264 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



swarming in a nest of Vespa gervianica in October, 1889, at Ince, 

 Cheshire, from which he bred flies in July, 1890. He also found larvae 

 of Homalomyia vesjxirum in the same nest, but bred only two files from 

 them. Probably this note about inanis was the evidence on which 

 Dr. Meade made the statement Mr. Morley quotes.— C. Nicholson ; 

 35, The Avenue, Hale End, E. 4, September 26th, 1920. 



Met5<;cus paradoxus and Sphecophaga vesparum. — It will 

 doubtless interest Mr. Morley and others to know that these two 

 species have been bred by an acquaintance of mine from nests of V. 

 vulgaris taken in the vicinity of Chingford, and I have portions of 

 a comb containing three cocoons of the ichneumon, as well as one of 

 the flies and three of the beetles, the latter all males. I have been 

 hoping for these species from local nests for some time, but have not 

 met with them myself up to the present. — C. Nicholson ; 35, The 

 Avenue, Hale End, B. 4. 



Scarcity of Vespa. — Wasps are extremely scarce in this district 

 this year. I know of one nest only — a strong germanica, which I hope 

 to take at the first opportunity — but I have seen vulgaris about in 

 one or two places and in small numbers. It would be interesting to 

 know whether the scarcity is general all over the country. At East- 

 bourne (last three weeks in July) I saw very few wasps, a few each of 

 vulgaris, gcrmanica and sylvestris being the sum total, and the weather 

 was, on the whole, not bad there at the time, but the last week was 

 cool and rather showery. No doubt the cold snap in April killed off 

 a lot of queens. — C. Nicholson ; 35, The Avenue, Hale End, E. 4. 



SOCIETIES. 



The South London Entomological Society. — Atigust 2Qth. — 

 The President in the Chair. — Mr. H. Main exhibited the early 

 stage of Mantis religiosa from Southern France, and several 

 spiders, and gave notes on their habits as observed by him.^ — • 

 Mr. Bowman, a male Parasemia i^lantaginis in which the hind right 

 wing was suffused. It was of a brood of which fifty-five out of sixty 

 pupue emerged in four days. — Mr. Barnet, series oi Hydriomena f areata, 

 including green, light-banded, variegated and very dark forms from 

 South Devon, very yellow forms of Ematnrga atomaria from Limps- 

 field, and a Plebeius agon from Oxshott with an unusually wide 

 white submarginal band on the underside. — Mr. Sich gave details 

 of the habits of the newly-hatched larvte of Goleopliora ibipcnnella. — 

 Mr. Edwards and Mr. Grosvenor, many forms of the polymorphic 

 species Papilio viemnon from the Indo-Malay region. — Mr. Edwards 

 then read a series of notes on the species. — Hy. J. Turner, Hon. 

 Editor of Proceedings. 



OBITUARY. 



We regret to hear that Mr. B. Anquetil, of The Burroughs, 

 Hendon, died on September 22nd last. 



