JOURNAL OF PROCEEDINGS. IX 



bread soaked in water. It was observed that upon a noise made, 

 it drew itself up, and held up one of its legs in the direction of 

 the noise. These limbs appeared to be but very slightly attached 

 to the body, as the insect had jerked off several, apparently in 

 one instance without cause. 



Mr. Sells stated that the real cochineal insect had been raised 

 during the past and present summers in the hothouses of King 

 Leopold at Claremont. Mr. Westwood stated that it had also 

 been introduced into the stoves at the Jardin des Plantes, by M. 

 V. Audouin, and that fifty years ago its introduction into India was 

 attempted, a garden having been expressly formed for its growth, 

 of which a drawing is preserved in the British Museum. Mr. 

 Anderson of Madras was the projector of this attempt ; and 

 Donovan states that ten species of Coccus had been introduced. 

 Mr. Saunders stated that the failure of this attempt was owing 

 to the employment of a species of Cactus, very closely allied to, 

 but specifically distinct from the true Cactus Coccinell/fe?-, which 

 would alone support the true cochineal insect. 



Mr. Holme communicated specimens of Anohium paniccum, 

 taken from the Arabic manuscripts in the Cambridge Library, 

 brought from Cairo by Burckhardt, to which they had done con- 

 siderable injury. 



Mr. Westwood communicated a letter addressed to him by Dr. 

 Hairby, giving an account of the capture of Cantharis vesicatoria, 

 in immense profusion in Suffolk, and which was found upon ex- 

 periment to be equally efficacious with the exotic specimens. 



He also communicated an extract from a letter which he had 

 received from Dr. T. W. Harris, of Boston, U. S., strongly urging 

 the propriety of the adoption of a fixed set of rules regulating 

 zoological nomenclature. 



A letter was also read from W. Spence, Esq., F. L. S,, H. M. 

 E. S., &c., relative to the destruction of the apple crop during 

 the present season, which was chiefly attributable to the attacks of 

 Aphides before the flowers had expanded. Mr. Westwood stated 

 that he had particularly observed the destruction of the apple 

 crop at Hammersmith, some of the trees in his garden not having 

 a single apple left on them. In the spiring, however, he had not 

 observed any peculiar increase of the Aj)hides, and in many cases 

 the unopened bloom had fallen without any attacks of insects. 

 At a later period he had observed the inside of the fruit infested 

 by the larvae of a species of Tenthredimdce, a peculiarity hitherto 

 unnoticed in the economy of that family. The Rev. H. S. Taylor 



