24 [June, 1865. 



The Rev. Ilamlet Clark commented on a passage in Mr. Cameron's " Travels 

 in Malayan India," in which he mentioned that the fire-flies appeared to have a 

 habit of exhibiting and extinguishing their light contemporaneously. Mr. Clark 

 said that he had observed a similar habit in the fire-flies (species of Lampyridoe) ia 

 Brazil ; all the flies appeared to shine simultaneously, and then darken their lamp 

 for a short time, and shine again. 



Mr. Bates, Mr. Saunders, and M. Salle (who was present as a visitor), all of 

 whom had had fi-equent opportunities of observing these insects, said that they 

 had never noticed this habit ; the LampyridcB, as observed by them, were seen 

 threading their way amongst the low shrubs in difierent directions, and did not 

 exhibit and suppress their light alternately. 



Mr. McLachlan suggested that this apparent phenomenon might be caused by 

 slight currents of air, which occasioned the flight of the insects to assume a 

 diS'ercnt direction, and thus, by alteriug the position, shut out the light-producing 

 organs from the observer's view. 



The Rev. Hamlet Clark mentioned that a lady had applied to him for some 

 remedy against the number of Onisci which swarmed in some peat used for 

 horticultural purposes. Mr. Clark wished to know if there could be any connection 

 between the peat and the Onisci, a query which Mr. Saunders was disposed to 

 answer in the negative, excepting that the peat consisting entirely of decaying 

 vegetable matters, was very likely to be frequented by the wood-lice. 



Mr. Weir said that he had observed similar swarms of wood-lice in a cucumber 

 frame in which peat was used. 



Mr. Smith read a paper on " New species of Hymenoptera from Australia," 

 collected by Mr. Du Boulay. These consisted of various new species of Thynnus, 

 Elurus, Bhagiogaster, Pa/ragea, and a singular insect with clubbed antenna3, allied 

 to Megachile, for which he proposed to found a new genus under the name of 

 Thauinatosoma. 



Professor Westwood mentioned that he had long since described a bee with 

 clubbed antennae. 



The Rev. Hamlet Clark read a paper on various new species of Phytophaga 

 from Western Australia, also collected by Mr. Du Boulay. 



Mr. Bates read a paper on four new species of Agra from Mr. Saunders' 

 collection. 



The Chairman called attention to a paper by Mr. Walsh on the insects 

 frequenting the species of willow-galls observed in Illinois ; this pajjer was pub- 

 lished in the last part of the proceedings of the Entomological Society of 

 Philadelphia. Mr. Walsh had called attention to the fact that, in addition to 

 the actual gall-makers, various insects lived in the galls, and fed on the parts 

 of the gall ; thus, no less than seven species of Micro-Lepidoptera had been bred 

 from tliese galls, three of which had been described by Dr. Brackenridge Clemens 

 as belonging to the genus Oelechia ; the four others belonging to the ToHricina, 

 viz., two species of Hcdya, one Pcrnnea, and one Crcesia (?). 



The Chairman expressed a hope that the attention of Entomologists generally 

 would now be more directed to the insects obtainable u'om galls. 



