282 Linncean Society. 



the nest of Anthophora, readily waived his right of description in 

 deference to Mr. Newport's wish to describe the insect himself. 



In the ' Zoologist' for March of the present year, Mr. Smith inci- 

 dentally mentioned that he had bred two distinct species of Mono- 

 dontomerus from the cells of Osmia bicornis and those of Anthophora 

 retusa. Anxious, in the summer of 1848, to discover the larvae, of 

 Melecta punctata, he procured from a colony of Anthophora at Charl- 

 ton in Kent a number of larvae and pupae ; but all the larvae, though 

 differing much in colour, produced Anthophora only. While sepa- 

 rating the larvae from the pupae, he observed in a cell partially broken 

 open, containing a pupa of the bee, a small larva by its side slightly 

 moving; and on removing the pupa, he found twelve more minute 

 larvae feeding upon it, which they continued to do for ten or twelve 

 days, by which time they were fully grown. When first observed, 

 the pupa of the bee was about one-third consumed, and at last not 

 a vestige of it remained ; all that the cell contained besides the larvae 

 being a small portion of yellow dust or small granules. They re- 

 mained in the larva state for several weeks, and then changed to 

 pupae, in which state they continued for about a fortnight, when 

 they became perfect and active insects. The species of Monodonto- 

 merus bred from the cells of Osmia also fed upon the pupa, and un- 

 derwent the same process of development. 



Mr. Smith concludes by referring to a statement of Mr. Westwood 

 in his * Introduction to the Modern Classification of Insects,' that he 

 had frequently observed Monodontomerus flying about and entering 

 the holes made in walls by Osmia, in which they were doubtlessly 

 about to deposit their eggs; and to his mention of a species com- 

 municated to him by M. Audouin, in which the males have rudi- 

 mentary wings ; and suggests that it would be exceedingly inter- 

 esting to determine whether the species of Monodontomerus, and the 

 Anthophorabia also, might be identical with the insects observed by 

 Audouin and Fonscolombe. 



April 17.— N. Wallich, M.D., in the Chair. 



Read a paper entitled " Remarks on the genus Atriplex." By 

 Joseph Woods, Esq., F.L.S. &c. 



After observing, that, as far as the British species are concerned, 

 the genus Atriplex had remained till lately as it appeared in the 

 • English Flora' of Sir J. E. Smith in 1828, Mr. Woods proceeds to 

 notice the additions made to it by Mr. Babington. The first of these 

 is A. nitens (A. Hermanni of Moquin-Tandon), belonging to a divi- 

 sion of the genus in which some of the flowers are perfect and pro- 

 duce horizontal seeds. The author thinks the division a sound one, 

 though on one occasion he has found a few horizontal seeds, the 

 produce probably of perfect flowers, in A. littoralis. The second is 

 A. marina, introduced by Linnaeus as a plant found in England, and 

 distinguished from A. littoralis by its serrated leaves. Hudson ad- 

 mitted it under the name of A. serrata, but most of our later bota- 

 nists have considered it as a variety of A. littoralis, and it must be 

 placed among the doubtful species. 



