( XXXV ) 



clasper, the dentate portion of the " harpe " being propor- 

 tionately longer in the summer form than in the specimens of 

 the spring brood. 



"This case of variability is of importance for the systein- 

 atist as well as the evolutionist. It disposes of the opinion 

 still held by many systematists that a form with some dis- 

 tinction in the organs of copulation is a species, and it 

 demonstrates at the same time that a species can be split up 

 by natural causes into forms which differ morphologically like 

 species in organs of such importance for the preservation of 

 the species as are the organs of copulation." 



Mr. J. W. Tutt remarked that among the " Skippers " 

 there are one or two species ranked as such on the variation 

 of the genital organs, and he drew special attention to one 

 described by Mr. H. J. Elwes and Mr. J. Edwards allied 

 closely with Syricthus nmlviv, viz. var. malvoides, Elw. and 

 Edw., Trans. Zool. Soc. Lond. xiv, p. 160, PI. XXIII, figs. 

 27-27«. He also suggested that a more definite statement 

 as to whether the genitalia vary side by side with wing differ- 

 ences would be useful to determine whether the individual 

 form was merely a form or constituted a distinct species. 

 Mr. H. J. Elwes said that in the work alluded to Mr. 

 Edwards was responsible for the parts dealing with the 

 genitalia as a means of identification of species. As a rule 

 he was loth to accept the genitalia alone as proof, but in the 

 species of iSyricthas mentioned Mr. Edwards had actually 

 found the genitalia distinct. 



The subject was further discussed by Mr. G. C. Champion, 

 Mr. M. Jacoby, the President, and other Fellows. 



Dr. G. B. Longstaff read the following observations on 

 scents in the male of Gonepleryx : — 



"At Hammam Meskoutine, Algeria, on March 15th, 11)05, 

 while examining my captures towards the close of the day 

 prior to writing the data on their envelopes, I was struck 

 with the sweet scent of a 3 Gonepteryx cleopatra, L. All 

 the three dead specimens which I had ttiken that day had 

 the scent, but in two it was faint. On March 19th, at 

 Bougie, I confirmed this in a living specimen, describing the 

 scent at the time as 'sweet, rich, thick — suggesting Freesia.' 



