( xc ) 



Viburnum lantana showing the mines of Sesia {JEgeria) 

 andreniformis, now discovered by him as 'the food-plant of 

 the species in Britain for the first time. He said that, in the 

 Ent. Verein Zeit. Wien, the mine, which is unlike that of any- 

 other species of the genus, had been reported in Viburnum 

 opulus (the Garden Snowball Tree). 



Mr. E. DuKiNFiELD Jones exhibited two species of Molippa 

 from Parana, South East Brazil, which had been considered to 

 be both 31. sabina, Walk, The two species were so closely 

 allied that the only way to distinguish them was by comparing 

 the genitalia, dissections of which were shown. Photographs 

 of the larvae of both accompanied the exhibit. 



The President mentioned a bug which Mr. Cecil Floersheim 

 had found very destructive to the eggs of Pajnlio machaon 

 and P. asterias in his open-air butterfly house. It pierces the 

 ovum and feeds on the contents, leaving only the iridescent 

 shell, from May to August, being most abundant in June and 

 July. Its attacks are made in the penultimate stage, but 

 mostly in the winged stage, in which it is very agile. The 

 eggs of P. 2)^i'iie7ior do not seem attacked by it. Mr. E. 

 Saunders, F.R.S., who kindly allowed the insect to be sent to 

 him for identification, says it is one of the Capsidx, Heterotoma 

 merioptera, Scop., found on nettles and other plants, and 

 apparently common all over Europe ; but he had not heard of 

 its being predaceous on eggs. Though Renter speaks of the 

 Capsidss as sucking the juices of Podurids and Aphides as well 

 as of plants, Mr. Saunders thinks there is no doubt that most 

 of them are vegetable feeders, probably not averse to a little 

 change of diet as opportunity offers, but he would certainly 

 never have thought of Heterotoma as a carnivorous species. 



Dr. F. A. DiXEY exhibited several specimens of Pierine 

 butterflies in illustration of melanism, and made the following 

 remarks : — 



' ' At the recent meeting of the British Association in York, 

 much interest was aroused by Mr. Porritt's paper and exhibit 

 on the subject of melanism. It has occurred to me that an 

 illusti'ation of some of the general conditions under which 

 white and other kinds of pigment may be replaced by black 

 might possibly aid in the considei-ation of the more special 



