CURRliN'T NOTES. 81 



At the mGeting of the Entomological Society of London, held Feb- 

 ruaiT 1st, ]\Ir. G. C. Champion shoAved numerous specimens of both 

 sexes of an midescribed species of Ajii()}iii'nix (Family Ilednriiilac) found 

 by himself in Chiriqni, and pointed out some of the more interesting 

 peculiarities of each sex. In the female of this insect, the last con- 

 nexival segment of the abdomen has a long In-ight red foliaceous 

 appendage on each side, movable at the will of the insect, these appen- 

 dages in the male being shorter and connate, forming a broad plate 

 round the apex of the abdomen. Tbe females, which have the ventral 

 segments closely pilose and the hind tibite furnished with a short 

 dense brush of hairs on the upper edge, have the power of exuding a 

 viscous liquid from the ventral surface (possibly from the hairs) and 

 perhaps from the tibiae also, by which they are enabled to hold their 

 prey w^hile in the act of sucking it. Mr. Champion said he had observed 

 the Ajiiorneriis attacking soft freshly emerged Longicornes nearly as 

 large as itself. The males have a shorter brush on the hind tibiae, and 

 the ventral surface sparsely pilose. 



C. S. Gregson, of Liverpool, one of the last of the old school of 

 Lancashire collectors that did so much towards the elucidation of the 

 life-histories and habits of our Micro-lepidoptera some 50 years ago, 

 died at the commencement of February, and was buried on the Gth. 

 That he was a keen collector goes without saying, and that he added 

 many facts to our knowledge of several obscure species is well known 

 to all lepidopterists. It would be well if some of our younger collec- 

 tors, Avho are spending their time and money in duplicating collections 

 of the larger species of lepidoptera, could be persuaded into putting 

 their energy into the field work necessary to clear up the difficulties 

 attending the life-histories and habits of the species in some of the 

 more obscure groups and the accumulation of specimens belonging 

 to these groups. It was the keen rivalry existing between the ob- 

 servant field-naturalists that Lancashire produced in the " fifties " and 

 those belonging to our southern counties, of whom Stainton was the 

 acknowledged leader, that brought about such a rapid extension of our 

 knowledge at that period, and resulted in an accumulation of material 

 that has never since been equalled. Of the many observations that 

 were then made on the Micro-lepidoptera more than a fair share must 

 be put down to the account of the hardworking lepidopterist who has 

 so recently died. 



At the meeting of the Cambridge Entomological and Natural 

 History Society on February 3rd, Dr. Sharp exhibited a number of 

 Lncanidae from various parts of the world, and called attention to the 

 conspicuous trimorphism apparent in the males of many species. These 

 differ not only in size but also in the form of the mandibles, and can be 

 usually placed in three well-marked groups in each species. He also 

 exhibited some bees of the genus KoptorthnHoma from Ceylon, in which, 

 in the female, a cavity is formed in the anterior end of the abdomen by 

 an involution of the skin. The abdomen is pressed so close against the 

 thorax that, in the normal position, this cavity is invisible, but it can be 

 seen by bending down the abdomen or by cutting it oft". The cavity 

 varies in form in different species, but is found throughout the genus in 

 tbe female, and always contains a number of large Acari. It is not 

 known whether these parasites have any connection with the develop- 

 ment of the structure in question. 



