4162 The Zoologist — September, 1874. 



the larva might be that of Carpocapsa splendana, a species which usually 

 feeds on acorns ; and Mr. Moore stated that he had bred that species from 

 a walnut. 



Professor Westwood made some remarks on the Yucca Moth {Pronuha 

 Yuccasella, Riley), of which some fifty specimens had been sent to him, iu 

 the pupa state, by Mr. Riley ; but he had succeeded in rearing only three 

 of them. He exhibited a drawing of a portion of the insect, showing the 

 peculiar form of the palpi, which were specially adapted for collecting the 

 pollen, which it transferred to the stigmatic surface as the insect passed 

 from flower to flower. He pointed out the great importance of the insect 

 in the economy of nature, as it appeared to be the only agent by which the 

 plant was rendered fertile. He directed attention to a description of the 

 insect and its habits by Mr. Riley, in his ' Sixth Annual Report of the 

 Insects of Missouri.' 



Professor Westwood also exhibited some bees which had been sent to 

 him from Dublin, having been found attacking the hives of the honey bees. 

 They were smaller than the honey bee, and black, and he considered them 

 to be merely a degenerated variety of Apis mellifica. He suggested the 

 probability of their being identical with the "black bees" mentioned by 

 Hiiber. Also Hiiber had spoken of bees which he called " Captains," 



which were furnished with "coronets" on their heads ; but he suspected 



that these coronets might have been merely the pollen which the insects 

 had collected. 



Mr. Champion exhibited Amara alpina and other beetles taken at Avie- 



niore, in Inverness-shire. 



The Secretary exhibited larva?, puptc and imago of a Dipterous insect 



which had been found, in the larva state, in an old Turkey carpet. The 



larva was very long, slender and serpeutiform, white and shining, and had 



somewhat the appearance of a wireworm, only much longer and without 



feet. Professor Westwood thought it might belong to the genus Sceno- 



pinus. 



Mr. Bond exhibited some minute parasites from a bat, probably identical 



with Argas pipistrelhc ; and also some Acari from a small species of fly: 



both were from the Isle of Wight. 



Mr. W. C. Boyd exhibited two specimens of Thecla Rubi from St. 



Leonard's Forest, differing from the ordinary type in having a pale spot 



in each fore wing. 



Mr. Wormald exhibited a collection of butterflies sent from Japan by 



Mr. H. S. Pryer. 



Mr. W. Cole exhibited leaves of ash affected by some small dipterous 



larvae (probably Cecidomyia), which caused the two edges of the leaflets to 



turn upwards and meet above, thus assuming a pod-like form. They were 



from West Wickham Wood. 



