SOCIETIES. 43 
Mr. Rowland E. Turner; Mr. J. W. Tutt; and Mr. C. O. Water- 
house. The outgoing President, Mr. C. O. Waterhouse, having 
alluded to the loss the Society had sustained in the death of seven 
Fellows, took as the subject of his address, ‘“‘ The Claws of Insects.” 
After briefly describing the various forms of insects’ claws which 
are classified as toothed, appendiculate, bifid, or pectinate; and 
having given examples of each, he suggested as a subject for investi- 
gation, which he hoped entomologists would take up as a study, 
“Are these forms of claw merely the result.of heredity without any 
special object, or is there evidence to show that the different forms 
are adapted to different modes of life; in fact, have been developed to 
meet special needs?’’ He then proceeded to show, by numerous 
examples, that closely allied species often had dissimilar claws; that 
insects with quite different habits had the same form of claw; and 
that others with different forms of claw seemed to have the same 
habits. The question therefore appeared to be still an open one, 
requiring careful investigation, and he appealed for more field obser- 
vation with a view to solve this and many other problems. — 
H. Rowuanp-Brown, M.A., Hon. Secretary. 
Tue SoutH Lonpon EntomonoaicaL AND Naturau History 
Socrety.—Nov. 26th, 1908. — Mr. A. Sich, F.E.S., President, in the 
chair: The Annual Exhibition of Varieties—Mr. Adlard, Bartholo- 
mew Close, E.C., was elected a member.—Mr. South exhibited series 
of Cirrhedia vaccinii and C. ligula from the Continent, and discussed 
at length the various forms and named varieties, comparing them 
with British examples. He also showed the Cucullia species pre- 
viously shown, stating that upon examination of the genitalia by Mr. 
Pierce, three of the Continental males were shown to be C. lychnitis 
and two C. verbasct, and one bred from a larva found feeding on Scro- 
phulartia nodosa in North Kent proved to be C. verbasci also.— 
Messrs. Harrison and Main, an extensive bred series of Aplecta nebu- 
losa, with a large proportion of var. robsont and var. thompsonz, and 
gave notes and statistics of the results. They also showed a bred 
gynandrous specimen of Preris napi, left side male, right side female.- 
—Mr. R. Adkin, series of Boarmia genmaria (rhomboidaria), com- 
prising typical and black forms reared from wild ova in 1907, and a 
portion of Edward Newman’s series of the same species and of var. 
perfumaria, and discussed the last-named form. He also showed 
Anthrocera achillee from Argyllshire, Nola albulalis from East 
Sussex, 1908, a variety of Chrysophanus phleas of a coppery shade 
with the red band reduced to narrow bars, an example of Aglazs 
urtice with very large blue lunules and tips of fore wings streaked 
with pale blue-grey, together with a case containing pupa-skins 
in sit of several of the rarer Sesiide, resinous nodules with cocoons 
of Retinea resinella, one of which had been appropriated by a larva 
of Dioryctria abietella, cocoons of Nola centonalis and of Hylophila 
bicolorana; also Zenillia roseane, a dipterous parasite on the larve 
of Tortrix pronubana, new to Britain.—Mr. G. T. Porritt, varieties of 
Abraxas grossulariata bred from wild larve of this year, including an 
ab. varleyata male, in which there was a double row of white rays on 
the hind wings.—Mr. Newman, a long series of Grapta c-album and 
