was unanimously elected in his stead. 



Exhibits : — Mr. Battley ; ova of Diloba caerideocephnla. Mr. Clark ; 

 a short series of Gnopliria rahricoWnf from the New Forest, and a curious 

 pad of felt-like materi;il, resembling a pancake in appearance ; this had 

 been spun in a pill-box l)y parasitic larvaj, which emerged from a larva 

 of Hepkdus hamuli ; the disintegrated remains of the latter were attached 

 to the pad. Dr. Sequeira ; the following " Micros " from the New 

 Forest : — Cramhns perlclhis, var. ivarringtonelbis, Harpipteryx xi/lostclld 

 (harpella), Cerostotiia radiatella, Retinid pinicolana, Etipoecilia nmbitju^lla, 

 Paedisca solandridua and F. p>rofuudand. There were six specimens of 

 the latter species, three of them having an inner-marginal white spot 

 on the fore wings, and the other three no white spot, l)ut a distinct 

 oblicpie dark fascia, which gave them a strong reseuil)lance to the genus 

 Tortrix. Mr. Lane; Stanrojtns faiji and Ldsiocdinj)a qncrcifolia from 

 Reading. Mr. Bayne ; Hyberuia defoliaria from E})ping Forest ; most 

 of these were of the pale cream variety, with dark l)ars. 



March Gfh, 1894. — Exhibits : Mr. Oldhani ; a short but very varialde 

 series of Hybcrnia leucophearia from Epping Forest. Mr. Clark ; 

 some freshly emerged specimens of Taeniocattipn </othica, reared from 

 eggs of var. (jofhicina ; the specimens were richly suffused with red but 

 were in other resjjccts of the normal tjqie. Dr. Secpieira ; the Indian 

 form of Vanessa atalduUi and V. cardni, which did not appreciably 

 differ from those found in this country ; also a sort of spur from the 

 thorax of Dicranura rinula with which, he stated, the moth cut its Avay 

 out of the cocoon. Mr. Bayne ; four eggs of the Willow Wren 

 {Fhylloscopm trocMlm), two of which were rather long and s])eckled 

 with very small reddish dots, while the other two were roundish and 

 marked with reddish blotches. Mr. Battley reported that he had 

 recently taken Nyssia hispidaria in Ep})ing Foi'est l)y " asseml)ling " ; 

 on a frosty evening he secured about 20 males, but on a warm evening 

 nearl}' 70 rewarded his exertions ; he also stated that he had found a 

 ^ Hybcrnia inanjinarid. paired with a $ Fhir/alia pedaiia and that he 

 liad obtained ova from the latter. Mr. Tutt, in connection with an 

 exhibit of some South African flowers and of insects caught by them 

 which had been sent to Mr. Hope Alderson of F;irnborough, said that 

 the local name of the plant is the " moth-catcher " and that the flowers 

 close on any insect settling on them and hold it fast till it dies. Mr. 

 Alderson lioped to receive some seed of the plant, which he would try 

 and rear. Mr. Tutt also passed round an auctioneer's catalogue of a 

 sale of the Duchess of Portland's collection in 1786. Mr. Bacot 

 exhi))ited jjupa-cases of Saturnia pavonia, Bonibyx quercm, Odonestis 

 potdtorid, Ddsychira pudibandd and Ocneria dispar, and made the 

 following remarks: — "It occurred to me that, as many apterous Js 

 have the wing-cases well-developed in the pupa, possibly the J s of 



