96 



THE BRITISH NATURALIST. 



[May 



Acronycta rumicis. — Local, and not common 



Acronycta menyanthidis. — Widely distributed, and not 

 uncommon, larvse generally in wet bogs, and heaths. 



Acronycta myricae. — Fairly uncommon everywhere, larvae 

 feeding on low plants. 



Leucania conigera. — Common at flowers, larvae feeding on 

 grass by night. 



Leucania lithargyria. - Abundant almost everywhere. 



Leucania impura. — Common, generally distributed. 



Leucania pallens. — Abundant. 



(To be contimied). 



Reports of Societies. 



ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. 



. April 13th, 1892. — Henry John Elwes, Esq.. F.L.S., Vice-President, in the chair. 

 Mr. Francis Jaffrey, M.R.C.S., of 8, Queen's Ride, Barnes, S.W., was elected a 

 Fellow of the Society. Mr. R. McLachlan exhibited specimens of Anonialopteryx 

 chauviniana, Stein, a Caddis-fly remarkable for the abbreviated v/ings of the male, the 

 female having fully developed wings ; he alludes to the Perlida as including 

 specimens in which the males were frequently semi-apterous. Dr. Sharp enquired 

 if Mr. McLachlan was aware of any order of insects, except the Neuroptera, in 

 which the organs of flight were less developed in the male than in the female. Mr. 

 C. G. Barrett and Mr. H. J. Elwes cited instances amongst the Bombycidoe in 

 v;hich the wings of the male were inferior in size and development to those of the 

 female, Dr. Sharp exhibited specimens of both sexes of an apparently nondescript 

 phasmid insect allied to Orobia, obtained by Mr. J. J. Lister in the Seychelles islands, 

 together with Phyllium gelonus. He also exhibited specimens of both sexes of an 

 Acridiid insect, of the group Proscopides, remarkable for its great general resemblance 

 to the Phasmid^, though without resemblance, so far as is known, to any particular 

 species. In reference to the Phyllium, Dr. Sharp called attention to the fact that the 

 similarity of appearance of parts of their organisation to portions of the vegetable 

 kingdom was accompanied by a similarity, amounting almost to identity, of minute 

 structure. He said that it had been stated that the colouring-matter is indistin- 

 guishable from chlorophyll, and that Mr. Lister had informed him that when in 

 want of food a specimen of the Phyllium would eat portions of the foliaceous 

 expansions of its fellows, although the Phasmida are phytophagous insects. The 

 resemblance lo vegetable products reached its maximum of development in the egg; 

 and Mons. Henneguy had observed that when sections of the external envelope of 

 the egg of Phylliimi are placed under the microscope no competent botanist would 

 hesitate to pronounce them, to belong to the vegetable kingdom. Dr. Sharp also 

 stated that in some species of Phasmida it was easy to obtain the egg by extraction 

 from a dried specimen. Mr. Barrett exhibited, for Major J.N. Still, a specimen of 

 Notudonta bicolara, which had been captured in a wood near Exeter. Major Still had 

 stated that the captor of the specimen was unaware of the great rarity of the species. 

 Mr. Barrett also exhibited, for Mr. Sydney Webb, some remarkable varieties of 

 Argynnis adippe and Canonympha pawphihis ; also two specimens of Apatuva m5, and 

 two of Limenitis sybilla in which the white bands were entirely absent. The Hon. 

 Walter Rothschild exhibited, and contributed preliminary notes on, some hundreds 



