no 



anfallen. Er selbst beobachtete das u. a. bei M er ops apiaster. 

 Aber die Zahl der Individuen sei gewiss zu gering, als dass 

 man dem einen schöpferischen Einfluss auf die Resultate der 

 Natürlichen Zuchtwahl zusprechen könnte. Sie kämen nicht in 

 Betracht im Vergleich mit den Milliarden von Fröschen, Kröten 

 und insektenfressenden Reptilien. 



E. M. Dadd said that predaceous spiders must also be re- 

 garded as most serious enemies to butterflies. He had noticed 

 that the butterflies frequentl}^ fell victims to flower-haunting 

 species. Species of Mantis also accounted for many butterflies. 



C, G. Hewitt said that it was possible to detect the presence 

 of lepidopterous adults in the stomachs of birds provided the 

 examination was made shortly after the birds had fed. Such an 

 examination could, however, only be satisfactorily made by means 

 of a binocular microscope. 



J. VAN Bemmelen said that butterfly wings of difterent 

 kinds were found on the margin of the crater of the Bromo vol- 

 cano in Eastern Java, evidently bitten oft' by a hawk circling 

 round, and numerous butterflies were seen flying up the slopes 

 of the volcano and disappearing into the crater. 



G. B. LoNGSTAFF remarked that it was well known to lepi- 

 dopterists that butterflies, especially Papilionidce, had a habit 

 of frequenting the tops of hills, whether volcanic or otherwise. 



Prof. PouLTON replied that the interval between taking food 

 and casting the pellet probably varied greatly in the different 

 species of insectivorous birds. He looked forward to the publica- 

 tion of Mr. Swynnerton's detailed observations, which he was 

 sure would throw much light on this as well as many other sides 

 of the question. Mr. Swynnerton had informed him that 

 insectivorous birds as a rule digest with great rapidity.' 



A paper by M. Pic was announced entitled : 

 Le Mélanisme chez divers Cryptocephalus paléarctiques, 

 and taken as read (cf. Vol. II., p. 245). 



' See C. F. M. Swynnerton's paper, " Remarks on the stomach- 

 contents oí Birds," published since the meeting of the Congress, in Ibis, 

 October 1912, p. 635. 



