﻿232 ., THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



permit and revelled in the sunshine. We soon found that the season 

 was very backward, at least three weeks later than the spring of 1910, 

 owing to the relatively very severe winter and continued rains. 

 Guns were popping off in all directions, a sign that the quail was 

 migrating, so we decided to get lunch first, as this is the chief 

 difficulty in Sicily away from the large towns. For this purpose 

 a tin of sardines is a great help, as it forms a first course, and a little 

 butter in which to fry some eggs is essential. With these requisites 

 the contadina or peasant farmer's wife, who was known to us, pro- 

 vided eggs, bread and wine, and we made a meal. Our walk, owing 

 to the quails, was somewhat curtailed, but my note book records : — 

 " Sunny day, lovely gorge, butterflies galore, chiefly cleoimtra (male 

 and female), cardamines (male), sina-pis, cegeria, megcera, and ' blues,' 

 all fresh." — J. Platt Barrett; " Westcroft," South Road, Forest 

 Hill, London, S.E. (Tq ^^ continued.) 



SOCIETIES. 



The South London Entomological and Natural History 

 Society. — March lith. — Mr. A. E. Tonge, President, in the chair. — 

 Wm. Bateson, Esq., M.A., F.R.S., F.E.S., and Professor E. B. Poulton, 

 D.Sc, M.A., F.R.S., were elected honorary members. — Mr. Andrews 

 exhibited three species of Syrphidse, parasitic in their larval stage 

 upon Lepidoptera, viz., Catahomha pyrastri, Xanthandrus conitus, 

 and Melanosto'ma mdlinum.—Mx. Adkin, an extreme melanic specimen 

 of Noctua xantJiograjjha, taken in his garden at Lewisham in 1911. — 

 Mr. Newman, living full-fed larvae of Melitaa aurinia fed up in tempe- 

 rature of 60° to 70°, and a pair of Saturnia caiymi with all the usual 

 reddish markings of a clear yellow. It was bred from a yellow male 

 and a red female. — Mr. Blenkarn, the Coleopteron Halijjlus nomax, 

 from Coatbridge, recently new to science. — Mr. B. H. Smith, a living 

 larva of Golias edusa, from ova laid in October last ; one larva had 

 already pupated. 



A]jril llth.—Mi: A. E. Tonge, F.E.S., President, in the chair. 

 — Mr. Step exhibited the crustacean Squilla demarestii, and des- 

 cribed its Mantis-hke appearance and habits. — Mr. Gibbs, long 

 series and specimens of Pier is napi from various British localities, 

 a^nd pointed out their racial characters with reference to various 

 continental races and forms. — Mr. Cowham, hybrid Nyssia zonaria 

 and Biston hirtaria, varied series of Hybernia Icucophcearia and 

 H. marginaria, small forms of Leucania pallens, probably of the 

 second brood, and bred specimens of Zonosoma 'pendularia from 

 Oxshott, referable to the rosy form var. suhroseata. — Mrs. Hemming, 

 bred series of Melitcea atirinia : the Carlisle series included a melanic 

 form and var. virgata, the Welsh series included forms with very red 

 ground colour, and the Oxford series contained very pale specimens 

 as well as a specimen closely resembling M. cinxia. — Mr. Quarring- 

 ton, living larvae of Bumicia ])hlceas taken wild on April 7th and 

 10th. — Mr. Newman, full-fed larvae of Abraxas grossulariata kept in 

 sleeves out-doors, and living pupae of Dryas pai^hia and M. athalia. — 



