117 



Mr. Douglas exhibited, on the part of H. Cooke, Esq., Argynnis Lathonia and 

 Diphthera Orion, both captured near Hastings, and Adela rufimetrella from the same 

 locality, taken among sallows in April. 



Mr. Douglas reported that of the larvae off Origanum vulgare, exhibited at a former 

 meeting, one had arrived at the perfect state, and proved to be Gelechia subocellea, Si. 



Mr. Adam White read the following note, addressed to him by Mr. H. Georgejun. 



" Dear Sir, — Three weeks ago I was walking, one very dark evening, in the Bromp- 

 ton lanes, when I observed under a hedge a dozen or more luminous spots, about the 

 size of a pin's head. Expecting that it might be some decayed animal, I cut a twig 

 from ihe hedge, and gently stirred the ground, and to my astonishment, about half a 

 dozen of these spots made apace towards me, while the rest retreated. Not having 

 my colleciing-bottle, I secured this movable mass in my handkerchief, where it re- 

 mained luminous until I had thickly covered it to prevent any means of escape. When 

 I arrived at home, to my further astonishment I discovered it to be no more than the 

 common Goerius olens. It was no longer luminous : I did not immediately kill it, 

 but waited to see whether it would show the same phosphoric appearance, but without 

 any success. The causes of what I observed I leave lor you to determine, and have 

 submitted it to you, knowing how acceptable any information of the kind generally is. 



" I remain, yours respectfully, 



" Henry George, jun. 



" 4, Homton Villas, Kensington, 

 "October 29, 1851." 



Mr. Stephens suggested that the Goerius hnd been caught in the act of attacking 

 or feeding on a Scolopendra, and that some particles of phosphorescence therefrom had 

 adhered to it. Mr. Curtis concurred with this view, and added that the favourite food 

 of this beetle was Forficulae, a fact that might be turned to account by growers of 

 Dahlias and other plants attacked by earwigs. The President mentioned as an in- 

 stance of the predaceous character of this Goerius, that it had been known to attack a 

 worm six times its own length. Mr. Smith said that he once, at night, disturbed a 

 Creophilus maxillosus, which appeared luminous, the phosphorescence doubtless hav- 

 ing originated in the decaying matter within an old crab-shell on which the beetle had 

 been feeding. 



Mr. White exhibited a spider brought by C. Ede, Esq., K.N., from the Arctic re- 

 gions, lat. 76, long. 69. He observed that Olho Fabricius, in his ' Fauna Groenlan- 

 dica,' has noticed only four species of Aranea, one of which, A. saccata (now Lycosa 

 saccata) this specimen resembled, but he thought it not identical, and proposed to call it 

 L. Baffini. Mr. White also exhibited Tipula glomerata, Walker, and a Chironomus, 

 both brought from the same locality as the spider; and observed that the eggs of these 

 two Diptera being deposited upon the ground, exposed for many months to the most 

 intense cold, and still preserving their \itality, was a wonderful instance of the power 

 of life in insects. Judging from the variety of insects brought by various visitors to 

 the Polar regions, he believed the number there to be much greater than is generally 

 supposed. Mr. Curtis remarked that Sir James Ross had, as an experiment, caused a 

 caterpillar to be frozen and thawed several times without injuring its vitality. 



The Secretary read the following extracts of a letter from Mr. H. W. Newman: — 



" I have to trouble the Society again with a few observations in reply to Mr. Smith's 

 remarks, (Proceed. 1 10). First of all, Mr. Smith mistakes entirely about the limited 



