320 



THE ENTOMOLOGIST S RHCORD. 



and between the inner line and the base of the wing. One male 

 specimen in the 8rd generation was suffused deeply over almost the 

 whole of the fore-wing. — -On March 12th Mr. L. J. Tremayne drew atten- 

 tion to an article by Mr. Tutt in the February number of the Ent( nix do- 

 l/ist's Record, on the nomenclature of the Lyc.enin.e. Assuming Mr. Tutt 

 to be correct, he rather agreed with his view, that it was high time that 

 naturalists should take to naming this family correctly, and he 

 suggested that the Society, which is at present bound by South's 

 List, should consider the advisability of revising its nomenclature. 

 Mr. C. Nicholson opened a discussion on " The Amphipyridae." 

 He illustrated his remarks with specimens of the family, including 

 Mania iiianra and var. rin/ata from Hale End. He also exhibited 

 a pair of the wings of each species denuded of their scales, in order to 

 show the neuration, and some explanatory drawings. He explained 

 the nomenclature of the family, and proceeded to deal with the 

 species in all their stages. He alluded to the neuration of the 

 imagines, and said that Mania maura had an extra nervure. He also 

 touched on the various classifications of the family by different authors. 

 Mr. Prout disapproved of the genus Ainjdii])i/ra, the species of which 

 he thought were certainly generically distinct. Mr. Bacot stated that the 

 larva of A. pjirainidea was a looper when it first left the egg-shell. 



City of London Entomological and Natural History Society. — 

 March 8rd, 189(3. — Exhibits : — Mr. Frost : two specimens of Cyniato- 

 phdia ocularis, taken in 1898 ; he had not seen the species in the same 

 locality since. Mr. Tutt said the most likely way to obtain this in- 

 sect was to search for the pupa in the angles at the roots of poplars, 

 wherever the species was known to occur. Mr. J. A. Clark : a short 

 series of Xi/ssia Iiispidaria, bred between February 17th and 22nd, from 

 New Forest larvie ; all the specimens were more or less light in colora- 

 tion. Mr. Pearse : an absolutely black male of the same species, 

 which he had taken at Epping Forest with 1 1 others ; one of these 

 was a black female, the rest being normal. Mr. Sauze : a specimen of 

 Mdanippc rirata from Deal, having the broad white fascia on the 

 fore-wings bisected throughout its length by a distinct dark line, 

 which was faintly continued in the corresponding white band on the 

 hind-wings. Mr. May said he had found that, if well shaken up in a 

 pill-box, male Xi/ssia liisjddaria expanded their wings, although 

 they had been out of the pupa for some hours without showing the 

 least sign of the usual expansion. Other members mentioned 

 instances of lepidoptera having duly expanded after remaining un- 

 expanded an unreasonable time since their emergence from pupa. 

 Mr. Tutt said that lepidoptera [Vanessa urticae in particular) might be 

 removed from their pupa-shells some hours before they were due to 

 emerge, and, if the thin membrane swathing the various parts had been 

 carefully removed, they would wait till they were matured, and then 

 the wings would expand as usual. 



March 17th, 189G. — Exhibits : — Mr. Nicholson exhibited a simple piece 

 of apparatus for taking insects off gas-lamps without climbing them. 

 It consisted of an oblong tin box, fitted with a glass front, a ferrule at the 

 bottom, into which a stick can be placed. The back of the box slides 

 up and down, being worked by a spring. In working the apparatus 

 the back is pulled down by a string held in the hand, the open back 

 of the box is placed over the moth on the lamp, the string is allowed 

 to go, and the back closes rapidly with a click. The members 



