SOCIETIES. 167 



7iiegcera and read notes. ^ — Mr. Bacot gave an account of experiments 

 as to the distribution of trench fever bv lice. — The Rev. F. D. Morice 

 inquired whether androconial scales were known in insects other 

 than Lepidoptera. He thought that he had discovered them among 

 the Sawflies in the Australian genus Perga in two species. — The 

 President said that he had found Kirby's authority for the " tapping " 

 of A. striatum with its mandibles, but suspected an error in the 

 identification of the species. Also that the Danish naturalist, Jensen 

 Haarup, spoke of A.pertinax as tapping most vigorously before a storm 

 and being regarded in Jutland as a weather prophet. As this was 

 described as taking place specially in autumn and winter, the Presi- 

 dent considered it probable that the tapping was really made by the 

 book-louse. Comm. Walker felt sure that he had heard A. striatum 

 tapping where no X. tessellatuvi were present. 



The South London Entomological and Natural History 

 Society.— ^p-i/ 11th, 1918.— Mr. S. Edwards, F.L.S., President, in 

 the chair. — An exhibition and discussion of the genus Spilosoma. — 

 The President made some general remarks on the distribution of the 

 genus in the Palaearctic Region. — Mr. Ashdown's exhibit included an 

 example of the rare unicolor form of S. lubricepeda with only one 

 slight dot on the costa, from the Wye Valley. — Mr. R. Adkin, series 

 of various local races of the species and series of crossings between 

 the type and var. zatima of S. lubricipeda, very fine smoky, heavily 

 spotted S. menthastri, etc. — Mr. Mera, bred series of the species, 

 including many var. radiata and intermediates ; some fine var. 

 fasciata and aberrations with dark bodies, of S. lubricipeda. He 

 said that the zatima form was originally bred from the Lincolnshire 

 larvae. — Messrs. Kaye, Sperring, Leeds, Turner and Edwards also 

 showed series. — Mr. B. W. Adkin then exhibited his long series, and 

 read a paper, "The Genus Spilosoma." — Hy. J. Turner (Hon. Editor 

 of Proceed.) 



April 28th. — Mr. Stanley Edwards, F.L.S., President, in the 

 chair. — Mr. Ashdown exhibited Lepidoptera bred this year indoors, 

 including Diaphora viendica, Amphidasis betularia, Amorpha 

 populi, Hylophila prasinana, etc. — Mr. H. Moore, the S. American 

 Nymphalids, Catonephile acontius, and C. batesii, pointing out their 

 extremely sexual dimorphism. — Mr. Edwards, living larvae of Hepialus 

 humuli and of a species of Geotrupes (Col.), both dug up at Black- 

 heath. — Mr. Main, living larvae of Timarcha tenebricosa (Col.). — Mr. 

 Turner, series of Teras contaminana, with vars. ciliana, rhombafia, 

 dimidiana, and a much less common form recently pointed out by 

 Mr. Sich (' Ent. Record'). — Mr. Bunnett, a photograph of a raid of 

 locusts approaching a farm in S. Africa. — Messrs. Edwards, Leeds, 

 Frohawk, and others reported on the season. Vanessa io, Gonepteryx 

 rhamni were in abundance, and Euvanessa antiopa had occurred in 

 Aberdeenshire. 



May 9^/i.— The President in the chair.— Mr. E. E. Green, F.E.S., 

 of Bearsted, Kent, was elected a member. Annual exhibition of 

 Orders other than Lepidoptera. — Mr. Ashdown, a large number of 

 Coleoptera taken in Surrey and Hants, 1917, including Leptura nigra, 

 L. sexguttata, Conopalpus testaceus, Orsodana cerasi, Limonius 



