4

Wednesday, March I nd , 1927. Mr. 3. E. COLLIN, President, in the Chair.

Obituary. The I'RESIUEST announced the death of A h . G. T. PORRITT, one of the senior

e el lows of the Society.

Electioiz of Fellows. The following were elected Fellows of the Society :-H. B. LAWSON, Brock Hill,

Horsell, Woking, Surrey; J. v. PEARMAN, 6, Westbury Park, Bristol.

Fourth Iriternatioiral Congress of Entomology. The SECRETARY read a letter from Dr. K. JORDAN giving preliminary notice that

the Fourth International Congress of Entomology would be held a t Ithaca, New York, U.S.A., in August 1928.

Exhibits.

WIGGLESWORTH said : '' Since the classic researches of Hopkins it has been known that the family PIERIDAE is peculiar among Lepidoptera in making use of uric acid in the pigmentation of the wings. A quantitative study of the uric acid in Pieris brassicae has been made. The wings of the male contain 0.5 mgm. and of the female 0.3 mgm. of uric acid. This sexual difference is not due to the andro- conia of the male, which contain no uric acid, but to the greater size of the wing- scales which cover these. The pupa of P. brassicae contains about 2.0 mgms. of uric acid. In the resting pupa most, if not all, of the uric acid is contained in the fat-body. Shortly before emerg- ence some is deposited in the wings and more is transferred to the gut. There is no evidence for a new formation of uric acid during pupal life. Similar experi- ments have been made on Vanessa urticae. The total quantity of uric acid is approximately the same as in P. brassicae. During development it is transferred in part to the gut but not to the wings. The PIERIDAE appear to differ from other families in the use to which uric acid is put and not in the amount of this substance produced.

" These experiments are published in detail in Proc. Roy. Soc., B, 97, pp. 149- 155."

QUAKTITATIVE EXPERIMEXTS ON THE URIC ACID I N THE PIERIDAE. -b . v. B.

This total amount is not changed during development.

THE METAMORPHOSES OF LUCANUS CERVUS, L.-Mr. HUGH MAIN exhibited an adaptation of his subterrarium containing larvae of Lucanus cervus, L., which allowed continuous observation of the metamorphoses of such wood-feeding Coleopterous larvae. Instead of using earth as was employed for subterranean larvae previously exhibited, damp oak sawdust as suggested by Mr. H. Willoughby Ellis, for rearing such insects, was used between two sheets of glass supported about an inch apart, in a zinc frame. Full-fed larvae when introduced, a t once made oval chambers for pupation. A series of lantern slides illustrated the subsequent changes that were seen to take place in the larva, pupa, and imago till the latter reached its mature coloration. He suggested that the method might be usefully

5

eniployed for thc dctailcd observation of this and otlicr wood-feeding larvac, and that a comparison of the cliffwent 1)ai ts of colcoptcioiis pupae wliich became black before the disclosure of the imago might give yaluable information bearing 011 the affinities of different families, genera and species.

SEX-RATIO O F HI-POLIXXAS BOLISA, L., IS TITI h V U , FIJI.---Pyof. POULTON

said that he had just received a letter from Xr. Hubert IV, Sinimonds, confirniiiig and extending the observations recorded by him and Mr. G. H. E. Hopkins in PYOC. Eict. Soc. L o ~ i . , i, pp. 29-31. The passagc was as follows :-

" 1 7 Jn7iiiary, 1927: Suvct, I'iti Levu.

( ( H . boliiia is now fairly numerous with plenty of males. I have counted as follows, but think females arc really more abundant, as they do not haunt such conspicuous places.

8. ?. 2 6 x i i 2 6 . . . . . 7 8 27.xii.26 . . . . . 7 7

1 . i 2 7 . . . . . 4 5 2.i.27 . . . . . 2 4 S.i.27 . . . . . 2 4

13 . i27 . . . , . 1 5 16.i.27 . . . . . 7 8

Total . . . . 30 41 - _.

" All females seem to belong to the comiiion Viti Levu forms.

( ( A parent has yielded 7 pupae.

I have families as follows :-

B ,, all died. C ,, has yielded 10 pupae. D ,, has yielded a large family of larvae. E ,, infertile. F ,, has yielded many eggs. G ,, ,, ,, ,, 9,

(' The normal food-plant is Xynedrella nodiJlora, Gaertn. (Compositae), identified for me by W. Greenwood of Lautoka.

" 18 January, 1927.-The first two bolilaa have emerged-one, a 9, from Family -4, and one, a $, from Family C. This is the first $ I have ever bred from a Viti Levu larva. I have to go away for a couple of weeks which will not help in getting these to pair, but I hope to have some luck."

[A letter dated 15 February, 1927, contained the welcome information that Mr. Simmonds had solved the difficulty of mating bolina. Family D proved to be all females, two of which had paired with a captured male. Eighty-eight eggs had been laid by one of these females.

I am now hoping that A will prove to be all-9.

Pairing took place readily in a large cage.]

SEX-RATIOS AND FORM-RATIOS IN EIGHT FAMILIES OF ACRAEA ESEBHIA, HEW., BRED BY DR. V. G. L. VAN SOMEREN AT NAIROBI, KENYA CoLoNY.-Prof. POULTON exhibited the parents and examples of all the forms obtained in seven families of

6

this itlost iritewsting series of brecdiiig cqeriiiicnt~s. Iic felt sure tliat tile E’cl lo~s would wish to eongratulatc Dr. V. van Soiiiercri on his rcsults.

The forms wliicli appeared iii the families arc shown in the list on 11. 8, adopting the nomenclature and descriptions of Eltringham’s monograph in l’i~ocs. Giit. SOL‘. Loild., 1912, 1111. 331-36.

Eight families of Acraea eseh ia , Hew., bred by Dr. V. G . L. van Someren from batc*hes of eggs laid by kiioivii feinale parents at Nairobi, Kenya Colon]

Furitis of female parents. All ex- cept H captured

August, 1923.

Parent A JACKSOXI.

Parent B JACKSOXI.

Parent C JACKSOXI.

Parent D MONTEIRONIS.

Dates of cmer-

gence from pupa.

1923. Sept. 25

,, 27

11 28

Totals.

Sept. 25

,, 30

Totals.

Sept. 27

1, 29

Oct. 5

Totals.

Sept. 25

Prupur- tiuns uf

the sexes emerging each clay in each family.

7

I'ropur- tionu of

the sexes emerging each day in each family.

,, 30

Oct. 1

Parent E >IONTEIROSIS.

2

ti

1

11

__ -. ~

9 , 5

Totals. ~

Sept. 29

2, 30

1

1

Oct. 1 2

Parent F PROTEA.

3 , 3 3

1 -_

3

Sept. 30

Oct. 1

,, 2

I , 3 Parent G PROTEA.

Parent H

n. 9-f. \'ICTObIS,

_ _ _ ~

8

JwX.so//i, E.PII.Sli.--All niaikinps tawny oiangc, and, in the tyl)ic a1 fornl, the subapical band of F.W. joined by a naiiow isthniiis to the inncr niaigiiial patch. In the series tabulated belon., the i\thmus may be i t aiitlnp. or. on tlic other hand, may be milch wider than in the typical form. Both males and females of this form are present in the scrieq.

Hoi/teirouis, Biit1.--,211 maikings white : tlic F.W. band a h ays scpaiated Irom the patch.

9-pmtea, Trim. The fcmalc form (Eltiingham : ibid , p. 333) posscsscs a white F.W. band with all otlicr marking5 pale creamy ochreous. Pattern that of ~ J L -

t e i ~ o u i s . Only females of this form in tlic series. Pattern resembling that of the female but F.W. subapical band

narrov-er and all markings pale drill ochreous. Females resembling the above $-protea (but with the ochreous

markings of a slightly paler tint) and differing from Trimen’s 9-protea, were bred in most of the families. It appears to be an unrecognised female form, and I propose for i t the nanic victoris in honour of Dr. Y, G. L. van Someren, who has done so much for East African and Uganda natural history.

T y p e from Fanlily F in the Hope Collection, Oxford, with Paratypes from this and other families. Paratype from F in the British illuseuni.

The eight families are arranged in tabular form on pp. G and 7, the feniale parents of the same form being placed together and the order that of the relative abundance of the forms in the wild state as recorded by Dr. V. van Someren in the following note :-

In the wild state, the tawny orange forms [jacksoiii] predominate ; the black-and-white [nio~itei ,o~ris] come next, while the other less numerous forms [pvotea-9, profen-3, and .rG?ovis-?] are about equally represented.”

Family H, already recorded in detail in Pvor. I / , t e m a f . Ent.-Koiiyr., Zurich, 1925 (1926), ii, pp. 513-15, was included in the table for comparison with the other seven. This family was of special interest inasmuch as the female parent, which unfortunately escaped, “ was of the uniform yellow var.” (ibid., pp. 513, 514) and therefore of the form victoris. The family having all emerged by 26 September, 1924 (p. 513), there could be no doubt that the eggswere laid in July or the beginning of August. The dwarf example of the f.jacksorii, inadvertently recorded as a female (p. 514), was correctly placed as a male in Family H in the table on p. 7.

The disproportion of the sexes in all families except G suggests the existence of an adaptation to encourage interbreeding with other families in a species with gregarious larvae.” Families B and D approach in disproportion, and therefore in the promotion of such interbreeding, the all-9 families of Acvaea eucedoi~, L., bred by Lamborn in S. Nigeria (Liwn. Xoc. Jou~~z.--ZooZ., xxxii, p. 391 : 1914). There is, however, this essential difference, that either sex may predominate in these mixed

Thus, the late Dr. W. Hatchett Jackson wrote of Vanessa io -“The friends who kindlyaccompanied me and helped me to collect the specimens took their supply from different colonies of caterpillars from those from which I took my own supply. Our several finds were kept in different boxes, and i t was found subsequently that the individuals in the several boxes were principally, but n o t entirely, of one or of the other sex ” (Trans. Linn. SOC. Lond., 2nd fier., Zool., 1701. v, Pt. 4, 1890, p. 1%).

Only females of this forin in the sei ies.

$.-protea, Trim.

?-victoris, n. 9 f .

“ 26 A‘ozwnber, 1926.-The families are complete.

* Such disproportion may be common in species with gregarious larvae.

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fairlilies of ciebi ~ ( 1 , TI h ~ i e w nialci ~iiedoniinatcd in the mixed fanlilies of e ~ c e d o n , a suptiioiity balari( c.rl by tho fact that tlir uniscxual families \\ere always all-?.

TIIP miiaiI\ably laigc~ Family (: gar? appioxiinatc. equality of sexes--46 J t o 4.5 9 --suggehting the pod i i l i t y that eoinpai atiwly shoi t iun\ of inequality niay succeed each other in the corisecntirely laid eggs of a fernale and that these in- equalities may avcragi~ out into cqnality in an escc~)tionalIy long run. Dr. V. m n Sonicien wrote toncrrning Family C: :--

‘‘ 12 Deceinber, 1926.--hIany thanks for n-orking out proportions-they are very interesting, especially the sex-ratio. Fain. G was exceedingly large and, although I did not count the number, the data on the individual labels ale correct. It is quite an exceptional brood and abnormal, I should say. One does on occasions obtain a gravid 9 just ovc~loaded as it were. Compare the Yapilio tla1tlaii7*~ families. It was taken z i i

cop. and not disturbed until the pair separated.” Dr. van Soinercn did not, I am sure, mean to imply in this note that any of the

other families, with the possible exception of E, represented the total egg-laying capacity of the female parents, and therefore we are led to assume that batches of eggs were or might have been laid before or after, or before and after, those from Iyhich the lari-ae were raised. If this inference bP accepted there is room for a succession of short runs with varying proportions.

Since the above paragraphs were written I have noted the sexes which emerged on each successive day in each family and recorded the results in the table. It will be observed that in the large Family G males preponderated in the earlier emergences and females in the later; so that if the eggs had been laid in two or four batches these would have a marked disproportion in the sexes, but laid as a whole the differences averaged out as suggested above.

It may he suggested that the predominance a t first of males and then of females in G and other families is merely a result of the commonly observed tendency towards such a succession in Lepidoptera. This cannot be a complete solution, because the marked inequality in the numbers of the sexes of all the families (except the very small C and the very large G), which is certainly unusual, remains unexplained. It is to be noted that females preponderate in four and males iu two (D and E) of the six families with marked inequality. I hope that i t may be possible to obtain successive batches of eggs laid by the same female. Until this has been done we cannot reach safe conclusions. It will also be interesting to test by breeding whether the general distribution of the sexes in the batches is transmitted.

Acraea terpsichore rayatatra, Eltr., is another species which should be observed from the same point of view. Out of 85 examples bred by Dr. V. van Someren from ova collected from the food-plant, no less than 66 are female. The presence of all- 9-breeding strains of female, like those of encedora, may be suspected.

These ova were collected in April, 1926, on Kinangop (8000-9000 ft.), in the Aberdare Range, Kenya Colony (Jozcrir. E. Afi.. aid Uganda Nat. Hist. Xoc., No. 27, p. 213: Nov. 1926).

The relationship between the forms of esebria in the different families is interest- ing. Thus, molzteisoizis is probably recessive to the others, being absent from six out of the eight families, including D and E with wonteirowis female parents.

I have a 9 duitlnirzis just now that has laid 120 eggs.

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Faiiiily C' suggests that the po/ctc-c ictoi I S foiiiis (nliit Ii iieaily al\\ays occurrctl together ill the fmilic5) limy be doiiiiiiant to j u ) / / I , but tlic iiuiiibers arc too small to inspire confidence.

~4 KEW TAILED FEMALE FORM O F P.4PILIO I).lRL)AJ (.S € € O U S O X I , POULT., T A K E S

BY MR. ARSOLII Housos IN 11'. An IKI.4.--lhf. POL-LTO~; exhibited this bcaii tiful form, captured a t Gore (6600 ft.), W, Abyssinia, 14 Dcccmber, 1926, together n it11 four males of P. tl. hodso/ii, taken below Gore (6000 ft.), tiTo on 10 I)cceniber, and one cacli on 15 and 16 Dcccnibcr, 1926. Thc fcriialc forin, nhich coinbined tlic patterns of snlncwzi and ceiwcc N ith a pciuliar colouriiig, was desciibed bclo\r :--

P. d. hotlsor~i, wienhoIti, 9-f. n.-The upper surfacc of the fore-wing bears the pattern of tlic E. African 9-f. t iophoi/ius, Rcstw., or niorc ncaily that of s c r / n c c / i r i , Suff., because the oblique subapical band, ah wcll as the other riiailrings, is t anny orange. The hind-wing uppcr surface pattern is that of the 9-f. ceirea, Stoll, but the basal patch and submarginal spots arc tawny orange. The tails, which are about half the length of the male's, are deep black, like the ground-colonr of both wings.

The colour of the upper surface markings is not the tawny orange of f r o p h o ~ i i ~ ( s , salaami, and other forms. It is more golden and can best be defined as a deep chrome, similar to that of the F.W. markings of the le ight , Poult., 9-f., from Natal. The depth of this colour varies in different parts of the pattern. The lightest shade, darkening towards vein 6, is seen in area 6 of H.W. ; next to this is the oval maik in area 2 of F.W. ; then the basal patch of H.W. below vein 6 ; then the markings in areas l a and Ib of F.W.; the deepest chrome bcing found in the remaining F.W. markings-the submarginal spots and subapical spot, the spots in areas 3, 4, 5 and the detached spot in 7 forming together the oblique band, the spot in the cell, which is constricted, especially on the left side, bu t not quite divided into two. The sub- marginal double spots of H.W. are an cqually deep chrome, obscured by a sprinkling of black scales, least developed in area 6, then in 5 and 4, in that order. The fringe in the concavities of the undulating margin of H.W. is also of the deepest shade; similarly in the F.W. where the concavities are slightly marked and the chrome- tinted sections of fringe very small and absent on the apical side of area 5 where the colour is a mere point. The successive changes in the depth of the chrome markings, distinguished in this paragraph, are very slight, although there is a marked difference between the darkest and the lightest shade.

The greater part of the under surface is ochreous orange, giving to the insect a very distinctive appearance, especially in the position of rest when the black of the F.W. would be hidden by the H.W. and no tint bu t orange would be visible, except the olive-brown discal barid of H.W. The palest orange is that of the inner niarginal F.W. markings in areas la, 1b. ; next, that of the basal patch of H.W. and the apical section of F.W. which latter becomes paler proximally. On this area of F.U'. the apical markings of the upper surface reappear, being of a paler ochreous orange than the surrounding surface. The F.W. cell, except for the ochreous orange mark, is intense black, invading the bases of the surrounding areas and prolonged distally to a greater and greater extent in this order :-area 6 (least invasion), 4, 2 , 3 ; in these last two reaching and partially surrounding the submarginal spot. A narrow black border also surrounds the distal extremity of the orange marking in area l b and

11

slightly in\ at1c.i 1u. Tlio blac L-5iii toiiiidod I~oi11c.r of tliv niwl&igs i n aims l / l , I b , ~ n d 2 15 veiy tlyilcqiiic., as also 011 tlie u [ q w r suifncc. and tlic ~ 3 i e applies to thc distal boidci of t he H.W. h i a l pattli, a h y e and bclon. I t ha5 alitacly bccn mentioncd that the othieous-oiange of K T V . is inteiiupted by an 0117. e-hroT\ n di5cal band. This broad and important featiiie evidently represents thc inteiiupted black distal band of the male upper and under huifacc, for it bears iiicgular niaiks of a daikcr shade of blown, coiicbj)ondiiig \\ itli sonic of the male coniponents. Distally the olive-brown becomes paler and orange-tinted, passing into the bioad ochreous- orange niaigiri whicli cstends into the tails. The thiec longitudinal stieaks in tlie H.W. cell are dark biomii a i d vciy diStiiiLt on the riiidei suiface.

The body is colourcd Iike that of other orange-iiiaiked fenialc forms, but, like the wing-markings, is of a more golden shade.

Type in the Hope Collection, Osfoid. This hitherto unique form is named after its discoverer Mr. dinold Wienholt

Upon the wing this female form nould probably roughly iesenible the Sbys- Hodson, C.M.G.

sinian race of Plaireiiia epuea-P. e . lioiizoch oa, Rothsch., and of P h e m a tellus.

EVIDEKCE OF ATTACK, PROBABLY BY A BIRD, ON THE NPMPHALISE BCTTERFLY

EcT,Y.LWRB TIBERIVS, GR.-S.M., IN E. AFRICA.-Prof. POULTON exhibited the fore- wings of a female E. tiberius found by &Is, A. Loveridge, lying on a path and in the herbage beside it, in rain-forest a t Bagilo, Uluguru Mts., Tang. Terr., 24 September, 1926. The hind-wings, which were not collected, were also present, snipped off as neatly as the others. A mark such as would have been made by the tip of a bird’s bill, was distinct on the left fore-wing and probably indicated the nature of the attack. It was interesting to compare this evidence of attack with that obtained by Dr. S. A. Neave-a female of the Uganda race of Euzaiithe trajaws, Ward (nearly allied to E. tiberius), bearing the beautifully distinct impress of a long narrow beak (Proc. Ent. Xoc. Lad, 1924, pp. cxl, cxlv).

I N J V R Y S E E N TO 3 E INFLICTED ON THE 9-F. lROPHOKIUS, WEBTW., O F PAPILIO

DARDANUS C E S E A , STOLL, AT DURBAN.-PrOf. POULTON exhibited the frophor&s female referred to by Mr. G. F. Leigh in the following note :-

“ 12 May, 1924.-This specimen which I had been following for some distance in a narrow glade, thinking what fine condition it was in, was suddenly seized by a bird (a Fret *), with the result you see. These birds are very numerous this season. They settle a t the edge of the bush on oiie side of the glade, flying out after and generally capturing butterflies which they carry off to devour in the bush on the other side. This bird iiiust have been very sharp to distinguish between the trophonius and Damida chrysippus which was common a t the time.”

The injury was one commonly seen in butterflies, the anal section of both hind- wings being symmetrically shorn through, as if with scissors. A similar injury was seen by Mr. F. Muir to be inflicted by a bird upon Xalaiiiis webzclosa, Trim., also a t Durban (Proc. Eiit. Xoc. Loid., 1913, pp. sxi, xxii). A good example of this type

* Dr. G . A. K. Marshall has kindly informed me that the local name “Fre t ” probably refers to the Paradise Flycatcher (Terpsiphone perapicilluta, Swains.), which has been more than once observed to attack butterflies (Z’mns. Ent. SOC. Lond., 1902, pp. 354, 357).

BRITISH BIRDS ATT~WRIXC ~i.TTERmm~.-Prof. P o r - ~ ~ o x exhibited thlee n ings of dyIrtis wt icne, L., illustrating the following note by A h . J. A. S h e s :-

'' On 17 Septeniber, 1926, a t Sandown, I.W., I saw a Pied Kagtail with a butterfly in its bill and watched it iemove the wings by beating the insect against the ground, and then swallow the body. I subsequently found the two fore-wings and part of a hind-wing of the buttpifly, the rcst haring been lost owing to a high n ind."

Mr. Simes had also observed two unsuccessful attempts made by birds :- " On 25 July, 1926, a t Loughton, Essex, I saw a Khitcthroat endeavour to catch

" On 13 September, 1026, a Swallow swooped a t a P. caldui which was flying It, did not capture the butterfly and made

a Py~nimis curduz', L., on the wing.

along the foreshore at Sandown, 1.W. no further attempt."

It failed in the attempt.

ItT. A. LAMBORX'S OBSERVATIOSS ON THE P R E P O F AN ASILID FLY I S NYASALAND. -Prof. POULTON exhibited the following examples of Alciiiius iztbigii/oszis, Gerst., with their prey, taken in rather thick bush country by Mr. Lamborn a t Naiwale (3200 ft.), 12 ni. E. of Fort Johnston, Kyasaland :-

~~

2. 1 , ? -

9 3.

4. I , ,* P --

1 Asilid captor. I Date in 1926. ~ Prey. I

,, 29 The Dipteron, Bornbylitis analis, F., 6. December 5 The Lycaenid, Tarucus telicanus, Lang, 3.

-

-- - 7 The Dipteron, Eristalodes taeniops, Wed., 9.

1 1. Alcirnus rtibiqinosus, 9 1 Sovember 2ti 1 The Acridian, A~i'ac7iaeroccra sp., 9. I

I ,, 7 The Nymphaline butterfly Precis cztama, Hew., dry f . cztama, 9.

Mr. Lamborn also took a pair of this beautiful Asilid in, cop., in the same locality on 11 November, 1926. The preferences of Alcimus rUbz'gil60SUS might be compared with those of the three S. African species of the same genus recorded in Trur~s. Eut. Soc., 1906 (1907), pp. 345-46. I n this paper fifteen Alciinus were shown to have taken thirteen Lepidoptera and two Acridians, but not a single Dipteron.

A note sent with Mr. Lamborn's No. 3 stated that the butterfly was seen to be captured, and continued-" the Asilid, held carelessly, pierced my finger, drawing blood." Mr. J. C. F. Fryer has recorded the same experience in Proc. Zool. XOC., 1913, p. 618, where several interesting observations on the Cingalese Asilids and their prey were published. The following sentence appeared under 8 August, 1912-" a slight bite from an Asilid was most painful, and felt as if poisonous matter had been injected." Mr. Fryer had also kindly added the following note :- " I distinctly remember two other bites, but evidently, as I had not noted details as to date, etc., I did not record the observation in the paper in Proc. Zool. Xoc.

13

To the best of my recollection, horever, the rcsulty on tlie two subsequent oecasionq were similar to those in tlie oue i ccoidcd, and 1 am qui te ce i tain that the o b w ra - tions ncie iiiadc a t tht. sanir lilacc -JIahn Ilhpalnnia, ill the S o i t h ('ential Province of CLsyluii."

Thc sinall nuinber of records appeaied to show that the ASILIIIAZC only raiely made m e of their foiinidable weapon foi tlic puipow of defence, in this iespect con- trasting sliarply with the Aculeates and mnie of the Heniipteia.

BRITISH d S I L I D FLIES A S U THEIR PREY.-PrOf. P O U L T O S exhibited the folloJ\ ing three dsilid captors with their prey, taken by Mr. H. IT. Andiem, and, except thc Dysiiiachus, recorded by hiin in The Eiitoiiiologist's Reco, (1, xxxviii, 1926, 1). 159. The published data were now repeated with some amplification and the corrwtion of inadvertent errors.

Dysntachus trigoilus, Ng., 0 , with the Dipteron Oetloyniea buccata, Pln., d (PHYCODROMIDAE), Littlehampton, 23.vi.1924.

Emtolmus YuJibarbis, Mg., $2, with the Dipteron Therein liobilitata, F., 3, or more probably as Mr. F. W. Edwards thinks, T . plebeia, L. (THEREVIDAE), near Farning- ham, N. Kent, l.viii.1925. The uncertainty in the determination was due to the condition of the specimen. This Asilid occurred " in one small locality in an open bracken-covered space in a wood, and the specimens d h prey were taken resting on the fern." Two examples were mentioned in the Record (1s.).

Asilus crabrorbiforniis, L., 9, with the " Burying Beetle " A'eciophorus vespillo, L., about midway between Swanley and Farningham, 22.viii.1926.

The last-named conspicuous and, in some localities, abundant Asilid was not often observed with prey. Of the eight examples recorded in Tyaias. Elit. Xoc. Loid., 1906 (1907), pp. 348, 349, four were Dipterous, three Orthopterous and one Coleo- pterous. The last victim was very '' small deer '' for such a magnificent captor, being the little Galerucid Xernzyla haleusis, L. The exhibited Neoophorus, on the contrary, must have been a heavy load, even for this powerful Asilid. The circum- stances of its capture were also unusual, as would be realised from the following note kindly written by Mr. Andrews :-

" My impression is that the beetle was alive when the specimens were taken. I was working specially for crabroniforirzis a t the time, for it was the first occasion (with one solitary exception) on which I had come across the species in the North Kent district. I had caught some half-dozen specimens settled on the paths in a clover field, and if the Asilid had been flying with its prey I think I should have noticed it. As it was, my attention was drawn to a scuffle a t the edge of the path, and I clapped my net down sharply over the insects. This usually resulted in the Asilid promptly flying up into the net, but in this particular instance the insects still remained on the ground and I boxed instead of bottling them. They separated as soon as they were in the box, but the beetle appeared then to be dead."

A fifth example of 9. crabrouiforriiis with Dipterous prey, Tipula paludosa, Mg., taken a t Twitchen, Mortehoe, N. Devon., by the late Dr. G. B. Longstaff, 15 Sep- tember, 1907, and presented to the Hope Collection, was also exhibited to the meet- ing. In addition to the above, Mr. B. M. Hobby, of The Queen's College, Oxford, had called attention to the capture by

Mr. Andrews had not seen this species with any other prey.

Both captor and victim were females.

14

Xr. F. .J. Killington of a fenialc C I . I I J ~ ~ O ~ ~ ~ ~ ) I . I I ~ ~ S '!' with tlic grasshopper Gonipliocerus mtrculrctus, Thmib., on the licat,h a t Beaulicu Road, 25 .July, ]!I25 (Traiis. H a t ~ p - shire l< i /d . ,Sot., KO. 2 , l!135-26, 1). 8). Jlr. Killingtoii had recently liintlly supplied tlie iiiforniatiuii t h t the Asiiid \\ taliell oil tlic I\ iiig carrj-iiig this very considerable load, and t h t tlie 1)rcby was still alive but uiiablc to stand wlien dropped by its captor.

These esaniplcs of c i ~ t b r w i ijioriiris wit11 their victims add oiie eacli to tlie three categories of prey recorded in 1907 (Lc.), Chi /c l~kocc / . i i~ t / / ( ~ d u t u s accounting for two out of the four Orthoptera-all ~ ~ ~ ' R I D I D A E . The sex of the Asilid m s unknown in five out, of t'he eight 1)revious records, the reniairiing three as well as those now pnblished being feiiiales.

In the determination of the Diptera, Orthoptera and C'oleoptera inentioned in this and the preceding cornniunication kind help was given by Major E. E. Busten, D.S.O., Mr. F. W. Edwards, X s s Ricardo, Mr. B. P. Urarov, and ('oninlander J. J. Walker, M.A.

A DRAGOS-FLY CAPTURED BY ASOTHER A S D LARGER SPECIES.-hOf. POULTOX

exhibited the captor and victim, kindly presented to the Hope Collection by Mr. J. A. Simes who had written the following account of his observations :-

" On IS June, 1925, about 3.30 p.m., a t Sainoussy, Aisne, France, I saw a large dragon-fly (Aeschjia juiicea, L.) flying about, clasping an example of a smaller species (Libellula quadrii)iacuZata, L.). It presently alighted on a rush, and I then saw that the aggressor had its victim clasped by its first and second pairs of legs, the third pair being employed holding on to the rush. The insects were placed head to head and ventral surface to ventral surface, and, as I watched them, the large dragon-fly began to eat the smaller, commencing its meal with the victim's eyes. At this stage I caught the pair."

The species had been kindly determined by Mr. W. J. Lucas.

Dr. H. ELTRIKGHAM gave an account, with lantern illustrations, of his paper on the brush organs in the Noctuid moth Lap~/ l lg tnaf iugipe idn , Sm. & Abb.

Papers. The following papers were read :- 1. " A preliminary account of the Life-history of Cocciiiella 11-pmctata," by

2. " Studies in the mating habits and oviposition in Aiiacridit~m aegyptiuw, L. (Communicated by Mr. B. P.

3. " Further notes on Auomoses (Lep. Honioneura)," by Dr. A. JEFFERIES

4. " The Liquid-squirting habit of Oriental Grasshoppers," by Major R. W. G.

5. " On the African species of the genus Mesochorus (Fam. Ichneumonidae)," by

6. " On the South African species of Naiiophyes (Col. Curculionidae) and some

Mrs. 0. A. MERRITT-HAWKES, M.Sc., and Mr. T. F. MARRISER.

(Orthoptera, Acrididae)," by S. M. PEDEROV. UVAROV.)

TURNER.

HINGSTON, I.M.S.

Capt. D. S. WILKINSOX.

allied genera," by Dr. G. A. I<. MARSHALL, C.M.G., F.R.S. * I'iindy presented to the Hope Collection by Mr. Killington.

15

7 '. D e ~ ~ ~ i i l h o n s dc. C'i~copidcs nouvenu prorcnnnt tlc 18 Collection dn Biitisli Jlaseiun," by M. le Di .

8. ' ' Thr r\ l iol~iloc cia of tlicx Tliitd AIt. EwiCst Eslwlitioii," by 311. S. 1). R I L L \ .

9 " Ai nev geiiui a id ieb of the Sticp5iptc~ia fioiii S. Iiiclia,Zirtloieriu5 ircerrtbr a- ophaya , geri. ct sp. iiov.," by Mi. SCBR.~AXIAS. (C'oniniunicatcd by Dr. G. A. I<. J ~ A R ~ H A L L , C ' X . G . , F.11.S.)

(('omniunicsted by ah. K. D RILEY )

10. '' Insect Remains from Oil Sand in Trinidad," by Nr. I(. G. BLAIR, B Sc. 11. '' On the brush organ5 in the Noctuid Moth, Lnphyqr)tn f i irgiprida, Sm. &

Abb.," by I h . H. EJ.I-RI>C.HAV, &I ,i.

Wednesday, March 16th, 1927. Mr. J. E. COLLIS, President, in the Chair.

Election of Pellous. The following were elected Fellows of the Society :-R. R. ARJISTROSG, B.A.,

M.D., B.Ch., 6 Castlenau Gardens, Barnes, S.W. 13; R. ATTIA, A.R.C.S., B.Sc., The Royal College of Science, South Kensington, S.W. 7 ; B. EMBRP, St. Bartholomew's Vicarage, Dover, Kent ; J. D. GUNDER, 849, Linda Vista Avenue, Pasadena, Cali- fornia, U.S.A. ; H. JANSOS, 44, Great Russell Street, R . C . 1 ; F. A. LABOUCHERE, 15, Draycott Avenue, Chelsea, S. W. ; J. E. M. MELLOR, Plant Protection Section, Ministry of Agriculture, Cairo, Egypt; A. TOWNSEND, Leam Grange, Warwick New Road, Leamington Spa.

Exhibits. bION\'GREL RACES OF DIACRISIA MEA'DICrl, CI,ERCK.-&h. ROBERT ADKIN ex-

hibited the series referred to in the following note which lie read :- It is well known that D. m x d i c a has two forms of the male, of which the typical

one is sooty-brown in colour and occurs in England and over a large part of the Continent of Europe; and the race rustica in which thc male is almost white and which occurs in Ireland and some restricted continental areas ; there is no difference in the females of the two races, they bcing white in both.

So long ago as 1886 I received some ova of rustica from County Cork, also of some typical wmdica of English origin ; both broods were kept going in the hope of getting a cross pairing, but I was not successful in this until 1889. By this time both broods were somewhat badly diseased, but I succeeded in obtaining a pairing between a male rustica and a female m e d i c a and, although a considerable batch of ova was produced, only four of them hatched, and in the result two males were bred in 1890; both of them were of a sandy-brown colour, as near as possible intermediate between the two races.

At about this time Standfuss in Germany and his friend Caradja in Italy were experimenting on similar lines to the above, their stock of rustica being obtained from the Grisons and from Rumania.

In 1894 Standfuss obtained pairings between male rustica and female mendica, and he tells us that although he had about 1000 larvae they all died from disease