224 [August, 1892. 



The South London Entomological and Natural History Society : 

 June 23rc?, 1892.— C. a. Barrett, Esq., F.E.S., President, in the Chair. 



Mr. Tugwell exhibited varieties of Argynnis Selene, Schiff., Melitcea Athalia, 

 Rott., and Syrichthus malvce, L., var. taras, Meig. Mr. Tugwell remarked that he 

 had been recently collecting with Mr. Porritt in Abbots Wood, Sussex, and in the 

 course of eight nights he estimated they had seen 20,000 insects at sugar, and had 

 taken 161 species of Macro- Lepidoptera. Mr. S. Q-. C. Russell exhibited a specimen 

 of Argynnis Selene, and another doubtful specimen which, in the opinion of Messrs. 

 Barrett, Tugwell and Frohawk, might be either A. Selene or A. Euphrosyne. Mr. 

 C. Q-. Barrett showed Spilosoma mendica, Clerck, bred by the Rev. W. F. Johnson, 

 of Armagh, and Spilosoma menthaatri, Esp., bred from larvse from Belfast. Mr. 

 Frohawk, a long bred series of Melitaea Cinxia, L., showing considerable variation 

 in depth of markings, and a male of Pieris napi, L., intermediate between the spring 

 and summer forms, but approaching the spring form, bred from an egg laid June, 

 1891, larva pupated July and emerged June, 1892. Mr. Hawes exhibited ova, larvse 

 and pupse with imagines of Hesperia lineola, and read a paper describing the earlier 

 stages of the species. He stated that the larvse of this species emerged in April, 

 and fed for about eight or ten weeks, chiefly at dusk on Triticum maritimum and 

 other coast grasses ; the pupa was similar to that of H. Thaumas, and was enclosed 

 in a network of silk spun among the blades of grass. 



July 14th, 1892.— The President in the Chair. 



Mr. Oldham exhibited, among other species, Dicycla oo, L., and Cymatophora 

 ocularis, Gn., taken at sugar in Epping Forest. Mr. C. Fenn, a fine series of bred 

 specimens of Psilura monacha, L., from the New Forest, some of the specimens 

 being very dark. Mr. R. Adkin, a pupa case of Sesia scoliiformis, Bork., from 

 which the imago had emerged. Mr. Tugwell remarked that the pupae of this genus, 

 and particularly S. sphegiformis , Fb., had the power of moving up and down the 

 stem in which pupated ; he had seen pupse of S. sphegiformis force their way 

 through the bark about the eighth of an inch, where they should emerge, but, on a 

 change of weather to cold, they would retreat back into the stem. Mr. Tutt said 

 Nonagria typhcB, Esp., had the same power of going up and down the stem. Mr. 

 Adkin said he had always heard that S. chrysidiformis, Esp., when it pupated, 

 threw up a sort of tower ; he had bred the species many times, and had never seen 

 this. Mr. Tugwell said he had observed this on one or two occasions only in S. 

 sphegiformis. Mr. Barrett showed a fine series of Stauropus fagi, L., taken by Mr. 

 Holland at Reading. Mr. Hawes, living larvse of Lyccena ^gon, Schiff., feeding on 

 Ulex europcEus, and contributed notes, and a discussion followed. Remarks were 

 made on the abundance of Colias Edusa, Vanessa Atalanta, Plusia gamma, 

 Deiopeia pulchella, &c. Mr. Fenn stated he had taken Catoptria Juliana, Curt., 

 flying over apple trees in his garden on three successive evenings. Mr. Oldham 

 referred to the small size of many oak-feoding species at Epping, which he attributed 

 to the oaks having been stripped of their foliage by the larvaj of Tortrix viridana, 

 L. — H. W. Barker, Eon. Sec. 



