1893; 



THE BRITISH NATURALIST. 



3. Headley, of Stoneygate Road, Leicester ; Mr. William Mansbridge, of Luther 

 Place, Horsforth, near Leeds ; and the Rev. George W s Taylor, of St. Barnabas, 

 Victoria, British Columbia, were elected Fellows of the Society. Mr. Jenner Weir 

 exhibited a species of Acraa, from Sierra Leone, which Mr, Rowland Trimen, who 

 had examined the specimen, considered to be a remarkable variety of Telchinia encedon, 

 Linn. It was a very close mimic of Limnas alcippus, the usual Western African form 

 of Limnas chrysippus. The upper wings of the specimen were rufous, and the lower 

 white, as in the model, and the resemblance in other respects was heightened by the 

 almost total suppression of the black spots in the disc of the upper wings, 

 Characteristic of the usual markings of T. encedon. Mr. F. J. Hanbury exhibited a 

 remarkable variety of Lyccsna adonis, caught in Rent this year, with on4y one large 

 spot on the under side of each upper wing, and the spots on the lower wings entirely 

 replaced by suffused white patches. He also exhibited two specimens of Nocitia 

 xanthographa of a remarkably pale brownish grey colour, approaching a dirty white i 

 obtained in Essex in 1891 ; and a variety of A crony eta rmnicis, also taken in Essex, 

 with a beautiful dark hind margin to the fore wings. Mr. H.J. Elwe3 exhibited a 

 living specimen of a species of Conocephalus, a genus of Locustidce, several species of 

 which, Mr. C O. Waterhouse and Mr. McLachian stated, had been found alive in 

 hothouses in this country. Dr. T. A. Chapman exhibited immature specimens of 

 Tceniocampo gracilis, T. gothica, T. populcti, T. munda, T. instabilis, and T. leucographa, 

 which has been taken out of their cocoons in the autumn, with the object of show- 

 ing the then state of development of the imagos. Mr. F. W. Frohawk exhibited a 

 living specimen of the larva of Carterocephalus paloemon (Hesperia paniscus), hybernating 

 on a species of grass which he believed to be Bromus aspev: The Rev. Canon Fowler 

 and Mr. H. Goss expressed their interest at seeing the larva of this local species, the 

 imagos of which they had respectively collected in certain woods in Lincolnshire and 

 Northamptonshire. Mr. Coss stated that the food-plants of the species were 

 supposed to be Plantago major and Cynosnrus cristatus, but that the larva possibly feed 

 on Bromus asper. Mr. C. G. Barrett exhibited a long series of remarkable melanic 

 and other varieties of Boarmia repandata, bred by Mr. A. E. Hall from larvae collected 

 near Sheffield, Mr. W. Farren exhibited, and commented on, four varieties of 

 Papilio machaon from Wicken Fen ; also a series of two or three species of Nepticulce 

 pinned on pith with the " minutien Nadeln," for the purpose of showing these pins, 

 Canon Fowler exhibited specimens of Xyleborus perforans, Woll., which had been 

 devastating the sugar-canes in the West Indies Mr. C. O. Waterhouso stated that 

 the larvae had done great damage to beer-casks in India. Mr. E. B. Poulton showed, 

 by means of the oxy-hydrogen lantern, a number of slides of various larvae and pupa?, 

 in illustration of his paper, read at the October meeting, entitled, " Further experi- 

 ments upon the colour-relation between certain lepidopterous larvae and their 

 surroundings," He stated that he believed that nineteen out of twenty larvae of 

 Geometridce possessed the power of colour adjustment. Mr. F. Merrifield, the Rev. j . 

 Seymour St. John, and Mr. Jacoby took part in the discussion which ensued. Mr. 

 F. Merrifield read a paper entitled, " The effects of temperature on the colouring of 

 Pieris napt, Vanessa atalanta, Chrysophamis phla-as, and Ephyra punctata," and exhibited 

 many specimens thus affected. In the cases of P. napi, C. phkeas, and E. punctata, he 

 remarked that they corresponded with natural variations of these species in regions 

 or seasons associated with similar temperatures ; and some curious effects produced 

 by severe temperatures on V. atalanta seemed likely to throw light on the evolution of 

 the complex markings of the Vanessas. Mr. Poulton, Dr. F. A. Dixey, Mr. Elwes, 

 Mr. jenner W r eir, Mr. Tutt, and Mr. Frohawk took part in the discussion which 

 ensued. Mr. Kenneth J. Morton communicated a paper entitled, " Notes on Hydro- 

 ptilidce belonging to the European Fauna, with descriptions oi new species." Mr. 

 McLachian made some remarks on the subject of this paper. Dr. T. Algernon 



