280 [May. 1882. 



Mr. McLachlan, on behalf of Mr. P. H. Grosse, showed the envelopes hi which 

 a series of Ornithoptera Haliphron, &c., had been received from Celebes, and which 

 bore the imprint of the insects defined with almost photographic accuracy. Mr. 

 Grosse asked for suggestions as to cause, and the general opinion appeared to be that 

 slight heating and pressure combined offered the most likely explanation. A subse- 

 quent analysis of the paper envelopes with regard to the possible presence of lead, 

 made by Mr. Meldola, produced a negative result. 



Mr. Meldola called attention to a paper by Mr. W. H. Edwards, recording the 

 observations of Dr. Wettfeld on the habits of Heliconius Charitonia. The male 

 butterflies appeared in swarms around the pupa?, and pairing took place before the 

 females had emerged from the puparia, the males detecting the sex of the pupa im- 

 mediately, and deserting those which were about to produce males. The Eev. W. 

 Deans Cowan, present as a visitor, stated that he had made a quite analogous obser- 

 vation with regard to Papilio Demoleus in Madagascar. 



Mi\ C. O. Waterhouse read a . description of the Indian Myrmecophilous 

 Coleopterous insect exhibited at the ldst meeting, which he considered to form a new 

 genus, and named Paramellon sociale: 



Dr. Sharp, in communicating descriptions of some new forms of Coleoptera 

 from New Zealand, entered into a lengthy, and very severe critique of Capt. Broun's 

 " Manual of New Zealand Coleoptera." 



Mr. A. Gr. Butler communicated a further portion of his paper on the Lepi- 

 doptera of Chili, collected by Mr. Edmonds (Bombyces). 



Sir S. S. Saunders read a paper on the terminal segment of Halticella, with 

 regard to M. Andre's published statement. 



Mr. E. Saunders read a paper on the terminal ventral segments of Prosopis and 

 other Anthophiia. 



April hth. — The President in the Chair. 



Mr. L. de Niceville, of the Calcutta Museum, was elected a foreign Member. 



Mr. Billups exhibited a number qrf small Ichneumonidce, &c, mounted on discs 

 of microscopic glass, thus enabling the upper and under-side of the same insect to 

 be critically examined. The specimens were first mounted lightly on card, and sub- 

 sequently transferred to the glass discs. The method appeared likely to prove of 

 great service, the only drawback being the liability to breakage of the glass. 



The Rev. H. S. Gorham exhilited a Coccinella sent to him by Mr. Hodgson, 

 from Grloucestershire, which appeared to combine the characters of C. ocellata and 

 oblongopunctata, and might possibly be a hybrid. He and Mr. Waterhouse stated 

 it was an erroneous notion that Coccineliidce are excessively variable, on the con- 

 trary, they are very constant in markings, save in two species, viz., C. variabilis and 

 C. bipunctata. 



Mr. McLachlan exhibited his collection of British Caddis-flies {Trichoptera) , 

 and made remarks on some of the more interesting forms, especially with regard to 

 the cases. The collection had been more than 20 years in course of formation. 



Mr. Butler continued his paper on the Lepidopiera of Chili (Noctuce). 



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OF VOL. XVIII. 



