64 



" One would probably at first sight guess wrongly upon 

 this point with regard to all the other Bornean forms, for the 

 apertures are so decidedly on the left of the spire. This, 

 however, does not in reality make them sinistral shells, but 

 the left-handed appearance arises merely from a peculiar 

 twist and retroversion of the body-whorl, which turns the 

 aperture backwards. 



" One question forces itself upon us : To what end is all 

 this extraordinary development of sculpture ? We can well 

 suppose in the case of the succulent murex or cockle, to be 

 covered all over with strong bristling spines would make the 

 hungry fish shy of attack ; but in the case of these tiny 

 Opisthostoina one would almost imagine that their bodies, a 

 mere microscopic film, would hardly be worth attacking, yet 

 some carnivorous beetle may rove about in Borneo in the 

 home of these little creatures, whose onslaught may be averted 

 by the bristling array of spikes ; and some bird, always 

 pecking at something, may hesitate to prick its tongue. 

 That this marvellous ' sculpture' has its meaning, and is of 

 some advantage to its possessor, we may rest assured, but 

 that we shall ever fathom its purpose is less than likely." 



DECEMBER 12th, 1901. 



Mr. W. J. Lucas, Vice-President, in the Chair. 



Mr. Newnham, of Hersham, Surrey, was elected a member. 



Mr. McArthur exhibited a male specimen of Lasiocanipa 

 qtiercils taken at Brighton, having the female coloration. 



Mr. Kirkaldy exhibited a specimen of what he supposed to 

 be the Heteropteron Reduviulus ferus. This example had the 

 wings on one side fully developed (macropterous), while 

 those on the other side were only partially developed 

 (brachypterous). He noted that this development was most 

 rare. 



Mr. F. M. B. Carr exhibited series of Lepidoptera that he 

 had recently captured or reared, and contributed notes on 

 some of them as follows : 



" Series of Selenia illunaria. — The first specimen, a female, 

 is one of three taken at Shoreham, Kent, in April this year, 

 and is rather large and dark. The remainder were bred 

 from ova laid by these females. The larvae, although 

 hatching all about the same time, fed up and pupated very 

 irregularly, and the moths began to emerge in July. The 



