334 PROCEEDINGS OF societies. —_[ Monthly Microscopical 
At the July meeting of the Entomological Society, Professor 
Westwood made some observations on minute Acari found in the un- 
opened buds of black-currant trees, and possessing but four legs, and 
on another species, which forms small pustules on the leaves of pear- 
trees ; these, with a third form, described some years since in France, 
he regarded as constituting a distinct tribe of the family Acaride, and 
must at all events be placed in a separate genus, for which he proposed 
the name of Acarellus. 
Mr. Tatem also exhibited the flea of a ferret and gizzard of an 
elater. 
Mr. Austin showed Hydrodictyon utriculatum (in three stages), 
Zygnema after conjugation (with spores in two stages), Peziza villosa 
(on Ulex), and Uncinula vicornis, Peronospora macrospora, Lecythea 
miata (leaf fungi). 
November 1st.—The usual business of the annual meeting haying 
been transacted, a paper by Mr. Tatem was read. In “Notes on 
New Infusoria,” he described Diflugia ligata, aberrant forms of Stylo- 
nichia aud Epistylis , of which full particulars were given. 
Camera drawings illustrated the paper.* 
Captain Lang read “A Note on Actinophrys Sol,” recording obser- — 
vations made on the 2nd of October upon two of these animals, one 
about twice the size of the other. They were distant from each other 
some two or three diameters of the larger one, but were connected by 
one of the pseudopodia. Gradually the smaller Actinophrys was drawn 
close to the larger one, and as this took place the smooth tapering 
pseudopodia of both became irregularly moniliform. The animals 
remained close to each other for about five minutes, and then slowly 
resumed their former position; the moniliform appearance of the 
pseudopodia passing away. ‘Two or three minutes afterwards the 
larger one emitted from the side nearest its companion a swarm of very 
minute quivering atoms. The power used was one of 280 diameters, 
obtained by Beck’s ;4,th objective (on the double nose-piece), and his 
second eye-piece. In the short time required to get a ith objective, 
and put it on to examine these small bodies, they had disappeared. 
The two creatures once more approached, but nothing particular was 
observed. It was then seen that the larger Actinophrys was altering 
its form from a circular to a dumb-bell shape. The constriction, on 
which there were no pseudopodia, rapidly increased, became at last a 
mere thread, and eventually complete fission took place. Two separate 
and perfect Actinophrya were the result, each being exactly the same 
size as the smaller one first observed, and which was still in the field 
of the microscope. 
The self-division had been often witnessed, but the prior pro- 
ceedings here described the writer had never seen or heard of before, 
and hence the record, without any attempt to give an opinion or 
explanation. 
Mr. Hoyle exhibited a seven-lobed Floscularia (? Floscularia pro- 
boscidea). 
* This paper will be found in the present Number. 
