56 



attributed to the better weather we enjoj^ed, but I still feel that 

 members might attend in larger numbers, if only to show that they 

 appreciate the labours of your Council, and if those interested would 

 offer suggestions of a practical nature as to visiting new or more 

 favourable localities, it would encourage those responsible for them 

 to enlarge the scope of these highly enjoyable gatherings. 



The number of members and friends attending our ordinary 

 meetings keeps up in a satisfactory manner, and if we failed to beat 

 the very high record set up at the Annual Exhibition in 1912, we 

 only did so by a very small margin, while I am quite confident that 

 the interest and enthusiasm shown, and the quality of the exhibits, 

 were in no way inferior at our Annual Exhibition in 1913. The 

 interest created by our Special Exhibition of orders other than 

 Lepidoptera was exceedingly gratifying to those responsible for its 

 organization. 



The number and excellence of the papers read before our Societj^ 

 have been a very marked feature of the year and have undoubtedly 

 been largely responsible for the large attendances, as they have 

 attracted considerable attention both inside and outside the Society; 

 Avhile the very handsome addition to our collections of British 

 Lepidoptera made by Mr. W. G. Dawson, of Worcester, has enabled 

 the curators to fill up so many of the blank spacies in the cabinets, 

 that, as a means of reference for the identification of captures, 

 especially for our younger and less experienced members, the prestige 

 of the collection possessed by the South London Entomological 

 and Natural History Society should stand very high indeed. 



From a collecting point of view the past season has been dis- 

 appointing. I have heard it described as the " Sunless Summer," 

 and I think there can be little doubt that the number of fine but 

 dull days was abnormally large. Friends who devote their energies 

 to different orders of insects have invariabh' written to me reporting 

 disappointing results ; and so far as my own personal experience 

 goes, I can fully sympathize with them. 1 took fewer insects and 

 met with fewer interesting species than for several years back. 

 There seemed to be no larvas to beat, and nothing on sallow or ivy 

 bloom but the commonest insects, while never once throughout the 

 whole season did I enjoy what I could describe as a " good night at 

 sugar," and my results at light compared very unfavourably with 

 1912. 



From the number of ('olios erlusa noticed and recorded in the 

 spring it appeared probable that this species would be coumion later 

 on in the season, but except perhaps in some especially favoured 



