THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



15 



brief notice of this interesting paper with the following extract, whict will 

 probably interest our young readers :— = 



" According to present discoveries, the Insecta are the oldest class of land animals ; 

 the Orthoptera or Orthopteroid Palaodictyoptera, the oldest known order of insects ; and 

 the Blattida, or their ancestral equivalent, the oldest known family of the Orthoptera. 

 That the oldest known Orthopterion should be a Blatta or its ancestral representative, is 

 in direct accordance with the conclusions as to the origin and genealogy of insects, 

 arrived at by Packard, from the study of the embryology of the class." 



The Natural History Journal and School Reporter, 15th Dec, 1885. 



This Journal, which has already reached its ninth volume, is vastly superior 

 to any other of its class that we have seen. The present number contains, 

 among other items, an interesting account of a Trip to Eastern Iceland, and 

 another of the great Star Shower of November 27th, illustrated by a diagram 

 showing the radiant point and the meteors observed at 7.30 p.m. Among 

 the more interesting notes we observe that a Mediterranean shell Helix lactra 

 was picked up at Filey, on the Yorkshire coast, on August 5th. It con- 

 tained a snail only recently dead. Also that a Storm Petrel was caught at 

 Soho, Birmingham, on September 19th. 



HAGGERSTON ENTOMOLOGICAL 

 SOCIETY. 



The meetings recently have been chiefly occupied with business relating to 

 the working of the Society during 1886. On November 26th, the President 

 exhibited a female specimen of H. abruptaria, bred the same day; the pupa 

 had been kept in the ordinary way and not forced. On December 10th, Mr. 

 Lewcock shewed ten species of the genus Silpha, including one variety ; and 

 Mr. Anderson brought up a dark suffused form of H. aurantiaria taken at 

 Epping Forest. On December 17th, Mr. McDonald brought up a specimen 

 of a beetle, which is rather common amongt foreign timber, being known 

 familiarly amongst the dock labourers as the " Timberman," it is chiefly 

 found amongst Norwegian shipments, and at certain times of the year as 

 many as six or eight may be taken in one day ; he also spoke of the quantity 

 ' of Sirex gigas sometimes observed in the same situation. The discussion was 

 upon V. atalanta, the subject being opened by Mr. E. Cooper, who, after an 



I exhaustive account of its life-history, drew attention to its nocturnal habits, 

 it having on several occasions been observed at night time, he himseK having 

 taken it at sugar. Mr. Pearson taking the subject up thought that if this 

 could be proved it would have a very direct bearing on the theory of migra- 



