( -^^i ) 



Another record of great interest to the Society is found 

 under the date May 29, 1812, when Burchell was at Klaar- 

 water (Griquatown) making arrangements for his journey to 

 Litakun. It is contained in these words :— " The Sphinx 

 Atropos is called by Colonists the Bye-mot or Duyvel-hye, and 

 is firmly believed to be poisonous." 



This sentence appears to have been written later than the 

 brief record of the day, the writing being in a darker ink 

 and compressed into the narrow space between the entries for 

 May 29 and 30. 



Mr. Roland Trimen's observation of the superstitious dread 

 of this species in South Africa is thus both confirmed and 

 carried back to a much earlier date. (Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond. 

 1902, p. 402.) 



Professor Poulton exhibited a specimen of the large Melo- 

 lonthid beetle Lepidiota bimacalata, Saunders, and directed 

 attention to the two white eye-like spots on the elytra, and to 

 the tapering posterior abdominal segments which suggested the 

 appearance of the snout of a small mammal. The relative 

 position of the eye-like spots and apparent snout was such as 

 to promote the deceptive resemblance, which was also strongly 

 assisted by the regular shape of the white spots, the direc- 

 tion of their long axes, and the fact that they lay in the 

 shadow of a low but district ridge. Similar appearances were 

 to be seen in several allied species, and Professor Poulton 

 suggested that there were conditions during life in which the 

 anterior part of these beetles was concealed, as it might be by 

 foliage or by burrowing, and that the appearance of the 

 exposed posterior part then acted as a defence. Professor 

 Poulton had been led to draw attention to this example, which 

 had been long known to hiin, because of the obvious and 

 interesting analogy with the interpretation of the powerful 

 posterior legs of the male Ilelerochelus, sp., offered by Dr. G. 

 B. Longstaff at the last meeting of the Society (p. 93). 



Dr. F. A. DixEY exhibited specimens of Pierinai belonging 

 to the following species : — Terias Ixta, Boisd., Teracolus 

 puellaris, Butl., and T. danai', Fabr. (India) ; Terias brigitta, 

 Cram., Teracolus a?ince,Wallgrn., T. speciosiis, Wallgrn., T. auxo, 

 Luc, T. omphale, Godt., and 2\ erls, Klug (Africa) ; Terias 



