196 



Mr. Weir exhibited several microscopic preparations of the haustelli of various 

 British butterflies, and remarked that these presented great differences, especially 

 in the minute papillse at the tips, even in genera so closely allied as Vanessa and Gra/pta. 



Mr. Bond exhibited a beautiful coloured drawing of the larva of Acronycta 

 strigosa, executed by Mr. Buckler, and a photograph of a splendid variety of Abraxas 

 grossulariata in Mr. Edleston's collection. 



The Eev. Hamlet Clark exhibited a collection ef insects, chiefly Coleoptera and 

 H&iniptera, taken by the Rev. 0. Pickard-Cambridge, in hia i-ecent journey up the 

 Xile. Mr. Smith said that two species of ants in the collection were identical with 

 species taken by Mr. Lowne in Syria. 



Mr. Smith exhibited a beautiful wasp's nest sent by Mr. Stone, of Bright- 

 hampton. The peculiarity in this nest consisted in its being formed by two species 

 of wasps, viz., Vespa vulgaris and V. germavica. Mr. Stone had a nest of each 

 species, one in the corner of a window in the ground floor of his house, and the 

 other in a similar corner of a window in the first floor ; and it would seem that those 

 belonging to the first floor nest, when heavily laden, flew to the nest on the ground 

 floor ; that the latter nest was constructed jointly by the two species, and as one 

 species used decayed wood and the other used sound wood, the parts of the nest 

 formed by each were distinctly separable. 



Mr. Stone also sent for exhibition specimens of the large and small larvte of 

 Rhipiphorus alluded to at the last meeting, and made some additional remarks re- 

 specting them. 



Mr. Smith mentioned that the Kev. F. W. Hope was always in tbe habit of 

 taking Bhipiphor us in the nests of Vespa rufa, whereas Mr. Stone always found 

 them in those of V. vulgaris. 



Mr. W. F. Evans sent for exhibition specimens of a beetle, Pyronota festiva, 

 which had been found in some numbers in New Zealand wool. 



The President exhibited some singular spiders' nests fi*om South Austraha. 

 These wei-e smpll and globular, and attached to the branches of a sb rub, and greatly 

 resembled tbe tVaifc of a Lepto^permum. The spider always rested on the exterior 

 of the nests, and, when in that position, looked like the excrement of a bird. 



Mr. Stevens exhibited several examples of one of the smaller GoUath beetles, 

 Cheirolasia Eurkci, collected by Mr. Layard in South Africa. He also exhibited some 

 insects sent by Mr. Du Chaillu fiom West Africa. 



Mr. Hewitsoa communicated a monograph of the genus Ypthhna, together with 

 descriptions of two new allied genera. 



Mr. Moore, on behalf of Captain Hutton, read a continuation of a paper on the 

 reversion and restoration of the silkworm, and exhibited drawings of the larvae of 

 six species of the silk producing genus, Bombyx, together with an extensive col- 

 lection of the cocoons of the diS"erent species and varieties. 



Professor Westwood remarked, that although tbe perfect insects of B. mori and 

 B. Huttoni were closely allied, the larvae as represented in the dj'awing were very 

 difi"ereut. 



Mr. Kirby read a paper intituled " Notes on the Synonymy of certain British 

 Butterflies," in which he mentioned, that according to the law of priority, several 

 of the names generally in use must give way to others of earlier date. 



Mr. Kirby's mention of the species placed by Fabricius as the type of his genus 

 Sesia, led to some discussion as to what constituted the type of a genus. Professor 

 Westwood and Mr. Pascoe maintaining it was not necessarily the species placed 

 first in the genus, but that from which the dissections had been made. 



Part 3 of Vol. 2 of the 3rd series of the Society's transactions was laid on 

 the table. 



