320 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



Mr. Jacoby exhibited abnormal specimens of a phytophagous beetle, 

 Metaxonycha tridentata, Jac, in which one side of the thorax was furnished 

 with teeth as in the type, whereas the other side was quite simple, and 

 presented no trace of teeth. 



The Secretary, on behalf of Mr. J. Edwards, exhibited specimens of 

 Gyrinus colymbus, Er., with specimens of G. elongatus, Aube, for comparison ; 

 he also exhibited drawings of the cedeagus of both species proving their 

 distinctness. 



Mr. Bower exhibited Phoxopteryx upupana, bred from larvae feeding 

 between united birch-leaves at Chiselhurst, Sept. 1889; and Scardia 

 picarella, bred from fungus collected in Durham in May, 1870. 



Mr. S. Stevens, in speaking of a tour which he had lately made in 

 Devonshire, remarked on the extreme scarcity of insects on the coast of 

 that county as compared with the coasts of Kent and Sussex ; there were 

 very few larvae, and the vegetation was very luxuriant and very little eaten : 

 he thought it possible that the reason of the scarcity was the heavy rainfall of 

 South Devon, which washed off and destroyed the young larvae. Mr. Barrett 

 said that his experience had been the same, and that he put it down to 

 thej violence of the winds which beat the insects from the trees. Mr. 

 Blandford remarked that he had found Coleoptera abundant on Braunton 

 Burrows, near Barnstaple, but very scarce in other localities. Mr. Mason 

 and others took part in the discussion which followed. 



Mr. Stevens further said that when at Exeter he visited the Museum, 

 and was pleased to see the original specimen of Plusia ni in the late 

 Mr. H. Dorville's collection, taken at Alphington, near Exeter, in August, 

 1868, and a specimen of Callimorpha hera, taken also at Alphington in 

 August, 1871, which is about six miles from the locality in which the latter 

 insect is now said to occur ; both the specimens are in fine condition. 



Prof. Westwood read a paper on a species of Aphis affecting the bread- 

 fruit tree, which he had named Siphonophora artocarpi, received from 

 Mr. E. Ernest Green, of Ceylon: at the conclusion of his paper he 

 alluded to the use of Paris-green as a destructive agent for insects. 

 Mr. Blandford then made some remarks as to the use of London-purple 

 (another arsenic compound) as an insecticide in the place of Paris- 

 green ; he stated that the compound was a waste product and one-tenth 

 the cost of Paris-green, and further that it was more soluble and more easily 

 applied ; he was also of opinion that arsenic compounds do not greatly affect 

 sucking insects, such as Aphides, the ordinary kerosene preparations being 

 more suitable for their destruction. Several Fellows took part in the 

 discussion that followed. — W. W. Fowler, Hon. Sec, 



