( vii ) 



Mr. G. T. Porritt exhibited specimens of an almost black 

 form of Acronycta menyanthidis from Skipwith Common, near 

 Selby, and stated that the same form was also common on 

 Strensall Common, near York. For comparison lie also 

 showed specimens from the moors near Huddersfield. The 

 chief interest in the exhibit consisted in the fact that in both 

 the districts where the melanic menyanthidis occurred, melanism 

 was not a common feature ; whereas in the Huddersfield 

 district, where only the pale form of menyanthidis was taken, 

 melanism was a conspicuous feature in many species, even in, 

 and close to, the grounds, where only pale menyanthidis could 

 be found. 



Mr. H. W. Andrews exhibited a female specimen of 

 Amphidasys betidaria, with hind-wings aborted and scarcely 

 developed, taken at Paul's Cray, Kent, in May 1896. 



Mr. H. Rowland-Brown stated that he had seen an an- 

 nouncement that the County Council had under consideration 

 the feasibility of stocking the London parks with Butterflies, 

 and encouraging those which already existed there. He said 

 that according to the latest observations thirty-nine species of 

 Rhopalocera were recorded within, roughly speaking, a ten mile 

 metropolitan limit, but that of these he only knew of Pieris 

 rapx, P. na]ri, Vanessa atalanta, V. urticse, and perhaps one or 

 two others which could strictly speaking be said to inhabit 

 the Metropolis itself. A discussion followed on the subject 

 in which Mr. A. J. Chitty said that Pieris brassier had 

 occurred in the garden of his London house, and that he 

 regarded Vanessa polychloros as a possible addition to the list 

 of those open to experiment, though Mr. R. McLachlan 

 thought that it had finally ceased to be a London insect. Mr. 

 G. H. Yerrall also advocated the introduction of tropical and 

 other foreign species in the great conservatories of Kew, where, 

 without danger to the plants, they would be objects of great 

 beauty and attractiveness. He considered the experiment at 

 any rate worth the trial. Mr. H. Goss continued the discus- 

 sion, and Mr. F. Merrifield, while recognising the difficulties 

 arising from soil, climate, and surroundings, expressed his 

 belief that certain hardy species would be more than a match 

 for their bird enemies. 



