62 



Report of the Wisley Field Meeting, July 5th, 1902. 

 By W. J. Lucas, B.A., F.E.S. Read July 24//^, 1902. 



A FINE, hot day, with fairly bright sunshine, favoured the members 

 and their friends who visited the Wisley Ponds and neighbourhood on 

 July 5th. Vegetation was luxuriant, and flowers were pretty numer- 

 ous. The following members of the flora of the district were per- 

 haps most worthy of note •.—Ranunciilusjiammula, Lychnis flos-cucuH, 

 Stellaria nliginosa, Hypericum elodes, Rhamnus fratigula, Agrimonia 

 eupatoria, Bryonia dioica, Hydrocotyle vulgaris, (Enanfhe peucedani- 

 foHa, Lotiicera periclymenum, Cnicus pratensis, Jt?-ica tetralix, E. 

 cinerea, Anagallis teneila (very fine), Myosotis co'spitosa, Litorella 

 lacusfris, JSup/wasia officinalis, Alisma raiiu7ia(loides, Carex pseudo- 

 cyperus, Equisetum limosum ; the e%'il-smelling Phallus impudicns, and 

 the tdihle Amanita rubescens. The hornbeam, not a common tree in 

 Surrey, I believe, was found in fruit. 



Amongst the Batrachians Mr. Step noticed that the common toad ' 

 " Bufo vulgaris, just emerged from the larval condition," was swarm- 

 ing on land, and the same member calls attention to a single Mollusc, 

 Succi?iea putris. But the smaller pond abounds in water-shells, 

 especially Planorbes, including P. corneas ; while Zonites nitidus, a 

 somewhat scarce land shell, " which lives in the water," may be found 

 by diligent search in one place along the margin. 



Of the Orthoptera, immature specimens of Forficula auricularia 

 were noticed, and some numbers of grasshoppers belonging to the 

 genus Stenobothrus were seen, but in no case, I think, quite mature, 

 though some ? specimens of S. parallelus were of large size. A 

 small immature green locustid (that is, grasshopper with long antennse) 

 was taken from nettles. The little Tettix bipunctatus was taken 

 mature. By the large pond several specimens of Ectobia lapponica 

 were taken — in one case a pair in cop., — and it was easily observed 

 that the female is much lighter and rounder in outline than the male, 

 and has shorter wings. The male soon died, but the female was 

 kept alive some time, being fed first on strawberries, then on banana. 

 From the tip of her abdomen a pale yellowish-brown egg-capsule was 

 protruding on July 19th. At any rate, on that day it was first 

 noticed, and she had been looked at most days previously. The 

 capsule, therefore, is not to be seen till some time after copulation. 

 At its darkest it was only of a palish sienna-brown. It was 

 dropped on July 24th, having been carried about five days, a habit 

 which has been noticed also in the case of some of the larger cock- 

 roaches. 



