SOCIETIES. 91 



in the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. A discussion 

 followed, in which Mr. Hampson and Mr. McLachlan took part. 

 Canon Fowler exhibited, on behalf of Mr. C. A. Myers, an unusually 

 fine specimen of Sj^JuBria robertsi, growing from the prothorax of an 

 underground larva of an Hepialus, supposed to be H. virescens, from 

 New Zealand. Mr. McLachlan said that there was a doubt whether the 

 caterpillar should be referred to this species. Mr. Blandford stated 

 that the French Government had set aside a section of the Pasteur 

 Institute at Paris for the study of entomophagous fungi. Professor 

 L. C. Miall and Mr. N. Wallier communicated a paper entitled "On 

 the Life-history of Pericoma canescens (Psychodidae)," with an Appendix 

 by Baron Osten-Sacken. Herr Jacoby read a paper entitled " Con- 

 tributions to our knowledge of African Phytophagous Coleoptera." 

 Dr. D. Sharp remarked that Erichsen began the ' Insekten Deutsch- 

 lands ' some sixteen years ago, and as he was engaged on a classifi- 

 cation of the Coleoptera of the world, he included a considerable 

 number of these exotic species in his work. Mr. G. F. Hampson read 

 a paper entitled "Descriptions of new Heterocera from India." — 

 W. W. FowLEE, Hon. Sec. 



South London Entomological and Natural History Society. — 

 Jammrii '^^tli^ 1895.— Annual General Meeting.— Uv. T. W.Hall, F.E.S., 

 Vice-President, in the chair. The Council's and Treasurer's Reports 

 were read, and the Officers and Council for the year were elected as 

 under:— President, T. W. Hall, F.E.S. ; Vice-Presidents, C. G. Barrett, 

 F.E.S., and J. Henderson; Treasurer, R. Adkin, F.E.S. ; Librarian, 

 H.J. Turner, F.E.S.; Curator, W. West (Greenwich); Hon. Secretaries, 

 Stanley Edwards, F.L.S. (Corresponding), and Hy. J. Turner, F.E.S. 

 (Report); Council: T. R. Billups, F.E.S.; C. A. Briggs, F.E.S.; 

 J. H. Carpenter; C. Fenn, F.E.S.; F. E. Filer; W. Mansbndge, 

 F.E.S. ; and W, A. Pearce. In the absence of Mr. Step, the retiring 

 President, Mr. Hall read the Annual Address. 



February 14fA.— Mr. T. W. Hall, F.E.S., President, in the chair. 

 Mr. W. Furneaux, F.R.G.S., of Omany Road, New Cross, was elected 

 a member. Mr. Peach exhibited a specimen of the genus Xanthia, 

 said to be X. ocellaris, but which all present considered merely a var. 

 of X. ffUvaijo; it was from Wimbledon. Mr. Adkin, Vanessa urticce, L., 

 var. from Sutherland and N. Ireland, and commented upon the 

 similarity of these to the Japanese form called V. conne.va, Butl. He 

 also exhibited series of Zi/geena filipendulcB from Sutherland, taken 

 2000 ft. above the sea. Mr. Williams, series of A. cardamines, L., 

 with examples of a form which some authorities term A. alberti, and 

 read notes thereon. — -Hy. J. Turner, Hon. Report Secretary. 



Birmingham Entomological Society. — January lith, 1895. — Mr. G. 

 H. Kenrick, President, in the chair. Dr. F. A. Dixey, of Oxford, 

 delivered a lecture entitled " The Growth of Mimetic Patterns in 

 Butterflies." He first of all showed, with the aid of lantern slides, 

 what he believed to be the line of development of the Pieridae, from an 

 original uniformly neutral-coloured ancestor ; and then, with the aid 

 of diagrams, showed the probable process of changing from a typical 

 Pierid to one closely mimicking a Helicon ins, dealing with many of the 

 difficulties of the theory of mimicry , and advancing probable explanations. 



