3342 Society of British Entomologists, — Insects. 



Proceedings of the Society of British Entomologists. 



November 5, 1851. — Mr. Harding, President, in the chair. 



The Secretary announced the receipt of a letter from Mr. Shield, in which he 

 stated that he had met with the larvae of some small Lepidoptera which were new to 

 him. He was at present in the neighbourhood of Clonmel. 



The President remarked that the time of the year had arrived in which it could 

 not be expected that many novelties would be exhibited, it would therefore be as well 

 if any of the members would record any little fact they might have observed in con- 

 nexion with the habits of insects. He would remark that the economy of both bees 

 and ants had been closely observed, but that another very interesting class of insects 

 had been very much neglected, — he meant spiders. He would mention the tact and 

 instinct he had observed in one of them. In his travels round the coast during the 

 last summer, he was somewhat amused by observing the manners of a spider, the spe- 

 cies of which he did not know. As soon as a flower of a thistle, or of the black knap- 

 weed, was fully expanded, a flat crab-shaped spider, of a cream or dirty white colour, 

 took its place in the centre of a blossom, watching as a cat does for its prey. These 

 spiders make no web, but lie in wait until some unfortunate butterfly or moth makes 

 its appearance, perhaps a marbled white {Hipparchia Galathea), or a scarlet tiger (Cal- 

 limorpha dominula), or a blue Polyommatus, all of which abound in this locality. As 

 soon as one of these alights on a flower, it is instantly seized by the legs or any other 

 part that comes ready to the claws of this formidable enemy. The spider immedi- 

 ately throws out its web over every part of the poor captive, until it is bound tight to 

 the flower; it then leisurely partakes of its meal with a gusto that shows it is duly re- 

 lished. After the contents of the body are disposed of, the spider leaves the wings of 

 its prey bound to the flower, where they may be observed for days ; it then quits that 

 flower for ever, its instinct teaching it that to remain would be starvation, as no in- 

 sect would settle on a flower covered with the mangled remains of another, which, un- 

 der ordinary circumstances, continue on the flower until it perishes. The President 

 stated that these were some of the observations he had made on the habits of one of 

 our British spiders; and he had no doubt, if other species were observed, that many 

 other interesting facts in their habits would be discovered. — J. F. N. 



A beautiful Discovery in the Management of Bees. — It has hitherto been regarded 

 as a well-established fact that bees require the light to be carefully excluded from their 

 habitations. L. L. Langstroth, of Chesnut-street, a native of this city, and a gentle- 

 man of equal worth and accomplishment, who has been engaged for many years in 

 the scientfic investigation of their habits, has most conclusively proved that this is not 

 the case. The various glass observing hives, which have been used by ingenious na- 

 turalists, have always been furnished with shutters, to be opened only when the hives 

 are inspected. Such a sudden admission of light exerts a disturbing influence upon 

 the bees. Mr. Langstroth has hives of his own invention, in which the bees are ex- 

 posed to the full light of day, so that all their beautiful works are as easily examined 

 as the articles in a shop-keeper's window. They do not manifest the slightest dislike 

 to such a perfect flood of light. It is obvious that this unexpected discovery must 

 greatly facilitate a thorough knowledge of the habits of this wonderful insect ; as the 





