326 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



is fairly air-tight, containing also a piece of cotton-wool soaked with 

 40 per cent, of formaldehyde. (I use my travelling-case, and plug up 

 the perforations at either end with the cotton-wool.) Leave the box 

 closed for a week, and the imagines are ready to be transferred. 

 Last year I had a lot of imagines that drooped, but this year, since 

 using formaldehyde vapour, not one has played me false. To be 

 quite certain, last week I took two imagines at haphazard, one a 

 butterfly and the other a moth, and placed them in my corked zinc 

 relaxing-box immediately after I had saturated the cork with boiling 

 water, closed the box, and left it for five days. On examination both 

 imagines were found to be soaked with moisture, but neither had 

 budged in the slightest, and I am certain that I should not have been 

 able to reset them in a new position. For those who like to change 

 their setting with every new fashion this might prove a disadvantage, 

 but for those who know their own minds it would not be a deterrent. 

 A friend of mine suggested that the formaldehyde might alter the 

 colours, but so far I have not found this to be the case ; it is true 

 that I have not had a chance to try the process on any of the 

 " emeralds," but I might point out that formaldehyde is used largely 

 in making pathological specimens. for museums, where it is very 

 important to preserve colours. I claim another advantage for my 

 process. Inasmuch as formaldehyde is a powerful germicide, one can 

 be sure that every insect that goes into the cabinet goes in sterilized. 

 There is another point that I am watching with interest, namely, 

 whether it wull check " grease." This is, I believe, a post-mortem 

 change akin to the formation of adipocere in the human subject, so 

 that if the insect is thoroughly sterilized it is only reasonable to hope 

 that the "grease" may be checked. — Winston St. A. St. John, 

 M.B.C.S., L.R.C.P. ; Derwent House, Derby, November 11th, 1914. 



SOCIETIES. 



The South London Entomological and Natural History 

 Society.— Oc^o^er 22?if/.— Mr. B. H. Smith, B.A., F.E.S., President, 

 in the chair. — The evening was set apart for an exhibition and dis- 

 cussion of the genus Anthrocera, introduced by Mr. B. S. Curwen. 

 Mr. Curwen exhibited a collection of Palsearctic Anthroceridas, con- 

 sisting of some twenty-six species and forms. — Dr. E. A. Cockayne, 

 the series of A. hii)])ocrcpidis from the late Mr. J. W. Tutt's collec- 

 tion, with various series of A. filipcndula, A. trifolii, A. ijalustris, 

 and A. lonicera. — Mr. F. H. Stallman, early and late races of A. 

 trifolii, A. fiUpe7idtilcs, &c. — Mr. Buckstone, similar series with sug- 

 gested hybrid series trifolii xfilipendula. — Dr. Chapman, a drawer 

 of European Anthroceridas captured during the last few years, in- 

 cluding A. anthyllidis, A. contaviinei, A. sarpedon, &c.— Mr. Hy. J. 

 Turner, series from many localities, mainly of the five- and six-spotted 

 species of the Transalpiniformes group. — Mr. L. "W. Newman, series 

 of bred Anthroceridae species. — Papers and notes were read and 

 communicated by Messrs. Curwen, Cockayne, P. A. Buxton, Turner, 



