316 



NOTES AND NEWS. 



At the annual meeting of the Wakefield Naturalists' Society, held on Wednes- 

 day, 1st September, the following were appointed officers for the ensuing year : — 

 President, Dr. W. H. Haley ; Hon. Sec. and Treasurer, W. Rushforth ; Delegate 

 to Yorkshire Naturalists' Union, W. Rushforth. 



>o<X 



Mr. Samuel A. Adamson, F.G.S., gave a paper before the British Association 

 in the Geological Section, at the recent meeting in Birmingham, on ' The Discovery 

 of the base of a large Fossil Tree at Clayton.' Sir Wm. Dawson, President of the 

 Association, Dr. H. Woodward, and other distinguished geologists, spoke in 

 appreciation of the paper, and also of the value of the discovery. 



>«X 



The Louth Naturalists' Society still continues to flourish, as we are pleased to 

 note, and to work actively at the natural history of their district. At the annual 

 meeting, held on the 5th of July, an encouraging report was given, in which some 

 interesting details concerning the year's investigations were recited. The list of 

 officers for the ensuing year now stands thus : — Patron, Rev. W. W. Fowler, 

 M.A., F.L.S., Sec.E.S. ; President, Mr. T. E. Markham ; Vice-president, 

 Mr. A. R. Yeoman, M.A. ; Honorary Secretary and Treasurer, Mr. H. Wallis 

 Kew, F.E.S. xxx 



At the September meeting of the Entomological Society of London, the fol- 

 lowing gentlemen were elected Fellows : — Mr. P. Cowell, of Liverpool ; and 

 Mr. A. O. Walker, F.L.S., of Colwyn Bay, North Wales. Mr. C. O. Water- 

 house called attention to the numerous reports which had lately appeared in the 

 newspapers of the supposed occurrence of the Hessian Fly {Cecidomyia destricctor) 

 in Britain, and inquired whether any communication on the subject had reached 

 the Society. The Rev. W. W. Fowler stated, in reply, that he had been in com- 

 munication with Miss Ormerod on the subject, and that she ,had informed him 

 that neither the imago nor larva of the insect had been seen, and that the identity 

 of the species rested on the supposed discovery of the pupa. Mr. A. H. Swinton 

 communicated a paper, entitled ' The dances of the Golden Swift.' In this paper 

 the author expressed an opinion that the peculiar oscillating flight of the male of 

 this and allied species had the effect of distributing certain odours for the purpose 

 of attracting the females. >o>< 



At one of the usual monthly meetings of the Lancashire and Cheshire Entomo- 

 logical Society, amongst the objects exhibited were specimens of a caterpillar 

 brought from New Zealand by the Rev. J. W. Walker, and presented to Mr. S. J. 

 Capper. These animals are called by the natives Aweto, and form the root of a 

 bulrush {Sphceria Robertsia). Another strange phase of animal life was shown, in 

 spirits, in the shape of a fly carrying off a large spider ! This was captured in the 

 very act in Entre Rios, South America. Mr. Frederick Taylor, of Rainhill, 

 presented this strange couple, and it is owing to the same gentleman's interest in 

 spiders that the Liverpool Museum has the finest collection of trap-door spiders 

 and their houses of any museum in the kingdom. Besides these specimens, there 

 was an enormous beetle, between four and five inches long, with a pair of giant 

 horns and dangerous-looking mandibles. It was feeding quietly on a faded 

 banana, and seemed quite at home. This came from South America, and has 

 been kept alive since June. It is called Dynastes typlwn, or, more familiarly, the 

 elephant beetle. In the museum, where it is now on view, it is more commonly 

 known as Jumbo. The paper of the evening was by Mr. S. L. Mosley, who 

 attempted to show the necessity existing for a more definite classification than we 

 have at present in entomology. All the variations from the type which is generally 

 considered specific should be ranged under one of four groups, and the names used 

 for those groups should not be used indiscriminately, as now. That terms are too 

 loosely used at present is admitted by all, and a reformation in scientific nomen- 

 clature is greatly needed. The groups suggested are — A, Race, as applied to a 

 geographical or altitudinal form of a species ; B, Variety, to be used only for those 

 forms which occur only more or less commonly with the type form, but which are 

 recurrent, and should therefore receive distinct names, in addition to the specific 

 ones ; C, Aberration, a departure from the type in colour, but not recurrent ; and 

 D, a Monstrosity; which is a departure from the type in form, but which is not 

 recurrent. Naturalist, 



