119 



SOCIETIES. 



Entomological Society of London. — Wednesday , March 21.sf, 1906. 

 — Mr. F. Merrifield, President, in the chair. — The Eev. George A. 

 Crawshay, M.A., of "Lowlands," Leighton-Buzzard ; Mr. Hereward 

 Dolman, of Hove House, Newton Grove, Bedford Park, W. ; Mr. 

 Edward Dunkiniield Jones, of " Castro," Keigate ; Mr. John Neville 

 Keynes, M.A.. Sc.D.. of 6, Harvey Road, Cambridge; Mr. D. L. McCarri- 

 son, Indian Police Forces, Madras Club, Madras; and Mr. George E. 

 Tryhane, of Trinidad, were elected Fellows of this Society. — Dr. F. A. 

 Dixey exhibited six female examples of the Pierine genus Eronia with 

 corresponding males, and drew attention to the extreme diversity 

 shown by the males in these closely allied species. He considered 

 that this characteristic was due to the fact that in every instance the 

 male had been diverted from the ordinary aspect of the group by the 

 operation of mimicry, either Miillerian or Batesian. The species of 

 entirely different affinities which had acted presumably as models were 

 associated also with the exhibit. — Mr. R. Adkin showed two specimens 

 of Emmelesia uiiifasciata which had emerged in August last from pups 

 which had lain over since the autumn of 1900, thus having passed five 

 seasons in the pupal stage. — Dr. T. A. Chapman, M.D., exhibited a 

 number of specimens from the Riviera, Sicily, &c., and read a paper on 

 the "Progressive Melanism in the Riviera of Hastula hyerana." A 

 discussion followed on melanism and its causes, in which Mr. G. T. 

 Porritt, Dr. F. A. Dixey, the President, and other Fellows joined. 



Wednesday, April ith, 1906. — Mr. C. 0. Waterhouse, Vice-President, 

 in the chair. — Mr. Leonard Doncaster, M.A., King's College, Cam- 

 bridge; Major F. Winns Sampson, H.M. Travelling Commissioner, 

 Senior Oflficers' Mess, Old Calabar, Southern Nigeria ; and Mr. 

 Raleigh S. Smallman, Wressil Lodge, Wimbledon Common, S.W., 

 were elected Fellows of the Society. — Mr. H. St. J. Donisthorpe 

 exhibited a specimen of the very rare ant Formicoxeuus nitidulus, a 

 neuter, found in a nest of Formica rufa at Weybridge during the 

 present month. Mr. A. J. Chitty said he had taken a single male of 

 the species in the Blean Woods, and the Rev. F. D. Morice reported it 

 common in Switzerland, where he had taken examples of all three sexes 

 abundantly. — Mr. G. C. Champion showed a specimen of Platypsyllus 

 cantoris, Ritsema, a Coleopterous parasite of the beaver, from France, 

 and suggested that perhaps it might be found on the beavers in the 

 LondonGardensof the Zoological Society. — Mr.W.G. Sheldon exhibited 

 several specimens of a Nbctua which he said corresponded to Dr. H. 

 Guard-Knagg's original description oi Agrotis helretina (' Entomologist's 

 Annual,' 1872). He had purchased them at the sale of the late Dr. 

 Mason's collection, in which they were labelled as light varieties of 

 Noctua avgur, to which species he thought, in fact, that they should be 

 referred. — Mr. A. H, Jones exhibited examples of butterflies taken by 

 him last year in Majorca showing injury to the wings, caused in his 

 opinion by the attacks of lizards. He remarked that a large proportion 

 of the few butterflies met with in the island were mutilated, especially 

 at the posterior part of the hind wings. — The Rev. F. D. Morice gave 

 an account of the calcaria observed on the legs of some Hymenoptera. 



