( ix ) 



Mr. SwYNNERTON remarked that some Termites also signal 

 by striking tlie mandibles on the ground, and also observed 

 that ants are deterred from pushing home an attack by 

 unpleasant secretions, but are ready to attack when the 

 secretion is exhausted. 



Mr. DoNiSTHORPE, referring to the covering of lepidopterous 

 larvae with earth by ants, said that this might be explained 

 by their habit of covering any damp or wet place, tar or 

 sticky or otherwise unpleasant object, with bits of earth, 

 etc., and even their own Aphidae, rather than by the ex- 

 planation formerly offered that they were trying to build a 

 bridee. At the same time he had seen in his observation 

 nests ants bringing bits of stick, earth, etc., and putting 

 them into the water in their water-troughs, as if trying to 

 build a bridge. 



Mr. Crawley said he had seen ants put earth at the edge of 

 honey before drinking it. 



Mr. SwYNNERTON said that he had seen ants put earth 

 against unpleasant substances, e. g. a kind of fly that they 

 found distasteful, apparently to warn off the other ants, for 

 they thereafter became objects of no interest. 



Butterflies prom Biak. — Mr. Talbot exhibited on behalf 

 of Mr. J. J. Joicey a number of new forms of Lepidoptera from 

 Biak, the largest of the Schouten Islands to the north of New 

 Guinea, collected by Messrs. A. C. and F. Pratt during two 

 months of the summer of 1914. The following is a list of the 

 insects exhibited : — 



Papilio Othello, $ f. obsciirata, P. euchenor f. comma, P. 

 felixi, Delias maudei, D. ynulticolor, D. hosnikiana, D. dohertyi 

 f. knowlei, D. talboti, D. biaka, Appias albina f . pulverobasalis, 

 and five ? forms, A.falcidia, Fruh., ^ and ?, A. ada f. solis, Pare- 

 ronia chinhi, Cynthia arsinoe f. bosnikensis, Cirrochroa im- 

 feratrix, Sm., $, Cethosia chrysippe f. schoutensis, Symbrenthia 

 hippoclus f. nigroapicalis, Mynes geoffroyi f. aureodiscus, 

 Charaxes latona f. marcia, Hypolimnas pithoeka f. fumosus, 

 Doleschallia bisaltide f. nigromarginata, D. noorna f. fulva, 

 Neptis shepherdi f. gregalis, N. venilia f. albopunctata, Euthalia 

 aeropus f. angiistifaf^cia, Prothoe australis f. satgeii, Elymnias 

 cybele f. umbratilis, E. viridescens f. cinereomargo, Melanitis 



