7268 Entomologkal Society, 



for mere varieties, and to the perfect condition of the insects which had l;een suhniilted 

 to this operation, showing that with a litile piaclice and care the most valuable insects 

 may be thus treated without injury. 



Mr. Stevens exhibited two examples of Diachromus germanus, tal^en at Hastings 

 a few years ago ; and a specimen of Coptodeia massiliensis, found alive in the street at 

 Hastings many years since by Mr. Rankings. 



Mr. Waterhouse considered this latter insect had most probably been imported 

 amongst foreign plants. 



Mr. Stevens also exhibited a small collection of insects of various orders made by Mi". 

 Oxleyin New Zealand; and alargebox of Coleoptera and Lepidoptera from the vicinity 

 of the Cape of Good Hope, sent home by Mr. Trimen ; also fine specimens of Goliathus 

 JDerbyanus, from the interior of Africa, likewise forwarded to this country by Mr. 

 Trimen. 



Mr. Westwood exhibited a box of exotic Lepidoptera, recently obtained iu Paris, 

 containing many rare and interesting species, especially several collected by M. Lorquin 

 in the Philippine Islands, including Papilio Daedalus, Zethera Piraplea (of which the 

 male only had been hitherto known— figured by Erichson — the female now exhibited 

 being totally unlike the male), Debis Lorquinii, a species belonging to the family 

 Satyrid£e, but having the wings of the male of a resplendent blue colour ; also Morpho 

 Aurora, Westw. (a luvely species of great rarity), several brilliant Erycinidse, a fine 

 new Paphia from Columbia, and a remarkable Adolias from the Philippine Islands ; 

 likewise specimens of both sexes of Saturnia Cynthia and S. Ricini, reared at Paris, 

 as well as specimens of both sexes of a hybrid variety reared between the tvvo last 

 mentioned species. Unfortunately, owing to the absence of M. Guerin Meneville 

 from Paris during Mr. Westwood's visit, he had not been able to obtain any detailed 

 account of the circumstances under which these hybrids had been produced, nor had 

 he learned whether they were prolific. M. Guerin himself had given in the ' Annales 

 de la Societe Entomologique de France,' 1859 (Proc. p. xlvi.), some account of these 

 liybrids showing their peculiar tendency both in structure and habits to one or other 

 of their parents. On the occasion when this account was given to the French Society, 

 M. Aiibe suggested the probability that the two supposed parent species were not 

 specifically distinct, but were, on the contrary, only races due to domesticity, an opinion 

 which Mr. Westwood was induced to adopt, although the circumstances connected with 

 the two supposed species as regarded their food-plants, relative capability of enduring 

 cold, time of pupation, &c., if applied to great numbers of the Micro-Lepidoptera 

 would be regarded by most modern Lepidopterists as decided evidence of distinctness of 

 species. Even supposing tliese hybrids are not fertile (upon which, however, Mr. West- 

 wood had no information) the fact of the facility with which the species had been 

 crossed seemed to him to show that the parents were more nearly related than if they 

 were really distinct species. 



Mr. Lubbock wished Mr. Westwood would confirm by actual experiments his 

 repeatedly expressed opinion that very many of the so-called species, both of Macro- 

 and Micro-Lepidoptera, were mere modifications produced^ by diversity of food, 

 locality, &c. 



Mr. Stainton observed that the hybrid Saturnite exhibited by Mr. Westwood were 

 larger and finer insects than either S. Ricini or S. Cynthia ; he thought such would 

 hardly be the case if ihey were mere local varieties of one species. 



