ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 25 



Another object was to ascertain if it would be possible to breed from such monstros- 

 ities, but though some individuals had shown symptoms of desiring sexual connection, no 

 union had ever taken place, and so no eggs had been obtained, and as these operations 

 must greatly lower the vitality of the subjects, it seems very improbable that any 

 attempts at breeding from these monstrosities could ever be successful*. 



Another man who is doing good work, though in a much less startling field, is Dr. 

 Otto Seifert of New York, in his experiments with heat and cold applied to the pupse of 

 butterflies and moths. jPollowing up the work of Dorfmeister, Weismann, Edwards, 

 Stange, Merrifield, Standfuss, and Eimer he has made extensive experiments upon a con- 

 siderable number of species. 



Pyrameis Atalanta, which seems very susceptible to these influences, Papilio 

 Asterias, P. Turnus, Colias Pbilodice, Grapta Interrogationis, Melitsea Phaeton, Danais 

 Archippus, Limenitis Disippus, Vanessa Antiopa, Junonia Coenia, Arctia Arge, A. Nais, 

 Philosamia Cynthia, and Samia Cecropia have all been experimented upon with more or 

 less success. 



The operations were carried on by means of an incubator and an ice chest, the 

 temperature in the former being maintained as nearly as possible at 38° C. equal to 100° 

 F. while in the latter it varied between 4° C. and 6° C. equal to 39° F. and 43° F. 



In summarizing his results Or. Seifert informs me that the effect seemed to depend 

 more upon the susceptibility of the individual than upon the length of the exposure to 

 these artificial conditions, as in some cases chrysalides kept ten days on ice produced more 

 aberrant forms than resulted from others kept for thirty days on ice. 



Cold and heat did not always have opposite effects in some particulars, as for instance 

 Limenitis Disippus exposed to heat was deepened in colour along the costa to the middle 

 of the wing, the mesial band of secondaries narrowing or being omitted altogether. 

 Subjected to cold the colour was turned darker also but in a different way, the darker 

 tone being chiefly produced by many black scales along the veins, and the mesial band on 

 secondaries being more marked. 



While heat in general tends to produce a more marked or defined design, when 

 accompanied by an excess of moisture Dr. Seifert found a tendency to almost destroy the 

 colour but never to affect the design. 



Heat and cold were also found to affect the shape of the wings, in some cases the 

 apex of primaries becoming more pointed, while in P. Turnus and G. Interrogationis 

 cold caused a remarkable development of the scallops and dentations of the wings. 



Cold changed the rounded secondaries of Junonia Coenia to a form more elongated 

 towards the anal angle, while heat shapes the wings of Limenitis Disippus nearly to 

 those of Danais Archippus. 



Pyrameis Atalanta was affected in the most interesting manner by cold, the red 

 transverse band on primaries above being broken up into four spots while below the 

 secondaries are much changed in appearance, the ouff tone of the lower two-thirds of 

 the outer margin being greatly strengthened and spread inwards, while a violet bloom 

 tends to spread over the wing. 



In Arctia Arge the prominent black spots on the abdomen vanish entirely or are 

 much diminished by heat, and the black marks on primaries are also reduced. 



By cold the black spots on the abdomen are enlarged, sometimes in the female be- 

 coming transverse bands, while on the secondaries blackish streaks originating from the 

 base spread outwards towards the margin. 



Dr. Seifert also experimented upon eggs but could only find that heat hastened de- 

 velopment while cold retarded it. Eggs of Colias Philodice exposed to a temperature of 



*The cuts illustrative of these experiments have been copied from those in "Biological Lectures," 

 published by Messrs, Ginn & Co., of Boston, by the kind permission of Mr. Orampton, who delivered the 

 11th lecture at the Marine Biological Laboratory of Wood's Holl in the summer session of 1897. 



