39 
the yellow iris on which they were occasionally found, but on which 
the larva readily feeds. Mr. Prout: a bred specimen of Melanippe 
sociata of a yellowish tinge; this specimen had lain over in pupa 
throughout the winter, the remainder of the brood having emerged in 
the previous autumn. Mr. Bate : a specimen of Polyommatus virgaureae, 
which was given to him by the son of the Bev. S. Fell owes of Pulham 
St. Mary Magdalene, Norfolk, at which place he believes it was taken 
about ten years ago. Mr. Francis Buckell of Bomsey, Hampshire, who 
was present as a visitor, exhibited drawings, made by himself, of the 
microscopic appearance (under a magnifying power of about 300 
diameters) of the Pollen-grains of many species of plants. He said 
that he was not aware of any record of observations on this subject. 
He had already examined and sketched the pollen-grains of nearly 700 
species of plants, and found that there was considerable diversity as 
regards their shape, size, colour and density. The usual colour was 
yellow, but some were purplish-black and others of a beautiful red, 
whilst those of the grasses were transparent like glass. The prevalent 
shape was some form of oval, and the species composing each Natural 
Order presented broadly (with a few singular exceptions) a general 
similarity as regards their pollen. Thus in the Compositae the grains 
were round or oval, and furnished with a large number of projections ; 
the TJnibelliferae had smooth narrow spindle-shaped grains; those of 
Onagraceae were mostly very large and triangular, and often with 
marked projections at the angles; the pollen of the Boragineae was 
somewhat like a short dumb-bell, and one of the genera in this order, 
Myosotis, presented grains of excessive minuteness, although curiously 
the species with the smallest flower (21. versicolor ) had the largest 
pollen of any in the genus. In the Geraniaceae the grains of the 
species with the smallest flowers were quite as large as of those with 
the largest. A very curious shape characterised the pollen of Limnanthes 
douglasii, each grain being somewhat like a two-legged stool. The 
grains of some species of the genus Salvia presented the most beautiful 
and elaborate surface-markings. Mr. Buckell suggested that the 
explanation of the varied forms of the pollen-grains would have to be 
sought, partly in the stigmatic exigencies of the flowers and partly in 
the structure of the organs of the different insects engaged in fertilising 
the ovules by carrying the pollen from one flower to another; doubtless 
a process of evolution with regard to the grains might be discovered by 
careful investigation of the various orders, genera and species. 
Amongst the drawings exhibited was one showing the results of an 
examination of the pollen from the leg of a humble-bee; there were 
grains from five or six different species, and it was evident that this 
humble-bee, at all events, had not limited its visits to a single species 
of flower, as is alleged to be the case with the honey-bee. 
July 3rd, 1894.—Exhibits :—Mr. Clark: a large number of Aus¬ 
tralian Lepidoptera received from Mr. Anderson; also living larvae of 
Selenia lunaria. Mr. May: an empty cocoon of Plnsia moneta from 
Weybridge. He stated that the moth had emerged from this a few 
days previously. Mr. Hollis: bred specimens of Ocneria dispar. Mr. 
Prout: bred series of Eupithecia assimilata, upon which he made the 
following remarks :—“ These specimens were reared from five different 
females taken in 1893. Brood No. 2 was a failure, but the others 
