86 



gently for them at every suitable opportunity, and Crambus 

 tristellus, Fb., which was quite a rare insect, With regard to 

 the scarcity of this last I am unable to offer any explanation ; 

 but the small numbers of the two Bryophila noted may, I 

 think, be to some extent accounted for. The walls on which 

 they occur have for the most part not been built many years ; 

 in many instances they are covered with compo, thus afford- 

 ing but a poor footing for the lichens on which the larvae of 

 these species feed ; and in addition to this, many of them, 

 owing to their position on the sea front, receive the full force 

 of the mid-day sun. It appears to me far from impossible 

 that the unusually dry season may have deprived the lichens 

 of the moisture necessary for their growth, and caused them 

 to dry up ; this would be especially the case during June and 

 early July, the time when the sun has its greatest power, and 

 also when the larvae, being nearly full fed, would require the 

 greatest amount of nourishment, and being deprived of it, 

 they would die. Many of the walls that I examined, on 

 which I knew that I ought to have found a considerable 

 growth, appeared, while the dry weather lasted, to be bare of 

 any covering save dry dust ; but after the storm, before men- 

 tioned, which thoroughly saturated everything exposed to the 

 weather, the lichens appeared to assume new life, and within 

 a few days presented their usual appearance. 



" Altogether my summer holiday could hardly be re- 

 garded as a success so far as the number of specimens cap- 

 tured was concerned, and the utter absence of many species 

 that one would usually expect to meet with in the locality 

 was disappointing ; but such experiences, although they may 

 not enrich our cabinets, may suggest material for future 

 reflections, and thus not be time wasted." 



NOVEMBER loth, 1887. 



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



Messrs. A. M. Keays, J. H. A. Jenner, F.E.S., and A. 

 Robinson were elected members. 



Mr. Tugwell exhibited English, Scotch, and Irish forms 



