﻿265 



SOCIETIES. 



Entomological Society of London. — July 2nd, 1890. — Prof. J. 0. 

 Westwood, M.A., F.L.S., Hon. Life-President, in the chair. Mr. J. B. 

 Hodgkinson, Ashton-on-Ribble, Preston, Lancashire, and Mrs. Bazett, 

 Springfield, Beading, were elected Fellows ; and Mr. Henn was admitted 

 into the Society. Lord Walsingham exhibited some rare Micro-Lepidoptera 

 collected by himself at Cannes, including Eudemis helichrysana, Conchylis 

 rabricana, Milliere ; a new Depressaria from Opoponax cheironium, which 

 is about to be described by M. A. Constant, and Bucculatrix helichryseUa ; 

 and also a volume of drawings of larvae of the genus Eupiihecia, by Mr. 

 Buckler, which formerly belonged to the late Rev. H. Harpur Crewe. Mr. 

 M'Lachlan exhibited larvae and cocoons of Mecyna deprivalis, Walk., sent by 

 Mr. W. W. Smith, of Ashburton, New Zealand ; the species feeds commonly 

 on Genista capensis, an introduced plant. Mr. M'Lachlan remarked on the 

 curious nature of the larva, and suggested that as the species was so closely 

 allied to M. polygonalis, so extremely rare in this country, they might be 

 interesting to British lepidopterists. Mr. Jacoby exhibited abnormal 

 specimens of a phytophagous beetle, Metaxonycha tridentata, Jac, in which 

 one side of the thorax was furnished with teeth as in the type, whereas the 

 other side was quite simple, and presented no trace of teeth. The Secretary, 

 on behalf of Mr. J. Edwards, exhibited specimens of Gyrinus colymbus, Er., 

 with specimens of G. elonyatus, Aube, for comparison ; he also exhibited 

 drawings of the cedeagus of both species proving their distinctness. Mr. 

 Bower exhibited Phoxopteryx upupana, bred from larvae feeding between 

 united birch leaves at Chiselhurst, Sept., 1889; and Scardia picarella, 

 bred from fungus collected in Durham in May, 1870. Mr. S. Stevens, in 

 speaking of a tour which he had lately made in Devonshire, remarked on 

 the extreme scarcity of insects on the coast of that county as compared 

 with the coasts of Kent and Sussex ; there were very few larvae, and the 

 vegetation was very luxuriant and very little eaten ; he thought it possible 

 that the reason of the scarcity was the heavy rainfall of South Devon, which 

 washed off and destroyed the young larvae. Mr. Barrett said that his 

 experience had been the same, and that he put it down to the violence of 

 the winds, which beat the insects from the trees. Mr. Blandford remarked 

 that he had found Coleoptera abundant on the Braunton Burrows, near 

 Barnstaple, but very scarce in other localities. Mr. Mason and others took 

 part in the discussion which followed. Mr. Stevens further said that when 

 at Exeter he visited the Museum, and was pleased to see the original speci- 

 men of Plusia ni in the late Mr. H. Dorville's collection, taken at Alphington, 

 near Exeter, in August, 1868, and a specimen of Callimorpha hera, taken 

 also at Alphington in August, 1871, which is about six miles from the 

 locality in which the latter insect is now said to occur ; both the specimens 

 are in fine condition. Prof. Westwood read a paper on a species of Aphis, 

 received from Mr. E. Ernest Green, of Ceylon, affecting the bread-fruit 

 tree, which he had named S'qrfwnophora artocarpl; at the conclusion of 

 his paper he alluded to the use of Paris-green as a destructive agent 

 for insects. Mr. Blandford then made some remarks as to the use of 

 London-purple (another arsenic compound) as an insecticide in the place 

 of Paris-green ; he stated that the compound was a waste product and 

 one-tenth the cost of Paris-green, and further that it was more soluble and 

 more easily applied ; he was also of opinion that arsenic compounds do 



ENTOM. — AUGUST, 1890. U 



