302 THE ENTOMOLOGIST, 



Mansbridge, F.E.S., vioe-President in the chair. — A lecture was 

 delivered by Mr. P. N. Pierce, F.E.S., on " The Androconial scales of 

 Butterflies." He explained that these scales were only found upon the 

 males of the various species and were even in that sex uncertain. 

 The lecturer instanced the entire absence of this kind of scale in tlie 

 case of the large group of the Lycseuidae, in such species as had brown 

 males. Mr. Pierce described a hitherto unobserved scale which he 

 had discovered when examining the male of the brown argus butterfly 

 ( Lycmia arjestes) which appeared to be not only confined to the " blues "' 

 but to a very small patch, consisting of a few of these new scales, on 

 the under side of the fore-wings, at the extreme base of the inner 

 margin. He also enumerated some of the theories put forward from 

 time to time as to the utility of these androconials. The lecture was 

 fully illustrated with micro photos of the actual scales, shown through 

 the lantern. This very entertaming lecture was followed by a lengthy 

 discussion, in which most of the members present took part. The 

 following members exhibited Lepidoptera. — Mr. P. N. Pierce, specimens 

 of the British Lycsenidae in illustration of his paper. — Mr. Wm. 

 Mansbridge, a short series of Pygmra curtula from Ireland, one 

 specimen showing failure of the brown scales at the tips of the 

 fore-wings. — Mr. H. R. Sweeting bred series of the following from 

 Delamere : — Geometni papilionana and EllDpia prosapiaria ; the latter 

 siiowing the dusty greyish suffusion characteristic of the locality.— 

 Dr. J. Cotton exhibited a lantern slide of several British Rhopalocera 

 photographed by Lumiere's recently perfected process — H. R. Sweeting 

 and Wm. Mansbridge, Hon. Sees. 



Birmingham Entomological Society. — October 21st, 1907. — Mr. 

 G. T. Bethune-Baker, President, in the chair. — Arrochar Lepido- 

 ptera : Rev. C. P. Thornewell showed various Lepidoptera collected at 

 Arrochar this year, including Larentia tristata, L., two specimens of a 

 nice form, with cream-coloured ground and coffee-coloured markings. 

 He said that in daylight the markings had quite a golden tinge. The 

 extent of the markings was normal, excepting that tlie central band 

 was restricted ; there were also L. adieqaata Blch. (blandiata, Hb.), and 

 an unrecognized Eupithecia. Biyophila. — Mr. G. T. Fountain showed a 

 long series ot perla, P., and viuralis, Porst., from many British locali- 

 ties, to illustrate the extent of their variability. — Gynandromorphs : 

 Mr. Colbran J. Wainwright showed two specimens of Platychirtis 

 albinianus, P., from Sutton Park, which were quite extraordinary. 

 They were melanic, one showing no trace of markings, and in different 

 degrees they showed characters intermediate between those of the 

 male and the female sexes. Strictly speaking, they were not gynan- 

 dromorphs, as they did not display some parts with male characters, 

 and other parts with female characters. They would be better de- 

 scribed as females possessing certain characters approaching those 

 normally possessed only by the males. The chief points were that the 

 foreheads, though separated, were only half the width of those in 

 normal females, and were similar to males in some details of form : 

 the fore tarsi and tibis, normally single in the females, were in these 

 widened in similar manner to those of males, but not so much (the 

 two specimens differing much in degree). The genitalia outwardly 



