Eeports of Societies. 



75 



Sphinx convolvuU near Bradford. — During the month of September 

 last, a specimen of S. convolvuli was captured, at rest on a tree, by a boy 

 at Heaton, near Bradford. It was placed under a tumbler, where it lived 

 for more than a week, and, considering this, is in very fair condition. It is 

 now in my collection. — J. W. Carter, Manningham, Bradford, Nov. 16th. 



Barnsley Naturalists' Society. — Meeting Nov. 5th, the president, 

 Mr. T. Lister, in the chair. — A fe«^ lepidopterous insects were shewn by 

 Mr. J. Harrison, secretary, and a few remaining wild flowers, ferns, &c. 

 Of summer migrants, the last noted were chiffchaff Oct. 2, sand martin 

 6th, house martin 12th, swallow, l7th near Doncaster, 21st near Wake- 

 field ; they have been delayed by late broods and storms. Of winter 

 migrants, redwings Oct. 3, jack-snipe 4th, fieldfare 11th, woodcock 13thy 

 brambling or mountain-finch from the moors, 28th, grey wagtail from the 

 N.W. hills, 21st.— T. Lister. 



Bradford Naturalists' Society. — ^Meeting Nov. 14th, the president 

 in the chair. — Mr. B. lUingworth gave a lecture on astronomy. The 

 president reported the following insects as having been taken during the 

 past fortnight : — B. defoliaria, H. aurantiaria, C. boreata, &c. Mr» 

 J. W. Carter exhibited a fine specimen of 8. convolvuli. — H. T. S. 



Brighton and Sussex Natural History Society. — At the last 

 meeting of this Society Mr. H. Goss, F.L.S., &c., gave the third and 

 concluding paper on " The Insect Fauna of the different Geological 

 Periods," taking on this occasion " The Paleozoic Periods." The insect 

 remains in these periods are necessarily rare, none being found in England 

 except in the coal measures, but in Europe and America they were more 

 frequent, especially in the coal measures, and some had been found irt 

 the Permians of Saxony, and the Devonian of New Brunswick. The few 

 British remains were a beetle and locust from Colebrook-dale, three 

 Orthoptera from near Sunderland, and one from the Scotch coalfields. 

 Amongst foreign specimens, one of the insects described by Dr. Dohrn, 

 from the Permian of Saxony, belonged to an extinct order, which combined 

 some of the characteristics of the Neuroptera and Hemiptera, and wa& 

 probably descended from a common ancestor of both these orders. In 

 the Belgian coalfields another insect had been found belonging to the 

 extinct order Paleodictyoptera, and another was referred to the Lepidop- 

 tera by Dr. Breyer ; Mr. McLachlan, however, pronounced it as Neurop- 

 terous belonging to the Ephemerina, and the lecturer was of opinion that 

 this decision was probably right, indeed the Lepidoptera, being the highest 

 development of insects, was the last to appear on the geologic horizon, 

 and that it was very improbable that any of them would occur in the 

 coal measures. All the American insects were either Neuroptera or 

 Orthoptera. Altogether the Paleozoic rocks had yielded about 100 speci- 



