Mr. C. V. Riley observed that it had been stated in an article 

 by Mrs. Mary Treat, published in the American Naturalist., 

 that she had made certain experiments with the larvae of two 

 insects, which were deprived of food for some time, and the con- 

 clusion she came to was that she could produce males by starving 

 the larvae, and females by feeding them to excess. He had him- 

 self experimented with the larvae of some six species in which 

 there is a great disparity of sex, and had obtained no such results ; 

 and he concluded that the results of Mrs. Treat's experiments 

 could be accounted for on other grounds, and principally by the 

 fact that the female in the Insecta is usually the largest and most 

 vital, and requires the greatest amount of nourishment; so that, 

 in starving a batch of larvae, the females would be the first to 

 succumb, and more males would naturally be obtained from 

 larvae thus treated. 



In answer to a suggestion that the female sex appeared to be 

 something like a case of arrested development, Mr. Riley said that 

 he believed sex in insects as well as in all animals was always 

 determined at the moment of conception, and that the production 

 of queens or workers in the honey-bee was only a question of 

 relative development, the workers all being undeveloped females 

 or queens. 



yune i6, 1873. 

 Vice-President Todd in the chair. 



Ten members present. 



Publications received were laid upon the table. 



June 30, 1873- 

 The President in the chair. 



Twelve members present. 



Exchanges received were laid upon the table. 



It was ordered, on motion of the Corresponding Secretary, that 

 a copy of vols. I. and II. of the Transactions be sent to the Impe- 

 rial Observatory of Rio Janeiro, Brazil. 



