36 



species at one time occurred very commonly close to Strood 

 station, and he believed it still occurred at Sittingbourne. 

 Mr. Sheldon observed that, with reference to Mr. Carrington's 

 remarks as to the severity of the winter he referred to being 

 the cause of the present scarcity of butterflies, he was of 

 opinion that it was a number of frosts and a number of thaws, 

 each lasting a few days, which destroyed the pupae of the 

 different species, rather than a continued frost ; and he called 

 attention to some experiments which had been made with the 

 object of clearing up this point. Dr. Rendall remarked that 

 M. athalia had been very abundant in Abbot's Wood during 

 the past year. 



FEBRUARY 10th, 1887. 

 R. ADKINj Esq., F.E.S., President, in the Chair. 

 Mr. H. Collings and Mr. L. F. Hill were elected members. 



Mr. S. Stevens exhibited a remarkable variety of Vanessa 

 atalanta, L., and a suffused variety of V. to, L., which he 

 stated were both bred by Mr. Smith, of Birmingham. 



Mr. R. Adkin exhibited Spilonota incarnatana, Hb., 

 which, he remarked, was a species said to occur among 

 Burnet Rose (Rosa spinosissima, L.) on the coast ; bred from 

 larvse taken in the heart of Surrey, forty miles from the sea, 

 and although the accredited food-plant existed in some quan- 

 tity in the locality, the bulk of the larvae were found in shoots 

 of Sweet Briar (R. rubiginosa, L.). 



Mr. C. A. Briggs exhibited over 100 specimens of Lyccsna 

 corydon, Fb., including dwarfed forms, blue and brown forms 

 of the female ; varieties of the underside, in some the spots 

 being absent, in others in excess of the usual number, and in 

 some cases running into streaks. 



Mr. R. South exhibited species of British and foreign 

 Lyccenidce, and contributed notes, calling particular attention 

 to a variety of L. corydon from Asia Minor, which, he said, as 

 far as he could recollect, was similar to the males exhibited by 

 Mr. Sabine at the Society's meeting on the 7th Oct., 1886. 



