186 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



[The subject of insect anatomy is treated in Newman's 

 .' Grammar of Entomology,' and later, in his ' Familiar Intro- 

 duction to the History of Insects.' Both these works are, 

 however, out of print. There appears a demand for the latter, 

 and it is to be hoped the publisher will eventually reprint it. 

 —Ed.] 



Saturnia Carpini. — In reply to Mr. Edwards and Mr. 

 Jones (Entom. ix. 161), the larva of Saturnia Carpini will 

 feed upon whitethorn as well as on anything; and, indeed, is 

 sometimes found on the lower shoots of those whitethorn 

 bushes which happen to be on or at the edges of our heaths. 

 —Geo. T. Porritt; Huddersjield, July 10, 1876. 



Extracts from the Proceedings of the Etitomological Society 



of London. 



January 24, 1876 — Annual Meeting. 



Sir Sidney Smith Saunders, C.M.G., President, in the chair. 



[The following is an extract from the President's Address.] 



Relation of various Groups of Hymenopiera. — Dr. Miiller 

 has recently published a paper in the ' Bienen Zeitung' 

 (July 2nd), whereof a summary appears in ' Nature' (No. 314, 

 November 4th), to which a sequel is promised hereafter ; 

 wherein he treats of various groups of Hymenopterous 

 insects, " in which we find a series of forms presenting more 

 and more complex life-relations, accompanied by a higher 

 and higher mental organisation;" the consideration of which 

 gradations he considers " calculated to throw much light on 

 the question — How has the honey-bee acquired its remark- 

 able instincts?" Commencing with the Tenthredinidai, as 

 " amongst the lowest of Hymenoptera," exhibiting the 

 simplest instincts in their mode of oviposition on the plant 

 upon which they themselves subsist ; he passes on to the 

 Cynipidae, where we meet with a new mode of life, their 

 incision giving rise to the well-known galls; after which, 

 proceeding to the "insect-piercing species," he considers 

 that " this passage from phytophagous to carnivorous habits 

 has not only led to the formation of many new species, but 

 also to a greater complexity in the relation of the parents to 



