342 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



The South London Entomological and 

 Natural History Society. — March nth, Mr. 

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

 Lucas exhibited living nymphs of the dragon-fly 

 Pyyyhjscma minium, from Oxshott. Mr. Tutt, a 

 pine-branch with a nest of a gregarious Europterid 

 moth, sent from Cannes by Dr. Chapman ; it vras 

 presumably that of Cncthocampa pityosamfa. He 

 then gave the results of a recent examination of 

 the ova of Tephrosia crepusculayia (bistortata) and 

 T. biwidularia, illustrating his remarks with black- 

 board diagrams, from dra%\-ings made under the 

 microscope that day. There were three distinct 

 batches of ova: (i) of T. crepuscu'.j.ria, (2) of 

 T. biundulana, and (3) the result of a cross between 

 the two species — a female of the former and a male 

 of the latter. The shape and texture of the three 

 batches were well differentiated. Those of T. 

 biiindularia were smaller, somev.-hat oval in shape, 

 of a yellow colour, and more opaque ; whilst those 

 of T. cnpuscidaria were cylindrical with rounded 

 ends, of a pearly-green, slightly transparent and 

 iridescent. The ova v.-hich were the result of the 

 cross were intermediate in size, sUghtly more 

 rounded at one end than the other, and more 

 variable inter se than either of the other batches, 

 which were remarkably constant in their characters. 

 He was indebted to Mr. Bacot for the opportunity 

 of examining these batches side by side under the 

 microscope. That gentleman had succeeded in 

 breeding the species at the same time, and had 

 forwarded him the ova on the same day as they 

 were laid. He did not know whether each batch 

 was the product of a single female or not. Mr. 

 Tutt then referred to the alleged occurrence of T. 

 hiu7idularia in ^lorayshire, and said that the opinion 

 of several members was that Mr. Adkins' specimen 

 was only T. cripuscularia. Mr. Home's specimen 

 from the same district was now exhibited, and he, 

 Mr. Tutt, said that it was identical with the Perth- 

 shire specimen, and of the same type as the Central 

 European forms of T. crepusculayia. Mr. Mont- 

 gomen.-, larvs of Mania mauya, which he had 

 obtained from Mr. Young, of Rotherham. Mr. 

 Adkin, specimens of Abraxas grcssulariata, in one of 

 which the yellow band extended across two-thirds 

 of the hind-wing, and in the other the yellow 

 colour was reduced in intensity to a very pale buff. 

 He also showed an Arctin caia, with fore-wings 

 much suffused with brown, and with the blue-black 

 blotches of the hind-wings much run together. A 

 long discussion then took place on the protection 

 of insects in danger of extermination, and finally 

 the following resolution was adopted : '• That the 

 thanks of the South London Entomological and 

 Natural History Society be given to the Com- 

 mittee of the Entomological Society of London, 

 for the protection of species of insects in danger of 

 extermination ; that the Society strongly approve 

 of the work ; and that the members present pledge 

 themselves to use their personal efforts to further 

 the objects of the Committee." — March 25th, Mr. 

 R. Adkin, F.E.S., President, in the chair. B. H. 

 Waters, Esq., 48, Finsbury Pavement, EC, was 



elected a member. Mr. McArthur exhibited 

 specimens of Melanippe hasiata from various 

 localities, and said that he had never taken the 

 species in Shetland, nor had he seen the food-plant 

 there. Rev. E. Tarbat, a gynandromorphous 

 specimen of Melanargia galatea, taken at Swanage. 

 The markings of the underside followed those of 

 the upper. Mr. INIansbridge, a bred series of 

 Anchocclis rufina from Huddersiield, which were 

 less uniformly tinted than the southern examples 

 of this species. Mr. Tutt, specimens of Phisalia 

 pcdaria (pilosaria) taken near Bradford by Mr. 

 Butterfield, who reported the dark vars. as' much 

 more common this year than he had noticed 

 before, and attributed the variation to scarcitv of 

 food, especially as the examples were small, thinly 

 scaled, and badly pigmented. ]\Ir. Mansbridge 

 said the black was of a different kind to that of the 

 melanic specimens he had seen from the West Riding 

 of Yorkshire. Mr. Tutt reported that Mr. Clarke 

 had taken Tephyisia crepusculayia this spring from 

 the wood which Mrs. Bazett had asserted did not 

 produce it, and so confirmed the statement made 

 by Mr. Henderson last October. Rev. E. Tarbat 

 also reported the species from woods near Reading. 

 Mr. Turner, Jiving larvs of Cleora Jichenayia, taken 

 in Ashdown Forest, and remarked on their 

 wonderful resemblance to the lichen, upon which 

 they fed. He also made a few remarks on the 

 district, in anticipation of the proposed \-isit of 

 the Society at Whitsuntide, rvlr. Adkin, series 

 oi Abraxas grcssulariata, bred from Perthshire larvae, 

 including a noticeable var. with fore-wings having 

 a broad white central band with a large circular 

 black discoidal spot, and hind-wings also having a 

 large discoidal spot. A paper, entitled "Repre- 

 sentative Species, ' ' by Prof. A. Radclifte Grote, A.M., 

 was then read by ^Ir. Tutt. It showed, at some 

 length, the identical and parallel species which 

 existed in the two continents. — Hy.J. Turner, Hon. 

 Repori. Sec. 



City of London Entomological and Natur.al 

 History Society. — Tuesday, January 5th, 1897, 

 the President in the chair. Mr. Rowland Brown 

 was elected a member of the society. Exhibits ; 

 Mr. Oldham, eight dwarf Ccsmia trapesina, taken in 

 Epping Forest in 1S95-96, in support of a theory 

 that the species is getting small by degrees in the 

 locality ; also C'.smia affinis and one dwarf Scopelo- 

 soma satellitia from Woodford, and one Scotosia certata 

 from Cambridgeshire. ^Ir. Burrows, a number of 

 Acherontia atrcpcs, including one from Rainham, in 

 1S93, which had the inner band distinctly paler 

 on the left hind-wing. He also read some notes 

 on his rearing. Mr. Riches, larvs of Acidalia 

 holosericata, from ova laid on October 12th, and 

 hatched on November 13th. Mr. SsLMz€,Rhinolophus 

 liphcseridcs (the lesser horse-shoe bat) from 

 Johaimisbrid, Bohemia. Mr. Nicholson read a 

 paper, entitled " Stars, Star Clusters, and Nebuls." 

 — February 2nd, Mr. F. J. Hanbury, Vice-President, 

 in the chair. Dr. Dudley Wright, F.E.S., and Mr. 

 H. E. Heasler were elected members of the Society. 

 Exhibits : Mr. Bacot exhibited larvae of Bcmbyx 

 spariii and B. qucrcus from ova laid by south French 

 parents received from IMr. Warburg, and lar\-ae 

 of English B. quercus received from Mr. Goymour ; 

 also preserved larvae of B-ynbyx rubi, B. trif:li: and B. 

 castrensis for comparison. Hfe said that the 

 difference between the B. spariii and French B. 

 quercus was first apparent after the second moult, 

 but was more marked after the third moult. It 

 consisted of the different colour of the dorsal coat 



