Entomological Society. 



5645 



raising the elytra, and peeping beneath them ; but no secrets were concealed there, 

 and, as may be assumed, none were revealed. One ' refuge for the destitute ' still 

 remained — immaturity ; but even this would not do: the depressed individuals were 

 alternately hard and soft; and this last guess neither elevated their spirits nor mine. 

 The phenomenon, in fact, was purely exceptional, and its occurrence governed by no 

 law that I could enunciate. The following list will show, in a tabular form, the result 

 of the examination of fifteen species, thus afflicted, in the cabinets of Dr. Power, Mr. 

 Douglas, and the Entomological Club. I have only to add that I sincerely hope that 

 Mr. Westwood may give us an explanation, at once logical, luminous and conclusive, 

 like that he has appended to my paper on heterocampous pairs of Lepidoptera. To 

 have elicited those brilliant observations is, indeed, a high reward for my having jot- 

 ted down a few passing thoughts. We cannot but admire, in Mr. Westwood, that 

 more than Roman virtue which is ever ready thus to immolate his dearest friends on 

 the altar of Science, — to drown them, as it were, in a flood of light. 



Names. 



Number of indivi- . Number of males Number of females 

 duals examined. depressed. depressed. 



Elaphrus 



multipunctatus 



thirty-two 





six 



Chlaenius 



nigricornis 



twenty -three 



two 





Badister unipustulatus 



ten 





four 



Anchomerj 



ius pallipes 



thirty-six 



three 



three 



» 



oblongus 



thirty-eight 



two 



two 



55 



marginatus 



thirty 



one 





55 



viduus 



eighty 



fourteen 



thirteen 



55 



fuliginosus 



forty-two 



twelve 



ten 



55 



Thoreyi 



fifty-three 



four 



four 



Pterostichus erythropus 



fifty-two 





one 



5) 



minor 



thirty-six 





three 



55 



nigrita 



sixty-one 



four 





55 



anthracinus 



thirty 



two 



two 



Stenoloph 



us vespertinus 



twenty-one 



two 



one 



Bembidium doris 



sixty 



two 



one 



Mr. Westwood had considered the depression of the scutellar region alluded to 

 was in some way connected with the presence or absence of wings, but on examina- 

 tion had found wings in both depressed and non-depressed specimens. He regretted 

 that Mr. Newman had not investigated the subject in that point of view. 



Mr. Wollaston thought the depression in question to be a malformation, arising 

 from accidental causes, probably the result of some injury received during the earlier 

 stages of the insect, as in all the species exhibited it was the exception and not the 

 rule. 



Mr. Lubbock called attention to one of the binocular microscopes which he placed 

 on the table, and explained the advantages this construction is considered to possess 

 over ordinary instruments. 



Mr. Wollaston could bear testimony to the excellence of the object-glasses. He 

 considered that, as so many persons have eyes of different focus, the eye-pieces of the 

 binocular microscope should be so constructed as to meet this difficulty. 



