Abstract
LONDON. Entomological Society, October 2.—The Right Hon. Lord Walsingham, F.R.S., President, in the chair.—Mr. F. P. Pascoe exhibited a number of species of Coleoptera, Lepido-ptera, Hymenoptera, Neuroptera, Hemiptera, Orthoptera, and Diptera, collected by himself during the past summer at Brindisi, and in Greece and the Ionian Islands. —Mr. J. W. Douglas sent for exhibition specimens of Lygus viscicola, Puton, a species new to Britain, taken at Hereford, in September last, by Dr. T. A. Chapman.—Mr. R. McLachlan, F.R.S., exhibited nearly 100 specimens of Trichoptera recently collected in Iceland by Dr. P. B. Mason. Only six species were represented, and of these five had been previously recorded from the island. Mr. McLachlan remarked on the great amount of variation existing in some of the specimens.—Mr. E. B. Poulton, F.R.S., exhibited a mounted specimen of the yellow powder from the cocoon of Clisiocampa neustria under a power magnifying 188 diameters. The powder was thus seen to consist of crystals so minute that the form could only just be made out under this-power; it was present in a crystalline form in the Malpighian tubules, and discharged from the anus of the larva. A discussion ensued as to the functions of the Malpighian tubes, in which Mr. Stainton, F.R.S., Lord Walsingham, Dr. P. B. Mason, Mr. McLachlan, and Dr. Sharp took part.—Mr. Poulton also exhibited some photographs of the living larvæ of Hemerophila abruptaria, showing different depths of colour which had been induced by experiment; the larvæ had been rendered very light in colour by being surrounded by green leaves and stems only, whereas they had become extremely dark when numbers of dark twigs were intermingled with the leaves of the food-plant. Mr. F. Merrifield said that Dr. Chapman had recently obtained similar results from experiments made with the larvæ of Ennomos alniaria.—The Rev. Dr. Walker exhibited, and read notes on, a number of Coleoptera, Neuroptera, Hymenoptera, and Diptera, which formed the second instalment of the collection which he had recently made in Iceland.—Mr. R. South exhibited a specimen of Luperina nickerlii, Freyer, caught in Lancashire last August. He also exhibited, and read notes on, a long series of Boarmia repandata, bred from larvæ collected in North Devon. Mr. Poulton, Mr. Merrifield, and Lord Walsingham took part in the discussion which ensued.—Mr. J. J. Walker, R.N., exhibited a collection of Coleoptera made during the past summer in Cobham Park, Kent. Thirty-three species were represented, amongst which were the following, viz. Eros minutus, Philonthus fuscus, Homalota hepatica, Abrœus granulum, Anisotoma grandis, Agaricophagus cephalotes, Thalycra sericea, Cryptophagus ruficornis, Platytarsus setulosus, &c.—Herr Jacoby exhibited a curious Phytophagous beetle found by Mr. J. H. Leech in the Corea. He stated that he was unable to determine the species, as was also Mr. J. S. Baly, to whom he had submitted the specimen. —Mr. R. Adkin exhibited specimens of Retina resinella, received by him from Forres. Lord Walsingham remarked that he had never seen the species in Scotland, but that it was not uncommon in Germany.—Mr. W. Dannatt exhibited a male specimen of Papilio antimachus, Drury, received from Lukolela, a station about 500 miles from the mouth of the Congo. He stated that the species, although very rare, had a wide range, as three other specimens of it had been received from the Stanley Falls, which were more than 800 miles further up the Congo.—Lord Walsingham exhibited specimens of the larva and imago of Cidaria reticulata, collected in the Lake District, and sent to him by Mr. Hodgkinson.— Mr. J. Jenner-Weir exhibited fore-wings of the males of Argynnis paphia, A. adippe, and A. atlantis, denuded of the scales,. in order to show that there was no dilatation or thickening of the median nervules and submedian nervure in that sex of these species; but that the apparent dilatation was produced by a dense mass of scales crowded together on each side of the nervules. He also read a short pa-per on the subject entitled “Notes on the Nervules of the Fore-Wings in the Males of Argynnis paphia and other Species of the Genus.” Mr. JennerWeir said he was supported in his views by the opinions of Mr. S. H. Scudder, Dr. Staudinger, and Dr. Schatz.
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Societies and Academies. Nature 40, 635–636 (1889). https://doi.org/10.1038/040635b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/040635b0