lOD 



NA TURE 



[May 30, 1889 



interest in the visitors to the Insect House. Just at present 

 'these moths are about commencing their individual hfe- 

 •cycles afresh ; eggs of several species have been procured, 

 and will shortly be hatched. The caterpillars are even 

 more interesting than the moths themselves, and their 

 remarkable shapes and forms, and their wonderful spines 

 and thorns, are of much interest to naturalists. Just 

 now, too, there may be seen in the Insect House a 

 ■delightful example of the early stages of insect-life in the 

 form of the caterpillar and chrysalis of Limenitis disippus. 

 This is a North American butterfly, the o-gg of which is 

 hatched towards the end of summer or in autumn. Its 

 young larva constructs for itself a delicate habitation by 

 joining together the edges of the leaves of the willow on 

 which it feeds, so as to form a cylindrical tube, which it 

 lines with silk and closes at one end. The fragile creature 

 iis thus able to outlive the storms of wintry wind and 

 •weather, and to evade the ravagers of the animal world in 

 search of food. In the protection of this dwelling it can 

 be transmitted from North America to this country with- 

 out injury to its vitality. As seen in the Insect House, the 

 caterpillar is a curiously mottled, pale-brown, greenish 

 and grey creature, with head bent down, but bearing on 

 the prominent part just behind it two rather long, erect, 

 slender horns of a deep black colour, each of them numer- 

 ously spined. The chrysahs is even more remarkable, 

 and hanging down from a twig displays itself in a very 

 prominent manner. On the middle of its body there is 

 an abrupt, elongate, black hump, about as conspicuous a 

 deformity as could be devised, while at the base of this, 

 on each side, there is a band of delicate and beautiful 

 metallic colour. This band is in some way dependent 

 for its tint on the living creature within, for no trace of 

 it can be seen in the pupa-shell after the insect has 

 -escaped. This species of butterfly belongs to the family 

 JSyinphalidcc. The extraordinary spines of the cater- 

 pillars of this group have recently been studied, and 

 many of them delineated, in an elaborate and interesting 

 memoir by W. Miiller, which will be found in the first 

 volume of the Zoologische Jahrbiklicr. 



The Diurnal Lepidoptera are not so well represented 

 in the Insect House as they usually are at this fime of 

 year, there having been a great scarcity of pupae last 

 summer. But, besides the Limenitis above referred to, 

 examples of one of the Swallow-tails {Papilio machaon), 

 and of one of the large North American Skippers {Gonio- 

 loba tityrtis), are now daily emerging from their pupa 

 stage, and fresh additions are shortly expected. 



NOTES. 



We are glad to learn, frcji the list of birthday honours, that 

 • the Companionship of the Bath has been conferred on Dr. James 

 Bell, F.R.S., and the Companionship of St. Michael and St. 

 ■George on Mr. Ellery. A baronetcy has been granted to Prof. 

 Stokes ; but, seeing that Prof. Stokes has been for many years 

 President of the Royal Society, and that the Government never 

 thought of offering him any special honour until he entered the 

 House of Commons, we may conclude that he receives his 

 baronetcy not as an illustrious investigator, but as a politician. 



On Saturday, Sir Frederick Bramwell, as President of 

 ihe British Association, entertained the President-EIect, 

 Prof. W. H. Flower, C.B., F. R. S., a large number of 

 .menibers of the Association, representatives' of science, and 

 other guests being invited to meet him. The dinner was 

 given in the hall of the Goldsmiths' Company, the use of which 

 was granted to him for the purpose by the Wardens of the 

 Company. The list of guests included Lord Bramwell, F. R. S., 

 Mr. Justice Denman and Mr. Justice Manisty, Mr. C. Lucas, 

 -Prime Warden of the Goldsmiths' Company, the Mayors of 



Newcastle and Gateshead, Sir F. A. Abel, C.B., F.R.S., 

 Captain Abney, R.E., C.B., F.R.S., Prof. Roberts-Austen, 

 F.R.S., Prof. Ayrton, F.R.S., the Ven. the Archdeacon of 

 Bath, Sir I. Lowthian Bell, F.R.S., the Rev. Prof Bonney, 

 F.R.S., Sir J. Crichton Browne, F.R.S., Mr. Brudenell Carter, 

 Mr. C. Cochrane (President of the Institution of Mechanical 

 Engineers), Sir John Coode, K.C.M.G., Mr. W. Croakes, 

 F.R.S., Prof Boyd Dawkins, F.R.S., Prof. Dewar, F.R.S., Sir 

 Ja-nes Douglass, F.R.S., Mr. W. T. Thiselton-Dyer,*C.M.G., 

 F.R.S., Dr. John Evans, F.R.S., Mr. Francis Galton, F.R.S., 

 Dr. Gamgee, F.R.S., Dr. Geikie, F.R.S., Mr. R. Giffen, Mr. 

 Alfred Giles, M.P., Dr. Gladstone, F.R.S., Mr. G. B. Gregory, 

 Mr. Thomas Hawk.-ley, F.R.S., Prof. Henrici, F R.S., Mr. 

 Victor Horsley, F.R.S , Major-General Hutchinson, R.E., Prof. 

 Judd,F.R.S., Colonel Laurie, C.B., M.P., Prof Liveing, F.R.S., 

 Mr. J. Norman Lockyer, F.R.S., Prof. McLeod, F.K.S., Major 

 Marindin, R.E., Mr. Ludwig Mond (President of the Society of 

 Chemical Industry), Mr. J. Fletcher Moulton, Q.C., F.R.S., 

 Admiral Nicholson, C.B., Admiral Sir E. Ommanney, C.B., 

 F.R.S., Sir P. Cunliffe-Owen, K.C.B., K.C.M.G., Dr- 

 William Pole, F.R.S., Mr. W. II. Preece, F.R.S., Colonel 

 Rich, R.E., Prof. Romanes, F.R.S., Sir H. E. Roscoe, M.P., 

 F.R.S., Prof. RUcker, F.R.S.,Dr. Russell, F.R.S. (President of 

 the Chemical Society), Prof. J. S. Burdon Sanderson, F.R.S., 

 Prof. Schafer, F.R.S., Dr. P. L. Sclater, F.R.S., Sir William 

 Thomson, F.R.S., Sir William Turner, F.R.S., Major Tulloch, 

 R.E., Sir C. W. Wilson, R.E., K.C.B., K.C.M G., Sir Francis 

 de Winlon, K.C.M.G., Mr. E. R. Wodehouse, M.P., and 

 many others. In England, which in this respect differs widely 

 from the other leading countries of Europe, men of science, in- 

 cluding even those in State employ, are not invited to take part 

 in such State functions on the birthday dinner. It was a 

 happy thought on Sir Frederick Bramwell's part, therefore, to 

 select the Queen's birthday as the day on which his dinner was 

 to be given. Many of the most eminent men of science in the 

 country had thus an opportunity of associating themselves with 

 the expression of the general feeling of the community on an 

 interesting public occasion. By this time it should surely be 

 manifest to everyone that, on all such occasions, science should 

 be prominently represented. The State has nothing to lose, 

 but, on the contrary, has much tci gain, by the full recognition 

 of science as one of the most vital elements of national progress. 



The gold medal of the Linnean Society has been awarded this 

 year to Prof, de CandoUe, the eminent botanist, in recognition 

 of his distinguished services to botanical science. 



In his Presidential address, delivered at the anniversary 

 meeting of the Linnean Society on the 24th inst., Mr. Car- 

 ruthers gave an interesting and detailed account of the existing 

 portraits of Linnoeus, many of which are in the Society's posses- 

 sion. The result of his inquiries showed that there are seven 

 original and authentic portraits of Linnaeus in existence ; that the 

 engravings most widely known are from the originals by Inlander 

 and Roslin ; and that these give the most faithful representation 

 of the features of the great naturalist, 



A NEW departure, likely to be productive of far-reaching 

 results, has recently been taken in connection with the scientific 

 work of the Scotch Fishery Board. Since 1809 the Scotch 

 fisherie-; have been under special supervision, and at one time 

 the Scotch fishery statistics were in advance of those of any 

 other country. Previous to 1882 occasional scientific inquiries 

 were made by Sir Lyon Playfair and Prof. Allman, and since 

 1882 investigations have been systematically carried on under 

 the direction of Prof. Ewart and Sir James Maitland. Year by 

 year the scientific work has been extended, and for some time 

 a jci' ntific department has existed in everything but in name. 



