of a Hybrid Smerinilms. 199 



especially as he had not noticed the union between the red and 

 yellow specimens of Z. ephialtes, nor between the red ephialtes 

 and Jilipendxdce. M. Treitschke had also observed Saturnia 

 carpini and S. sp'ini coupled, and had procured three caterpillars 

 from the eggs, which (the caterpillars) were very nearly similar 

 to those of carpini, but which he did not succeed in rearing, 



M, Villiers also, in the same volume, p. 422, mentions that 

 having found Z. minos and filipendulce coupled, the female pro- 

 duced eggs, from which larvae were hatched, which the author 

 placed in the retired part of a forest where he had never observed 

 any Zygcpnce, and in the hopes of finding the progeny in the fol- 

 lowing year, at which time however he found many specimens, 

 but all proved to be Z.filipendtdce. These he nevertheless con- 

 sidered to be the result of the observation of the preceding year, 

 although it is evident that no decided opinion could be given upon 

 the circumstance, 



M. Stein also, in Oken's Isis for 1835, p, 343, has described a 

 bastard butterfly as he regards it, which he had captured, and 

 which he considered to be the production of an union between 

 Hipparchia Pamphihis and Iphis. 



M. Boksch communicated to the Natural History Section of the 

 German Meeting of Naturalists, held at Breslau in ] 833, an 

 instance in which Melontha hippocastaneus and M. vulgaris had 

 been found coupled, (Trans. Ent. Soc. vol, i. p. iv.) 



In the Transactions of our Society (vol. i. Journal of Pro- 

 ceedings, p. 83) instances are mentioned, on the authority of Mr. 

 Shuckard, of specimens of Osmia and Chelosioma thus found 

 united ; and, on the authority of Mr. Hope, of a Donacia and 

 Crioceris, and of a Buprestis and Elater ; whilst we were assured 

 at the same meeting, by Mr. Scales, of his having observed an 

 attempted copulation between one of the small dragon flies and a 

 Vanessa urticcs. 



Still more recently Mr. H. Doubleday has noticed the singular 

 occurrence of a copulation between a male ISpliinx ligustri and a 

 female Smcrinthus ocellatus, although there were several other 

 individuals of both sexes of the two species at the same time in 

 the breeding cage. (Entomologist, August, 1842, p. 257.) 



Such are all the facts which I have been able to discover on 

 record relative to this curious subject. We will, therefore, now 

 notice the opinions which have been given by various Entomo- 

 logical physiologists relative to it, and which not only affect the 

 physiological question of the generative powers of these insects, 

 but also the nature of the claims of many insects, hitherto re- 



