238 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



think Mr. Walsh has determined beyond question. The 

 impregnation of a single female may possibly be sufficient to 

 render her progeny, and their descendants, for several 

 generations, equally fertile ; and the same may possibly be 

 the history of Nematus gallicola. The male bred by Mr. 

 Walsh is said not to belong to the restricted genus Cynips, 

 but to one not represented in Europe. This may be the case ; 

 but in all essential generic characters it agrees in a remarkable 

 manner: ' SpongiHca,' like Cynips proper, has thirteen- 

 jointed antenna); the neuration of the wings is the same, and 

 no difference is perceptible in the construction of the legs; 

 the differences that are perceptible are in its abdomen being 

 less compressed, and it is glabrous ; there may be some other 

 minor differences ; the form of the thorax is apparently the 

 same as that of Cynips. The question, 'Has Cynips a male ? ' 

 remains, in the opinion of those who have attentively studied 

 the group, unanswered ; but surely more differences must 

 exist between ' Spongifica' and the members of the restricted 

 genus Cynips than a less compressed abdomen, and the 

 absence of the downy pile that is observable on the sides of 

 the abdomen of Cynips Kollari and its allies." A discussion 

 ensued, in which Messrs. Dunning, M'Lachlan, E. A. Fitch, 

 and others, took part; it appearing to some of the Members 

 that there was still a considerable amount of uncertainty as to 

 the precise generic rank of the presumed male Cynips. 



Habits of a Lepidopterous Insect parasitic on Fulgora 

 candelaria. — The President, who was unable to be at the 

 Meeting, forwarded a paper, entitled : " Notes on the Habits 

 of a Lepidopterous Insect parasitic on Fulgora candelaria, 

 by J. C. Bowring; with a Description of the Species, by 

 J. O. Westwood ;" accompanied by drawings of the insect in 

 its various stages. This curious insect, resembling a Coccus, 

 had been brought to this country twenty-six years ago by Mr. 

 Bowring ; and on his return to India he had succeeded in 

 rearing it to its perfect state, proving it to be the larva of a 

 Lepidopterous insect, the general appearance of which 

 induced the Professor to place it among the Arctiidae, The 

 larvae were found attached to the dorsal surface of the 

 Fulgora, and as they grew had a cottony covering, which 

 also occurred in the pupa state (a period which appeared to 

 be of very variable duration). The evidence appeared to 

 prove that the larva) fed on the waxy secretion of the 



