36 



Mr. Bond exhibited a hermaphrodite specimen of Arctia Caja, reared from a larva 

 which did not present any remarkable appearance. It was observed of this specimen 

 that the female half was on the right side, it being usually in such cases found upon 

 the left. Mr. Bond also exhibited a variety of Sphinx Ligustri, and a pale variety of 

 Charissa pullata. 



Mr. Westwood, on the part of Mr. Gould, exhibited two insects he had found in 

 Scotland impaled on the spines of furze. In former instances of insects impaled on 

 thorns, it had been suggested that they might have been so placed by shrikes, but 

 this was scarcely probable in this case, as shrikes were not known in Scotland. One 

 of the insects was Coccinella 7-punctata, which was alive when found ; it had been 

 suggested that it had impaled itself by flying against the spines, which was barely 

 possible : in the other instance a suicide was still less likely to have occurred, the 

 insect being the caterpillar of Phragmatobia Menthrasti. The subject of insects im- 

 paled on thorns required elucidation. 



Mr. Westwood, on the part of Captain Parry, exhibited a specimen of Goliathus 

 Druraei enclosed in its pupa-case, in which it was alive when received in England. 

 Mr. Westwood observed that the cases of some Lamellicorn larvae were formed by the 

 parent insects, but he was inclined to believe that this was made by the larva itself, 

 as in the instances of some Noctuae and Cetoniadae. 



Mr. Westwood exhibited a larva of Lymexylon navale in spirit, received from 

 Pembroke Dockyard. On seeing it, the president said he was now sure that he had 

 once found a larva of this beetle in hard dead wood of an oak in Windsor Forest, close 

 to the place where Mr. Griesbach had taken the perfect insect. At that time he was 

 not certain that it was the larva of this species, though he strongly suspected it. Mr. 

 Westwood also exhibited a larva of Apate Capucina in spirit ; observing that it 

 greatly resembled the larvae of the Ptinidae to which it was doubtless related. 



Adverting to the butterfly received from Mrs. Hamilton and exhibited at the last 

 meeting, Mr. Westwood said, that judging from the characters furnished by the larva 

 it had then been referred to the genus Danais, but it appeared on a more careful ex- 

 amination of the butterfly, that notwithstanding these characters of the caterpillar, it 

 did not belong to the genus, but was in reality a Hestia ; showing at least that no one 

 set of characters could be exclusively relied upon for separating subgenera. 



Mr. Douglas exhibited a specimen of Hypera Rumicis, of which he had found the 

 pupa in its round, reticulated, diaphanous cocoon, attached to a blade of grass at 

 Folkstone, in July. He had put it into a pill-box and watched it daily until the 

 imago emerged, and when he then saw it not a vestige of the cocoon was visible, so 

 that he had no doubt it had eaten up its former covering. 



A letter was read from J. C. Bowring, Esq., corresponding member at Hong 

 Kong, of which the following is an extract : — " July 30, 1850. In 1848, I exhibited 

 to the Society a curious Coccus-like insect, parasitic upon Fulgora candelaria, which 

 excited some attention, and gave rise to considerable discussion as to the order to 

 which it belonged. On my return to China, towards the close of 1848, 1 endeavoured 

 to rear this parasite, but without success until last month, owing chiefly to the diffi- 

 culty of keeping the Fulgorse alive in captivity. The young larvae are found, varying 

 from the size of a pin's head to half an inch in length, attached to the dorsal segments 

 of the Fulgora, there being rarely more than one parasite on a Fulgora. When 

 young, they are destitute of the cottony covering which gives them so great an ap- 

 pearance of Cocci, but as they grow larger this makes its appearance until they are 



