xliii 



Election of a 3f ember. 

 Mr. Philip Henry Gosse, F.R.S., of Torquay, Devonshire, was ballotted 

 for, and elected an Ordinary Member. 



Exhihitlons, dc. 



Mr. M'Lachlan exhibited specimens of an Hemipterous insect just 

 received from a gentleman residing near Canterbury, and which, it was 

 stated, was causing great damage to hops, being known to the growers as 

 the " needle-nosed flea." It was stated that hitherto it had only appeared 

 in a restricted area, but this year it occurred over many acres. The insect 

 proved to be Anthocoris nemorum, and Mr. M'Lachlan suggested that it 

 was on the hops in search of Aphides or other small insects, its habits being 

 carnivorous, so far as is known. Hence the hop-growers were possibly asking 

 advice as to the destruction of what might be one of their best friends. 



Mr. M'Lachlan also exhibited examples of the larvee of one of the 

 Embida, found by Mr. Wood-Mason at Jubbulpore on his return to 

 Calcutta, crawling on the ground in the open, and also occurring under 

 loose bricks ; the latter habit being quite in accordance with that most 

 generally attributed to the family, although one species [Oligotoma Michaeli, 

 M'Lach.) had been found in a hot-house near London, in all its stages, and 

 apparently injuring orchids. The species sent by Mr, Wood-Mason was 

 probably Oligotoma Saundersi, Westwood. 



Mr. M'Lachlan further called attention to the sculptured stones on the 

 shores of Lake Leman, alluded to at two previous meetings {vide Proc. pp.xviii 

 and xxx), and which it had been suggested by Prof. Forel might be merely 

 due to the action of Trichopterous larvae, apparently those oiTinodes ivceneri 

 [larida, Curtis). Mr. M'Lachlan had recently examined multitudes of these 

 stones on the shores of Lake Neuchatel, and under peculiarly favourable con- 

 ditions, because recent engineering works had lowered the level of the lake, 

 and exposed many interesting phenomena. The stones, which (as in those of 

 Lake Leman) were limestone, were very strongly sculptured, but in differing 

 degrees, so as to lead one to suppose that all might not have been acted 

 upon by the same agents, or that differences in the texture of the stone 

 occasioned variety in the sculpturing. He was doubtful as to the ability 

 of any Trichopterous larvae to occasion the sculpturing, and thought it more 

 probably the result of the work of Mollusca, but there still remained much 

 uncertainty as to its exact nature. 



Mr. Waterhouse, with reference to injury done to hops, stated that he 

 had recently inspected a hop garden in Sussex, in which great mischief 

 had been done by a species of Homopteron {Euacanthus interruj^tns), 

 probably assisted by an Hemipteron [Lygus). These punctured the leaves 

 in which holes were afterwards formed, so that the surface was destroyed, 



