11 
abundant at Wimbledon Common this spring as it had been last year 
and that most of the specimens he had seen were very worn. 
Mr. R. W. Robbins read a most interesting and instructive paper 
on “ Ferns.” In the discussion which ensued the destruction of 
localities both for ferns and lepidoptera by professional collectors was 
very warmly debated, the number of well-known localities which have 
been practically destroyed of late years being almost incredible. 
—April 7th, 1896.—Exhibits :—Mr. Nicholson : a batch of ova of 
Taeniooampa miniosa laid on a dead oak-leaf, which they strongly 
resembled in general tint, having changed slightly in colour since 
deposition; they were sent by Dr. Chapman. Mr. J. A. Clark : a 
curiously marked specimen of Hybernia marginaria, which resembled 
some of the rather suffused forms of H. defoliana. Mr. Tremayne: 
living larvae of Callimorphcb dominvla; Bombyx quercus, Odonestis 
potatoria and Arctia caia, from Deal; he distributed some of the 
larvae of C. dominula, which, he said, were excessively abundant near 
Kingsdown this year. He also showed a pupa, which he had found 
lying on the sand on the shore, not far from some bedstraw; Mr. Clark 
said it was Glioerocampa elpenor; but it was a small specimen. Mr. 
Fuller: a perfect specimen of Agrotis saucia, which he had taken on 
sallow-bloom at Keston. A short discussion took place regarding the 
difficulty of breeding Callimorpha dominula. Mr. Clark said that 
he had always been very successful so long as he fed the larvae on non¬ 
succulent plants, like hawthorn, nettle, dead-nettle, etc.; but ground¬ 
sel and similar juicy plants Avere invariably fatal. Mr. Tremayne 
mentioned a case in which nothing but cripples resulted; he thought 
this was due to the fact that all these pupie had been removed from 
their cocoons. 
April 21st, 1896.—Exhibits : —Mr. Nicholson : a piece of salloav 
cut from the end of a branch about 5 feet in length, groAving on a bush 
in Ongar Park Wood. The lower part of the branch was normal, but 
about 2 feet from the ground it gradually began to widen and flatten, 
until, at the end, it was about an inch and a-quarter in width, but only 
j8g. of an inch thick. The last four inches of the piece shoAvn curved 
round till it almost formed a circle, and from the extreme end a 
normal twig had grown to a length of about 3 inches. The catkins 
and flower-buds Avere distributed in a roughly-spiral manner round the 
flattened portion throughout. Mr. Nicholson mentioned a similar 
instance of exactly parallel malformation in a piece of asparagus, 
exhibited by Mr. Battley at a meeting of the North London Natural 
History Society. No one Avas able to suggest a cause for this extra¬ 
ordinary freak, which, Mr. Riches said, Avas not infrequent in asparagus 
and some other plants. Mr. Tutt read the following :— 
“ Notes on Hydrcecia lucens. —I exhibit to-night, for Mr. J. Finlay, 
of Morpeth, a long series of H. lucens. Probably no Noctuid species 
are less knoAvn than those recognised as H. nictitans, U. lucens 
and H. paludis. Whether they be species or sub-.species is not known. 
They are very easily to be distinguished by those Avho knoAv all three 
forms. They may even occur on the same ground and maintain their 
marked distinctions, whilst H. paludis , at any rate, breeds true. It 
Avould appear that the collectors in the North of Britain get only 
hi. lucens, Avhilst those in the south get only H. nictitans. The range 
