1887.] 163 



Entomological Society of London : Nov. 2nd, 1887. — Dr. David Sharp, 

 F.Z.S., President, in the Chair. 



Mr. Stevens exhibited a specimen of Acidalia immorata, L., purchased by him 

 some years ago at a sale of the collection of the late Mr. Desvignes. Mr. Stevens 

 remarked that two specimens of the insect lately captured near Lewes had just 

 been described by Mr. J. H. A. Jenner as a species new to Britain. 



Mr. Adkin exhibited, and made remarks on, a series of male and female 

 specimens of Arctia mendica from Co. Cork ; also, for comparison, two specimens of 

 A. mendica from Antrim, and a series of bred specimens from the London district. 



Mr. Enoc'k exhibited a specimen of Calocoris bipunctatus containing an internal 

 parasitic larva. 



Dr. Sharp exhibited three species of Coleoptera new to the British list, viz. : — 

 Octhebius auriculatns, Rey, found some years ago in the Isle of Sheppey, but 

 described only quite recently by M. Rey from specimens found at Calais and Dieppe ; 

 Limnius rivularis, Rosenh., found by the late Dr. J. A. Power at Woking ; and 

 Tropiphorus obtusus, taken by himself on the Banks of the Water of Cairn, 

 Dumfriesshire. Dr. Sharp also exhibited a OoJiathiis recently described by 

 Dr. O. Nickerl as a new species under the name of Ooliathus Atlas, and remarked 

 that the species existed in several collections, and had been supposed to be possibly 

 a hybrid between G. regius and G. cacicus. He also exhibited a living example of the 

 Mole Cricket, Gyrllotalpa vulgaris, from Southampton ; between the spines of its 

 hind legs were a number of living Acari. 



Mr. Eland Shaw exhibited two species of Orthoptera, which had been unusually 

 abundant this year, viz. : — Nemobius sylvestris, from the New Forest, and Tettix 

 suhulattts, from Charmouth, Dorset. 



Mr. E. B. Poulton exhibited the cocoons of three species of Lepidoptera, in 

 which the colour of the silk had been controlled by the use of appropriate colours in 

 the larval environment at the time of spinning up. He said this colour susceptibility 

 had been previously proved by him in 1886 in the case of Saturnia carpini, and the 

 experiments on the subject had been described in the Proc. Royal Society, 1887. It 

 appeared from these experiments that the cocoons were dark brown when the larvse 

 had been placed in a black bag ; white when they had been freely exposed to light 

 with white surfaces in the immediate neighbourhood. Mr. Poulton stated that other 

 species subjected to experiment during the past season afforded confirmatory results. 

 Thus the mature larvse of Eriogaster lanestris had been exposed to white 

 surroundings by the Rev. W. J. H. Newman, and cream-coloured cocoons were 

 produced in all cases ; whilst two or three hundred larvae from the same company 

 spun the ordinary dark brown cocoons among the leaves of the food-plant. In the 

 ^.atter case the green surroundings appeared to act as a stimulus to the production of 

 a colour which corresponded with that which the leaves would subsequently assume. 

 Mr. Stainton suggested that larvie should be placed in green boxes, with the view of 

 ascertaining whether the cocoons would be green. He understood that it had been 

 suggested that the cocoons formed amongst leaves became brown because the larvae 

 knew what colour the leaves would ultimately become. The discussion was continued 

 by Mr. Waterhouse, Dr. Sharp, Mr. McLachlan, and others. 



Mr. Klein read " Notes on Uphestia Kiihniella," and exhibited a number of 

 living larvae of the species, which he said had been recently doing great damage to 

 flour in a warehouse in the East of London. 



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