﻿115 
  

  

  was 
  received 
  from 
  Mr. 
  Wilson, 
  recommending 
  cliloroform 
  as 
  a 
  means 
  of 
  disaliling- 
  

   large 
  Lepidoptera 
  before 
  pinning 
  or 
  killing 
  tliem. 
  Some 
  years 
  since, 
  when 
  in 
  Swit- 
  

   zerland, 
  I 
  took 
  great 
  delight 
  in 
  making 
  a 
  collection 
  of 
  Lepidoptera, 
  and 
  invariably 
  

   found 
  that 
  the 
  easiest 
  way 
  of 
  killing 
  the 
  insects 
  was 
  by 
  dropping 
  sulphuric 
  ether 
  on 
  

   their 
  heads. 
  This 
  suffocates 
  them 
  immediately, 
  excepting 
  the 
  very 
  large 
  kinds, 
  and 
  

   then 
  a 
  second 
  dose 
  is 
  generally 
  needed. 
  In 
  this 
  manner 
  I 
  have 
  killed 
  Papilio 
  Poda- 
  

   lirius, 
  Parnassius 
  Apollo 
  and 
  Mnemosyne, 
  Apatura 
  Iris, 
  Acherontia 
  Alropos, 
  Sphinx 
  

   Convolvuli, 
  S. 
  Lignstri, 
  S. 
  Pinastri, 
  Choerocampa 
  Nerii, 
  &c. 
  

  

  " 
  When 
  the 
  insect 
  is 
  captured 
  and 
  killed, 
  Mr. 
  Humphreys, 
  in 
  his 
  beautiful 
  book, 
  

   mentions 
  that 
  ' 
  the 
  wings 
  must 
  be 
  kept 
  expanded 
  by 
  thin 
  braces 
  of 
  card.' 
  An 
  easier 
  

   plan 
  is 
  to 
  have 
  a 
  flat 
  board, 
  with 
  grooves 
  of 
  various 
  sizes 
  to 
  receive 
  the 
  bodies, 
  and 
  

   then 
  to 
  keep 
  the 
  wings 
  expanded 
  by 
  small 
  pieces 
  of 
  glass 
  until 
  dry. 
  The 
  advantage 
  

   is, 
  that 
  the 
  glass 
  presses 
  equally 
  all 
  over 
  the 
  wings, 
  and 
  also 
  that 
  you 
  can 
  always 
  see 
  

   whether 
  they 
  are 
  in 
  their 
  proper 
  position 
  or 
  not. 
  

  

  " 
  I 
  remain, 
  Sir, 
  

  

  " 
  Your 
  obedient 
  Servant, 
  

  

  "J. 
  W." 
  

  

  " 
  To 
  the 
  President 
  of 
  the 
  Entomological 
  Society.'' 
  

  

  Dr. 
  Button 
  said 
  that 
  he 
  preferred 
  hydrocyanic 
  acid 
  to 
  all 
  other 
  agents 
  for 
  destroy- 
  

   ing 
  life 
  in 
  insects. 
  He 
  had 
  found 
  one 
  drop, 
  of 
  Scheele's 
  strength, 
  sufficient 
  to 
  kill 
  

   fifty 
  insects 
  ; 
  and, 
  so 
  small 
  a 
  quantity 
  being 
  necessary, 
  no 
  danger 
  to 
  the 
  operator 
  need 
  

   be 
  apprehended. 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Spence 
  communicated 
  the 
  following 
  note 
  on 
  Termes 
  lucifugus 
  : 
  — 
  

  

  " 
  As 
  the 
  small 
  yellow 
  ant 
  {Myrmica 
  doinestica), 
  now 
  become 
  such 
  a 
  pest 
  in 
  Lon- 
  

   don, 
  might 
  probably 
  have 
  been 
  easily 
  extirpated, 
  had 
  it 
  been 
  brought 
  under 
  the 
  eye 
  of 
  

   entomologists 
  on 
  its 
  first 
  introduction 
  from 
  abroad, 
  it 
  may 
  not 
  be 
  amiss 
  to 
  direct 
  the 
  

   attention 
  of 
  the 
  members 
  of 
  the 
  Society 
  to 
  the 
  possible 
  importation 
  of 
  a 
  still 
  worse 
  

   pest, 
  the 
  Termes 
  lucifugus 
  of 
  Kossi. 
  The 
  ravages 
  of 
  this 
  minute 
  white 
  ant 
  (first 
  dis- 
  

   covered 
  in 
  France 
  at 
  Bordeaux 
  by 
  Latreille), 
  at 
  Saintes, 
  Kochefort, 
  and 
  Tournay-Clia- 
  

   rente, 
  in 
  the 
  western 
  departments 
  of 
  France, 
  were 
  described 
  by 
  M. 
  Audouin 
  twenty 
  

   years 
  ago, 
  and 
  the 
  accuracy 
  of 
  his 
  observations 
  has 
  been 
  since 
  confirmed 
  by 
  those 
  of 
  

   MM. 
  Milne-Edwards 
  and 
  Blanchard 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  localities 
  ; 
  but 
  it 
  appears 
  from 
  a 
  

   paper 
  read 
  before 
  the 
  Academic 
  des 
  Sciences 
  at 
  Paris, 
  on 
  March 
  28, 
  by 
  M. 
  de 
  Quatre- 
  

   fage, 
  that 
  this 
  insect 
  has 
  now 
  found 
  its 
  way 
  also 
  into 
  the 
  Port 
  of 
  Rochelle 
  (interesting 
  

   to 
  entomologists 
  as 
  the 
  birth-place 
  of 
  Reaumur), 
  where 
  it 
  is 
  rapidly 
  extending- 
  itself; 
  

   and 
  how 
  easily 
  it 
  might 
  thence 
  be 
  brought 
  to 
  our 
  ports 
  in 
  the 
  West 
  of 
  England, 
  where 
  

   it 
  would 
  find 
  a 
  temperature 
  probably 
  as 
  well 
  suited 
  to 
  its 
  propagation 
  as 
  at 
  Rochelle, 
  

   need 
  not 
  be 
  pointed 
  out. 
  This 
  species, 
  as 
  Latreille 
  observed, 
  and 
  as 
  M. 
  de 
  Quatre- 
  

   fage 
  informs 
  us, 
  does 
  not 
  confine 
  itself 
  to 
  dead 
  wood, 
  but 
  attacks 
  living 
  plants 
  and 
  

   trees, 
  having 
  excavated 
  the 
  stems 
  and 
  tubers 
  of 
  Dahlias, 
  and 
  the 
  trunks 
  and 
  larger 
  

   branches 
  of 
  poplars. 
  He 
  found 
  chlorine 
  the 
  most 
  eifeclive 
  agent 
  for 
  its 
  destruction.'' 
  

  

  The 
  Chairman 
  said 
  Dr. 
  Burmeister 
  had 
  shown 
  him 
  the 
  same 
  Termes 
  from 
  the 
  

   South 
  of 
  Prussia. 
  

  

  