222 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



tive resemblance of H. leucophcBaria to the oak-trunk upon which it 

 rested. — Mr. A. Bacot exhibited hybrid larvje resulting from a pairing 

 between a male Malacosoma nenstria and a female M. castrensis, also 

 larvae of M. nenstria, and reputed larvae of M. franconica, for com- 

 parison. He said that this year's brood of hybrid larvae had separated 

 into two batches, tbe " Forwards " being now nearly full-fed, and from 

 one and a-half to two and a-half inches in length. The " Laggards " 

 were not yet half grown, being half to three-quarters of an inch long, 

 in this respect exactly following last year's brood resulting from a 

 similar cross, in which case the "Forwards" produced only female 

 specimens, while the " Laggards " produced only males. — Mr. H. J. 

 Elwes, F.R.S., read a paper on " The Butterflies of Chile," and ex- 

 hibited a selection of .the specimens he had taken during December, 

 January, and February, in that country. The endemic species of 

 Satyrid^e and Hesperid^e constituted about two-thirds of the whole 

 butterfly fauna, Nymphalidfe and Lycfenidfe being very few in numbers. 

 Some butterflies of Holarctic types, such as Colias vautieri, had an 

 extremely wide range, and extended, with little variation, right down 

 to the Straits of Magellan. Among the most remarkable species 

 which he showed was the unique Satyrid, Ari/i/rophurus argenteus, the 

 upper side of which is of a brilliant metallic silver colour, nothing 

 similar existing in the whole family. This flies on open grassy hill- 

 sides; whilst in the forests close by, a Hesperid, Cyclnpides piiehiue, has 

 its wings on the under side entirely of a metallic golden colour, this 

 also being unique among the Hesperidse. It seemed impossible to 

 account for such remarkable cases of coloration by any theory of pro- 

 tective colouring. No natural frontier appeared to exist between Chile 

 and Argentina, and nearly all the mountain species occurred on both 

 sides of the political frontier, there being little difference between the 

 alpine and the low country species. — -Mr. S. L. Hinde read a paper, 

 illustrated by lantern-slides, upon "The Protective Resemblance to 

 Flowers borne by an African Homopterous Insect, Plata nigrocincta, 

 Walker." He said that " the cluster of insects grouped to resemble a 

 flower-spike," which forms the frontispiece of Professor J. W. 

 Gregory's ' Great Rift Valley,' had attracted some criticism, and that 

 as he was familiar with the insect figured, and with its larva, in a 

 wild state, it seemed desirable to publish the evidence. In the plate 

 the insects are collected on the vertical stem, the green individuals 

 uppermost considerably smaller than the red beneath, like the un- 

 opened green buds towards the top of a flowering spike as compared 

 with the expanded blossoms below. The separate representations of 

 the green and red forms, however, indicate no difi'erence in size, and 

 experience confirms this conclusion, so that the impression conveyed 

 by the frontispiece plate is erroneous. After further noting that the 

 uniform deep pink colour of the exposed parts of the insects figured was 

 also incorrect, Mr. Hinde remarked that he had never seen the insects 

 grouped according to their colours, but invariably mixed ; that he had 

 never found larvse and imagines on the same stem, or even together on 

 the same tree or bush ; nor did the imagines affect vertical stems, but 

 always those actually or approximately horizontal. When disturbed 

 the imagines fly, and the larva hops, a short distance in any direction, 

 but soon collect into groups again. The larvse toward the end of a 



