Proceedings. 89 



beetles : — Pelobius Hermanni (from a pond in Ashdown 

 Forest), Niptus hololeucus (from office in Dowgate Hill). 



Mr. W. H. Blaber, F.L.S., F.E.S., of Groombridge, read a 

 paper on ' British Lepidoptera. ; their Metamorphoses, 

 Structure, and Habits, with Hints for Collectors ' : — 



Mr. Blaber stated that the total number of different kinds 

 of insects known to inhabit England alone is about 12,000. 

 This seems a large number, but insects are by no means so 

 abundant in England as in the adjacent parts of the 

 Continent, nor are they so destructive to our crops. The 

 cutting down of forests, and draining of fens and marshes has 

 led to the destruction of a large number of insects, and those 

 that are indigenous to such spots run a great risk of becoming 

 exterminated. Take for instance the Large Copper Butterfly 

 {Lycmna dispar), which, though once common in the fens of 

 Cambridge and Huntingdon, has now quite disappeared owing 

 to the draining of the fens. In Scotland and Ireland insects 

 are not nearly so abundant as in England. Nearly every 

 insect we possess in this country is to be met with on 

 the Continent, and in many cases in much greater abundance 

 than with us. There are, however, a few species which have 

 failed to establish themselves across the Channel. 



Mr. Blaber advocated a careful study of butterflies' eggs, 

 remarking that each species has its own peculiar kind of egg, 

 with distinctive features in shape, colour, structure, or 

 markings. Some are globular, others are pear-shaped, 

 barrel-shaped, or bowl-shaped, while others again are ex- 

 quisitely fluted, ribbed, or covered with a kind of net-work of 

 raised lines. Some indeed have a lid at the top, and Mr. 

 Blaber has often watched a young caterpillar lift this oflf on 

 hatching from the egg, and making his first appearance. 

 Eggs, as a rule, are continually changing colour, and, as the 

 time arrives for them to hatch, generally become darker, 

 owing to the gradual development of the tiny caterpillar 

 inside, and by aid of the microscope we can, in some eggs, 

 observe its jaws at work eating a way out. The substance of 

 the egg-shell is peculiar, being apparently like thin horn, and 



