120 



THE BRITISH NATURALIST. 



[June 



THE SOUTH LONDON ENTOMOLOGICAL AND NATURAL 



HISTORY SOCIETY. 



April 27th, 1893.—]. Jenner Weir, Esq., F.Z.S., President, in the chair. Mr. 

 Tutt exhibited a series of Tapinostola concolor from Cambridgeshire, and remarked 

 upon the extremely restricted range of this species, and in how very few localities 

 it had been taken in any number ; Mr. Tutt also pointed out the confusion that had 

 arisen with regard to the nomenclature of this insect in consequence of Hubner's 

 figure of T. extrema having blackish cilia. Mr. Weir mentioned that specimens of 

 Polyommatus dispar had fetched £6 each on Tuesday last, at Steven's Auction Rooms. 

 Mr. W. H. Wright exhibited a very long and variable series of Bombyx castrensis, 

 bred from larvae captured on the banks of the Medway, and mentioned, that his 

 experience was, that unless the larvae were, s iy, within about a week of being full 

 fed when captured, they usuallv refused to feed and seldom came to perfection. 

 Mr. R. Adkin and Mr. Tutt both corroborated this view, stating this species was 

 especially resentful to a change of habitat. " In proof of the recent extraordinarily 

 fine weather, Mr. Tutt mentioned that Melitcsa cinxia and other June specie; were on 

 the wing in Guernsey, and that Lyccena argiclus, were flying at Hereford during the 

 first week in April, and Mr. R. Adkin noted the rare occurrence of the Blackthorn 

 (Prunus spinosa) and Whitethorn (Crataegus oxyacantha) , being in blossom at the same 

 time. In the course of some remarks upon Cohas edusa. Mr. Tutt said it ought to 

 have had a good chance of hybernating here this last winter. In Algeria and 

 Morocco, it could begot in all its stages, with the exception of the egg, nearly the 

 whole year through, and that in the Mediterranean littoral, it practically did not 

 hybernate at all, but one brcod followed the other in rapid succession. 



May 11th, 1893.— Charles G. Barrett, Esq., F.E.S., Vice-President, in the chair. 

 Mr. R. South exhibited a series of C.fagella, from Buckinghamshire, the light and 

 dark forms being about equal in number. Mr. South said that the trees in the wood 

 in which they were taken were darker on their western side than on their eastern, 

 and at the time he collected these specimens the wind was in the east and most of 

 the moths were at rest on the western side of the trees, the dark injects being 

 inconspicuous and he thought that if this often happened when this species was on 

 the wing, it would, by natural selection, tend to produce a darker race. Mr. Barrett, 

 in referring to the breeding of B. castrensis, in captivity, said the larva should be 

 well wetted at times and exposed when possible to the sun", and he thought the 

 absence of the latter in some years might account for the uncertain appearanc© of 

 this species. Mr. Turner said that he had bred B. castrensis very successfully on 

 rose leaves dipped in salt water, the discussion being continued by Messrs. Tutt, 

 Frohawk, and South. Mr. Adye exhibited a long series each of D. avion, D. dolo- 

 braria, A. betularia, H.frasinana, &c, and odd specimens of A.alni, N chaonia,N. 

 dodonea, N. trepida, &c, the majority having been bred in March or April indoors, 

 from larvae taken in the New Forest last autumn. Mr. Tutt said that on May 6th, 

 N . plantaginis, E. glyphica, &c, were on the wing in Kent, whilst pupae and larvae of 

 V. urtica were reported for the same date. Mr. Jager mentioned that C. russata was 

 now emerging, and Mr. South said he had bred C. strobilana, from the Spruce Fir in 

 Buckinghamshire. — F. W. Hawes and H. Williams, Hon. Sees. 



CITY OF LONDON ENTOMOLOGICAL AND NATURAL 



HISTORY SOCIETY. 



Tuesday, May 2, 1893. — Exhibits. Mr. Clark, Nyssia hispidaria with a pale hind 

 marginal band, a pale grey specimen of Taniocampa instabilis with a dark central band 

 and Notodonta chaonia, all from the New Forest. Mr. Oldham, Trachea piniperda, the 

 dark form of Tceniocampa instabilis and Brephos parthenias. Dr. Buckell, series oiPolia 



