134 tHE entomologist's RECOftb. 



and a series of Lycacna arion, from Cornwall. Mr. F. Merrifield read 

 a paper describing further experiments on pupa3 of Lepidoptera, with 

 comments on them by Dr. Dixey. In Pararge egeria, heat produced no 

 approach to the South European form ; those at temperatures of 56° 

 and under, gave the most strongly- marked imagines. In Cidaria slla- 

 ceata, the principal eifect of forcing was to reduce the size. In 

 Araschnia levana, adequate cooling of the pupse caused a comjilete con- 

 version from the prorsa to the levana form. In Vanessa polychloros, 

 forcing tends to yellow, refrigeration to darkness ; in this species, as 

 well as in V. io, cooling produced marked reversion to ancestral forms. 

 Vanessa atalanta, subjected to a very high forcing temperature, 

 developed several additional scarlet spots and groups of scales, corres- 

 ponding with more conspicuous colouring of the same kind in V. 

 caUirrhoii. Grapta c-alhum was remarkable for the much greater 

 sensitiveness to temperature of the first (or early summer) emergence, 

 than of the late autumn emergence ; the effects on this species are much 

 more strongly marked on the under side. From V. antlopa no results 

 were obtained, but this may have been due to the fact that the pupte 

 were several days old when they reached Mr. Merrifield. Dr. Dixey 

 followed Avith a paper, indicating the relation of the results obtained by 

 Mr. Merrifield, to the phylogenesis of the species experimented on ; he 

 also discussed the theories of Weismann, and the question of acquired 

 qualities in connection with heredity, on which he considered that they 



threw some light. On March 28th, sympathetic reference was 



made to tlie sudden death of Mr. J. Jenner Weir. Mr. W. Borrer, jun., 

 exhibited a wasp's nest, which had been built in such a way as to conceal 

 the entrance thereto, and to protect the whole nest from observation ; 

 he believed the nest to be that of Vespa vuhjaris (c.f. Proc. Ent. Soc. 

 London, 1892, pp. xx and xxi). Mr. G. F. Hampson exhibited a speci- 

 men of Gandnritis Jiavata, Moore, from the Khari Hills, and called 

 attention to the existence in the males of this S23ecies, in the closely 

 allied British species Cidaria dotata, Linn,, and also in two Jaj^anese 

 species (C. agnes, Butl., and an undescribed species), of an organ on the 

 underside of the fore wing, which he suggested might be for stridula- 

 tion ; this organ consists of a small scar of hyaline membrane, situated 

 just below the middle of vein 2, which is much curved ; this scar is 

 fringed with long hair, and has, running down its middle, a row of 

 sharp spines situated on the aborted remains of vein 1, and which is 

 cui'ved up close to vein 2 ; the spines would naturally rub against j^art 

 of the costa of the hind wing, but no spines or imusual roughening 

 seems to exist on that or on any of the veins on the upper side of hind 

 wing against which they could strike ; below the scar is situated a large 

 shallow fovea or pit in the membrane, slightly developed in dotata and 

 Jiavata, but much more prominent in the two Jajxanese species which, 

 should the organ prove to be for stridulation, would probably act as a 

 sounding board. Mr. Hampson said that in the Japanese species C. 

 fixreni of Brem, closely allied to Jiavata, the males have no trace of this 

 organ, and he hoped that entomologists, who have an opportunity of 

 observing dotata in life, would make some experiments on living 

 specimens during the ensuing summer ; probably confining males and 

 females together would lead to some results. 



On April 11th, the Hon. Walter Kothschild exhibited male and 

 female specimens of Ornilhoptera paradisea, Stdgr., from Finisterre 



