THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 371 



of the autuiimal flies which were examined not one was a 

 male. Mr. Walsh placed some of the autumnal form (C. q. 

 aciculata) on oak trees, and the}' created galls, from some of 

 which were obtained the spring form (C. q. spongifica); 

 whilst a few produced the autumnal form (C. q. aciculata), 

 and all the latter were females : these last again were placed 

 on isolated oaks, galls were formed by their puncturing, and 

 from these the spring form (C. q. spongifica) was again 

 obtained : from which observations it was to be inferred 

 that the two forms are not distinct species, but dimorphous 

 forms of the same species. From the red oak (Quercus 

 inanis) a different gall was obtained, smaller than the former, 

 and the central cell not woody : from these galls came male 

 and female gall-flies (Cynips quercus inanis, Osten-Sacken), 

 which were undistingnishable from the spring form of C. 

 spongifica, but no autumnal form of this fly had been dis- 

 covered, Mr. Walsh felt himself compelled to consider the 

 flies distinct, because the galls were different and were ob- 

 tained from distinct species of oak ; but the gall-flies were 

 exactly alike. An account of Mi*. Walsh's observations had 

 been given in 'The American Entomologist,' of which Mr. 

 Smith mentioned that, though 6000 copies were struck off, 

 the early numbers were already out of print. 



June 7, 1869. — Frederick Smith, Esq., in the chair. 

 Mr. Stainton exhibited drawings of the larva and pupa- 

 case of Gelechia atrella, and was now able to corroborate the 

 observation of Mr. Jeffrey that this species is a Hypericum 

 feeder. At the previous meeting of the Society, Mr. De Grey 

 had given Mr. Stainton some Hypericum stems containing 

 larvae, which had since produced Gelechia atrella : when 

 full-fed the larva cuts off the terminal portion of the stem, 

 which appears to be slit up the side for the purpose of 

 flattening it, and by spinning together the edges it forms a 

 flexible case, within which it turns to the pupa. 



Mr. F. Smith exhibited a bee which he had found on the 

 previous day at Southend, in grass, so completely covered 

 with larvge of Meloe that it was impossible to determine the 

 species of the bee until the greater part of the parasites had 

 been removed ; he did not remember to have ever found 

 larvae of Meloe so late in the season : there were forty or fifty 

 of them on the bee when exhibited, when captured there 



