﻿129 
  

  

  October 
  3, 
  1853. 
  

   Edward 
  Newman, 
  Esq., 
  President, 
  iu 
  the 
  chair. 
  

  

  The 
  following 
  donations 
  were 
  announced, 
  and 
  thanks 
  ordered 
  to 
  be 
  given 
  to 
  the 
  

   donors 
  : 
  — 
  The 
  ' 
  Zoologist 
  ' 
  for 
  October 
  ; 
  by 
  the 
  Editor. 
  The 
  ' 
  Athenaeum 
  ' 
  for 
  Sep- 
  

   tember 
  ; 
  by 
  the 
  Editor. 
  The 
  ' 
  Literary 
  Gazette' 
  for 
  September; 
  by 
  the 
  Editor. 
  The 
  

   ' 
  Journal 
  of 
  the 
  Society 
  of 
  Arts 
  ' 
  for 
  September 
  ; 
  by 
  the 
  Society. 
  Hewitson's 
  ' 
  Exotic 
  

   Butterflies,' 
  part 
  8 
  ; 
  by 
  W. 
  W. 
  Saunders, 
  Esq. 
  ' 
  Entoniologische 
  Zeitung,' 
  June 
  to 
  

   September; 
  by 
  the 
  Entomological 
  Society 
  of 
  Stettin. 
  ' 
  Versuch 
  die 
  Euro; 
  iiischen 
  

   Spanner 
  von 
  J. 
  Lederer,' 
  Wein, 
  1853, 
  and 
  ' 
  Lepidoplera 
  Microptera 
  qua? 
  J. 
  A. 
  VVahl- 
  

   berg 
  iu 
  Caffrorum 
  terra 
  colle-iit, 
  descripsit 
  P. 
  C. 
  Zeller,' 
  Stockholm, 
  1853 
  ; 
  by 
  Profes- 
  

   sor 
  Zeller, 
  Hon. 
  M.E.S. 
  ' 
  Proceedings 
  of 
  the 
  Berwickshire 
  Naturalists' 
  Clul),' 
  1852; 
  

   by 
  the 
  Club. 
  

  

  Dr. 
  Lankester 
  exhibited 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  " 
  flies 
  " 
  recorded 
  in 
  the 
  public 
  papers 
  to 
  have 
  

   appeared 
  in 
  vast 
  numbers 
  at 
  Newcastle 
  during 
  the 
  prevalence 
  of 
  tlie 
  cholera 
  in 
  that 
  

   town 
  last 
  month 
  : 
  and 
  read 
  the 
  following 
  extract 
  from 
  a 
  letter 
  written 
  by 
  a 
  gentleman 
  

   residing 
  at 
  Newcastle, 
  respecting 
  them 
  : 
  — 
  

  

  " 
  They 
  appeared 
  some 
  days 
  before 
  the 
  cholera 
  broke 
  out 
  with 
  such 
  virulence. 
  For 
  

   many 
  ilays 
  we 
  had 
  a 
  dense 
  heavy 
  atmosphere, 
  very 
  depressing 
  to 
  the 
  spirits 
  ; 
  and 
  the 
  

   flies 
  came 
  in 
  such 
  swarms 
  as 
  only 
  to 
  be 
  compared 
  to 
  the 
  time 
  when 
  God 
  filled 
  the 
  

   land 
  of 
  Egypt 
  with 
  a 
  grievous 
  swarm 
  of 
  flies. 
  They 
  appear 
  to 
  be 
  only 
  creatures 
  of 
  a 
  

   day, 
  those 
  of 
  yesterday 
  die 
  ofl" 
  and 
  are 
  replaced 
  by 
  others, 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  morning 
  I 
  find 
  

   thousands 
  of 
  them 
  dead." 
  

  

  On 
  examination 
  by 
  the 
  President, 
  these 
  " 
  flies 
  '' 
  were 
  found 
  to 
  be 
  Aphides, 
  of 
  two 
  

   or 
  three 
  species,* 
  which 
  feed 
  on 
  a 
  great 
  variety 
  of 
  plants. 
  These 
  Aphides 
  have 
  no 
  

   local 
  connexion 
  with 
  Newcastle 
  ; 
  but 
  at 
  this 
  season 
  of 
  the 
  year 
  the 
  usual 
  migration 
  of 
  

   the 
  winged 
  females 
  occurs, 
  often 
  in 
  immense 
  swarms. 
  The 
  hot, 
  moist, 
  stagnant 
  at- 
  

   mosphere, 
  observed 
  to 
  be 
  concomitant 
  with 
  the 
  appearance 
  of 
  cholera, 
  would 
  probal-ly 
  

   favour 
  their 
  development, 
  and 
  would 
  certainly 
  cause 
  them 
  to 
  be 
  more 
  noticed 
  ; 
  for 
  

   such 
  frail 
  creatures 
  could 
  not 
  move 
  about 
  in 
  windy 
  weather. 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Saunders 
  observed 
  that 
  vast 
  numbers 
  of 
  Diptera 
  were 
  seen 
  in 
  India 
  on 
  hot, 
  

   damp 
  mornings, 
  locally 
  termed 
  "cholera-weather:" 
  and 
  Mr. 
  Baly 
  added 
  that 
  in 
  War- 
  

   wickshire, 
  in 
  1849, 
  during 
  the 
  prevalence 
  of 
  the 
  cholera, 
  the 
  people 
  had 
  noticed 
  great 
  

   swarms 
  of 
  flies 
  called 
  " 
  cholera-flies." 
  Of 
  what 
  kind 
  they 
  were 
  he 
  did 
  not 
  know 
  ; 
  but 
  

   neither 
  in 
  these, 
  nor 
  in 
  the 
  present 
  appearance, 
  tould 
  it 
  be 
  imagined 
  there 
  was 
  any 
  

   connexion 
  between 
  them 
  and 
  the 
  disease. 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Foxcroft 
  sent 
  for 
  exhibition 
  two 
  boxes 
  of 
  his 
  captures 
  of 
  insects 
  of 
  all 
  Orders 
  

   in 
  Perthshire. 
  

  

  * 
  Mr. 
  Walker 
  has 
  since 
  pronounced 
  them 
  to 
  be 
  mostly 
  Aphis 
  Rumicis. 
  

  

  r 
  

  

  