VUl 



Cooke, tbey were captured in ihe Isle of Wight, between Ventiior and Niton, in May, 

 18(57; four males and five females were taken. It is the largest European species of 

 Colletes, and is the C. hirta of Continental authors, which name, however, must give 

 place lo cunicularia of Linnaeus, llie type of which is extant in the Linnean collection. 



Mr. M'Lachlan exhibited a gigantic species of Ephemeridse, about three inches in 

 expanse of wings. It had been received by Mr. Salvin, from Veragua; and was pro- 

 bably the Palingenia Hecuba of Dr. Hagen. 



Mr. Butler exhibited varieties of several butterflies, captured by him in Switzerland, 

 chiefly in the neighbourhood of Chamounix, in July and August, 1868. There were — 

 (1) Anthocharis Cardamines, with the black spot on the fore-wings very small, the 

 black edging confined to the tip of the wing, and the orange colour extending con- 

 siderably within the black spot — this seemed to be the normal type of the insect in 

 Switzerland ; (2) Colias Edusa, remarkable for its large size ; (3) Epinephele Janira, 

 one specimen very dark, another very light in colour — the former was the common 

 type in Switzerland ; (4) Argynnis Aglaia, with the hind-wings almost entirely black, 

 and the silvery spots on the under side covering the basal and apical parts of the wing ; 

 (5) Melitsea Alhalia, four varieties, varying from almost entirely black to almost 

 entirely fulvous; and (6) Parnassius Apollo, with small pale ocelli, the ordinary pink 

 markings being pale yellow. Mr. Butler added that Leucophasia Sinapis, the " wood 

 white" as we term it, was common all over Switzerland, not in woods, but in the 

 neighbourhood of water. 



Mr. Stainlon, who had just returned from Italy, made some remarks on the difl"erent 

 habits of the same species in difl^erent localities; for instance, at Cannes, Mentone, 

 and other places in the South of Europe, Pyrameis Atalanta was the commonest hyber- 

 nating butterfly. The species was to be seen everywhere, whilst in this country a 

 hybernated specimen was never seeu before April, and rarely before the time when the 

 hawthorn is in blossom. 



Mr. Hewitson sent for exhibition a number of butterflies collected in Nicaragua by 

 Mr. Belt ; there were twelve species new to Science, and several others which were not 

 previously in Mr.Hewitson's cabinet. The Papilio mentioned at the Meeting of 15th 

 February {ante, p. iv.) was believed to be the female of P. Childrenae, a species dis- 

 tinct from P. Sesostris, 



Mr. Hewitson also sent for exhibition two new species of Papilio, from Ecuador, 

 whence they were received by Mr. James Backhouse. As an incident of collecting in 

 Ecuador, it might be mentioned that the captor and his mule were thrown over a 

 precipice together; the gentleman had his head cut and one of his arms broken, and 

 in this plif^ht had to ride for seven days in search of a doctor. 



The President exhibited seven forms of Papilio belonging to the Machaon group. 

 Mr. Christopher Ward had purchased the Japanese collection of butterflies from 

 the Paris Exhibition : it included Papilio Machaon and Xuthus, and a third 

 form, which proved to be the P. Xuihulus of Bremer, who described it as being 

 intermediate between the other two; it was first captured in Amoor-land, and 

 the captor took it for a hybrid between Machaon and Xuthus, until it was 

 noticed that its time of appearance was a month earlier than either of the 

 other species. For comparison with these Japanese forms, the President added 

 P. Zelicaon and Asterias, and two other American forms : he observed that in 

 Europe P. Machaon was very constant, and that the allied forms in America 



m\ iim. 



