RECENT LITERATURE. 187 



Mutilla enrupaa (males), and rufipes (females), taken at Bournemouth 

 last summer.— Mr. C. J. Wainwrigbt, various Hymenoptera, including 

 a series of the rare Chrysid, Cleptes pallipes, from West Eunton, Norfolk, 

 and Osmia aurulenta and other bees from Selsley, Glos. 



April loth. — The President in the chair. — Mr. R. C. Bradley 

 showed a few Lepidoptera taken last year, including Colias echisa, 

 Aspilates citraria, &c., from Bournemouth, and Catocala nupta from 

 Swanage. — Mr. G. W. Wynn, a series of Callimorpha hem taken by 

 Mr. E. A. Rogers near Dawlish, ranging from yellow through inter- 

 mediates to red forms. Also a series of Spilosoma lubricipeda var. 

 radiata, bred from ova received from Mr. W. Tunstall, of Huddersfield. 

 — Mr. J. T. Fountain, a number of insects taken by himself in Jersey 

 last summer, including Colias edusa var. helice, very fine Satijnis semele, 

 and the Diptera Asilus crabronifonnis and Volucella zonaria, the latter 

 being a very fine Syrphid not yet known as British. — Mr. A. D. Imms, 

 various Lepidoptera, including Polia jiavicincta, from Northampton, 

 where he had found it very abundant at sugar, and Sphinx convidvuli, 

 from Moseley. — Mr. G. T. Bethune-Baker, Vanessa urticcB, with all its 

 geographical forms and races, including vars. ichnusa, polaris, &c. ; 

 also specimens of Colias edusa, for comparison, with a purple gloss on 

 their wings. — Mr. Colbran J. Wainwrigbt, Diptera ; the two British 

 species of Sepedon sphegeus from Sutton Park, and spinipes from Chal- 

 ford, Glos., and three species of Limnia marginata from St. Ives, 

 Cornwall, and West Hide, Herefordshire ; rujifrons from West Hide, 

 and West Runton, Norfolk ; and ungracornis from West Runton and 

 Sutton Park, where this latter species is abundant. — Mr. A. H. Mar- 

 tineau, the six species of the heivola group of the genus Andrena, in 

 order to point out the very slight distinctions between i\iQm = apicata, 

 Smith, lapponica, Bett., heivola, L., ambigua, Perkins, fucata, Smith, 

 and varians, Rossi. — Colbran J. Wainwright, Hon. Sec. 



RECENT LITERATURE. 



W. B. Benham. " Note on Cordgceps sinclairii, Berkeley." (1900. 

 Trans. New Zealand Institute, xxxii, pp. 4-8, plate I.) 



There is a genus of fungi containing a number of species parasitic 

 on insects." During the ultimate nymphal instar, spores of the fungus, 

 giving rise to thread-like hyphfe, enter the tissues of the living insect 

 to make their way in all directions, gradually replacing the living 

 tissues, and, of course, occasioning the insect's death. Some of the 

 hyphge, in order to disseminate the future spores, push their way, as a 

 compact bundle, through the skin of the insect, growing upwards into 

 the air. A well-known example is C. hugelii {=rohertsii), the New 

 Zealand "Vegetable Caterpillar." In the present paper, Benham 

 notices a species (C. sinclairii) attacking the nymph of Cicadetta (or, 

 as he calls it, ''Cicada"), a genus of Cicadidee strongly represented 

 in Australia and New Zealand. The fungus "issues between the head 

 and the pronotum. The main branch grows straight forward for some 



* Benham says " confined to insects," but a little later notes that the 

 conidial stage may occur on bark, leaves, &c. 



