70 



remains in Britain, and the conclusion arrived at was, that 

 the cockroaches had had their day, having been apparently 

 at the zenith of their existence in the carboniferous age. An 

 important difference between past and recent cockroaches 

 was found in the fact that in the former the wings and elytra 

 were similar in appearance, both being transparent. It may 

 have been that in some cases the females had ovipositors, 

 and so did not deposit oothecse (egg-capsules) as now. 



Of British cockroaches, using the term " British " in the 

 widest sense, there were eleven, which were arranged in 

 three groups : {a) three " natives," — Ectobia lapponica, E. 

 livida, and E. panzeri; (b) four "naturalised aliens," — 

 Phyllodroniia gerinanica, Blatta orientalis, B. aniericana, and 

 B. australasicc ; (c) four " casual visitors," — Nyctibora 

 holosevicea, Rhypavobia inaderce, Leucophcea surinamensis, and 

 Blabeva gigantea. Each species was then treated separately 

 with regard to its size, appearance, and peculiarities, and 

 its range in Britain and throughout the world. These 

 points were illustrated by a number of slides of the insects, 

 while the lantern was also utilised to put on the screen a 

 table of the Geologic ages, a list of the British cockroaches, 

 a comparative diagram of wing-expanses, and a map of the 

 world shewing the various zoo-geographical regions. 



MARCH 22nd, 1900. 



Mr. W. J.- Lucas, B.A., F.E.S., President, in the Chair. 



Mr. MacGee, of Lillie Road, S.W., and Mr. J. Piatt 

 Barrett, of Margate, were elected members. 



Mr. Montgomery exhibited a series of Coreinia dcsignata, 

 Hufn., being a partial third generation, which emerged 

 from September i8th to October gth. They were without 

 the usual grey transverse lines on both fore- and hind-wings, 

 and the central band of the fore-wings had only one black 

 transverse line in addition to its usual black margins. The 

 central bar of the fore-wings was continued across the hind- 

 wings in a more marked degree than in the type. He also 

 exhibited specimens of the second generation, which emerged 

 from August ist to 7th, and from which parents of the above 

 specimens w^ere taken. 



Mr, F. M. B. Carr exhibited a varied series of Hybernia 

 leucophcearia from Lee. 



Some five dozen lantern slides on ornithological subjects. 



