SOCIETIES. 45 



a few specimens of Venus ia cainbrica on tree trunks. The first 

 individual that I captured was apparently unaffected after some 

 minutes, and as my bottle was freshly charged, thinking that some- 

 thing might be wrong with the charge, I captured a tine lively 

 specimen of Anjijnms aglaia, and bottled him. He dropped un- 

 conscious in about ten or twelve seconds, yet camhrica was still 

 walking about after some twelve or fifteen minutes. It seems 

 strange that a small and somewhat delicate Geometer should resist 

 for so long the fumes of a charge which quickly affected so large 

 and powerful an insect as aglaia. Mentioning this fact to an old 

 entomological friend, he said that he had often noticed that some of 

 the smaller Geometers stood the fumes of cyanide for a long time. — 

 (Eev.) H. D. Ford ; Thursby Vicarage, Carlisle. 



PiERis KAP^ IN January. — Just as I entered the town of 

 Faversham this morning I noticed a freshly emerged specimen of 

 P. rapce sitting on the w^all of a house. The weather was bitterly 

 cold at the time, if not actually freezing. — E. B. Robertson (Major) ; 

 Oare Camp, Faversham, January dth, 1918. 



Papilio machaon. — Is not Mr. Jones (vol. 1, p. 382) rather 

 sanguine as to the possibility of the various female specimens of 

 machaon recently recorded being likely to perpetuate their species, 

 if they had not been caught ? The condition of the specimens 

 mentioned strongly suggests that they were escapes from confine- 

 ment (and recent emergences at that), and, consequently, extremely 

 unlikely to liave been impregnated ; hence the improbability of their 

 even ovipositing, supposing any acceptable food-plant to have been 

 within their reach. It is not particularly remarkable, therefore, that 

 their respective captors did not think it worth while to say anything 

 about presence of food-plant. So far as the specimen referred to by 

 myself is concerned — I was not the actual captor, be it noted — no 

 doubt the butterfly could have found carrots and fennel in the 

 gardens adjoining the Forest and also angelica and pimpinella in 

 the neighbouring meadows and on the banks of the Lea and Roding, 

 had it strayed so far ; but there is little suitable pabulum for its 

 larvae within the Forest boundary, and if there were, the larvcB would 

 soon be seen and secured by some collector in such a frequented 

 spot as the Forest. — C. Nicholson ; Hale End, Chingford, E. 4. 



Papilio bianor at Swanage. — Amongst some butterflies sent to 

 me by a young friend to name for him, and wdiich he caught at 

 Swanage and neighbourhood, is a specimen which Mr. G. C. Grifiiths 

 of Clifton tells me is Papilio bianor. He also tells me that it is not 

 the only one taken this season. Can anyone give any explanation of 

 its appearance in this country? — H. J. Gibbons ; 8, Nugent Hill, 

 Gotham, Bristol. 



SOCIETIES. 



The South London Entomological and Natural History 



Society. — November l^yid, 1917. — Mr. Hy. J. Turner, F.E.S., President, 



in the chair. — Mr. Bowman exliibited several series of Ilcmcrophila 



abruptaria bred in 1916 and 1917, spring and summer emergences, 



