Societies and Academies

Abstract

LONDON. Entomological Society, October 1.—The Rev. Canon Fowler, president, in the chair.—Mr. H. St. J. Donisthorpe exhibited specimens of Dibolia cynoglossi, taken by him near Pevensey on August 11 last. He said that the beetle, which was figured by Curtis, had not been recorded as British since 1866.—Mr. O. E. Janson exhibited a fine hermaphrodite specimen of Dryas paphia, taken in the New Forest by Mr. Herbert Charles on July 28 and recorded in the. Entomologist, also a melanic specimen of Papilio demoleus from Ceylon, in which all the usual marginal and submarginal yellow markings were absent and the discal markings much obscured; on the underside the yellow markings were entirely wanting.—Mr. C. P. Pickett exhibited a δ Callimorpha daminula with the hind-wings suffused with black and an extra black spot in the centre, the white; spot on the fore-wings being absent, and a very large 9 of the: same species, both bred from larvæ found at Walmer at the end of March; also three aberrant specimens of Triphaena fimbria bred from larvae taken at Wood Street during the same month,:—Mr. C. O. Waterhouse exhibited specimens of a wasp, Zethus chalybeus, and a neuropteron, Mantispa semihyalina, received with a collection of Hymenoptera from Rio Janeiro, suggesting ai curious case of mimicry.—Mr. F. B. Jennings exhibited specimens of Hister merdarius, from Broxbourne, Herts, part of alarge colony of this usually scarce species found with Hister 12-striabus and other beetle.—inhabiting a heap of a chemical substance, probably gas-lime, in which also many larvæ, presumably of Hister merdarius, and burrows were observed. The soil was warm and moist, and this, and the presence of a quantity of vegetable refuse thrown on the heap, was no doubt the attraction to the Histers to settle there.—Mr. A. J. Chitty exhibited a specimen of Metoecus paradoxus with a part of the cells of a nest of Vespa vulgaris, in which place the beetle is invariably found. The beetle in the cell tucks in his head, only displaying on the surface the thorax, which is coloured similarly to the face of the wasp. This peculiarity suggests a case of mimicry, and Prof. Poulton said that it fitted in with the case of some other bees and wasps.—Mr. H. Rowland-Brown exhibited on behalf of Mr. G. F. Leigh, of Durban, a 9 and 6 specimen of a rare noctuid, Musgiavia Leighi, Hampson, discovered by him in Natal, and read remarks upon the life-history of the species, communicated by the captor.—Mr. Stanley W. Kemp exhibited two additions to the British list of Coleoptera, Bembidium argentiolum, from Lough Neagh, Armagh, and Laemostenus complanatus, from the neighbourhood of Dublin, taken in June.—Mr. W. J. Kaye exhibited examples of Heliconius Lindigii, Heliconius antiochus and Morpho achilles from British Guiana with notches taken out of the hind-wings, presumably by birds, to illustrate that these distasteful or warning-coloured species are subject to attack, this helping to show that experimental tasting as propounded by the Miillerian theory of mimicry does exist and go on.—Prof. L. C. Miall, F.R.S., communicated a paper by Mr. T. H. Taylor entitled “The Tracheal System of Simulium.”—Prof. Auguste Forel communicated a paper entitled “Descriptions of some Ants from the Rocky Mountains of Canada (Alberta and British Columbia) collected by Edward Whymper.”—Dr. T. A. Chapman read a paper entitled “On Heterogynis paradoxa”