42 



photographs and notes. He found that the London sparrow 

 was exceedingly keen after all the specimens which he had 

 allowed to go free. 



Mr. Robt. Adkin exhibited a bred series of Lobophora 

 polycomniata from Brighton ; also specimens of Silene 

 maritima and Mertensia maritima, two plants which Mr. 

 McArthur had gathered in the neighbourhood of Stornoway 

 and sent up for identification. Mr. Step said that the Silene 

 was a proliferous form, which he considered decidedly 

 uncommon in this species ; the Mertensia was also interesting, 

 its distribution in this country apparently being confined to 

 the west coast from Wales northward. 



AUGUST 8ih, 1901. 



Mr. H. S. Fremlin, F.E.S., President, in the Chair. 



Mr. Robt. Adkin exhibited a bred series of Gcometra 

 papilionaria, the parent moth having been taken in Bexley 

 woods, Kent. He considered this one of the most difficult 

 of the British Lepidoptera to preserve in good order, on 

 account of the extreme sensitiveness of its colour. It was 

 well known that a sufficiently long time in a "cyanide" 

 bottle to be fatal meant utter ruin to the delicate green 

 pigment. Ammonia was equally destructive to it, and even 

 a short exposure in a damp box caused considerable damage. 

 Piercing the abdomen with a fine pen dipped in a saturated 

 solution of oxalic acid appeared to be the safest method of 

 killing the insect, but its struggles during the operation were 

 often a source of injury. He had, therefore, adopted the 

 medium course of putting the insect into a dry "cyanide" 

 bottle for a few moments, just long enough to stupefy it, and 

 then applying the acid. He thought the condition of the 

 series exhibited showed this method to be fairly satisfactory. 



The President suggested the substitution of chloroform for 

 stupefying, but several members thought this would stiffen 

 the insects too much. 



Mr. Manger exhibited an unusually large and light-coloured 

 specimen oi Sphinx ligustri, bred from Brockley, together with 

 a male example of the dragon-fly Aischna cyanea, taken in his 

 own garden. 



Mr. Hy. J. Turner exhibited a pupa of Macroglossa 

 stellatarum from Bromley, with a short bred series of 

 A gratis ripce from Dawlish, and called attention to the 



