20 



THE ENTOMOLOOist. 



idea that we had a " plague of caterpillars," in the true sense of tlie word. 

 I only wish to show that some species were unusually abundant here. 



I may just mention that the Aphidae infesting the apple, plum, currant, 

 and rose were never known to be so abundant as they were this year. From 

 what I saw myself I think that the two latter suffered most. — R. Newstbad ; 

 Grosvenor Museum, Chester, Nov. 20, 1890. 



Emydia cribrum. — I think Mr. Fowler rather under-estimates the 

 percentage of males of E. cribrum netted by collectors, when he puts it at 

 60 per cent. ; 97 per cent, would be nearer the mark. It may be of 

 interest to note that this insect may be freely taken by " assembling," as 

 we found by the sport which followed the capture of a freshly-emerged 

 female, on the night of the 18th June. Mr. Corbin also tells me that in 

 one night, many years ago, he took over sixty males by this means. — 

 V. Gerrard ; 47, Foulden Road, Stoke Newington, N. 



Chcerocampa celerio found in a Mouse-trap. — Mr. Esson, of 

 Aberdeen, has sent me a very fine specimen of C. celerio, which is supposed 

 to have flown into a shop in Aberdeen, and was found by a boy in a 

 mouse-trap, which had been set with a piece of meat. I may add that, 

 altogether, I have had over twenty specimens of C. celerio pass through my 

 hands from time to time. Four of these came from Carlisle ; three from 

 Manchester ; three from Bolton ; two from Doncaster ; and one example 

 from each of the following places — Kendal ; Preston ; Littlehampton ; 

 Whalley ; Grange ; Stockton ; Brighton ; Aberdeen. In addition to 

 these is one from the collection of the late Mr. B. Standish, without 

 locality. — J. B. Hodgkinson ; Ashton-on-Ribble. 



SOCIETIES. 



Entomologtcal Society of London. — December ?ird, 1890. — The 

 Rt. Hon. Lord Walsingham, M.A., F.R.S., President, in the chair. Mr. 

 Samuel James Capper, F.L.S., of Huyton Park, near Liverpool; and Mr. 

 John Gardner, of 6, Friar Terrace, Hartlepool, were elected Fellows of 

 the Society. Dr. D. Sharp exhibited specimens of Papilio polites, P. eri- 

 ihonius, and Euplcea asela, received from Mr. J. J. Lister, who had caught 

 them on board ship when near Colombo, in November, 1888. Dr. Sharp 

 read a letter from Mr. Lister, in which it was stated that from the ship 

 hundreds of these butterflies were seen flying out to sea against a slight 

 breeze. Many of them, apparently exhausted by a long flight, alighted on 

 the deck of the ship, and large numbers perished in the sea. Lord 

 Walsingham exhibited a coloured drawing of a variety of Acherontia 

 atropos, which had been sent to him by Mons. Henri de la Cuisine, 

 of Dijon. He also exhibited specimens of an entomogenous fungus, 

 apparently belonging to the genus Torrubia, growing on pupae, received 

 from Sir Charles Forbes, which had been collected in Mexico by Mr. 

 H. B. James. Mr. M'Lachlan expressed an opinion, in which Mr. C. O. 

 Waterhouse and Mr. G. C. Champion concurred, that the pupae were those 

 of a species of Cicada. Mr. F. D. Godman said that at the meeting of the 

 Society on the 3rd October, 1888, he had exhibited a larva of a Cicada 

 with a similar fungoid growth. The specimen was subsequently produced, 

 and the fungus proved to be identical with that on the pupse shown 



