SOCIETIES. 
71 
as to it. S. sphegifor? 7 iis emerges in the early morning in a similar 
manner, and it depends on whether the morning is bright and sunny or 
the reverse how early they come out. I have not the exact times, but I 
know that on sunny mornings I used to be up about 8 o’clock looking 
after them, as they are fidgety insects after they have dried their wings. 
They used to prefer the sunny mornings for emergence, and I used to 
expose them to the morning sun. On dull mornings they came out, if 
at all, much later, about 8 a.m. or so, and I remember one came out 
about lo a.m. It was interesting to watch the whole performance; the 
beak of the pupa case first breaking the bark over its hole, then the 
pupa forcing its way out to three parts of its length, after which the pupa 
case would burst and “ ” would emerge. Sometimes when 
their wings were dry, and they saw me, they took fright and went from 
the top of the cage to the bottom like a flash of lightning, so that I 
could not see where they had gone, and had to look about at the 
bottom to see where they were. — A. Robinson. March iith, 1891. 
I would just remark that in breeding Epione vespertaria last year, the 
time of emergence was about sunrise, but I also found that a small 
proportion made their appearance about sunset, which led me to believe 
that light had something to do with it, and further explained why we 
generally meet a small number after dark when collecting other insects on 
the same ground, which no doubt are those which emerge at sunset. 
The principal time of flight is from 6 to 9 a.m. I might further remark 
that some mornings mostly males emerged, and the following morning 
nearly all females. Of course in its native habitat we rarely come 
across the latter, but a goodly number of the former, but in the breeding 
cage I could find out no reason for this singular phenomenon. — R. 
Dutton, Castle Mills Bridge, York. March i()th^ 1891. 
nCIETIES. 
Entomological Society of London. — May 6 . — Dr. D. Sharp exhibited 
a number of eggs of Dytiscus marginalis laid on the sheath of a species of 
reed, and commented on the manner of their oviposition, which he said 
had been fully described by Dr. Regimbart. The Rev. A. E. Eaton 
exhibited a collection of Psychodidce, from Somersetshire, including six 
species of Psychoda^ eleven species of Pe 7 'iconia, and one species of 
Ulomyia. Mr. M‘Lachlan commented on the interesting nature of the 
exhibition. Mr. P. Cowley exhibited a specimen of Protho'e caledo7iia, a 
very handsome butterfly from Perak ; and a specimen of another 
equally handsome species of the same genus from Tonghou, Burmah, 
which was said to be undescribed. The Secretary read a letter from 
Mr. Merrifield, pointing out that the statement made by Mr. Fenn, at 
the meeting of the Society on the ist of April last, of his views on the 
effects of temperature in causing variation in lepidoptera, was incorrect ; 
he (Mr. Merrifield) had never suggested what might happen to TcB7iio- 
ca 77 ipa mstabilis, and had expressly stated that he had found a reduction 
of the temperature below 57° to produce no effect, whereas in Mr. 
Fenn’s experiments the temperature must have been below 40°. The 
Secretary also read a letter which Lord Walsingham had received from 
Sir Arthur Blackwood, the Secretary of the Post Office, in answer to 
