11 



genus Aprostoma was by Prof. Lacordaire referred to the family Brenthida; ; at all 

 events the insect from the Niger exhibited by Prof. Westwood was generically distinct, 

 and in Mr. Pascoe's opinion abundantly distinct, from Gempylodes. 



Mr. Pascoe exhibited a curious bug (perhaps an Odontoscelis) from the neitjbbour- 

 hood of Toulon; he had been unable to identify it with any species described by 

 M. Mulsaiit. 



Prof. Westwood gave an account of ihe new vine-pest, Rhizaphis, to which his 

 attention was first called in 1863 : its mode of attacking the vine was two-fold, or at 

 all events specimens between which he could not find any difference, and which to all 

 appearance belonged to the same species, caused damage to the vines in two very 

 different ways. Some of them sucked the upper side of the leaf, and caused the 

 appearance on the lower side of a gall, which was unique in its character; the upper 

 coat of the leaf split into tooth-like or radiating segments, each with delicate white 

 filaments ; beneath this covering the insect sheltered herself, being visible through the 

 interstices between the radiations, and was of the size of an ordinary pin's head ; there 

 she lay her eggs, which hatched immediately, and the mother and young together filled 

 the cavity or cell; the young, however, soon left her, and went to the younger parts of 

 the plant, to commence depredations on their own account; a leaf would sometimes 

 be covered with them. Prof. Westwood knew no other instance of an insect burying 

 itself iu this manner. The other mode of attack was by sucking the roots or rootlets 

 underground, thereby causing decay and rottenness, and killing the vine; there was 

 not any gall or swelling formed, but he had found the young ones with their parent on 

 the roots. In the South of France whole vineyards had been destroyed ; and the pest 

 occurred iu England, though whether or not introduced or imported with the vines he 

 could not say. The female alone had been detected in this country, but Dr. Signoret 

 had obtained the male, and referred it to the genus Phylloxera. Prof. Westwood 

 wished to hear if any Member present was aware of any instance of the same insect 

 attacking a plant both above and below ground in two such dissimilar ways. 



Mr. Frederick Smith was able to mention an instance. The common Cynips 

 aptera was well known to form clusters of galls on the fibrous roots of the oak; on one 

 occasion he had found, in Bishop's Wood, Hampstead, on the stem of an oak tree, 

 about a foot above the ground, a large lump which he could only compare to a number 

 of barnacles fastened to the bole; he cut the lump off, look it home, and to his surprise 

 bred therefrom between twenty and thirty specimens of Cynips aptera. 



Mr. Charles Home (who was present as a visitor) exhibited the stings of two 

 scorpions which were killed by rats at Benares, on the 19th July, 1865; one of the 

 stings shewed a large hole where it had been perforated by the tooth of the rat. The 

 scorpion and rat were placed under a glass cover, and for some time the scorpion 

 fenced about, tail over head, trying to get hold of the rat, but at a favourable moment 

 the rat dodged down and made a rush at the scorpion, bit the sting through the 

 middle, then placed its foot upon the scorpion, and began to pull off the legs at leisure. 

 In India it was the constant habit of rats to destroy scorpions, and he believed they 

 usually ate them ; but in the case above described the scorpion was not eaten by the 

 rat. 



Paper read. 



The following paper was read :—" Description of a New Species of Hestina," by 

 Mr. A. G. Butler. The species, Hestina Zella, from India (?), was described as 



