8b PRESIDENT !? ADDRESS-— KECTION D. 



Peripatus kept for some time in captivity had laid eggs. 

 These eggs had shells covered with a definite sculptured 

 pattern, and, since oviposition, the embryos within them have 

 gone on developing, until at the present time Dr. Dendy 

 informs me that the limbs are formed, and the embryos will 

 apparently soon be hatched out. In all probability the 

 Tasmanian will resemble in this respect the Victorian form. 



Amongst the Insecta we are at present obliged to confine 

 ourselves for purposes of comparison to two groups, as lists 

 of forms comprised in the others are, as yet, too incomplete to 

 be useful for this purpose. 



(I.) Lepidoptera. — In connection with this group impor- 

 tant work has been done by Messrs. Walker, Meyrick, and 

 Lucas, whilst a most valuable catalogue has been recently 

 published by Mr. W. H. Miskin dealing with the Lepidop- 

 tera rhopalocera of Australia. According to the classification 

 adopted by Mr. Miskin there are five families represented 

 in Australia, viz., Papihonidse, Nymphalidae, Erycinidse, 

 Lycaenidae and Hesperidse. Four of these are represented 

 in Tasmania, the remaining one, the Erycinidee, having one 

 species only (Libyiluea myrrhaj in Australia, and that 

 confined to Cape York, from which its area of distribution 

 extends over Burmah and India and Ceylon. Altogether 

 Australia and Tasmania have 70 genera of which 24 do not 

 extend south of Queensland, so that, save in the northern and 

 more tropical parts, the region may be regarded as poor in 

 butterflies. 



Passing southwards to Tasmania and westwards from 

 Victoria the number in each case undergoes diminution. 

 Thus, whilst Queensland has 62 genera and 257 species. New 

 South Wales has 38 genera and 75 species, Victoria has 23 

 genera and 54 species and Tasmania 10 genera and 18 species. 

 Passing west from Victoria again. South Australia has 19 

 genera and 38 species and West Austraha 1 1 genera and 17 

 species. In the number of genera it will thus be seen that 

 Tasmania stands at the bottom of the list having only one- 

 tenth of the total number whilst in species it has 19 or only 

 one more than W. Australia and only one-eighteenth of 

 the total number of Australian forms. Comparing it with 

 Victoria, we find that all the genera are represented in the 

 latter but 12 Victorian genera are not found in Tasmania. 

 Of the 18 species, 6 are peculiar to the Island, 2 are common 

 to Victoria only, and the rest are widely distributed on the 

 mainland, two forms (Pyrameis itea and P. kershawi) 



