SOCIETIES. 43 



Mr. Eowland E. Turner; Mr. J. W. Tutt, and Mr. C. 0. Water- 

 house. The outgoing President, Mr. G. O. Waterhouse, having 

 alluded to the loss the Society had sustained in the death of seven 

 Fellows, took as the subject of his address, " The Claws of Insects." 

 After briefly describing the various forms of insects' claws which 

 are classified as toothed, appendiculate, bifid, or pectinate ; and 

 having given exainples of each, he suggested as a subject for investi- 

 gation, which he hoped entomologists would take up as a study, 

 " Are these forms of claw merely the result. of heredity without any 

 special object, or is there evidence to show that the different forms 

 are adapted to different modes of life ; in fact, have been developed to 

 meet special needs?" He then proceeded to show, by numerous 

 examples, that closely allied species often had dissimilar claws ; that 

 insects with quite different habits had the same form of claw ; and 

 that others with different forms of claw seemed to have the same 

 habits. The question therefore appeared to be still an open one, 

 requiring careful investigation, and he appealed for more field obser- 

 vation with a view to solve this and many other problems. — 

 H. Rowland-Brown, M.A., Hon. Secretary. 



The South London Entomological and Natubal History 

 Society.— ^oy. 26^/?, 1908. — Mr. A. Sich, F.E.S., President, in the 

 chair : The Annual Exhibition of Varieties.— Mr. Adlard, Bartholo- 

 mew Close, E.G., was elected a member. — Mr. South exhibited series 

 of Cirrhcedia vaccinii and G. ligula from the Continent, and discussed 

 at length the various forms and named varieties, comparing them 

 with British examples. He also showed the Cucullia species pre- 

 viously shown, stating that upon examination of the genitalia by Mr. 

 Pierce, three of the Continental males were shown to be G. lychnitis 

 and two G. verbasci, and one bred from a larva found feeding on Scro- 

 phularia nodosa in North Kent proved to be G. verbasci also. — 

 Messrs. Harrison and Main, an extensive bred series of Aplecta nebu- 

 losa, with a large proportion of var. robsoni and var. thompsoni, and 

 gave notes and statistics of the results. They also showed a bred 

 gynandrous specimen of Pieris napi, left side male, right side female. 

 —Mr. R. Adkin, series of Boarmia gemmaria {rhomboid aria), com- 

 prising typical and black forms reared from wild ova in 1907, and a 

 portion of Edward Newman's series of the same species and of var. 

 perfumaria, and discussed the last-named form. He also showed 

 Anthrocera achillecB from Argyllshire, Nola albidalis from East 

 Sussex, 1908, a variety of Ghrysoplianus phlceas of a coppery shade 

 with the red band reduced to narrow bars, an example of Aglais 

 urticcB with very large blue lunules and tips of fore wings streaked 

 with pale blue-grey, together with a case containing pupa-skins 

 in situ of several of the rarer Sesiidae, resinous nodules with cocoons 

 of Betinea resinella, one of which had been appropriated by a larva 

 of Dioryctria abietella, cocoons of Nola centonalis and of Hylophila 

 bicolorana ; also Zenillia roseancB, a dipterous parasite on the larvae 

 of Tortrix pronubayia, new to Britain. — Mr. G. T. Porritt, varieties of 

 Abraxas grossulariata bred from wild larvee of this year, including an 

 ab. varleyata male, in wliich there was a double row of wdiite rays on 

 the hind wings. — Mr. Newman, a long series of Grapta c-albuvi and 



