socifiTias. 151 



of a (^ Smerinthus uceUatiis and a 5 S. popidi. When very 

 young, the larvae strongly resembled S. ocellatus in the corresponding 

 stage ; but at present they were much closer to .S. iiopuli ; they, 

 however, resembled S. ocdlatus in the fact that the t/nni oblique 

 stripe was not more conspicuous than the others. Dr. Sequeira : 

 Aiiticlca >>inuata (2), I'hihalapterij.v li(/nata, Meliana jiamtnea, Phma 

 festiicac and its ichneumon, Macrof/astcr castancae ((?), Papilio 

 iinu-liaon, with the linear black mark at the apex (lower end) of dis- 

 coidal cell, with a yellow centre, Xa.scia riliaUs, and other species 

 taken at Wicken Fen during the first week in June. Mr. Prout : a 

 variable series of IhjHchorista siispecta, bred from a mottled female 

 taken at Wimbledon. Mr. Bate : Ci/inatophora dujdaris from 

 Dulwich, taken last June. Mr. E. Heasler : Acrouicta leporina, 

 Moina orlon, Pluda jndchrina, from the New Forest, at Whitsun- 

 tide, and Mr. S. J. Bell : Nola striiiida and Triacna psi from the 

 same locality. 



The North London Natural History Society held a meeting on 

 June 11th, 1896, when the following exhibitions and remarks relating 

 to coLLECTNiG DURING THE PRESENT SEASON Were made. Mr. Quail : 

 Ai/rotera nciiniralis and Aciptilia tepJiradaetijla, taken near Heme Bay. 

 Mr. L. J. Tremayne : a series of Taenioccunpa pulcerulcnta, from 

 Epping Forest. Mr. Simes reported that Mr. A. C. Smith had been 

 taking Melitaca cin.na in plenty at Guernsey. Mr. Battley gave an 

 account of a trip to Northamptonshire at Whitsuntide, when he cap- 

 tured CarteracephaluK palaemon, and larvae of Tlwda pruni, T. w-alhiiin, 

 Zt'pliijrus bctidae, Ai^teruscajnis s2)/iin,i-, Tiicldura cratacyi, etc. Messrs. 

 E. W. Bobbins and L. B. Prout recorded Zonosovia annulata, Aamtia 

 liictnnsa, Scoria lincata, and larvae of Saturnia parunia (feeding on 

 oak), from North Kent. Mr. Prout also recorded Si'tiita irrorella, 

 Acidalia oniata and Anaitis plaf/iata, the latter in great abundance, 

 among St. John's Wort (Hi/pcricu))!.), on the preceding Tuesday, at 

 Box Hill. Mr. Jennings recorded the addition of twenty-eight more 

 species to the local Diptera. He had also met with Miiithu praeccps 

 and Mcrotlun I'qih'stris, which occurred rarely last year. To the local 

 list of Aculeate Hymenoptera, he had added several species, amongst 

 them, Mochrta anitata, one of the parasitic bees, which he had taken 

 from the burrows of Anthoplioia ^nlipcs, in Epping Forest, in April. 

 Mr. Bacot read the following notes on the genus Smerinthus : — " I 

 have lately been assembling the species of iSmerinthus in my garden 

 at Clapton. On the 7th I took four S. tiliae, between 8.50 and 

 9.25 p.m. With *S'. popidl and S. ocdlatus, I find it necessary to 

 place the $ on a bush or to leave the cage open, when a 3- will 

 usually be found in cop. with the ? by the next morning. The g- s 

 of these species do not, so far as my experience goes, assemble till 

 after midnight, probably just before dawn. I think I have at last hit 

 upon a reasonable explanation of the eye spots on the hind-wings of 

 6'. ocdlatus. If the moth is disturbed when resting, it raises its fore- 

 wings -and suddenly exposes the eyes. The effect is rather startling, 

 and is probably effective in scaring any small bird that might interfere 

 with it. In breeding S. tiliae, I have found that, though the larv;e, up 

 to about the third moult, do very well on the fresh young shoots of the 

 lime, they require less succulent food after this moult, and thrive 



