io6 



THE BRITISH NATURALIST. 



[May 



Thursday, i6th April. — Mr. J. A. Clark, President, in the chair. 



E.xhibits : — Mr. Battley, five specimens of Bombyx rubi bred from larvae taken at 

 Reigate, one of the females having a light circle on the right fore-wing, betv^^een the 

 transverse lines. On the left hind-wing one of the rays ended abruptly in the centre 

 of the wing. 



Messrs. Clark and Tutt exhibited long series of Lithosidw. Mr. Tatt referred to 

 the tendency of the species in this genus to assume as varietal forms the normal 

 character of other species, thus forming as it were parallel ranges of variation. He 

 referred in his own exhibit to Lithosia PygJiiaola, and in Mr. Clark's to LitJiosia deplana, 

 as exhibiting more special characters. Mr. H easier, a series of Agathidimn nigriniim 

 from Highgate Woods. Mr. Huckett, a kitten with seven legs, eight feet, and two 

 tails. The head and mouth were also very large. — G. A. Lewcock, A. U. Battley, 

 Hon. Sees. 



LANCASHIRE AND CHESHIRE ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



April T^th, 1891. — The President S. J. Capper, F.L.S., F.E.S., in the chair. 

 Messrs. J. Collins, of Warrington, and W. R. Scrowcroft, of Prestwick, were elected 

 members. 



Mr. J. E. Robson, F.E.S., read a paper entitled " are Abraxas pantaria, and A . ulmata 

 one species or two." — After remarking on the difficult}- of obtaining exotic specimens 

 of the genus, the author said that pantaria had been admitted into the British list on 

 authority of one specimen, taken at Oakhampton Park, Somerset ; he referred to their 

 geographical distribution, stating pantaria only occured in the places where ulmata 

 was absent, he then minutely described the two forms, comparing the markings of 

 each, and pointed out the very slight difference in the genital armature, which he 

 considered to be due to local and climatic causes altering the form of the genitalia. 

 The paper which was fully illustrated by many cases containing examples of the 

 cenus, led to considerable discussion, as to what actually constitued a species. Mr. 

 Tutt sent for exhibition the series of Miana from Armagh that recently caused so much 

 controversy among London Entomologists, but so palpably distinct were the specimens 

 of fasciuncula and strigilis, and so great the ease with which the examples could be 

 separated, that no discussion arose. Mr. Robson exhibited some fine varieties *of 

 Butterflies, notably a Vanessa atalanta, without the black spots on the border of the 

 hind wing, and a suffused Colias hyale ; Mr. Collins a wonderful variety of Lencania 

 lithargyria, which had the hind wings deeply fimbriated with 'dark scales, the central 

 portion of the wing being light.— F. N. Pierce, Hon. Sec, 143, Smithdown Lane, 

 Liverpool. 



Gleanings. 



AnASPIS SEPTENTRIONALIS, ChAMPION, A NEW BRITISH BeETLE. 



— Mr. Champion describes and differentiates this new beetle in 

 the April part of the E.M.M., p. 104-5. He took two e.xainples of 

 it at Airemore, Inverness-shire, in July, 1S76. 



