83 



have been taken. The series now exhibited includes the 

 darkest and the lightest forms taken on that occasion, and a 

 point that I think will be evident to anyone who examines 

 them closely, is that the grey tones which predominate in 

 the markings of the darker examples are entirely absent from 

 the pale form, leaving only the ochreous tints faintly visible ; 

 the hind wings, too, are of the palest ochreous white, whereas 

 in the darker forms they are distinctly greyish. Another 

 point of difference which struck me very much, but which 

 cannot unfortunately be seen in the series exhibited — and on 

 which, considering the brief time available for noting the 

 habits of the species in life, I should not like to lay too much 

 stress — was the different appearance of the two forms when 

 resting. The darker examples, when fairly settled down, had 

 the usual triangular Scoparia look, but the two or three light 

 ones that I had the good fortune to see under similar cir- 

 cumstances, seemed to have their wings much more closely 

 folded, giving them quite a Depressavia appearance. On the 

 wing, too, the pale examples appeared weaker or more 

 sluggish than the darker form, being easily boxed without 

 the aid of a net, although on full flight at the time. 



" But it must be remembered that the whole of the 

 members of the series that we are now dealing with, were 

 taken on the chalk, and are, even excluding the lightest of 

 them, lighter than forms occurring on some other formations, 

 which we should regard as typical S. dubitalis. These chalk 

 forms were at one time given specific rank under the name of 

 ingratclla, Knaggs (nee. Z.) (' Ent. Mo. Mag.,' vol. v, p. 291), 

 who sought to show differences between them and the type 

 quite as great as any that I have been able to point out 

 between the individuals of the present series. But further 

 investigation has shown them to be merely a local race of a 

 variable species, and it seems to me that the lightest speci- 

 mens now shown are but examples of the same chain of 

 variation carried one link further." 



NOVEMBER 22nd, 1906. 



The decease of Mr. Chaney, one of the early members 

 of the Society, and for some years its Librarian, was an- 

 nounced. 



The evening was devoted to the exhibition of special 

 varieties and captures of note during the year. 



Mr R. South exhibited a specimen of the large Chinese 

 form of Vanessa urtica, known as chinensus, Leech, to com- 



