SOCIETIES. 2u5 



series of Cydostoma elegans, Miill. taken at Eeigate on June 9tli ; three 

 hybernated specimens of Vanessa «/ih'o2?a from Montreal ; also a series 

 (bred from Kannocli eggs) of Asteroscopus nubecnlot-a, some of which 

 had been three years in pupa. Mr. Frohawk (on behalf of Mr. 

 Fremlin) exhibited a specimen of Apatnra iris that was intermediate 

 between the type and var. iole ; also (on behalf of Mr. South) a dwarf 

 captured specimen of EiicMo'6 cardamines, measuring only 1\ inches in 

 exjianse, and another specimen in which the apical j^atch was of two 

 shades of yellow. Mr. Manger showed a specimen of Acherontia 

 atrojjos from Shanghai. Mr. West (Greenwich) exhibited specimens of 

 Cryptocephalus nitidulus, Gyll. and C. coryli, Linn, from Box Hill; 

 also two very rosy males of Snierinthus popidi, which had been 

 " assembled " by a bred female. Among a bred series of the same 

 species brought by Mr. Filer was a male with the colouration of the 

 female, and a specimen in which, the discoidal sjDot on the fore- wings 

 was much smaller than in the rest of the brood, this sijecimen having 

 emerged in A\;gust last. Mr. Step exhibited Helix rufescens and 

 LymiKiea peregra var. acuminata from Epsom; also a side-blown egf of 



Helix pomatia, of which many were found at Eeigate. On June 28th 



the following exhibits, among others, were made : — Mr. C. Fenn : a 

 bred series of Geometra p)tipHionaria, being jjart of a brood of which 

 some of the remaining larvt\3 were not yet fully fed ; also a specimen 

 of Heliothis peltigera, having the blotch in the dark border of the hind- 

 wing very lai-ge. Mr. Dennis : eggs and young larva3 of Bomhyx rtibi 

 from Eeigate. Mr. Turner: Lycaena bellargiis from Box Hill, some of 

 the females having a consideral)le amount of the male colouration. 

 Mr. Adkin : a specimen of Pachetra leucophaea, taken on a bank-side 

 at Eeigate on the occasion of the Society's Field Meeting at that place 

 on June 9th. Mr. Manger : a specimen of " British Coral " (Lepralis 

 foliacea) taken from a portion of the French Atlantic cable, about sixty 

 miles from Brest. 



The Birmingham Entomological Society met on May 21st, 1894, 

 when Mr. A. H. Martineau exhibited pupas of Crabro intcrruptus which 

 he had dug from a rotten stump at Middleton, in which locality he had 

 previously met with the perfect insect. Mr. P. W. Abbott read a i)aper, 

 of which, through the kindness of the author, we are enabled to <nve 

 the following abstract : — 



On the Genus Hadena. — The author considered that the correct 

 position of the genus would be next after Apamea; he only knew of 

 the occurrence of nine species {p>rotea, glatica, dentina, dissimilis, oleracea, 

 2>isi, thalassina, contigua, genistae), in the Birmingham district, but 

 thought it probable that H. trifolii (chenopodii), might occur there. 

 Tui-ning next to the subject of variation, Mr. Abbott said : — " So far 

 as one is able to judge from a local race, it seems to me that Hadena 

 glauca shows a large amount of ordinary variation ; but upon local 

 races it is hardly safe to form an opinion ; however, the fact remains 

 that this species exhibits in our district a large amount of variation. 

 The feature that first strikes the eye, upon examining the series of this 

 insect placed before you to-night (bred from this district), is the variety 

 of the shades of colour, ranging from ashy-grey to smoky blue-black ; 

 with (he darkening of the ground colour comes the intensifyino- of the 

 orbicular and renitorm, and sometimes of the claviform — 1 say some- 

 times, because the claviform is more often ochreous. I think I may 



