!54 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



become naturalized in this locality, Mr. Rea stating 

 that it had been known there for at least a century. 

 The American water-weed, Anachavis alsinastrum, 

 was observed in the Severn. Wyre Forest is well 

 known to the Worcestershire naturalists as a grand 

 hunting-ground for botanists and entomologists. 

 It is easy of access from their head-quarters, con- 

 sequently we are not surprised to read in their 

 recently published volume of "Transactions of 

 Fifty Years," 1S47 to 1S96" inclusive, the accounts 

 of numerous visits of exploration, and of fungus 

 forays in the forest. This volume is a very 

 valuable compendium of the natural history of 

 their county, rendered infinitely more useful by 

 the completeness of its index, which may be called 

 a model index, by reference to which the habitat 

 of rare plants, localities favoured by insects, 

 occurrences of fossils, and anything pertaining 

 to local natural history or of local historical 

 interest can be readily ascertained. At 3 p.m. 

 the town of Bewdley was reached, and lun- 

 cheon was prepared in the large room of the 

 George Hotel. After lunch a paper giving the 

 results of examination of the colouration of Helix 

 (Tackea) memoralis was read by Mr. A. E. Boycott. 

 The Rev. Richard Evans, of Eyton Hall, was 

 elected a member of the club. Dr. Crespi was 

 chosen delegate to the annual fungus foray of 

 the British Mycological Society, to be held in 

 Sherwood Forest in September. Amongst other 

 business, the President reminded the members 

 that Part ii. of the Archaeological Survey of 

 Herefordshire was published, also that a magnifi- 

 cent immature female white-tailed eagle (Haliaetus 

 albicilla) which had been hovering over the 

 Shobdon Hills last November, had been shot at 

 Dinchope, near Craven Arms, Salop, on November 

 7th, and was now in the Museum. The measure- 

 ment across wings was seven feet nine inches. 

 Mr. G. W. Marshall (Saint Croix), of Sarnesfield, 

 made the magnanimous offer of editing the parish 

 registers of any one parish of the city which the 

 Vicar or Rector may desire to publish. At the 

 present time there is only one parish register 

 in the county published, namely, that of Upton 

 Bishop, by the late Rev. Dr. F. Havergal. Some 

 members visited a splendid collection of shells, 

 birds, horns and antlers, skins of animals, cast-off 

 skins of rattlesnake, and specimens of handiwork 

 of natives from Madagascar and South Africa. 

 Others visited Ribbesford Church, and some found 

 time to cross the River Severn and inspect the 

 large caves or hermitage in the Bunter Sandstone 

 cliffs at Blackstone, which are described in the 

 " Transactions of the Worcestershire Field Club," 

 page 3S3, in Mr. Noake's paper on " Cells and 

 Hermitages in Worcestershire.". 



North London Natural History Society. — 

 Thursday, July 1st, 1S97, Mr. C. Nicholson, 

 F.E.S., President, in the chair. Exhibits: Mr. 

 Battley, living specimen of Apamea ophiogramma, 

 bred the same evening. Mr. Simes, a specimen of 

 the leaf butter bee [Megachih centuncularis), taken 

 that evening in a garden at Clapton, where it 

 affects rose and sycamore. Mr. L. J. Tremayne, 

 examples of the Amphidasydae, plants from the 

 New Forest at Whitsuntide, living larvae of Panolis 

 piniperda from Oxsbott, and pupae of Thecla quercus 

 from larvae taken in the New Forest at Whitsun- 

 tide, — one of the imagines had just emerged. Mr. 

 C. Nicholson, larvae of Euchlbe cardamines, lodis 

 lactearia, Boarmia consortavia (and female parent), also 

 two Ocneria dispar, one being a wild French one 

 and the other one descended from several genera- 



tions of parents bred in England ; the latter was 

 quite ordinary in colouration, but the former was 

 almost entirely black along the back, the usual 

 tubercles being very dark ; also pupae of Ephyra 

 pendularia. Messrs. Prout and Bacot also exhibited. 

 Mr. Battley recorded a specimen of Spilodes verticalis 

 (cinctalis) at light at Stamford Hill. He also 

 found a number of clover-leaves with four leaflets 

 and one with five, and remarked that the so-called 

 " four-leaved shamrock " did not appear to be so 

 rare as generally supposed. Mr. L. J. Tremayne 

 recorded Tanagra atrata from Brondesbury Station, 

 and said that a fine fresh specimen of Phorodesma 

 pustulata flew into light at his bedroom window 

 on Wednesday night, June 30th, at 51, Buckley 

 Road, Brondesbury. He also enquired whether 

 the larva of Panolis piniperda was a known 

 cannibal, as he believed the large larva of 

 that species, which he exhibited, had recently 

 attempted to devour a couple of his smaller 

 brethren when rather short of food. Mr. 

 Prout said that all the members of the genus 

 Taeniocampa were cannibals, and it must be 

 remembered that Dr. Chapman declared piniperda 

 to be not even generically distinct from them. 

 Mr. Prout opened a discussion on the Amphida- 

 sydae which he described as a small and tolerably 

 compact group, generally placed, and no doubt 

 rightly, somewhere near the Boarmiidae. Guenee 

 had them after Ennomidae (last British species, 

 Himera pennaria) and before Boarmiidae (first 

 British species, Hemerophila abruptaria). Stan- 

 dingerhad them before Anisopteryx (which followed 

 the genus Hybemia) and Hemerophila. They were 

 perhaps next to Anisopteryx and Hybemia on 

 account of their frequent winter appearance and 

 wingless females, but there was nothing scientific 

 in that, and Mr. Prout did not see the slightest 

 relationship here. Packard, however, said the 

 venation of Hybemia agreed with Biston and 

 Amphidasys. The earlier stages of Himera pennaria 

 were unknown to Mr. Prout, but the Amphidasydae 

 seemed to have some connection with Selenia, and 

 the young larvae were something like Tephrosia, 

 etc. The British genera comprised Ph igaha, Biston, 

 Nyssia, and Amphidasys. The Museum collection 

 showed very few, if any, links with the Boarmids ; 

 hence the group would appear tolerably specialized. 

 They there formed part of the great sub-family 

 Boarminae, which included Ennomidae, Fi- 

 doniidae, etc., of Guenee, following some " thorn " 

 genera, and preceding Hybemia. Meyrick also had 

 these united in one family — his Selidosimidae. 

 Packard kept Ennominae and Fidoninae away 

 from Boarminae, but included the winter groups 

 Hyberniidae and Amphidasydae of Guenee with 

 the Boarminae. Mr. Tutt also led on from 

 Hyberniidae to Boarmidae, and thence to 

 Amphidasydae, though giving each family rank. 

 He also incidentally suggested that the Fidoniida 

 may have strong affinities with certain of the 

 Boarmids. The British Museum collection con- 

 tained nearly thirty species of Amphidasyds, several 

 being Asiatic and North American. The Americans 

 had two or three representative species or local 

 forms: thus cognataria, Gn., for our ' betularia ; 

 ursaria, Walker, for our hirtaria ; and strigataria for 

 our peiaria. Mr. Prout also noticed a few typical 

 Amphidasys partaking of some features of both 

 our British species, strataria and betularia. He 

 suggested that these two w-ere very closely allied, 

 and that Standinger was wrong in removing 

 strataria into genus Biston. Experiments had 

 shown that the two could easily be hybridized, if 



