256 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



The South London Entomological and 

 Natural History Society. — January 14th, 1897. 

 Mr. R. South, F.E.S., President, in the chair. Mr. 

 Routledge exhibited specimens of A crony eta menyan- 

 thidis, from Carlisle, with a white thorax ; Xylophasia 

 nirea, from North Devon, light grey with fine lines ; 

 Agvotis segetum, with silvery fore-wings and un- 

 usually white hind- wings ; Nochia c-nigrum, with 

 the c reduced to two spots ; and a Triphci7ia pronuha, 

 from Epping, with lunules on the hind-wings. Mr. 

 R. Adkin, Tephrosia cnpuscularia, bred spring brood 

 March and April and summer brood June, some of 

 the latter being equal in size to the former, T. 

 biundularia, bred in May, all from the London 

 district. Also, on behalf of Mr. W. F. de V. Kane, 

 Dianthacia capsopliila from a small island off the 

 Kerry coast, with examples from Howth and Isle 

 of Arran (Galway) for comparison ; the Kerry 

 specimens were unusually dark for the species and 

 were bred. Mr. Hewett, of York, exhibited a varied 

 series of Taniocampa munda, from York, including a 

 fine mahogany-coloured form ; a melanic var. of 

 T. [cruda) pulvernhnta; a series of vars. oi Abraxas 

 grossulariata, including a var. varleyata, bred from a 

 wild larva; the various forms of Antia hibricepeda, 

 including a series of intermediate forms ; a pre- 

 served hybrid larva from ova laid by a female 

 T. munda, taken in cop. with a male T. sfabilis 

 at York, 1896; series of vars. of A. sylvata 

 (uhnata) , one being suffused and several unusually 

 free from markings ; three females of Odonestis pota- 

 toria of the male colouration; and three SaUirnia 

 carpini, one having left hind-wing very pale, one 

 very dark male, and a female having hind- 

 wings approaching the male colouration. Mr. 

 Barrett, on behalf of Mr. Kane, a specimen of 

 Boarmia repandata var. destrigaria, Phthothedes captiun- 

 cula and Aciptilia tetradactylus , all from Ireland; 

 also a series of Eiipithcecia consignata, bred in and 

 continuously since 1874, and only on one occasion, 

 some ten years ago, had a wild strain been intro- 

 duced. At first they gradually decreased in size, 

 but after the introduction of a wild strain and the 

 sleeving-out process, they increased in both size 

 and depth of colour. Mr. Tutt, a long series 

 of Acherontia atropos, bred by Mr. Borroughs, of 

 Rainham, showing considerable variation in the 

 colour of the "skull," and said that he did not 

 consider the species adapted to exist in this 

 country, they were forced. Mr. South, a series 

 of Tephrosias from Japan. Mr. Bacot, series of the 

 same from Epping, etc. Mr. McArthur, a living 

 larva of Aplecta occulta and a bred series of Heliothis 

 peltigera. Mr. Young, of Rotherham, very long series 

 of Spilosoma hibricepeda var. zatima and var. fasciata, 

 and a var. very closely resembling var. deschangei of 

 5. vienthastri. It was noted that all British ento- 

 mologists who bred this species obtained inter- 

 mediate forms freely, while it was not so on the 

 Continent. To illustrate his paper, Mr. Hewett 

 exhibited very long series of both broods of T. 

 crepusctilaria and also series of T. biundularia. These 

 were from some fifty or sixty different localities. 



Most of the known forms were shown, as well as 

 preserved larvae: on behalf of Mr. de V. Kane, 

 the latter species from Irish localities, and both 

 species, from Swansea, on behalf of Mr. Robertson. 

 He then read a most exhaustive paper on these 

 two species, and included in it were the observa- 

 tions and experiments of more than fifty well-known 

 entomologists who had been interested in this 

 question. In the discussion that followed, Mr. 

 South asked (i) did any character exist by which 

 the species could be separated with absolute 

 certainty ? (2) Which was the commoner species ? 

 To the former no answer was forthcoming, but to 

 the latter members agreed the T. crepuscularia was 

 very local, while T. biundularia was more common. 

 Mr. Barrett was of opinion that as a result of Mr. 

 Hewett's paper, all distinctions between the two 

 were now completely swept away. Mr. Tutt 

 thought that here were examples of recent evolution, 

 in fact we had species in the making, as in the case 

 of some of the Zygcsnas. He insisted that the 

 naming of the two forms, and the consideration of 

 them as distinct, although very closely allied, 

 was a matter of convenience, necessitated in our 

 comparisons with Continental and Asiatic repre- 

 sentatives. Messrs. Carpenter, Bacot and others 

 continued the discussion. — Hy. J. Turner, Hon. 

 Report. Sec. 



North London Natural History Society. — 

 December 19th, 1896. Mr. L. B. Prout, Vice- 

 President, in the chair. Messrs. J. E. Gardner 

 and Ernest A. Nash were elected members of the 

 society. Exhibits : Mr. Bishop, Cheimatobia boreata, 

 Oporabia dilutata and Hybernia ajcrantiaria, taken 

 on the fence of Claremont Park, near Esher. Mr. 

 L. J. Tremayne, ferns from North Wales and the 

 New Forest. Messrs. Harvey and Casserley v/ere 

 appointed auditors for the year. Mr. Casserley 

 read a paper on " Centipedes." He said the class 

 Myriapoda is divided into three orders: Chilognatha, 

 comprising all the millipedes ; Pauropoda and 

 Chilopoda, or centipedes proper. He proceeded to 

 give a general description of the structure of 

 centipedes, and, in describing their habits, said 

 that the females of Geophilus subterra7ieus remain 

 with their young until the latter are in a fairly 

 advanced stage of development, which is very 

 unusual in articulate animals. Centipedes do not 

 go through any larval stage, but the young when 

 first hatched from the egg are very similar to the 

 perfect animal, only they are broader in proportion 

 to their length, and they have not so many segments 

 to the body as the mature form. Each successive 

 cast of skin up to a certain limit shows additional 

 segmentation. Lithobius forficatus is the species 

 most commonly found in this country, but the 

 Scolopendras are also found plentifully, and as they 

 are very closely allied, it is not always easy to pick 

 out Lithobius. The genus Geophilus also con- 

 tains a good many species, a very widely-known 

 one being G. longicornis, frequently found at the 

 roots of turnips, and destroyed by farmers under 

 the impression that it is damaging their crops, 

 which is a great mistake, as the centipede does not 

 care for turnips, but is really doing a great deal of 

 good by destroying the terrible turnip-flea and 

 other insects which get their living out of turnips. 

 Mr. Casserley proceeded to compare the centipedes 

 with the woodlice and the more highly specialized 

 worms. He considered they could be put down as 

 the lowest form of arthropod animals, and failed to 

 understand why, according to the modern classi- 

 fication, they are put in such ver)' close relation to 



