XX 



exterminated by weeding out and burning the canes as soon as they showed 

 any symptoms of being infested. 



Mr, W. L. Distant exhibited a specimen of the so-called " vegetable 

 caterpillar" from isew Zealand, procured for him by Dr. Dunkley. This 

 is the larva of a moth, Hepialus vivescens, on which the spores of Co/dyceps 

 {Spliwria) Ruberlsii frequently fall, becoming truly vegetable parasites, 

 destroying the caterpillars, and growing tlierefrom in the form which has 

 caused so many erroneous statements to be made. This caterpillar feeds on 

 the Convolvulus (native potato). 



Mr. T. R. Billups exhibited a larva of Plusia chrysitis and some specimens 

 of an Ichneumon that infested it. He stated that 120 of the Ichneumons 

 had emerged, and that he had identified them as a species of Paxylloma. 



Mr. A. Phipson exhibited a remarkable variety of Fyrameis cardui taken 

 near Basingstoke last August. (See fig.) 



Papers read, dc. 



The Secretary read the following note by Mr. Sidney Churchill, of 

 Teheran : — 



" l>iote on Aryas Persicus.'' 



"M. I'ischer, of Waldheim, in his 'Notice sur I'Argas de la Perse,' p. 14 

 (Acad, de Moscow, 1823), remarks : — ' C'est la punaise venimeuse de Miana 

 des voyageurs ct dont on a tant exagere les accidents. II ale coi'ps ovalaire 

 allonge, plus retreci en avant que la punaise des lits, avec laquelle ou I'a 

 compare ; tous le dos garni de petits grains blanchatre, commes chagrines ; 

 le bord ties peu ourle, un pen enchancre, bi-lateralement en avant; couleur 

 d'un rouge sanguin clair, parseme sur le dos de points eleves blancs ; pattes 

 piiles.' M. i\douin has classified the species found by M. Savigny in Egypt 

 under the head of Aryas Persicus. But that species is oval, whereas both 



