184 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



female for the purpose of attracting the male. — Mr. H. St. J. Donis- 

 thorpe exhibited specimens of Fiipersia toinlini, Nevvst., a coccid new 

 to Britain, taken among Lasiiis niger at Portland in April, 1900. The 

 species, which is myrmicophilous, was first discovered in Guernsey. — 

 Mr. C. P. Pickett exhibited aberrations and varieties of Lycmia bel- 

 Inrgns, L. corydon, and L. astrarche, taken by him in August, 1900, at 

 Folkestone and Dover. — Mr. H. Goss exhibited a gynandromorphous 

 specimen of Lycmia beUair/iis, which he had taken at Reigate in June, 

 1900. It had the characters of a male in the right wings, and the 

 characters of a female in the left wings, which were, however, not 

 entirely free from the blue scales of the male. No dissection had 

 been made of the genitalia, so it was impossible to say whether the 

 specimen was strictly hermaphrodite. — Dr. Chapman exhibited a 

 cocoon of Antheraa niylitta, and a flint from Redhill — two objects with 

 practically nothing in common. Whilst dissenting in toto from those 

 who see nothing in many cases of mimicry but accidental resemblance, 

 he presented them with this as a case undoubtedly in accordance with 

 their views, the cocoon and the flint being remarkably alike. — Professor 

 Poulton exhibited an apparatus invented by him to determine the 

 strength of the formic acid shot out by the ant in defence of its nest. 

 Mr. Donisthorpe, he said, had noticed that a shower of formic acid 

 had sometimes a great effect, and he thought it would be interesting to 

 decide the quantity of anhydrous acid. In the case of Dicranula vinnla, 

 the fluid, which contains forty-five per cent, of acid, was painful in the 

 eye, but did not damage the skin or body. He considered that the 

 acid was only virulent during the time that the larvae and pupre were 

 in the nest, and that it was used purely for defensive purposes. — 

 Mr. F. Enock exhibited specimens illustrative of the metamorphoses 

 of dragonflies. Mr. F. Enock read a paper entitled " The Metamor- 

 phoses of jEschna cyanea, illustrated by the electric lantern with 

 photographs taken from life." Sir George Hampson, Bart., com- 

 municated a paper on "The classification of a new family of the 

 Lepidoptera " ; Mr. Martin Jacoby, a paper entitled "A further 

 contribution to the knowledge of African Phytophagous Coleoptera " ; 

 Messrs. Gilbert and J. Arrow, a paper entitled " The Carabid genus 

 Pheropsophus ; notes and descriptions of new species." — H. Eowland- 

 Brown, Hon. Sec. 



South London Entomological and Natural History Society. — 

 February 28th, 1901.— Mr. H. S. Fremlin, F.E.S., President, in the 

 chair. — Mr. F. N. Clark exhibited a specimen of Pieris rapa, which 

 emerged indoors on February 22nd. — Mr. McArthur, an example of 

 Arctia caia, with smoky hind wings. It emerged in December, 1890, 

 and was one of a third brood. — Mr. Harrison, a long and varied series 

 of Lu2-)erina testacea from Wallasey, among them being two examples 

 of the var. nigrescens. — Mr. Edwards, pieces of chestnut branches, 

 showing the ravages of the larvte of Zeuzera pyrina, a species doing 

 considerable damage at the present time in the London parks and 

 squares. — Mr. Main, a Mantis from West Africa, having large ocellated 

 markings on the fore wings {Harpax?). — Mr. Montgomery, photograph 

 of a large larva breeding-house and a number of cages for rearing 

 Lepidoptera, to illustrate his paper on "The Breeding of Lepidoptera," 

 where he detailed his methods of obtaining ova, of keeping young larvae, 



