24 



THE ENTOMOLOGIST S RECORD. 



the latter comprises over fifty pages. In addition there are numerous 

 Reports on the work of the various sections of the Society. From a 

 careful perusal of the latter, not only do the Society's energies comprise 

 educational work, but a considerable amount of original observation and 

 recording is undertaken. The President of the year, Dr. E. A. Cockayne, 

 M.A., F.E.S., gave a most interesting and valuable address on " Insects 

 and War," which included not only references to past wars, even as far 

 back as the Greeks and Romans, but dealt with his own observations 

 during the present war, and while on Government service. He concludes 

 his address with these words, " And let us pay a tribute to the Bacteri- 

 ologists and Entomologists who have unveiled the secrets of the lives of 

 the parasites of these diseases and of their insect carriers, and to those 

 who have applied their discoveries to preserve the health of our armies 

 and so allow them to prosecute the war to a successful end." 



Our colleague, Mr. A. Sich, contributes a paper entitled " A Hawthorn 

 Hedge in Middlesex," in which he deals with the micro-lepidoptera as 

 well as the macros. He speaks of the competition between the species 

 for possession, of the casual visitors, even birds and molluscs, of the 

 weeds at the foot of the hedge, and finally describes the hedge on a 

 December afternoon with the contrast of its appearance on a May 

 morning. 



Possibly one of the most useful papers of the year is that by Mr. 

 Harold B. Williams, "Notes on the Life-history and Variation of 

 Euchlo'e cardandnea,'" which occupies quite a quarter of the whole 

 Transactions. It deals exhaustively with the most important matter 

 hitherto published concerning the species, including the original de- 

 scription of Linneus, a summary of the characteristics of the imago, 

 male and female, an account of the sexual dimorphism, a sketch of the 

 lines and extent of variation hitherto noted, with the original descrip- 

 tions of all named varieties. To those aberrations, etc., he adds ab. 

 tiava, "the ground colour of both fore- and hindwings of a bright 

 canary yellow," ab. caidotosticta, " upperside forewing with the discoi- 

 dal spot very large and branched, the upper portion bemg extended along 

 the sub-costal vein towards the base," ab. radiata, " upperside forewing 

 with a series of black dashes from the black apical spots towards, and 

 in extreme specimens reaching, the discoidal," var. hibernica, "slightly 

 smaller on the average than the type, the black spots at the ends of the 

 nervures more strongly marked. The ^ is frequently suffused with yel- 

 low on the underside of the forewing, the $ usually with the hind- 

 wing strongly suffused with yellow." Altogether some 34 varietal and 

 aberrational names are listed. The author then deals with the terato- 

 logical specimens, hybridity and gynandromorphism. Under the last 

 heading a large number of examples are either referred to or described 

 in detail. The next sections deal with egg-laying, the ovum, exclusion 

 of the larva, description of the larva, habits of the larva, variation in 

 the larva, a long list of food-plants, details of pupation, description of 

 the pupa with details as to its variation. The records of the times of 

 appearance includes the extreme dates February 29th (1(S96, Tunaley) ■ 

 and September 12th (1886, Haylock). Finally the paper concludes 

 with a most interesting summarj^of the records as to the habits of the 

 imago, made by Messrs. Tutt, Lucas, Main, Ploersheim, Meldola, G. 

 Marshall, Prideaux, etc. All our British entomologists should have a 

 copy of this valuable paper before them. — H.J.T. 



