54 



explosions, and the water for about an incli around it effervesced much 

 in llie same manner as a Seidlitz powder." Lieut.-Col. Champion 

 collected botanical as well as entomological specimens, not only in 

 Greece, but also in China and Ceylon. In the second volume of the 

 new series of our ' Transactions,' he is spoken of by Mr. Bowring as 

 " a very zealous entomologist: " he discovered many new Coleoptera, 

 some of which are described by Mr. VVestvvood in our 'Transactions,' 

 and one is named after him Callirhipis Championii. Lieut.-Col. 

 Champion's scientific papers are as follow : — 



Notes on Various Insects. By lonicus. Ent. Mag. iii. 176, Td. 376, and Id. 460. 



A foreign entomologist. Count Mannerheim, well known as an acute 

 and diligent Coleopterist, and the author of a great number of Me- 

 moirs, most of them descriptive, published in the ' Bulletin de la 

 Societe Imperiale des Naturalistes de Moscou,' died at Stockholm, on 

 the 9th of October, 1854. 



The interest as well as the attendance of our meetings has been 

 well maintained, and many of the exhibitions and notices have led to 

 animated discussions. Tin-ee subjects appear to be peculiarly worthy 

 of remark : 1st, the production of silk by other insects than the well- 

 known and invaluable Bombyx Mori; 2nd, the materials of which 

 wasps construct their nests ; and 3rdly, the communication of motion 

 to seeds by the movements of an inclosed insect. With your per- 

 mission I will say a few words on each of these. 



One of the silk insects, and that which has obtained the most at- 

 tention, is the Bombyx Cynthia, a native of Assam, the larva? of which 

 feed on the castor-oil plant {Ricinus Palma-Clirisli) : it was first intro- 

 duced to our notice by Mr. Spence, who read some extracts from the 

 ' Journal of the Society of Arts,' from which it appeared that this insect 

 was reared most extensively over a large part of Hindustan, more par- 

 ticularly in the districts of Dinagpur and Rangpur, — that the silk was of 

 incredible durability, and the insect so prolific that twelve broods 

 were reared in one year. Dr. Heifer, who transmitted the informa- 

 tion, adds, that he estimates that no less than 150 of the Indian Bom- 

 byccs form cocoons more or less adapted for manufactures. At the 

 June meeting- Mr. Westwood exhibited some of the cocoons of this 

 insect, forwarded from Malta by Dr. Templeton, together with an in- 

 quiry whether any method was known by which the .silk could be 

 unwound ; and finally, at the October meeting, our Secretary read 

 extracts from the ' Journal of the Society of Arts,' showing that the 

 insect had been introduced with complete success into Malta and 



