( XXXV ) 



of Anthaxia, etc., forwarded by Dr. T A. Chapman from 

 Ste. Maxima, South France. 



Mr. F. B. Jennings brought for exhibition an example of 

 the weevil Procas armillatus, F., taken near Dartford, Kent, 

 on April 13th, last. This species appears to be extremely 

 scarce in Britain, and with the exception of a single specimen 

 taken near Chatham by Commander Walker, and exhibited by 

 him at the meeting of the Society held March 18th, 1896, has 

 not been recorded from this counti'y for a considerable period, 



Mr. M. Jacoby exhibited a box of beetles from New Guinea, 

 including Aesernia meeki,Jsic., A. costata, Jac, A. gestroi, Jac, 

 and Cetoniadse and Lucanidse from South Africa and Borneo. 



Mr. H. St. J. Donisthorpe exhibited specimens of Hydro- 

 chus 7iitidicoUis, Muls., a beetle not hitherto recorded in 

 Britain, taken in the River Meavy at Yelverton, Devon, in 

 April. 



The Rev. F. D. Morice exhibited lantern-slide photographs 

 (from nature) of the $ calcaria postica in Hymenoptera belong- 

 ing to divers groups, mostly Aculeates, but including also 

 representatives of the Chrysids, Ichneumonids, and Sawflies. 



He submitted that, in all the examples shown, the structure 

 of the calcaria themselves (and also of the parts adjacent to 

 them) clearly indicated that their main function was that of 

 an elaborately-constructed instrument for toilet purposes. It 

 was well known that the anterior calcar was used as a sort of 

 strigil to clean the antennfe ; but little attention seemed to 

 have been paid to the question how the other calcaria were 

 used, though various suggestions had been offei^ed, e. g. that 

 they assisted the insects in progression, or in "climbing" 

 (Burmeister), or in "digging their bvuTows" (Kirby and 

 Spence). He did not think that the structure and position 

 of the calcaria made any of these suggestions probable ; and 

 added that climbing was seldom if ever practised by 

 Hymenoptera, and that parasitic Aculeates, Ichneumonids, 

 SawHies, etc., did not dig. Practically all the Hymenoptera, 

 however, visited flowers ; and might thus become dusted with 

 the pollen, which would require to be removed from time to 

 time ; and the theory that this was the real function of the 

 calcaria in all cases, seemed to explain satisfactorily all the 



