SOCIETIES. 231 



May 2nd, 1911. — Mr. G. E. Baldock exhibited a series of Trii^hcBna 

 p'onuha from Galley Hill, Essex, 1910, dark forms predominating, 

 many specimens showing almost unicolorous blackish l)vown supe- 

 riors. — Mr. P. H. Tautz, long series from Pinner, Studland Bay, and 

 Hampstead ; those from Pinner included many with grey costal 

 streak, while the Dorset specimens included many very red examples 

 and one with straw-coloured inferiors. — Mr. J. E. Gardner exhibited 

 a number of Lepidoptera from Exmoor, taken August, 1911, including 

 Xylophasia scolopaclna, common at ragwort : Toxocavipa cracccs, 

 Asthena hlomeri, Abraxas uhiiata, Gidaria populata, and a number of 

 " micros," in which latter group of Lepidoptera the district appeared 

 to the exhibitor to be particularly rich. — Mr. G. H. Heath, dark 

 Giioplios ohscurata, Cleora glabraria, and Gidaria silaceata, Exmoor. 

 — Mr. L. W. Newman, a series of hybrid males ex Nyssia zonaria 

 female and Biston hirtaria male ; also hybrid females with narrow 

 pointed wings, ex Nyssia zonaria male and Biston hirtaria female ; 

 he also showed Smerinthus 'populi var. pallida, and a female suffused 

 with pink ; also a fine gynandromorph, one side typical male and the 

 other pink form of female ; the body showed both colours evenly 

 divided, and the legs corresponded in colour to that side of the body 

 on which they were situated. — Mr. C. P. Pickett, Amjerona prunaria, 

 showing response to environment : pale larvie fed under white 

 muslin, darker reddish larvae ex pink muslin sleeves, and still darker 

 forms ex red sleeves. 



May 16th, 1911 — Mr. B. S. Williams exhibited two examples of 

 Luperina gueneei, the type form and one of var. murrayi, from 

 St. Anne's-on-Sea. — Mr. A. W. Mera, imagines of Endromis versicolor 

 that had gone through two winters in the pupal stage. — S. J. Bell, 

 Hon. Sec. 



Lancashire and Cheshire Entomological Society. — Meeting 

 of the Society held at the Royal Institution, Colquit St., Liverpool, 

 March 21st, 1911.— Dr. P. F. Tinne, Vice President, in the chair.— Mr. 

 G. H. Watson, of Manchester, gave a lecture on " The Saturniidae, a 

 Group of Wild Silk Moths." After reviewing the classification of the 

 group, the lecturer detailed the work that is being done by himself 

 and others in order to discover new sources of supply of silk and also 

 to strengthen the races of silk-producing moths cultivated in Europe 

 and Asia. The true silk moth is not known as a wild insect, although 

 in China there are records of its cultivation upwards of 4000 years 

 old. Occasionally disease ravages the inbred races of the insect, 

 hence the necessity to introduce new blood. So far hybridisation has 

 not been very successful, thus the efforts of practical entomologists 

 are directed towards finding out and investigating new species of wild 

 moths whose larvao make a cocoon of serviceable silk. — Mr. Watson 

 showed the Japanese silk moth, Antlicrca yanta-mai, and also the 

 Tussor, or Indian, silk moth, A. mylitta, as instances of wild insects 

 capable of culture and yielding a large quantity of valuable silk ; 

 Saturniapyretorum, the moth whose larva yields the gut used for fish- 

 ing lines, the production of which forms the staple industry in the 

 Island of Hainan (China), also came in for attention. Tlie lecture 

 was illustrated by Mr. Watson's collection of twenty large drawers 



