SOCIETIES. 



289 



thorn. The result was 16 cocoons, every one of them dark. Wishing 

 to see whether the species avouIcI bear forcing, on November 24th I 

 put three of my pale cocoons on damp sand in the forcing cage, which 

 is kept in the kitchen, and on looking into it about three days later I 

 was surprised to find that they had all turned dark brown. However, 

 wishing to make quite sure, on January 1st I put three more with 

 them, and on taking them out two hours later I found that the change 

 had already taken place. 



" I think that it would be as well here to summarise the histories 

 of the two broods :- Brood No. 1 (Mr. Bell's): Larvae kept in a 

 practically air-tight cage with damp atmosphere. Badly fed. Eesult — 

 16 cocoons all dark. Brood No. 2 (my own) : Larvje well-fed and 

 kept in a dry cage with plenty of light and air. Result — 19 pale cocoons, 

 one only being dark. On six of the pale ones coming into contact with 

 damp they turned dark almost immediately. 



" With regard to the one dark cocoon, it seems to me that it is quite 

 possible that in changing the food-plant I might have splashed it on 

 pulling the old stalks out of the water-bottle, which would account 

 for its colour. From the remarks of other lepidopterists that I have 

 heard and read on the subject, I gather that the general idea is that 

 the colouring matter is obtained from the alimentary canal, and is 

 evacuated from the intestine and mouth by the larva on the interior 

 of the cocoon, and also that the colour is not regulated by its environ- 

 ment. Can it be that this substance is merely a sort of " cement "to 

 strengthen the cocoon and make it waterproof ; depending on the 

 dampness of the matter and the atmosphere for its colour ? From this 

 it would seem that my larvae, through hereditary weakness, were 

 unable to produce this "cement," and being kept in a dry situation 

 the cocoons remained pale. I think that it is the more likely, from 

 the fact that the cocoons are somewhat thin in texture, and are not 

 so hard as those that I have had before. 



"I refrain from discussing the subject further, having had so little 

 experience with the insect, but I should very much like to hear what 

 others have to say on the matter." 



Mr. Newbery stated that he had found the following plan very 

 successful for relaxing Coleoptera : — First soak the specimen for 

 twenty-four hours, or more, in water ; then drain off superfluous 

 moisture, and apply wood-naphtha with a brush till the specimen is 

 sufiiciently pliable to set. 



C. Nicholson, ) ^^t r, 

 L. J. Tremayne, \ 



The North London Natural History Society held a meeting on 

 January 23rd, Mr. Jennings exhibited the following Coleoptera : 

 Lvcanm ccrms and BJiizostnii/os salstitialis, taken at Streatham, July, 

 1895 ; a pair of yccmphorus Jntiiiator, taken from beneath a dead 

 ferret in Epping Forest, 5th May, 1895 ; XecmjiJiorits vcstuiator, a 

 pretty, as well as a local, insect, knocked down whilst flying in a field 

 bordering Larkswood, 11th May, 1895 ; (>cj/j)us olcns, taken from 

 under a log at Waltham, October, 1894 ; Cctowia aurata, taken from 

 blossoms of a large shrub, Box Hill, 12th May, 1895 ; a pair of 

 Mddlontha ndi/aris, knocked doAvn whilst flying round a gas-lamp in 

 Tanner's End, Edmonton, May 14th, 1895. The female Avas clinging 

 to the burner, within half an inch of the flame, and had to be 



