ao te eo Se es oe UM LIBRAR ni 3 5711 00015 1 SS === Pra POwWUUUVVUUUUUUSE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM er) LAME Emm un aD = (== THE SOUTH LONDON Entomological & Alatural History Society, (ESTABLISHED 1872) HIBERNIA CHAMBERS, LONDON BRIDGE, S.E, SO) OFFICERS & COUNCIL. 1899. President. A. HARRISON, F.C.S., F.LS., F.E.S., F.R.M.S., &c. Vice- Presidents. T. A. CHAPMAN, M.D., F.E.S. J. W. TUTT, F.ES. Council. R. ADKIN, F.E.S. W. J. LUCAS, B.A, F.E.S. F. CLARK. H. MOORE. H. S. FREMLIN, M.R.C.S.| A. M. MONTGOMERY. eRe Reh. BES: R. SOUTH, F.E.S. Hon. Curator. Hon. Librarian. W. WEST (Greenwich). H. A. SAUZE. Hon. Treasurer. T. W. HALL, F.E.S., 61, West Smithfield, London, E.C. Hon. Secretaries. S. EDWARDS, F.L.S., F.Z.S., F.E.S., &c. (General Sec.), Kidbrook Lodge, Blackheath, S.E. H. J. TURNER, F.E.S. (Report Sec.), 13, Drakefell Road, St. Catherine’s Park, S E. /89 8 A ORE Am Oa Bs INO rig oD HE SOUTH LONDON Entomological and Alatural History Society, HIBERNIA CHAMBERS, LONDON BRIDGE, SE, The Society has for its object the diffusion of Biological Science, by means of Papers and Discussions, and the formation of Typical Collec- tions. There is a Library for the use of Members. Meetings of the Members are held on the 2nd and 4th Thursday evenings in each month, from Eight to Ten p.m., at the above address. The Society’s Rooms are easy of access from all parts of London, and the Council cordially invite the co-operation of all Naturalists, especially those who are willing to further the objects of the Society by reading Papers and exhibiting Specimens. SUBSGRIPYION. Seven Shillings and Sixpence per Annum, with an Entrance fee of Two Shillings and Sixpence. All Communications to be addressed to the Hon. Gen. Secretary, STANLEY EDWARDS, F.L.S., &c., Kidbrook Lodge, Blackheath, S.E. PrSr Or VMEVB ERS: —1+ ee — Chief subjects of Study :—’, Hymenoptera; 0, Orthoptera; 4e, Hemiptera ; 2, Neuroptera; c, Coleoptera; @, Diptera; 7, Lepidoptera; 00/, Oology; ov2, Ornithology ; 7, Reptilia; 7z, Mollusca; cv, Crustacea; 6, Botany ; zz, Microscopy ; é, signifies Exotic forms. YEAR OF ELECTION. 1886 ADKIN, B. W., Brandon House, Morden Hill, Lewisham, S.E. Z, orn, 1882 ADKIN, R., F.E.S.,"Wellfield, 4, Lingard’s Road, Lewisham, SE td. 1895 ASHBY, SIDNEY R., 8, Canterbury Terrace, Maida Vale, N.W. 7. 1895 AsHDOwN, W. J., Belmont Road, Leatherhead. 7. c. 1888 ArmorE, E. A., F.E.S., 48, High Street, King’s Lynn, Nor- folkeg 7. Eoo7, BARCEAY, EH FiG:S;, E-ESS:;, The Warren; Cromer; and Knotts Green, Leyton, Essex. J/, orn, paleontology. 1884 BARKER, H. W., F.E.S., 147, Gordon Road, Peckham, S.E. JZ. 1896 BaRNeETT, THos. L., 81, Royal Hill, Greenwich, S.E. 7. 1887 BARREN, H. E., 46, Lyndhurst Road, Peckham, S.E. 2. 1889 BARRETT, C. G., F.E.S., 39, Linden Grove, Nunhead, S.E. 1896 1889 1888 1877 1897 1898 1893 1898 1896 1895 1887 l,m. BaRTLETT, A. H., M.A., 86, Vanbrugh Park, Blackheath, S.E. Beaumont, A., F.E.S., The Red Cottage, Pond Road, Black- heath, S.E. 4, ¢, orn. BENNETT, W. H., F.E.S., 15, Wellington Place, Hastings. 4, ¢. Bittups, T. R., F.E.S., 20, Swiss Villas, Coplestone Road, Peckham ys. Bs 72} 9) cd, he. BisHop, E. B., 10, Pewley Hill, Guildford. 7. Buss, M. F., University School, Hastings. 7. Bonpb-SmituH, W., Potton, near Sandy, Beds. 2. BousKELL, F., F.E.S., Sandown Road, Knighton, Leicester. 2 Bowen, F. A., 11, Buckland Crescent, Hampstead, N.W. 7. Bowman, K., 18, Victoria Road, Clapham Common, S.W. 7. Briccs, C. A., F.E.S., Rock House, Lynmouth, N. Devon. Z, m, n, 0, British fishes, 1V YEAR OF ELECTION. 1887 1891 1890 1890 1893 1895 1898 1890 1897 1897 1890 1888 1889 1386 1877 1872 1872 1897 1898 1888 1896 1887 1898 1879 1884 1885 Brices, TU. Hi. M.A. Ff. Ess; Rock House, Szynmouth, Ne Devon 7: 5 Briccs, H. Mean, 8, High Street, Canterbury. 4 orn. Bricut, P., F.E.S., Aston Lodge, Surrey Road, Bournemouth. if BrIsTowE, B, A., F.E.S., Durlstone, Champion Hill, S.E. 2 Bristowe, L. W., Durlstone, Champion Hill, S.E. 2. Brooks, W., Grange Hall, Rotherham. 7 Broome, E. G., Christchurch, Oxford. 72. Brown, E. W., Capt., 2nd Royal West Kent Regiment, Dublin, Ireland. /. Browne, H. B., B.A., Sherrington House, St. Phillip’s Road, Norwich. : Burr, Matco.um B., F.Z.S., F.E.S., Bellagio, East Grinstead. BuTLer, W. E., Hayling House, Oxford Road, Reading, J, ¢. CANSDALE, W. D., F.E.S., Sunny Bank, South Norwood, Sed: Cant, A., F.E.S., 10, Chandos Street, Cavendish Square, W. /. CARPENTER, J. H., F.E.S., ‘‘Shirley,” St: James’s Road, Sutton, Surrey. 7. CARRINGTON, J. U., 110, Strand, wwe. | 7.67 CuHampPion, G. C., F.Z.S., F.E.S., Heatherside, Horsell, Woking, Surrey. ¢. Cuaney, W. C., 32, Stroud Road, Woodside, S. Norwood, 5. Hi. (Alon. member). “h, 1,86. CuapMan, T. A., M.D., F.E.S., Vice-President, Betula, Reigate, Surrey. 7. CHATTERTON, F. J. S., F.E.S., 78, Clissold Road, Stoke Newington, N. 2 CHITTENDEN, D., 49, Albany Road, Camberwell, S.E. 2. Criark, F., Paddington Infirmary, W. mz. Cruark, J.. A., F.E.S., J2:D.S., M/PS:,. 57, Westongabark, Crouch End, N. CLarRKE, H. SHORTRIDGE, F.ES., 40, Athol Street, Douglas, Isle of Man. 7. CuLopE, W. (Lzfe member). Cook, A. E., 31, Lower Road, Rotherhithe, S.E. 4, orn, r. Croker, A. J., F.E.S., 90, Albert Road, Walthamstow. /, YEAR OF ELECTION. 1898 1888 1889 1884 1898 1898 1897 1886 18386 1889 1888 1872 1891 1887 1889 18g1 1386 1895 1884 1889 1895 Crow, E. J., 26, Tindal Street, North Brixton. 7 Dawson, W. G., Plumstead Common, Plumstead, Kent (Ze member). UL. Dennis, A. W., 48, Mansfield Street, Kingsland Road, N.E. Z. Dosson, H. T., F.E.S., Ivy House, Acacia Grove, New Malden, Surrey. 4, orn. DonistHorPE, H. St. J., F.Z.S., F.E.S., 73, West Cromwell Road, South Kensington, S.W. c. Downinc, JoHN W., F.E.S., 45, Trevelyan Road, Tooting Graveney, S.W. /. DRURY Eiht ROE. S. aeNOcdMalne. Vest, Hull bark. Woking, Surrey. 7. DWAR DSi Os) piel Sih Zoe) HeHS:, 77072. ScG.. Wid brook Lodge, Blackheath, S.E. JZ, e/. Enock, F., F.L.S., F.E.S., 13, Tufnell Park Road, Holloway, N. ad, mi. FARRANT, M., jun., 137, St. Thomas, Exeter. 7. EPENTON, Ho (boR Crs); MaR"C.P., IelImst)) “‘Wangstone: Ealing, W. Fickuin, A., Norbiton, Surrey. 7/. Fiver, F. E., F.E.S. 58, Southwark Bridge Road, S.E. 7. FLETCHER, W. H. B., M.A., F.E.S., Fairlawn House, Worthing, Sussex (Life member). J. Forp, A., Rose Mount, Hannington Road, Boscombe, ants,’ 706 Forrester, A. C., 99, Endlesham Road, Balham, S.W. 7. BREMEING Ee S:, MER: @.s:, MIR CP. FES: Goverment Lymph Laboratories, Cheisea Bridge, S.W. 4, mz. FURNEAUX, W., F.R.G.S., “‘ Penlee,” Ommaney Road, New Cross, S.E. 4 pond life, gen. zool. Gipp, L., 148, St. James Street, Montreal, Canada (Life member). U. GREENE, Rev. J. G., M.A., F.E.S., Rostrevor, Clifton, Bristol. 7. GRIFFITHS, G. C., F.Z.S., F.E.S., 43, Caledonia Place, Clifton, Bristol. -71¢) 7 vi YEAR OF ELECTION. 1893 1888 1884 1891 1892 1884 1888 1898 1889 1888 1889 1886 1887 1884 1886 1898 1884 1888 1894 1898 1884 1898 1872 1896 HALL, A., 16, Park Hill Rise, Croydon, Surrey. 7, eZ, ool. HALL, A. E., ¥.E.S., Norbury, Pitsmoor, Sheffield Hatt, T. W., F.E.S., Hon. Treasurer, Stanhope, The Crescent, Croydon, Surrey ; and 6r, West Smithfield, E.C. 2. Ham, A. H., 52, St. Mary’s Road, Oxford. 7. HVARRISON, A., F.C.S., Filzs} F.E.S:, FIRMS. Lresidene Thames Sugar Refinery, Silvertown, E., and 72, Windsor Road, Forest Gate, E. HeE.ps, J. A., Newstead Lodge, 91, Wood Vale, Forest Hill, Sl Dae A Hitiman, T. S., F.E.S., Eastgate Street, Lewes, Sussex. /. HittsworTtH, E. H. R., 4, Bradley Cottages, Cowley Road, Wanstead, N.E. 7. HincuH FF, Miss K. M., Worlington House, Instow, N. Devon. OM Hopkins, H. E., 153, Camden Grove North, Peckham, Sa. 10: Horne, A., F.E.S., Ugie Bank, Aberdeen. 7Z. JAGER, J., St. Quentin’s Avenue, Notting Hill, W. 2 JENNER, J. H. A., F.E.S., Eastgate House, Lewes, Sussex. U6, As tty 10: Josson, H., 1, Rock Villas, Maynard Road, Waltham- stow. @. Kane, W. F. ve V., M.A., F.E.S., M.R.I.A., Drumreaske House, Monaghan, Ireland. 7, m7, marine invertebrata. KaveE W. J., F.E.S., Worcester Court, Worcester Park, Surrey. Li; Kenwarbp, J., High Elms, Chinbrook RoadGrove Park, S.E. ib Knicut, E., 2, Lichfield Grove, Church End, Finchley, N. Lamp, H., Acacia Place, Upper Faut, Maidstone. 4, orn. LEMANN, F. C., F.E.S., Blackfriars House, Plymouth. 7. LEVETT, C., 107, Brockley Road, S.E. 72 LitrLe, W. W., 17, Belgrave Street, King’s Cross, N. 2. Lugppock, The Right Hon. Sir Joun, Bart, M-P., D.C.L., FR.S., F.LS., F.G.S2 F-.E.S., &c., Hichielms, Down, near Farnborough, Kent (Hox. member). h, 0. Lucas, W. J., B.A., F.E.S., 12, Caversham Road, Kingston- on-Thames. 4, 0, 2, m7. vil YEAR OF ELECTION. 1890 1872 1892 1886 1889 1885 1881 1888 1896 1896 1896 1880 1889 1887 1887 1889 1872 1891 1892 1898 1884 1883 1880 1388 1889 1897 1887 1896 1888 McArtuHor, H., 35, Averill Street, Fulham, W. /. M‘Lacuian, R., F.R.S., F.LS., F.Z.S., F.E.S., Westview, Clarendon Road, Lewisham, S.E. (on. member). n. Main, H., 45, The Village, Old Charlton, S.E. 2. Mance™er, W. T., F.E.S., 100, Manor Road, New Cross, S.E. L, C69. MANSBRIDGE, W., F.E.S., Colegate, Horsham, Sussex. 7. MERA, A. W., 79, Capel Road, Forest Gate, E. /, Mites, W. Hy F-E.S., The» New Club, Calcutta, India. mt, b, MitcHe.., A. T., 5, Clayton Terrace, Gunnersbury, W. Monrinctron, H. W., 8, Weswell Road, Streatham Common, SW. 0: MoNTGOMERY, ARTHUR M., 32, The Grove, Ealing, W. Z MontTcomeEry, EpmunND M., 32, The Grove, Ealing, W. J. MontTIiERO, Senor A. A. DE C., F.E.S., 70, Rua do Alecrinar, Lisbon. Moore, H., 12, Lower Road, Rotherhithe, S.E. 74, 2, d, e J, OV, (8 Wy ae Morris, C. H., School Hill, Lewes, Sussex. JZ c, m. Nevinson, E. B., 7, Staple Inn, W.C. JZ stalh-eyed crustacea. NIcHOLSON, W. E., F.E.S., School Hill, Lewes, Sussex. 7 OupuHaM, C., 2, Warwick Villas, Chelmsford Road, South Woodford, Essex. 7. PALMER, J. F., Ewell Road, Surbiton Hill, Surbiton. PANNELL, C., East Street, Haslemere. Conchology. PaRKIN, E., 3, Birley Street, Battersea, S.W. 7. Pearce, A. E., 12, Marius Road, Upper Tooting, S.W. 4, Pearce, W. A., 88, Croxted Road, West Dulwich, S.E. 7 3d. Perkins, V. R., F.ES., Burlinghame, Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire. Z, 4, d. Perks, F. P., 41, St. Martin’s Lane, Charing Cross, W.C zoology, mt, pond life. PERRY, Rev. J. F., Oxford Road, Banbury. 4 ¢. PREsT, E. E. B. Porritt, G. T., F.L.S., F.E.S., Crossland Hall, Hudders-. field. 7. Potter, A. T., Whangarei, Auckland, New Zealand. REID, W., F.E.S., Pitcaple, Aberdeen. 7, continental J. Vill YEAR OF ELECTION. 1887 1887 1894 1888 1890 1887 1898 1895 1886 1897 1888 1898 1890 1890 1882 1873 1872 1872 1894 1895 1895 1894 1895 1887 1886 1887 188q Rick sD) Js, 13,,Great Ormond Street, Ws€. ozz. Rosinson, A., B.A., F.E.S., 1, Mitre Court, Temple, E.C. 72. RoBINSON, LreicH, Lady Bridge House, King’s Lynn. JZ. Rosson, H., 135, Louisville Road, Upper Tooting, S.W. 7% 3d. RownTREE, J. H., Westwood, Scarborough. 2. RovutLeDGE, G. B., F.E.S., Tarn Lodge, Heads Nook, Carlisle. 2 RussEL., A., F.E.S., The Limes, Southend, Catford, S.E. 72. Ryg, B.G., F.ES., 212, Upper Richmond Road, Putney, S.W. EG Satwey, R. E., F.E.S. SANDISON, JOHN, 2, Francis Grove, Wimbledon, Surrey. 2 Sauzk, H. A., Hon. Librarian, 4, Mount Villas, Sydenham Hill Road, s:f.- 7 Sicu, ALF., F.E.S., ‘‘ Brentwood,” 65, Barrowgate Road, Chiswick. SMITH, WILLIAM, 13, St. Merren Street, Paisley. 7. SmiTH, WALTER, 1, Arundel Villas, Hampton Road, Twickenham. 4 SoutH, R., F.E.S., roo, Ritherdon Road, Upper Tooting, Sawa -*7. STANDEN, R., F.L.S., F.E.S., Thorpe Hall, Colchester (Zz/e member). , Step, E., F.L.S., Portscatho, R.S.O., Cornwall, 6; 12, orn. STEVENS, S., F.L.S., F.E.S., Loanda, Beulah Hill, Norwood, Se Ba 2. TarsaT, Rev. J. E., M.A., Holmlea, Weybridge. 7. THORNHILL, W. B., Castle Cosey, Castle Bellingham, near Drogheda, Ireland. 2 Totuurst, J., “ Glenbrook,” Beckenham, Kent. 2, TRENERRY, E. H., 3, North Road, Clapham Park, S.W. 2. Tuna.ey, Hy., F.E.S., 30, Fairmount Road, Brixton Hill, Sees TuRNER, H. J., F.E.S., Hon. Report Secretary, 13,. Drakefell Road, St..Catherine’s Park, SiH. 2,0 orn. Tutt, J. W., F.E.S., Vice-President, Rayleigh Villa, West- combe Hill, Blackheath, S.E. 2 VERRALL, G. H., F.E.S., Sussex Lodge, Newmarket. d. Ving, A. C., 45, Temple Street, Brighton, Sussex. /. 1X YEAR OF ELECTION. 1889 WAINWRIGHT, C. J., F.E.S., 2, Handsworth Wood Road, Handsworth, near Birmingham. 7, 1880 WALKER, J.J., R.N., F.LS., F.E.S., 23, Ranelagh Road, Marine Town, Sheerness. 4 ¢. 1888 WALLER, R., 2, Grand Parade, Upper Richmond Road, Putney, S.W. 7. 1886 WaLsINGHAM, The Right Hon. Lord, M.A., LL.D., F.R.S., 1897 1888 1888 1887 1896 1888 1872 1878 1887 1891 1838 1893 1899 1895 1886 F.L.S., F.Z.S., F.E.S., &c., Merton Hall, Thetford, Norfolk (Hon. member). 1, orn. Watters, B. H., 48, Finsbury Pavement. orn. Warne, N. D., 8, Bedford Square, W. Z. WarNE, W. F., 8, Bedford Square, W. 7. WATERHOUSE, E. A., 23, Spencer Road, Putney, S.W. Waters, A. H., B.A., 48, Devonshire Road, Cambridge. 7. m. Wess, S., 22, Waterloo Crescent, Dover. J. West, W., Hon. Curator, 8, Morden Hill, Lewisham Road, SRS ls Ge West, W., L.D.S., Cyprus Villa, Lewin Road, Streatham Common, S.W. 4, mt. WuiFFEN, W. H., 49, Granville Park, Lewisham, S.E. 2. WiuuiaMs, H., 6, Langthorne Terrace, Ashburnham Road, Southend-on-Sea. 7. WINKLEY, M. H., 9, Glen Eldon Road, Coventry Park, Streatham, S.W. JZ. Wo tFE, J. J., Skibbereen, co. Cork, Ireland. 72 Woop, Rev. Francis Henry, M.A., Brabourne Cottage, Bromley Park, Kent. 2 Woop, H. L., The Old Grammar School House, Ashford, Kent.) 7 Wricut, W. H., Secretary’s Department, Somerset House, Strands W.Ce 2 Members will greatly oblige by informing the Hon. Sec. of any errors, additions, or alterations in the above Addresses and descriptions. REPORT OF THE. COUNCIL, 1898. HE Council of the South London Entomological and Natural History Society, in presenting the Twenty- Sixth Annual Report, is gratified to inform the Members of the continued success which attends the work of the Society. During the year 15 Members have been admitted into the Society; a larger number than in any one year since 1891 ; but against this satisfactory increase 6 resignations have to be placed, and we have lost one Member by death, and to have been written off for non-payment of subscriptions, leaving the present membership at 167, consisting of 4 honorary, 5 life, 158 ordinary. The finances of the Society continue to maintain a satisfactory position. The following gentlemen contributed papers or gave lantern demonstrations during the year:—Mr. Lucas, three; Mr. Tutt, two; Mr. R. ADKIN, one; Mr. A. H. JONES, one; Mr. E. SAUNDERS, one.) Mr. sSourH. one; Miro. (CLARK,)one; Kev. J; WelORSEEY, fonejeand Prof. A. RADCLIFFE-GROTE, one. The Council notices with pleasure that no less than six of these were devoted to orders other than Lepidoptera. An exhibition of varieties held at the Meeting on Novem- ber roth proved highly successful. The opportunity thus offered for the comparison of well-marked local forms was taken advantage of by several Members with most interest- ing results. An exhibition, by means of the Society’s lantern, of a series of slides illustrative of the Geology of the South-east of England, with explanatory notes, provided by the South-east Union of Scientific Societies, was also very interesting The Ordinary Meetings have been well attended with the exception of those held in the summer months, when on one occasion the number of Members present fell as low as X1 seventeen; but with the advance of autumn the numbers rose again, reaching at one Meeting the satisfactory total of fifty-one. Owing to the redecoration of the Society’s rooms, and the introduction of the electric light, the Meetings fixed for July 28th and August 11th and 25th were cancelled; but any little inconvenience that the Members may have thus been put to has been amply compensated for by the greatly improved condition of the rooms and their lighting. Three Field Meetings, held during the summer months, attracted somewhat better attendances than those held during immediately preceding years. They were as follows: May 21st, when Major Ficklin and Mr. Lucas conducted a considerable party of Members over Oxshott Heath and through the adjacent pine woods to the Black Pond, nu- merous interesting species of various orders being obtained or noted by the way. June 11th was devoted to an investigation of the portion of the North Downs adjacent to the town of Reigate, Messrs. R. Adkin and H. J. Turner being in charge of the party ; and although the limited time at their disposal did not admit of any very great area being covered, it is satisfactory to know that the observations made were sufficiently encouraging to induce some of the Members present to subsequently revisit the same locality. July gth was also spent on the chalk, but on this occasion the hills running off from the Medway Valley were selected. On arriving at Chatham the party was met by several Members of the Rochester Naturalists’ Society, including Mr. J. J. Walker, R.N., who took charge of and conducted the party over a particularly interesting country, and called attention to numerous objects of interest that were met with by the way. Two parts of ‘‘ Proceedings” have been issued in accord- ance with the plan commenced in 1897, and although not quite so bulky as on some previous occasions will be found to be quite equal in other respects. The collections of the Society remain under the able care of Mr. West (Greenwich), who has had an unusually busy Xl year. The donations include, among others of less im- portance, the following : From Mr. Lucas, types of the rare grasshopper Mecastethus gvossus, and numerous species of Dragon-flies. From Mr. ASHDOWN, twenty species of British Longicorn beetles, and several species of Dragon-flies. From Mr. Drury,a large store box of British Micro-Lepi- doptera, which has rendered the type collection much more complete. From Mr. TURNER, a few specimens of Dragon-flies not previously in the collection. From Mr. WEsT, a drawer containing 125 species of Hemiptera Heteroptera. The Library has been well looked after by Mr. Sauz#, the Hon. Librarian. The following is a list of the additions to the Library during the year: ‘‘The Entomologist,” from Mr. SoutH, F.E.S. ‘“The Entomologists’ Monthly Magazine,” from Mr. M‘LAcHLAN, F.R.S., &c. ‘“The Zoologist,” from Mr. NEwMAN. ‘‘ The South-eastern Naturalist,” 1897, from the SocIETy. “The Bulletin of the Texas Academy of Science,” by EXCHANGE. ‘‘ Knowledge,” from the PUBLISHERS. ‘* Noteson Early Man,’ “‘ Notes on Hydrozoa,’’and ‘‘ Notes on Polyzoa,” by JosEPH Smiru, F.L.S., from the AUTHOR. ‘‘ Address to the Entomological Society of London,” by ROLAND TRIMEN, F.R.S., from Mr. TURNER. ‘* Address to the City of London Entomological Society,”’ by Mr. J. W. Tutt, F.E.S., from the AUTHOR: ‘‘Entomologists’ Record,” odd numbers from Mr. Tutt. ‘‘ Transactions of the City of London Entomological Society,” from the Society. ‘Journal of the City of London Science Society,” from the SocIETY. “Science” for April, 1898, from Mr. T. D. A. COCKERELL. ‘““Text-book of Entomology,” by Packard, from Mr. STANLEY EDWARDS, F.L.S. X11] ** Science-Gossip ”’ for July, 1898, from the PUBLISHERS. “Reports of Department of Geology, Indiana, U.S.A.,” eight volumes, from Prof. BLATCHLEY, in exchange. “Report of South-east Union of Scientific Societies,” from the UNION. ‘“‘ Specialisation of the Lepidopterous Wing,” by Prof. Grote, from the AUTHOR. ‘* Report of the Fruit-Growers’ Association of Ontario” for 1898, from Mr. L. GIs. The donations of photographs of Members have necessi- tated an additional Album. This has been kindly presented by the Hon. Treasurer, Mr. T. W. Hall. In conclusion, the Council desire to express their thanks to all those gentlemen who have, by means of papers, lec- tures, conducting Field Meetings, donations to the Library, collections, &c., assisting in the production of the ‘‘ Pro- ceedings,’ and in various other ways, conduced to the continued prosperity of the Society. 9 Li 6F 9 Li 6F¥ Op TAT insesne* ee PE TDN SENET) WO} Sea souRIqUy “ 9 416 os ope se moe 200 puey ur aourjeg Ag | o oO g D00 oc S00 PD pueyY ur sourleg oy 7) ps aanqipuadx yz "D'S F *911429M “INNODDV ASNAdSNS o1g LSF nono 259 : ¢ o “** uUOTUL) Jseva-YINO is eonduBeane ‘ Omen So UP ADEHUSD EGS Een MHOsquS” a o eee ae Nene ee tik aS 7 O15 Go, "** paataoei suordriosqng jo sieotiy “ 9 /e asuadsng 0} parities saayy aoursjuy 9 Zr1 ae an “+ giz qe Si ‘saag aournuy “ o €1 €€ - a S229) 50 (sig) suonseiop pur Arrqr 70 souransy] Mf @ Ai & Shs Caen: ui ‘ ‘6 6 6 + pcorpune pur USOUOETS ‘o8e380q ss Oo o1 & oe eS At sf a sf oc, a suyuug “| OunOleL a (On. us a Hs Oo O1 Zz ee ees I) souepuayny “| OLE 10855 g/f w LOE Penipee: suoydriosqng ‘ OF On Sc a ze * (aead 1) quay ‘ae } OW WTS 998 ue ose "" puepy Url souRleg Of 577 aS eae in eee | Ye 2 Be ; "sqGlaIay ‘GNNHAH TVYANAD 90901 MPAA AHL NOH LAAHS HINVIV ‘kn90S ANORSIH THNDEHN CNH THODMOTONOMNA NedNol Hanes AH ‘RUANODLNOW 'W 'V ‘s40J1 PNP : NIMGV “LdOud 6691 ‘ygL1 dupnuv£ ‘4991109 aq 0} punoy pur ‘stayono A pue syoog yIIM paredwioo ‘pouiwexg| OI ol HF oI o1 VF © 4 Og oe puey ur sourjeg © Os Kes ye ‘Pee “s€1 C1F ‘suondisosang jo sieay ‘ © & 4 : pung Azeiqry sourreg yiqaq | g 416 °**° qunosoy asuadsng a sf 9 ot £1 ; puny uoreorqnd sourleg y1qaq 7 {Sit sits 92 200 puny [elauay ‘sourleg OL ‘p's "SON4YLQDUT SP RS ‘Sass ‘SHILITIGVIT GNV SLAHSSV o 1 oF | OF Si 0nF 9 or €1 re : we aourreg uq9q og oO is a Se urpssoorc 5) Jo S[eS | 9 O oO eee eee ane eee eee yoog ydia90y as 9 gI Cs eer eee eee eee suorzeuog ‘ OMRGINOV. ae ay 288 eH ge Re sunuug Ag Oo z10O ? = coe “* puePy ur sourleg OF] a “Gs ‘aANIIpUagKx Ty 9D SE *sqP19I 9M ‘GNONH NOILVIITEANd of IF | Zo eae Civ) 2ON ae gee sadejysog suvieiqry “ £6 £0 2 209 mes aes oo: aourreg yqgaq y @ © sc : ,, 28petMouy ,, Arenue[ | we ix © : oC Zoe oe sour Areiqry @) 7éig Key 0 op se oop Y syoog suipurg hg SS Oi @ 080 5 as oo puepy url aourreg OL ja 3S — 3P adn puagx ay WeetsF7 aS yy RY TLEREDY | GNNa Aavadil 1872 TS 7 Sie 1Rsi7/24 sone TS7 Speen 1876 ... TS77) sc TO7ONe 1879 ... 1880 ... rete t \gge 1882 1883 1884 PAS PRESPDENTS: ... J. R. WELLMAN. A. B. Farn, F.E.S.. J. P. BARRETT, J. T. WiLiiaMs. R. STANDEN, F.E.S. A. FICKLIN. .. J. R. WELLMAN. ... W. West, L.D.S. V.R, Perkins, F.E.S. 5 DER BILLUPS EeE:S, 1885 ... 1886 ... 1887 ... 1888 1889 ... 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 ... 1895 ... 1806 ... 1897 .. 1898 ... J. W. Tutt, F.E R. Soutu, F.E.S. R. ADKIN, F.E.S. ” T. R. Bityues, F.E.S. J. T. Carrineton, F.L.S. W. H. TuewE Lt, Puc. C, G. Barrett, F.E.S. J. J. Wer, F.L.S., &c. E. Step, F.L.S. T. W. Hatt, F.E.S. R. Soutn, F.E.S. . R. AbKIN, F.E.S. Ss. The Lasiocampids. By J. W. Tutt, F.E.S. Read February 24th, 18098. THE choice of the Lasiocampid moths, as the basis of a short paper, was determined by the fact that I have recently been attempting to get some general information with regard to this group. I cannot say that I have succeeded very well, and I offer the few facts and suggestions following rather as a basis for discussion than because they have any inherent value Zev se. The Lasiocampid moths form a very restricted group in Britain, containing only the following species :—TZ7vichiura crategi, Pacilo- campa popult, Ertogaster lanestris, Lastocampa quercis and L. trifolit, Macrothylacia rubt, Clistocampa (Malacosoma) neustria and C. castrensis, Cosmotriche potatoria, Lpicnapltera tlicifolia, and Lutricha (Gastropacha) quercifolta. In Staudinger’s ‘‘ Catalog der Lep.,” 1871, we find that there are, besides the above, twenty-seven other Palzearctic species. These are (using Staudinger’s antiquated generic groupings) Chondrostega pastrana ; Bombyx tlics, franconica, alpiola, neogena, loti, vandaticia, catax, rimicola, eversmannt, fasciatella ; Crateronyx taraxact, balcanica, dumt, philopalus ; Lasiocampa albomaculata, prunt, populifolia, tremu- lifolia, suberifolia, lunigera, pint, bufo, lineosa, otus, femorata ; Megasoma repanda. It will be remembered that I made some remarks on the nature of genera in a paper* read before your Society in April last. In this paper I discussed the theory of natural genera and what I then termed ‘genera of convenience,” and illustrated my remarks by the British Vanessid butterflies, a group almost every species of which occurring in Britain belongs to a separate, well-defined genus when the Vanessids of the world are taken into consideration. I then pointed out that each genus should represent an evolutionary group, and not just so many heterogeneous or homogeneous units as the mind could readily remember. This is called to my mind because, in working out this family, ‘I observe that most of our Lasiocampid moths are lumped into one genus, Bombyx, a name belonging by right to Lombyx mort, the common silkworm moth of Asia ard Southern Europe, and therefore representative of the Bombycid moths, a group in some respects intermediate between the Sphingids and Lasiocampids. ‘Thus one reads of Bombyx castrensis, Bombyx rubi, Bombyx querciis, Bombyx quercifo'ta, and so on; and Staudinger gives the following hetero- > * “Some Considerations of Natural Genera and Incidental References to the Nature of Species,’ “ Proc. South Lond. Soc.,” 1897, p. 20. 1 2 geneous mixture as constituting his genus Bombyx, viz. crategi popult, castrensis, neustria, lanestris, tr ifolit, ¢ guercus, and riubi, besides ten others that are not British; in fact, the whole of our British species fall into only two genera, those just mentioned in Bombyx, and fotatoria, quercifolia, and tlicifolia, with eleven species not British in Lastocampa. With Kirby’s list * we obtained the first rational generic grouping of the Lasiocampid moths. Here we see how truly it may be said that our British species are to a great extent individuals of separate well-marked and well-defined genera, each of which has its own group of near allies, in some instances extending to several species. Thus Z7ichiura contains—besides crates hhasiana from the Khasia Hills, aZaria from Pebas, obscura from Australia, and ? albiplaga from the Cape. Pectlocampa has—besides populi—subpurpurea from Tokei, and aditus from Vera Cruz. Clisiocampa contains—besides castrensis and neustria—testacea from Japan, zzdica from the East Indies, californica from California, /ragz/is from Nevada, constricta from San Francisco, s¢vigosa from Yosemite Valley, evosa from Oregon, ¢horacica from California, incurva from Arizona, dsstria and americana from North America generally, and ? Jdz/zneata from Senegambia. At the same time Kirby separates the European species franconica, intermedia, and apicola (alpicola), and the Mon Pin species flavomarginata, from Clistocampa, under the name JZa/a- cosoma, a separation that we think unnatural, and therefore un- necessary. Gastropacha (Lutricha) contains—besides guercifolia— populifolia from Central Europe, azgustipennts from North China, undulifera from North India, dvaricata, stnwata, and torrida from Darjiling, #oduZata from Bhamo, pizdonia from Surinam, ? gersteckert and &noblauchi from Chinchoxo. If only our British insects were looked at, one would say at once that guercifolia and zlicifolia must fall into the same genus; but no, with the fauna of the world before us we find that z/zczfolia is the centre of its own group, the genus Phyllodesma (Epicnaptera), which contains—besides ¢/icifolia—suberifolia from South-west Europe and North Africa, americana from North America, /ferruginea from Michigan, calzfornica, roseata, and alascensis from California, ? modesta and ¢hyatira from Panama, and ¢vemulifolia from Central Europe. I have, I trust, quoted sufficient instances to bear out my point, viz. that almost every individual species of our British Lasiocampids is the representative of a special genus when we take into con- sideration the faunas of the world. But not only are many of our British species representatives of different genera, they are also isolated examples of different tribes. No one, for example, comparing in all their stages say Z7richiura crategt with Lastocampa querciis, and these again with Gastropacha (Eutricha) querctifolia, could suppose for a moment that these belonged to the same tribe ; whilst at the same time the comparison ah Catalogue of Lepidoptera Heterocera,”’ Vol. I., 1892. 3 of C. potatoria, G. quercifolia, and E. ilicifolia can leave no doubt that these do so. ‘The characters of the egg and imago, apart from the intermediate stages, are sufficient to prove this, and the pupz show an equally close alliance. The larve are so exceedingly specialised in almost all the Lasiocampids that the alliances, unless the species are very closely related indeed, are often much obscured in this stage, there being no very great similarity among the larve except in very closely related species, and, even in these, protective secondary developments often obscure somewhat similar structural peculiarities. At present it seems to me that as tribal arrangements our genera fall into the following : I. Pecilocampa. Il. Zrichiura. Ill. EZriogaster. IV. Lasiocampa. V. Matlacosoma (Clisiocampa) and Macrothylaca. VI. Cosmotriche, Gastropacha, and Phyllodesma. To attempt to divide our few British species of Lasiocampid moths not only into at least nine different genera, but into no less than six tribes, will, I doubt not, be considered sheer nonsense by the purely British collector, who thinks about the regularity of his cabinet drawers the moment one speaks of classification, as if it matters where moths are placed in a cabinet so long as one knows where to find them when one wishes to examine them. Before leaving this part of my subject I would call attention to a paper* by Dr. Dyar, recently published. In this the family is called the Zachneide, and he says, “The oldest plural term for the family is Hiibner’s Lachnezdes, and must form the family name, as shown by Grote.” I have long since come to the conclusion that synonymy is of the devil. I cannot attempt to explain what Dyar means, I can only hope that it is all right. To complete this part of the paper I add a comparison between Kirby’s and Dyar’s conclusions so far as relates to our British species : Kirpy, “Cat. Lep. Het.,” 1892. Dyar, “Can. Ent.,” 1898. Trichiura crategt. Trichiura crategt. Lasiocampa quercis. Lastocampa quercis. i trifolit. 5 trifoltt. Macrothylacia rubt. Macrothylacia rubt. Pecilocampa populr. Pecilocampa popult. 5 * «A Generic Revision of the Lachneidze (Lasiocampide),’ ‘Canadian Entomologist,” XXX., p. 2, et seq. 4 Kirpy, “Cat. Lep. Het.,” 1892. Dyar, “Can. Ent.,” 1898. Clistocampa* neustria. Malacosoma* neustria. oo” castrensts. Ms castrensts. Ertogaster lanestris. Evriogaster lanestris. Philudoriat} potatoria. Cosmotriche} potatoria. “Phyllodesmat tlicifolia. Epicnaplerat thcifolia. GastropachaS quercifolia. EutrichaS quercifolia. The lists give no suggestion of what is the possible line of evolu- tion of these moths. So far as our British genera are concerned, they may be assumed to have originated from a hypothetical base, which has given off Paecilocampa and Trichiura on the one side, and Cosmotriche, Epicnaptera, and Lutricha on the other, and has reached perhaps its highest point of specialisation in Laszocampa. ‘The following tree (Fig. 1) will perhaps illustrate the relationships of these. Having now considered the relationship of our Lasiocampid moths to each other, we may attempt to discover their relationship with the groups to which they are most nearly allied. Here we find that almost all recent authorities are more or less agreed. By the special consideration of each of the early stages it has been shown that the Lasiocampids belong to the Sphingo-Micropterygid stirps, a section of the moths that has the Cochlidids and Anthrocerids among its most generalised, and the Sphingids and Saturniids among its most specialised members. To this group Dyar refers the Pterophorids, and Chapman the Nepticulids, and Micropterygids. If I had to illustrate in a rough and ready manner the relationship of the chief families belonging to this stirps, I should do it as follows (see Fig. 2): the Bombycides proper should have appeared just above the Lasiocampides. The whole of this stirps is characterised by the possession of a flat egg, with the micropylar axis horizontal, almost always longer than the transverse and vertical axes, the three axes being usually of different lengths. The flat scale-like egg of the Cochlidids falls rather badly into this section ; it is much more like those of the Tortricids than any other * Kirby gives Clisiocampa, Curt. (1828), for neustria and castrensis, and Malacosoma, Hb. (1822 °), for alpicola (apicola), franconica, and intermedia. Dyar unites them into one genus under the older name Malacosoma. +; Philudoria is one of Kirby’s own names (1892). He uses Cosmotriche, Hb. (1822), for lunigera and its allies. For this latter group Dyar follows Aurivillius, and uses Selenephera, Ramb. This seems to be the same as Seleno- phora, Ramb. (1866), which Kirby gives as a synonym of Dendrolimus, Germ. + Kirby uses Phyllodesma, Hb. (1822), and gives Epicnaptera, Ramb. (1866), as asynonym. Dyar drops Phyllodesma altogether. § Kirby uses Gastropacha, Ochs. (1810), for quercifolia, and gives Eutricha, Hb--4810), asa synonym. Dyar employs the latter, rejecting Gastropacha, because ‘‘it is a synonym of Lasiocampa, being proposed in the same sense to include all the species of the family.” 5 groups. The smooth, shining yellow egg of the Anthrocerids, with one pole transparent, the characteristic green, almost smooth egg of the Sphingids, and the shiny, almost rhomboidal Lasiocampid egg, with its opalescent markings, will be known to all of you. If, however, we Lasiocampa ‘ Microthylacia ; Eriogaster % Trichiura Malacosoma (Clistocampa) \\ q : ee Cosmotriche ee Y | Poecilocampa TMT utricha | %, 3 iy (Gastropecha) | ere 4 [4 4 [sy ee Ble & Wa 4 i Hypothetical Lastocampid base. Fig. 1.—Tree illustrating phylogeny of Lasiocampid genera. examine the Lasiocampid egg carefully under a high power, we shall observe that it is usually covered with an exceedingly fine polygonal reticulation, an exceedingly minute black knob being placed at each of the angular points, and only just distinguishable under a two-thirds lens, Sphingides Saturniides \ \ i Lastocampides Anthrocerides Endromides \ fh f \ Cochlidides j O. Nepticufides V4 VA . 4 Mucropte rygides ae Hypothetical base Q Sphingo-Micropterygtd stiTps Fig. 2.—Tree illustrating the phylogeny of superfamilies of the Sphingo-Micropterygid stirps. 7 The egg-laying of our British Lasiocampids is exceedingly variable for so small a number of species, and some of the modes adopted are striking and peculiar. The egg-laying of MJadacosoma neustria, M. castrensts, and Eriogaster lanestris is remarkable. ‘These species lay their eggs in the form of a necklace round and round a twig, the eggs of the first being embedded in a stiff liquid glue, the last covered with a thick covering of long silky hairs, mouse-coloured in tint to the naked eye, but seen to be formed of black and white fibres under a microscope. The eggs of 7! cra/egi and P. populi are both laid in linear series side by side on a branch, whilst those of JZ. rwdi are attached to almost anything in the near neighbourhood of their food. The eggs of L. ¢rifolit are slightly attached to stems of grass or other plants, and so also are those of C. fotaforia. It is reported that L. querctis sprinkles its eggs loosely, but I am not so sure that this is absolutely true. It will, I know, like C. pefatoria, lay them freely in one’s hand whilst one is holding the moth, but I have somewhere read that the ca//une form has been seen attaching its eggs to a heather twig. Chapman notes the eggs of Kutricha quercifolia as \aid in small groups (half-a-dozen or more) on twigs, and placed more or less on each other. I know nothing of how the eggs of Z&. ¢Ucifola are laid, and should be glad of information. To return to the mode of egg-laying adopted by Malacosoma neustria, M. castrensis, and Eriogaster lanestris, it will be observed that their peculiar mode of attachment gives them the appearance of being upright rather than flat eggs, z. e. their micropylar axis appears to be vertical, and not horizontal, to the surface on which they are laid. ‘This is due to the fact that they are not really attached to the twig round which they are placed, but are actually laid on each other. The Lasiocampid larvee are exceedingly beautiful creatures, densely hairy, usually with the primary tubercles very ill-developed and much obscured by the secondary hairs, which form a thick coating spread over the whole of the skin. These latter hairs are, however, developed particularly in those directions that increase the resemblance of the larvee to their food-plants in the group that includes Lw¢richa querct- folia, as well as in that containing Z7ichiura crategi. The larva of L. querctis, too, in spite of its striking intersegmental and lateral tints, is very inconspicuous when stretched at length on a twig of hawthorn, maple, or sloe. Another characteristic of the larvee of this group is the gregarious habit which in some of the species is very remarkable. J. newstria and castrenszs are well-known examples, and in America the allies of the former species have earned the popular name of tent caterpillars. But they are probably outdone by £. /anestris, which sometimes forms a huge web extending over aconsiderable area, and into which the larvee retire when not feeding or sunning themselves. Bacot says that the larvee fall broadly into two groups :—(r) Con- taining guerciis, castrensis, neustria, &c., of which he considers 8 castrensts the more generalised form. (2) Containing gwercifolia tlicifolia, and potatoria, of which he considers fofatorza the most generalised example. In the larvee of the first group—guwercits, trifolit, rubt, &c.—the secondary hairs are developed into a fur of loose hairs, which readily rub off, and by their mechanical properties produce urtication if they enter the skin. I have myself suffered greatly from the effects of- the hairs of Z. guwerciis entering the skin of my hand. A bad case, in which a boy’s eye was injured owing to the hairs of a larva of JZ. rudi entering, was discussed about a year ago at the Entomological Society of London. The difference in the cocoons made by the larve of the Lasiocampid moths is very striking. £. /anestris, L. trifolii, and L. querciis make the hard egg-shaped cocoons from which the name *‘ Eggar” has been derived, and which has most probably been carried on from the Cochlidids, which make very similar ones. It is well known that these cocoons are coloured by a fluid which is poured upon the silk from the alimentary canal, and supposed to be a chlorophyll product, and that they are hardened by a deposit of lime secreted in the Malpighian tubules, and poured out from the anus upon the silk when it has been woven. Starvation just previous to spinning, by not sup- plying the larva with the requisite chlorophyll stain, results in the formation of a pale-coloured cocoon. Some of the cocoons of E. lanestris are dark coffee-coloured, and they vary through different grades of intensity to white. Some of the cocoons of L. guercis are pale brown; others, especially of ca//un@, are frequently almost black. In fact, I consider the general darker coloration of the cocoon of cal/une to be due to the differences in the food-plant, since the colouring matter is a direct derivative of the chlorophyll in the food, the chlorophyll of some plants being notably darker than others. The cocoons of A/alacosoma neustria and MM. castrensis, with their pale yellow or sulphur-coloured particles of aragonite mixed with the silk, are very different from those above described. Like the above, though, it often happens that these cocoons lose their charac- teristic colour, and are quite white. ‘This form of cocoon is not unlike that of C. potatoria, which is, however, more parchment-like ; and this again, except in colour, is not very dissimilar from that of 2. gwerci- Jolia, whilst it is very similar to that of £. zzczfolia. The cocoons of P. populi and T. crateg? are mixed with pieces of extraneous matter, and as they are usually spun up in a crack in the bark, or even under the surface of the ground, they bear considerable resemblance to the cocoons of some Notodonts and Noctuids. ‘The cocoon of M. rubi is a very strongly modified form of the xeustr7a cocoon, forming a long tubular structure sometimes three or four inches long, inside which the pupa moves up and down to take advantage of the sun. The pupa is of the Obtect type. It has the fifth and sixth abdo- minal segments free in both sexes, but it has a very generalised 9 character in the retention of the dorsal head-piece, and on dehiscence the head-coverings remain in one piece. It is of little use for me to describe the Lasiocampid pupa, since its general features must be known to all entomologists. It is of stout and robust form, usually rounded at both ends, and rarely gradually terminating in an anal point, although this character is distinct enough in Madacosoma. Ventrally the most noticeable point is the presence of the labial palpi. The third pair of legs is always covered by the wings. The covering of hairs—short bristly points—that thickly studs certain parts of the pupal skin, often, owing possibly to the movement of the pupa in the cocoon, becomes covered with a thick coating of felt-like material, which gives the pupa a very strange appearance. ‘This peculiarity is particularly well marked in pupee of 2. guwercifolia and £. ilicifolia. Ut is necessary here, perhaps, to point out that many people ally the Notodonts with the Lasiocampids, because of the con- siderable resemblance that exists between their pupz ; and even so good a student as Bacot insists that the resemblance is really more than a superficial one, and denotes an actual relationship. ‘The cremaster of the Lasiocampid pupa is very striking. ‘There are no curved hooks, but a thick brush of short, stiff, bristly hairs, like a cocoa-nut mat. In a few species the bristles are wanting, and the cremastral area is quite smooth. The imagines of the British species are known to all of you better perhaps than to me. You are all aware of the marked sexual dimorphism that exists in every species, and know that certain species, suchas Pwelocampa popult, Cosmotriche potatoria, Malacosomaneustria, and Lutricha quercifolia, sometimes abound at light. You know also the amazing power that the females of JZacrothylacia rubt, Lastocampa guercis, and L. trifolii have of attracting males from a great distance, and have seen, or at least heard of, them crawling in dozens over a box in which a female has been confined. You all know, too, that only on one occasion (or at most two) has the imago of JZ. castrensis been seen wild in this country, and that no one knows its habits in a state of nature ; nor have I ever heard of more than one or two entomologists who have seen wild in the hedges an imago of Lviogaster lanestris. ‘This is very remarkable, and shows that we have not yet learned everything ; and were it not for the fact that P. populi and MZ. neustria come to light, how few of these would be seen in the imago state ! Probably the most interesting of all our British species is Laszo- campa quercis. ‘Vhis interest has arisen from the difficulty that has occurred as to whether one of its forms or offshoots—ca//wne—has or has not undergone sufficient differentiation to enable it to be called a distinct species from, or a local race of, L. guerciis. Many entomologists will know that I have recently, in my Presidential Address to the members of the City of London Entomological Society, pointed out, among many other things, how ‘isolation by diverse habits” may aid in the differentiation of species 10 from a common stock. It is evident that, in the case under review, L. quercis and L. callune have gone far towards the necessary point, although in my opinion they have not yet reached it by becoming thoroughly differentiated. In Scotland, on the moors of North England, Wales, Ireland, and the south of England, the perfect insect emerges in June (or thereabouts), lays its eggs, the larvee hatch out, and feed up to about the third skin before hybernation ; they subsequently feed up slowly the next summer, pupate in July or August, go over the winter in the pupal stage, and finally emerge in the following June as imagines, having taken two years to complete their metamorphoses ; but among these two-year ca//uwn@ there are occasional individuals that emerge from the cocoon in the August of the same year in which the larvae have pupated, and thus only take one year instead of two for their ecdyscs. ‘Throughout France, and reaching well up into England as far as Yorkshire, in the low- lying parts of the country, imagines of Z. guerciis emerge in July and August, lay their eggs, larvee from which hybernate comparatively small, but feed up quickly in the spring, pupate in May and June, and emerge in July and August of the same year. These are the normal habits of Z. guerciis ; but among the many that do this an occasional individual remains in cocoon the whole winter, and does not emerge until the next summer, thus taking on the habits of callune. ‘Vhus in one brood it is possible to get part with the habits of one and part with the habits of the other. In the cold season of 1888 almost all larvee of Z. guerciis collected in Kent continued to feed throughout the cold summer until August, then pupated, and went over the winter in this stage, adopting the ca//wn@ habit at once under unfavourable conditions. It appears to me that in the south the percentage of individuals that go over is a small one, but gradually increases as we go north (or reach a higher altitude), until, when we reach the Highlands of Scotland (or the hill-moorlands), the individuals have a fixed habit, requiring two years to come to maturity. In the warm parts of South France all are Z. guerciis, and have the gwerciis habit. In the mountains of France and Pied- mont I have found the larve at considerable eleauous) and here the ca//une habit again prevails. An attempt to discuss the peculiarities of each separate species would occupy far too much time. I will only add a few notes on three of the other species. Malacosoma castrensis is an exceedingly local species. It was reported from Devonshire many years ago, and although it does not appear to have been found there of recent years, there is no proof that the species does not still occur there. On the Continent it occurs all over Central Europe, swarming in some districts on weedy waste places, often found high on the mountains, in pine woods, and various localities of different situation and aspect. In Britain it is supposed to be confined to the coast of Suffolk, Essex, and Kent, and probably ninety-nine hundredths of the specimens bred and 11 captured come from two comparatively restricted localities. Does our knowledge represent the real distribution of this species? I am very much inclined to doubt it. Lastocampa trifolii is another species widely distributed on the Continent. I have found the larva on the Basses Alpes, and in the Forest of Fontainebleau ; yet, with the exception of the well-known New Forest locality, it is supposed to be a coast species in Britain, formerly abounding on the Lancashire and Devonshire coasts, less abundantly on the coasts of Kent and Sussex. — It is little wonder that the species is recorded as being less abundant on the Lancashire and Devonshtre coasts than formerly. I was recently looking through the “ Intelligencers,” and in the good old days this species must have been collected in tens of thousands in its restricted haunts. One reads, ‘‘’Two of us got above 4oo last night, as many as we could carry; we hope to go again in a day or so;” and so on over and over again. I do not know who obtained most victims, the Liverpool or Plymouth collectors. It is difficult to judge when both took so many, evidently all on which they could lay their hands Still I am not inclined to think that this had anything to do with making LZ. ¢rifolit so local with us, nor do I understand why this species—like JZ. castrensis—is with us to a great extent a coast insect. Can any one suggest an explanation? Is it that the coasts are less populated, wilder, and less disturbed? Still our hills must contain some undisturbed spots not unsuitable. I should like to have opinions on the point. The third insect is Epicnaptera tlicifolia. Every British lepidop- terist knows what a vara avis this is with us, that with the exception of the solitary specimen caught May 17th, 1896, by Freer no other record has been made for years. Yet the species cannot be extinct among us, as this capture shows. Overlooked, not worked for, or some similar judgment must be passed on our inability to find it. On the Continent it is not rare in some places, but at the same time not so common as it 1s sometimes reported to be. The pabulum of its larva makes a search for the latter difficult ; the cocoon is spun among the leaves, and not at all conspicuous, and the imago is so like a dead leaf that one might very well look at it without detect- ing it. I should have liked to speak about the variation of this interesting family—the almost polymorphic character of Z. ¢7ifolit, M. castrensts, and MZ. neustria, the South European races of Z. guercis, the wonderful development of the family in Asia and Africa, and other interesting matters, but these may form perhaps, at some time, an excuse for another paper. 12 British Species of Lepidoptera occurring in Japan. By RicHarp SoutH. (Read April 14th, 1808.) ‘““WHEN an Englishman travels by the nearest sea route from Great Britain to Northern Japan he passes by countries very unlike his own, both in aspect and natural productions. The sunny isles of the Mediterranean, the sands and date palms of Egypt, the arid rocks of Aden, the cocoa groves of Ceylon, the tiger-haunted jungles of Malacca and Singapore, the fertile plains and volcanic peaks of Luzon, the forest-clad mountains of Formosa, and the bare hills of China pass successively in review ; till, after a circuitous voyage of thirteen thousand miles, he finds himself at Hakodate in Japan. He is now separated from his starting-point by the whole width of Europe and Northern Asia, by an almost endless succession of plains and mountains, arid deserts or icy plateaux ; yet when he visits the interior of the country he sees so many familiar natural objects that he can hardly help fancying he is close to his home. He finds the woods and fields tenanted by tits, hedge-sparrows, wrens, wagtails, larks, redbreasts, thrushes, buntings, and house- sparrows ; some absolutely identical with our own feathered friends, others so closely resembling them that it requires a practical orni- thologist to tell the difference. If he is fond of insects he notices many butterflies and a host of beetles, which, though on close examination they are found to be distinct from ours, are yet of the same general aspect, and seem just what might be expected in any part of Europe.. There are also, of course, many birds and insects which are quite new and peculiar, but these are by no means so numerous or conspicuous as to remove the general impression of a wonderful resemblance between the productions of such remote islands as Britain and Yesso.” Thus wrote Wallace in “Island Life” some eighteen years ago, and to-day his remarks, especially so far as they concern insects, apply with even greater force, as our knowledge of the insect fauna of Japan is now more complete. Entomologists have ascertained that not only do a large number of European genera of Lepidoptera occur in the islands, but that very many species are exactly identical with those found in Britain; whilst others are but so slightly dif- ferent that they can only be regarded as geographical races or varieties. Our present knowledge of Japanese Lepidoptera is largely due to the active labours of the late Mr. Henry Pryer, who resided for several years in Japan, and to Mr. John Henry Leech, who, in addition to a vast amount of material obtained by himself in the country, acquired 13 the collections formed by Mr. Pryer. The former published a “Catalogue of the Lepidoptera of Japan,” but his most important work is “‘ Rhopalocera Nihonica,” in which all the species of butter- flies are figured, and the text is in English and Japanese. In Mr. Leech’s papers ‘‘On the Lepidoptera of Japan and Corea,” pub- lished in the “ Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London” (1887-9), and in his ‘ Butterflies from China, Japan, and Corea” (with excellent coloured plates), the subject is more fully treated. So far, however, there is no special handbook of the Heterocera of the islands, but as there appears to be a desire for such a work it is probable that one will be produced in the very near future. As will be seen by looking at a map of the world, the Japanese islands are situated between the parallels of 30 and 46 north latitude, whereas our own islands are between the 5oth and 6oth parallels, so that the most northern part of the Japanese kingdom is, roughly speaking, four degrees further south than Cornwall, while its most southerly extension is twenty degrees nearer the equator. The four principal islands are Nipon, or central; Yesso, northern ; and Shikoku and Kiushiu, southern. The nearest point to the continent of Asia is in Kiushiu, but this is over too miles from Corea, and the next nearest is in Yesso, somewhere about 200 miles from the Manchurian coast. These distances are only given as approximate. The climate of Japan, more particularly in the north, is not very dissimilar to that of England: the difference between the heat of summer and the cold of winter is more marked, I believe, in the main island; but the mean annual temperature of the northerly portion is similar to that of England, z. e. 50 degrees Fahr., whilst in the south the mean ranges from 55 to 60 degrees. I understand that in Yesso snow lies on the ground for at least four months in the year. It may also be mentioned that the climate is influenced by the Japan current, a warm ocean stream which is the Eastern equivalent of the Western Gulf Stream. The country is largely agricultural, and rice especially is grown wher- ever the nature of the ground admits of cultivation. Mr. Leech, referring to his collecting experience at Nagasaki, in the island of Kiushiu, says that he “ found insect life very abundant wherever a piece of accessible uncultivated ground was to be met with. ‘This is only the case on hill-sides too steep for cultivation. It is wonderful to see the way in which the hills are cut into steps, supported by huge banks and walls, and kept constantly irrigated by small streams of water, especially in the south. Where a good piece of forest occurs it is usually impenetrable on account of the dense undergrowth of bamboo, grasses, and ferns, filled with nauseous plants, emitting an effluvium that resembles putrid flesh. This sort of collecting ground occurs nearly all over the main and southern islands of Japan, and when combined with a mixture of tropical sunshine and tropical rains renders an entomologist’s pursuit both arduous and un- pleasant ” (“ Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond.,” 1887, p. 399). 14 Turning now to the zoological region in which Japan is embraced, it may be convenient to glance at the zoo-geographical realm defined by Heilprin (‘ Distribution of Animals”) as the Holarctic, which comprises the Palearctic and Nearctic regions of Wallace and others, but with certain modifications to which further reference will be made. The southern limits of this realm, at least in the Eastern Hemisphere, with which we are only concerned at present, are formed from the Bay of Biscay to the Caspian by the Pyrenees, Alps, Balkans, and Caucasus ; thence by the northern line of Persia and Afghanistan, the Himalayas and the Nanling mountains in China. This constitutes the Eurasiatic division or region, and is divided into four sub-regions as follows : BorEAL.—Includes the whole of Europe and Asia, north of an imaginary line running from the Norwegian coast at about the 66th parallel, and terminating on the East Asiatic coast at the 5oth parallel or thereabouts. The line of demarcation represents the northern limit of cereals, and reindeer do not usually travel southwards beyond it. EuRopeEAN.—Defined northwards by the Boreal limits, southward by the Alpine ranges, and eastward by the Caucasus and the Caspian. CENTRAL AstAN.—Lies between the European and Manchurian sub-regions, and has its northern boundary limited by the Boreal line. MANCcHouRIAN.— Includes Japan, Corea, Manchuria as far northas the Amur, Northern China, with a westerly extension along the northern face of the Himalayas. A considerable tract of the Palzarctic region, as defined by Wallace, is treated by Heilprin as a transition area, wherein occur genera and species belonging to the Eurasiatic, to the Ethiopian, and to the Oriental regions. This he styles the Mediterranean or Tyr- rhenian region, and it embraces the peninsular portion of Southern Europe, North Africa, Asia Minor, Persia, Afghanistan, Beloochistan, and the northern half of Arabia. The composition of the fauna of the Manchurian sub-region, to which, as already stated, Japan belongs, is in some respects compar- able to that of the Mediterranean transition tract just referred to. It comprises genera pertaining to the Oriental regions, as well as those proper to the Holarctic, the latter predominating in the more northern portions, whilst the former are in greatest force in the southern parts. There are in addition a few genera which seem to be peculiar to the area. Somewhere about one-third of the genera of macro-Lepidoptera occurring in Japan are European, or generally referred to as such. Rather over 160 are well-known British genera. ‘Twenty-two species of Rhopalocera are common to Britain and Japan, while four other British species are represented in Japan by very near allies. Eight Sphinges are identical, or almost identical, in the two countries, and three others are replaced in Japan by closely allied species. Among the 15 Bombyces there are upwards of thirty species in Japan, the Japanese specimens of which are almost exactly similar to British examples of those species, and several others are represented by forms or by species very closely allied to them. Not less than ninety British species of Noctuz occur in Japan, and the majority of these are exactly identical, whilst others are but little modified, and nine other Japanese species represent British ones. Of the Geometree, eighty British species occur in Japan, and nearly all these are identical with the home productions. In addition to those already mentioned, the following two papers, also by Mr. Leech, will be found useful to entomologists interested in the Asiatic distribution of British species of Lepidoptera : “On Lepidoptera Heterocera from China, Japan, and Corea” (“ Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist.” [6], xix. and xx.). “Lepidoptera Heterocera from Northern China, Japan, and Corea” (“ Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond.,” 1898, pt. iii.). 16 Notes on Collecting British Hemiptera. By EDWARD SAUNDERS, F.L.S., F.E.S. Read April 28th, 1898. IT is with great pleasure that I comply with your Secretary’s request to supply some remarks on Hemiptera. The order is a favourite of mine, and one which I think is particularly well suited for the study of those who, like myself, have only a very limited time to devote to entomology. In this country it is not a very extensive order, and nearly all the species are obtainable after business hours. As a rule the specific characters are pretty well defined, and are structural, so that any one with a good eye can soon learn to distinguish the species apart. These features of the order make it a very good one for beginners to try their powers upon. The number of species in Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, Diptera, and Hymenoptera may well frighten some from taking them up; but in this country we have only about 750 species of Hemiptera, and of these the Heteroptera number about 440, so that no one need be alarmed at their multitude. As it is with this latter section of the order that I am most familiar, I will, with your permission, restrict myself to it. Before going into methods of collecting, &c., it will be well to say a few words as to how a member of this order, or, in plain language, a “bug,” may be recognised when met with. In the first place, its mouth parts are arranged for sucking, and have no external biting jaws, as in the members of the Coleoptera, Orthoptera, Neuroptera, or Hymenoptera. This character alone will almost serve to distinguish a bug (at least, one of the Heteroptera), as none that I know of is likely to be confounded with a butterfly or moth. And if any of the more delicate Capséd@ could be mistaken for Diptera (which is difficult to imagine), the existence of a pair of posterior wings of membranous texture would reveal their affinities at once. As a rule, they are more liable to be confounded with Coleoptera ; but, besides the essential mouth characters, the wing-cases or upper wings, at any rate in developed forms, are not of one substance throughout, but become membranous towards the apex, the “‘membrane,” as it is called, being clearly divided from the basal or coriaceous portion. On this account the wing-cases in this order are called by some hemi- elytra. These membranes cross at the apex when the wing-cases are folded, and in this respect the latter differ essentially from those of the Coleoptera, in which the suture is straight to the apex. Here, however, it must not be forgotten that I am speaking of developed forms only. Hemiptera in the imago state often assume two distinct forms—the fully developed or “‘ macropterous,” where the elytra have Le a fully developed membrane, and the under or posterior wings are complete; and the undeveloped or “brachypterous,” where the membrane is abbreviated or absent, and the posterior wings in- complete or rudimentary. The form of the pronotum also varies correlatively with this development, being wider, as a rule, posteriorly in macropterous examples. Some species are rarely met with in the macropterous state, and the brachypterous representatives of some bear considerable superficial resemblance to some of the brach- elytrous Coleoptera. In such cases the suctorial mouth may be relied upon to distinguish the Hemipteron. I think, however, that after a very short training a bug will offer attractions to the eye (and nose too, in many cases), which will at once indicate the order it belongs to. May I also remind you that all bugs are not flat? Many are very convex, and many are delicate creatures, which one can hardly secure without damaging their slender legs and antenne. It is frequently difficult to distinguish the larval and nymph forms of a bug from the brachypterous imago. If, however, the wing-cases are examined, they will be found in the early stages to be enclosed in a membranous sac, and not free, as they are in the imago; also the claws in the larva are as a rule imperfect, and the whole integument is of a softer nature. A collector of Hemiptera need not burden himself with any large amount of impedimenta; a bag net, a canvas water-net, a white umbrella, a sheet of white mackintosh, a killing bottle, and a digger are about all his necessary weapons. As the frame for a net I prefer an ordinary steel folding landing-net ring, with a universal screw, such as is obtainable at a fishing-tackle maker’s shop. On this should be fitted a bag of coarse unbleached linen. It is well to avoid jute fabrics, as they certainly do not bear the same amount of hard work as those made of flax. Round the mouth of the bag a wide hem of some very strong material should be attached, into which the ring of the net canrun. The material I use for this purpose is what is called “‘ webbing.” A very few days’ hard sweeping in hedges, &c., will wear through any hem made of brown holland or ordinary linen, as it must be borne in mind that this hem bears the full brunt of the work. The ring should be screwed into an iron or steel ferrule (avoid a brass one, as it soon wears out), which should be fixed on to a strong oak stick, so that the whole apparatus is fairly heavy and capable of brushing well into bushes, &c. One sees people occasionally sweeping with a cane- ringed net, or one with a thin wire ring ; but with a light implement of this sort only very superficial work is possible. Some collectors prefer the large open nets which have the stick passing right through the ring. There is one advantage in these, viz. that they can be used both for sweeping and beating, so that both a net and an umbrella need not be carried; but, on the other hand, the circle 1s so large that frequently there is a difficulty in sweeping under hedges with 2 18 one, and on the whole I prefer the two implements, as each does its own work better than the combination. The umbrella if possible should have whalebone ribs ; but as it is difficult now-a-days to get such antiquated structures, it is of no use insisting on that point. Anyhow, the frame should be as strong as possible, as if when beating, the stick misses a bough and comes down on the umbrella, the effect on a weak structure is likely to be disastrous. The cover should be of white linen or holland. One great advantage which an umbrella has over a wide-mouthed net is that it can be held by the ferrule end over one’s head under higher branches than can be beaten into a net, which has to be held horizontally. An ordinary Coleoptera bottle, with a tube through the cork, is, I think, the best for collecting purposes ; this should have a piece of cyanide of about the size of two peas at the bottom, these should be well wedged down with blotting-paper, over which should be pla: ed a cone of white note-paper, so arranged as to come well up the sides of the bottle, in order that the insects may not touch the damp blotting-paper. The least damp will spoil some of the more delicate species, causing the membrane to curl up at the apex, which completely disfigures the specimens. An ordinary fern trowel makes an excellent digger, and is very useful for removing bark, digging at the roots of grass, &c. The features of the country he is in should be carefully considered by the collector, and his collecting should be guided by their peculiarities. Where extensive commons occur, probably there rarities may be sought with success. Where pinewoods are a feature of the neighbourhood, good species may be expected from beating them. Where large sphagnum bogs exist they should be specially worked, and so on. It should be remembered that the insects peculiar to certain species of plants will not always be found on them, especially if only introduced into gardens, &c. As a rule, sandy districts are very good for Hemiptera; and sandy commons, such as Chobham Common, and what is called West End Common, Chobham, in which large boggy tracts occur, are perhaps as prolific in their yield of species as any localities that can be selected ; they provide dry sandy spots, marshes, sphagnum bogs, and actual water, with the very variable vegetation which belongs toeach. Insummer, z.é. June and July, a wooded inland locality, such as the New Forest, is as hopeful as any ; but in August and September preference may probably be given to some seaside locality with good sand-hills, such as Deal or Lowestoft, or some inland sandy common. The various seasons of the year of course require different methods of collecting. Beating and sweeping are probably in the summer the most productive ; but there is little to be done in this way until June, as the larve do not begin to feed till the leaves come out, and some time must elapse before the perfect insects are to be found. There are, however, a good many species that hybernate. These may be found in the early spring, or, indeed, at any time during the 19 winter, by shaking moss, dead leaves, &c., over mackintosh. So that there is no time when the Hemipterist need fold his hands and feel that he has nothing to do. As we are now at the end of April, it may be well at once to consider the methods of collecting suitable to May. Beating and sweeping are not likely yet to produce much ; but still a few species that live through the winter may be found by these methods, and young larvee of many species will occur, and offer a good opportunity for anyone interested in breeding to try and rear them. I believe this may easily be done by anyone who has time enough to change their food constantly in the same way as is done by those who rear Lepidoptera. Old lichen-covered branches of larches, &c, may be beaten with advantage for the very small species of M/yrmedobia, &c , several of which are rare ; moss, dead leaves, sphagnum, rubbish, &c., will all yield their peculiar species if shaken over a white sheet or mackintosh. Sphagnum has only a few hemipterous inhabitants, such as Salda cocksi, Plociomerus luridus, Hlebrus ruficeps, &c. ; : but a sunny day in May is a very good occasion to search for them. Under heather and low spreading plants various species may be found. Habitats of this kind should never be passed over, even in summer ; but until the middle or end of June they afford excellent chances of getting a good bag. Many water-bugs may be got in May. ‘The species of Corvixa require very careful collecting, as they bear such a close general resemblance to each other that the rarer species are very liable to be overlooked. On the other hand, the same species is apparently very liable to vary in colour according to the nature of the water it lives in; specimens from some of the pools in peaty localities, especially in the north, being very much darker, and their markings consequently more obscure than those taken in clear ponds. The black spot or marking at the apex of the posterior metatarsus, which is a character assigned to a certain group of this genus, should be carefully looked for before dismissing a specimen as useless ; this character is best seen from the under side, as the long hairs of the margin often interfere with a good dorsal view. Towards the middle of June it is well to try beating in order to ascertain the condition the Hemiptera are in, as of course an early season will develop them more rapidly than a late one. It is of very little use collecting specimens until they are fully mature, as the legs and antennz of immature examples shrivel in the most aggravating way, and this in the Hemiptera is of very great importance, many of the species being distinguished by the comparative lengths of the antennal joints. It is often difficult to recognise the immaturity of a specimen in the net; but a day or two after setting it will reveal itself plainly enough, and a collector is lucky if he can revisit the locality a few days later when mature examples can be found. The most productive trees are oak, ash, hazel, alder, willow and sallow, poplar and firs. Oaks and sallows are far excellence the homes of many species, and it is really astonishing to see the 20 amount of life which two or three sharp raps with a stick will dis- lodge from a single branch of oak. The most effective way to beat is not to thrash away indiscriminately at the leaves, but to strike the branch itself sharply once or twice, holding the umbrella close up under it, then immediately to bring the umbrella down on to the ground and commence operations. ‘Turn the umbrella so as to keep the sunshine out of it, as otherwise the bugs will take flight. An “umbrellaful” towards the end of June will probably consist of many species, but by far the largest number of specimens will belong to the genus Psadllus, of which P. varians and P. vartabilis are the most abundant. So soon as adesired specimen is seen in the umbrella the tube of the bottle should be placed over it or just below it, so as to touch its hind tarsi, when, asa rule, it will at once fall backwards down the tube. It would be impossible to give a list of all the species to be found on each kind of tree, but I may mention that one of the rarities to be looked for on oak is Psadlus albicinctus, a small reddish species with darker atoms on the thorax, closely resembling a small dark P. varians ; also that specimens of Orthoty/us from this tree should be carefully examined, as there are four or five species which cannot possibly be identified in the umbrella. Ash gives a few specialities, such as Loxops coccineus and Psallus lepidus in both its forms. These at first sight look quite distinct, but the best authori- ties consider them as forms of one species. Hazel is fairly produc- tive, and from it may be beaten the lovely Ala/acocoris chlorizans, as well as Pantilius and Nabis brevipennis, Phylus, Psallus salicellus, &c. Willows, sallows, and alders, in July and August, produce many species, and are always worth beating. Cadocoris striatus, Plestocoris rugicollis, Lygus limbatus (hitherto only known as British from speci- mens taken off sallow on Wimbledon Common), P:lophorus clavatus, Plagionathus rosert, P. bohemannt, Psallus Sallentt, P. alnicola, P. sanguineus, the rare 2. albicinctus, and several species of Orthotylus, are all to be found on these plants ; and besides these there are yet several species found on the Continent which are quite likely to occur with us, such as Orthotylus virens, Psallus intermedius, P. aethiops, P. scholtzt, and Cyphodema rubicunda. A few species occur on poplar, especially on Populus alba, such as Phytocoris popult, Psallus rotter- mundi, &c. Fir trees in our islands seem to possess few species com- pared to the numbers which frequent them on the Continent. Still there are a good many to be found, and I always beat firs in hope that some of these Continental species may yet turn up. Such species as Phytocoris intricatus, Hadrodema nigriceps, Alleotomus gothicus, and Phylus limitatus are all quite possibilities. Spruce firs yield the best results, but several interesting species—such as Afractotomus magut- cornis, Pilophorus cinnamopterus, E-latophilus nigricornis, and Plesto- dema pinetellum—occur on Scotch firs, the latter two so far having only been found with us in Scotland. When we descend to low-growing plants the field is very extensive, 21 and the best advice is to sweep everything, giving special attention to any plants that are aromatic and strong-smelling, as these often har- bour special species which occur nowhere else. From the sedges and such like plants along the sides of and in ditches and marshes good results may always be expected, and aromatic plants that spread on the ground, such as Oxonis and Evodium, require special working ; their spreading stems should be lifted up, and the ground under them carefully examined. Some Hemiptera, such as Odontoscelis, Sctocoris, Pseudophleus, &c , are very sluggish, and resemble the ground very closely in colour, so that plenty of time should be allowed for them to move. On sand-hills by the sea, as at Deal, Camber, &c., very good results may be obtained in this way. I generally take the pre- caution to sweep the plants. first and examine the contents of my net, and then to lift their branches and grub about underneath them. The common broom, Savothammnus scoparius, 1s a very productive plant, and harbours ‘several species peculiar to itself. Three species of Orthotylus may be found on it—O. concolor, O. chloropterus, and O. adenocarfi—all very similar, but distinguishable apart in the umbrella when the eye has caught their characters. O. chloropterus is slightly the largest, and has a very dark membrane; O. adenocarpi is slightly paler in colour, and of a yellower green, with the membrane paler ; O. concolor is smaller and of a decidedly paler, bluish green, with pale, almost diaphanous membrane. With these Heterocordylus tibialis almost always occurs in more or less abundance, and much more rarely /. genzste. Old broom bushes sometimes yield Az¢ho- corts sarothammnt, and the very beautiful but rare Dictyonora fuliginosa, but often as I have hunted for this last, it has never been my good fortune to find it. Searching at the roots of grass, sedges, &c., in marshy places is most profitable, and many rare species are likely to reward one’s labour. Drymus piceus, Cyrtorrhinus pygmaeus and flaveolus, Nabts fineatus, and many others are to be found in such localities ; and similar work in dry spots will often produce such things as Plagio- gnathus saltitans and pulicarius, Conostethus roseus, and, if near ants’ nests, Systedlonotus triguttatus, the female of which, when running, so closely resembles a common garden ant (ZLaszws niger) that it requires careful scrutiny to establish its identity. Salt marshes are the favourite resorts of several species of Sa/da and of a few Capsede@; the former are to be found running and jumping ontheground. The Cafszd@ attack such plants as Atriplex, Sa/sola, &c., and are best obtained by sweeping or searching under their stems, &c. Sa/da is not by any means exclusively a salt marsh genus, as several of our rarer species are found on the margins of inland streams, lakes, &c., and on marshy ground on commons ; whilst one species—.S. ortho hila—is found on quite dry sandy spots. Other hopeful localities are the trunks of trees and old palings. Hemiptera may often be found sitting quietly on these, either in the 22 crevices of the bark or amongst the lichens, the colour of which some very closely resemble. In fact, there are very few localities where Hemi- ptera may not be found. Any one who has access to old barns or church roofs, or such like localities where bats nest, should not fail to try and get the rare Cimex pipistrelli, which is parasitic on the bat. Martins’ nests also sometimes contain C. Azrwndints. Many years ago I found the latter in some numbers on the window of a house in this neighbourhood, which had a martin’s nest just overit. The lady of the house took me up to the room in great concern, as she was horrified at finding what she feared were ordinary house bugs, and was much amused and consoled at my delight in capturing them, and was only too anxious for me to repeat my visits till all danger was over ! Still these experiences are rare, and I have never since seen the creature alive. Hemiptera should not be left long in the cyanide bottle, but should be set if possible the same day as they are captured, as if they get over-damp their legs are apt to fall off, and their membranes to curl up at the apex. The best way to set them, in my opinion, is to mount them across narrow strips of card. These need only be very short, so that the insect almost touches the pin. By this method almost the whole of the under side can be examined. Another way is to put them somewhat sideways on a longitudinal strip ; this answers as well as the other, and it is a mere matter of taste as to which looks best. Some prefer to pin everything, but unless silver pins are used the risk of destruction by verdigris is very great. The ordinary method of carding is objectionable, as it hides the under side ; but if in the mind of any entomologist this is of less importance than the look of the specimen, then I would strongly advise that the legs be left free, and not gummed down, as the claws afford valuable characters, and it 1s impossible to examine them if clogged with tragacanth. Ordinary liquid glue is, I find, as good as anything for mounting purposes. The cards (of whatever shape they are) should be pinned with fairly long pins, and raised within a quarter of an inch of the head, so that a strong lens can be brought to bear on the insect. Care should be taken not to leave newly-set specimens in any place where Psoc can get to them, as these little wretches will eat away the slender apical joints of the antennee, &c., and utterly spoil the specimens. A good collection of British Hemiptera Heteroptera should fill about ten to twelve single-sided boxes, such as those sold by Janson. These to my mind are particularly well suited for a student’s collection, as, being shallow, the insects if pinned high are brought up close to the eye, and can be examined with a glass with unusual facility. The chief characters which have been used to distinguish the various families, genera, Xc., apart, lie in the aztenne, the rostrum, the form of the head and thorax, the component parts of the elytra, the joints of the tarsi, the claws, and the position of the insertion of the legs, z. e. of the coxal cavities. It is impossible here to attempt any sketch of a classification, but 23 the student of this order should carefully study the characteristics of each family ; these are well defined, and by no means difficult to appreciate (I have given tables of them in my “‘ Hemiptera Heteroptera of the British Isles”), but the characters assigned to the genera are often very difficult to seize, especially those employed in the Capside - the species, however, when the genus has been rightly determined, are, as a rule, comparatively easy to distinguish ; and on the whole I think even a beginner may take up the order with a fair prospect of soon making himself reasonably well acquainted with it. I am of course speaking of the order as it is represented in this country. The number even of /a/earctic species is very great, and that of the species of the world must be quite appalling. I hope I have said enough to show that the Hemiptera afford plenty of scope for study, and that they will amply repay any amount of attention given to them. Allow me to conclude by saying that I shall always be happy to help anyone in the determination of his captures, or to show my collection to any of your members who may at any time find them- selves in the neighbourhood of Woking, and call upon me at “St. Ann’s.” 24 Notes on some South European Lepidoptera, with remarks on Thais and Euchloé. By A. H. Jones, F.E.S. Read May 12th, 18098. You are all no doubt well acquainted with the limits and extent of the Mediterranean flora. That it spreads all along the Riviera— up the valley of the Rhone—to a spot a little north of Avignon, along the coast of Spain to Gibraltar, and the African coast to Tangiers, including the islands of Corsica and Sardinia. Within this area we find similar lepidopterous life, the butterflies found on the African coast and the south of Spain having a close affinity to those occurring on the Riviera, the difference often being merely a question of size, as in Charaxes jastus, and of colour, as in Thais rumina, and var. medesicaste. I will refer firstly to the Riviera and its surroundings, and then to the adjoining mountains—the Maritime Alps and the Basses Alps. The entomologist who is familiar with the profusion of butterfly life in the Swiss Alps will be disappointed on his first arrival in the Riviera if his object be to obtain a number of specimens. He will not find as he wanders among the olive trees—be the day ever so fine—much beyond a few white butterflies and an occasional Geometer. The localities have to be found out, the attractive flowers discovered, before he will meet with the butterflies which he has come so far to capture. When stopping at Beaulieu, near Nice, in May a few years ago, I spent several days, working most diligently with but very poor results, when at last I discovered a ravine with a profusion of flowers ; and in this locality, of very limited extent, I found butterflies and day-flying Geometers in abundance. One of the best localities of this description on the Riviera is probably at Carqueyranne, a few miles south of Hyeres; it is of some extent, spreading over many acres, and is an ideal spot for the collector. It is in this locality only that I have seen an abundance of butterfly life on the Riviera. ‘That beautiful species, Luchloé euphenoides, is quite plentiful, accompanied by an occasional £. cardamines ; Gonopteryx cleopatra is, of course, common ; Limenttis camilla 1s sometimes seen, and numberless “ blues” and “skippers” are found among the wild thyme in the open places. The road from Hyeres to Carqueyranne affords very good collect- ing. It leads through extensive woods of fir and arbutus, which ona hot day give forth a most delicious perfume. In these woods during May little is to be seen beyond Gonopteryx cleopatra, but on reaching 25 the coast several species are found, We/ttwa cénxia being particularly common. ‘The road then follows the coast-line for a few miles, and is a good locality for that very early and southern species, Thestor ballus. Any one stopping at Hyeres should not fail to visit the Iles d’Or. Porquerolles, about five miles long, is the largest, and I would there- fore suggest it as being the best to visit from an entomological point of view. I spent one day on this island, and was greatly charmed with my visit, especially with the view over the Mediterranean from the elevated cliffs on the south side. ‘The arbutus is the principal shrub, and I am told Chavaxes jastws is common there ; but I only met with ten species in all, Gonopteryx cleopatra, Pieris daplidice, and Luchloé belia being the principal butterflies. I have referred to the Mediterranean flora spreading up the Rhone valley beyond Avignon. Not far from Avignon is Pont du Gard, celebrated for the magnificent Roman aqueduct. The flora in the neighbourhood is very similar to that found at Carqueyrannes, and we naturally come across the same species of butterflies ; for instance, Luchloé euphenoides and AMelanargia syllius, both of which, however, strictly belong to the Mediterranean fauna. ‘This is another ideal collecting ground, and deserves more than a passing visit. Roughly estimated, there are about one hundred species of Rhopa- locera to be found on the Riviera, yet in the Maritime Alps and the Basses Alps there are probably nearly double that number, nearly two thirds of the whole of the species of butterflies occurring in Europe. ‘This difference is accounted for by the various eleva- tions, viz. from almost the sea level to the region of perpetual snow. My acquaintance with the Maritime Alps is confined to one visit in the month of May to St. Martin Lantosque (3117 feet above the level of the sea). This place is reached by diligence from Nice, being about thirty seven miles distant by road and twenty miles in a “bee line.” As the diligence starts at night both in going and returning little opportunity is afforded for seeing the intervening country, but there appeared to be an absence of trees. St. Martin Lantosque is a great summer resort for the inhabitants of Nice, and consequently is well supplied with hotels. ‘The hotel in which I stayed was so unique in character that I must be excused for referring toit. It was constructed on the edge of a ravine. The dining-room was at the top of the house, and by reversing the order of things you went downstairs to bed, the inferior rooms being near the bottom of the ravine. From a botanical point of view this district is one of the richest in the Maritime Alps, and many rare plants are found here. It also has the reputation of being very rich entomologically ; but the date of my visit—-the middle of May—was much too early. Had I arrived there two months later I should probably have made many interesting captures. As it was, I only observed Lycena baton, the “blue” so 26 common at Hyeres, that ubiquitous butterfly, Vanessa antiopa, Lycena semiargus, and a few other species. At about 500 feet above the village the mountains were almost covered with snow. The numbers of plants with flowers of varying beauty and colour, which but a few days before must have been com- pletely enveloped in snow, was a sight not easily forgotten. When Messrs. Lemann, Nicholson, and myself contemplated a visit to Digne, in the Basses Alps, it was surprising what little information we could glean with regard to that district. Fortunately we obtained through a Paris bookseller a copy of a ; aper written by a Monsieur Donzel, and read so long ago as in 1850, before the Société Linnéene de Lyvn. From this we obtained some very useful information as to the various localities, and the species to be looked for. We were only able to visit a few of the places indicated, as many were far off, and excursions to them would have involved more time than we had at our disposal. We, however, found plenty of occupation in the immediate neighbourhood of Digne ; for whichever direction we took we always discovered some good collecting ground. We made several excursions to an elevated plateau known as Les Dourbes, about seven miles distant, very exposed, and about 1000 feet higher than Digne, a different description of species was met with than in the warmer and more sheltered localities at a lower elevation. Les Dourbes is the great locality for Huchloé tagts, var. bellezina, to which further reference will be made later on. The hills in the immediate vicinity of Digne do not exceed an elevation of 3000 feet above the level of the sea. They are mostly covered with young oak trees, among which a considerable amount of butterfly-life exists, two species, viz. Zhecla spint and 7. tltcis, var. cerrt, being particularly common in the month of June. In the valleys between the hills, if flowering plants can be found such as the lavender, many butterflies and day-flying moths may be met with. The most attractive butterfly of the Basses Alps is Papzlio alexanor, a grand species which is somewhat common in the month of July. It has a wide range over the mountains of Southern Europe, and is found eastward as far as Persia. I took a beautiful series in the month of June, but they were then by no means common. It is a strong flier, and can only be captured when at rest. Its favourite flower is the thistle. Many of the butterflies in the Digne district are what may be termed as of a “large form.” The Parnasstus apollo, for example, are much larger than those found in the Swiss Alps. Digne has a very interesting and varied flora, which accounts for its rich insect fauna. Monsieur Honnorat, to whom Monsieur Donzel refers in his paper, says that without going out of the department you can gather 3500 species of plants, although in the neighbourhood of Paris, within a radius of twenty leagues, you can scarcely come across 2000. There is probably no group of butterflies which affords such a 27 fascination to British entomologists visiting the south of Europe as the genus Zzazs, the pattern on the wings, the general appearance and habits, being so unlike any species occuring in our own country. My first wish (and I believe it to be a general one) was to see a Thats on the wing. I remember meeting a collector at Hyéres who had been searching all day for that beautiful species, 7. medesicaste ; and although there was an abundance of other species to which he might have directed his attention, his sole object appeared to be the capture of that particular butterfly. The genus TZhazs chiefly belongs to the Mediterranean, Asia Minor, and North African faunas. ‘There are three species occurring in Europe ; one is found along the shores of the Black Sea, commonly in Armenia, and as far westward as Gallipoli in Turkey; the remaining two are more especially attached to the shores of the Mediterranean. All the species of the genus Zzazs select the warmest situations in which to undergo their transformations, and the butterflies are only to be seen on the wing during the brightest sunshine; the merest cloud influences them, and they disappear like magic into the grass, reappearing instantly on the return of sunshine. They seem to be more sensitive to the effects of light and shade than the Erebiz. The larve are cylindrical, rather short, and covered with spine-like protuberances. They are somewhat sluggish, and all three species feed on Aristolochia. The full-grown larva being found during the daytime at the roots of the plants suggests its _being a night feeder. The pupa is attached by the tail, and by a silken band round the body, like other Papilionidee. I will now briefly refer to the species. In Europe Zzhads cerisy¢ appears only to be found in Greece and Turkey and the adjoining islands. It is more plentifulin Asia Minor, is common in Armenia, and extends as far as the Caucasus, where it assumes a different form —var. caucasica. ‘The series exhibited were nearly all bred from pupz received from Armenia, and probably refer to the var. deyrollez, peculiar to Asia Minor ‘There seems to be very little, if any, differ- ence between these and the type which occurs in Turkey. The larvee feed on Aristolochia hastatla. Thats polyxena is the commonest of the genus, and is more gene- rally distributed, and extends farther north than any of the other species, occurring in Central Europe and as far eastward as South Russia. Although the species occurs as far north as Brinn, it is curious that it should be absent from Switzerland. Dr. Frey mentions, however, that it was once captured a long time ago in Canton Tessin. It is recorded as occurring in abundance on April roth, 1857, in the vineyards of the Italian market town Orta, which is not so very far distant from Canton Tessin. On the Riviera (and in Italy, according to German authors) another form of this species occurs. It is a shade smaller, the scroll on the outer margins of both wings is less deeply dentate, and other differences present themselves, making a well-defined variety—var. cassandra. 28 This butterfly is greatly influenced in the time of its emergence according to seasons. In the first week of May, 1888, I found it abundantly and in fine condition at Hyeres, whereas in 1894, an early season, by May 6th not one was to be seen, and I was almost too late for the larvee, which were then full-fed. I am told the butterfly was out this year on March 15th at Hyeres. Var. cassandra is not at all uncommon at Hyeres, but it is extremely local. I once came upon a colony in a swampy piece of ground near the river Gapeau, on the north side of Hyéres, where it was very abundant. I imagine wherever the food-plant, Ar7stolochia rotunda, occurs plentifully the butterfly is to be found. This form of 7. polyxena occurred in some numbers in a friend’s garden on the out- skirts of Hyeres, the food-plant being common in the vicinity. It was here I found the larvee from which the series now exhibited was bred. My friend Mr. Raine, who has frequently reared cassandra, tells me that he had never bred any ichneumons from the pupz ; my experience, however, was the reverse, for I bred more ichneumons than butterflies. Var. ochracea is not at all scarce, and is merely a form in which the ochreous ground-colour is darker. Thats rumina, the third and last species, occurs in Southern Spain and Portugal, and is not uncommon at Gibraltar. North of the Pyrenees, along the Riviera and as far north as Digne, in the Basses Alps, we find the variety medeszcaste. ‘The markings in this form and the type are practically identical, the difference appearing to be merely a question of intensity of colour, the ground-colour in the type being deeper ochreous, and the red blotches much brighter. Medesicaste was fairly common at Hyéeres in the beginning of May, 1890. ‘This year three specimens were taken there on March 17th. At Digne (which 1s about 2000 feet above the sea level), probably its northern limit, the species was not uncommon during the first week in June, 1890. At thesame time I found larve in all stages on their food-plant, Avzstolochia pistalochia, the young ones on the under sides of the leaves and in the tubes of the curious flowers, the full-grown larvee lying concealed at the roots. It is rather a curious fact that bred specimens of medestcaste are so much larger and finer than captured ones. I can only account for the circumstance in this way : the food-plant grows on hill-sides much exposed to the sun, and in dry seasons probably becomes parched up, and the larve, being sluggish. suffer in a corresponding degree ; whereas by rearing the larvee one collects all the succulent plants one can find in shady places. I visited Digne again in 1894, but medestcaste was extremely scarce. Local collectors told me that they believed the species had suffered from the effects of the drought of the previous summer. Var. canteneri of Staudinger is a variety occurring in Spain and Northern Africa, and differs from the type in having the ground-colour very dark ochre. Var. Zonorati? is a very beautiful variety, in which the red blotches are confluent. It is only recorded from Digne, and seems to be somewhat rare, to judge from the high prices local collec- 29 tors place upon it. The best chance of obtaining this remarkable aberration is to collect the larvae and rear the butterflies. A friend who accompanied me to Digne bred three beautiful specimens. Aristolochia pistalochia and rotunda are, to all appearance, very closely allied ; yet mcdestcaste will only eat the former and cassandra the latter plant. There are thirteen species of A7istclochia occurring in Europe, though not a single one is indigenous to Great Britain. Aristolochia clematitts (birthwort) 1s found i in old gardens, but it is not a native. The geographical distribution of p7sta/ochia and rotunda corresponds with that of the respective butterflies. A. clematitis (given by German authors as the food-plant of 7: polyxena type) has a range as far north as Central Europe, where the butterfly is found. The genus Zwch/oé, of which there are eight well-defined species occurring in Europe, is another very interesting group of butterflies. The first three species—ée/emia, belia, and ¢tag?s—are somewhat allied to the Pieridz in appearance, markings, and flight, yet in structure they are very different, the wings being far more pointed and the antennze much shorter. Their flight, like Pieris callidice and P. dap/idice, is rapid, and, like the Pieridz, each has a second brood. Specimens of the second brood are larger than those of the first, the reverse being the case, I believe, with butterflies in Northern Europe. The remaining five species may be termed the “orange tips.” Their flight is by no means so rapid as that of the three preceding species. ‘They rest frequently on flowers, and allow themselves to be easily captured. Before referring to the genus Luch/oé I wish to make a few remarks with regard to three species of Pieridee. /%eris callidice is quite an Alpine species, and is of wide distribution, occurring from the Pyre- nees to Turkestan, where it assumes a larger form known as chrysidice. The markings, however, are precisely the same. Cad/dice is found at Gavarnie, in the Pyrenees, on the Jura Mountains, Basses Alps, nearly all over the Swiss Alps, and in the Tyrol, but is not found in Scandinavia. I have met with occasional specimens in the Saas Valley and other parts of Switzerland, but only on one occasion commonly. On June 15th, 1885, this ‘‘ mountain white” was flying in considerable num- bers over the Rhone Glacier moraine at 5761 feet above the level of the sea. Being very quick on the wing, its capture was not easy, as to keep one’s eye on the butterfly and the broken ground was a difficult matter. The caterpillar feeds on mountain Crucifere. Pieris daplidice. —So much has been written about this species that I scarcely like to refer to it. I have met with it in several localities round the Lake of Geneva, and last year at Martigny, in the Rhone Valley, but never in any numbers in Switzerland. It is not an un- common species at Hyeéres, but in my experience is not so abundant as £, belia. P. daplidice would appear to be rather commoner about sixty miles north of the Mediterranean, 30 ‘In the beginning of May, 1894, I found the species quite abundant at Digne in lucerne fields on the Barcelonette road. I have not taken it farther north than Coblentz. Iam told that it is rare in Belgium, but it does not appear to be so scarce there as in England, as every Belgian entomologist will tell you that he has taken the butterfly at some time or other. Mr. Raine informs me that at Hyeres dapéidice is on the wing at the end of February, occurs throughout the summer months, and is found in the autumn, suggesting that there is a succession of broods in the south. He has frequently reared the first and second broods, the larve feeding on wild mignonette. Pieris chloridice is a very pretty species belonging to the fauna of South-eastern Europe, not occurring farther westward than Turkey. It appears to be more common in Asia Minor. My series was taken in Armenia. I now return to the genus Zuchloé. £. belemia is purely a southern species, occurring in the south of Spain along the North African coast, certainly as far eastward as Palestine, as I have received speci- mens from that locality. How far north it extends into Spain and Portugal cannot be ascertained from any published records, but we are certain of the fact that it does not occur north of the Pyrenees. The variety g/auce is the second brood ; it is somewhat larger, the black apical markings are duller, but the distinctive difference is on the under side of the hind wings, on which the green assumes a yellowish tint, and the white “tiger-like” stripes become enlarged and are devoid of silver. Euchloé belia is another southern species, although extending much farther north than the preceding. It is one of the commonest butterflies on the Riviera, and occurs in Palestine and along the north coast of Africa. It is reported, according to Dr. Frey, to have been once taken at Sion, in Switzerland, is met with at Lyons, is recorded as occurring near Paris, and I have seen a specimen sold at Stevens’ as having been taken in England. I think it quite possible that a strong flier like de//a could certainly migrate to the centre, if not to the north of Europe, and possibly to the south of England. This species is interesting in having two distinct forms—var. awsonza, the second brood, and var. s¢mp/onia, the mountain variety. The black apical markings are lighter in awsonza, and the ground-colour of the under side of the hind wings is more yellow than in the type. As in belemta, specimens of the second brood are larger than those of the first. It is an early species, the first brood emerging in the south of France at the end of February. In 1894, curiously enough, I found both broods out together. e/za was getting over, and var. awsonta was just coming out. Mr. Raine tells me that Je/za only occurs in March, April, and May; the second brood, azsonta, appears at the end of May, and the butterfly is not seen again until the following spring. He further states that he bred specimens which had been four years in the pupal state. I can only recollect one other species of butterfly, 31 viz. Papilio hospiton, the “Corsican swallow-tail,” the pup of which lie over. Simplonia is the mountain form of de/za ; it approaches nearer to var. ausonia, and is rather larger than the type. It occurs throughout the Basses Alps, the Pyrenees, and most places in Switzerland at a certain elevation. I have taken it in several localities from June to August at about 4000 feet, but not commonly. £. tagis is quite a Spanish and Portuguese species. It closely resembles de/za, but is a trifle smaller. There is, however, a consider- able difference in the under side of the hind wings. I am not aware how far north into Spain and Portugal it occurs ; at all events, we find north of the Pyrenees a smaller form known as var. Ge//esina. This variety does not occur on the Riviera, as recorded by some authors, and I have never taken it anywhere in France except on Les Dourbes, near Digne, at about 3000 feet. This would almost point to the fact that de//ezina is a mountain form of £. Zags, as simplonia is of £. belia. It would be interesting to know whether this variety represents the species in the mountains south of the Pyrenees. Var. ¢nsudaris of Staudinger is cescribed as the Corsican and Sar- dinian form of the butterfly. I fail, however, to see sufficient differ- ence to separate it from de//ezina. I have met with zvsu/aris on the sea level in Corsica, which is rather against the mountain theory ; but it must be borne in mind that nearly the whole of Corsica is more or less mountainous. Euchloé cardamines is the most widely distributed species of the genus. It occurs throughout Europe, Asia Minor, Syria, and extends into Northern and Western Asia. It is also found up to a considerable elevation in the Alps ; it is recorded from St. Moritz, in the Engadine, at over 5000 feet, and I have taken it at Zermatt and several other localities at a similar elevation. The English specimens differ, as you all know, in having the discoidal spot on the margin of the orange blotch, whereas in Continental specimens the orange spreads consider- ably beyond it. A specimen I captured at Zermatt has the orange very considerably suffused over the wing. A second brood of cardamines is occasionally recorded as occurring in England. I find mentioned in the “Entomologist” for August, 1892, the occurrence of several specimens being seen at Wisley, in Surrey ; and avain on August 2nd of that year a male specimen was seen near Thame, in Oxfordshire; yet in the south of France, with all its increased amount of heat, I am told a second brood is never seen. Mr. Raine has bred the butterfly from a larva found on Srscu- tella didyma. Euchlé gruneri and £. damone are Eastern species, not being found farther west than Greece. Both are single-brooded. Euchloé euphenoides, known in France as “la gloire de Provence,” is a southern and very beautiful species. I have taken it as far north as Digne, although rather sparingly, and at Pont du Gard, near Nimes ; but it seems more plentiful on the Mediterranean coast—near Car- queyranne, for instance. It is, however, an extremely local butterfly. 32 Gynandromorphous specimens occur occasionally. One of the most remarkable aberrations of a butterfly I have ever seen was a male specimen of L£. ewphenoides captured by Mr. Raine at Hyeres. It was devoid of orange on both wings, and the ground-colour was quite a different tone of yellow. The specimen is in the Raine Collec- tion at the Natural History Museum, Newcastle-on-Tyne, and is well worth an inspection by any one interested in “varieties.” The cater- pillar feeds chiefly on Bescutel/a didyma, and the butterflies delight to rest on its flowers. It is never double-brooded. Luchloé eupheno is often confounded with this species ; it is an African butterfly, and is probably only a form of eazphenozdes. Euchloé pyrothoé is quite an Eastern species, and is recorded from the mountains of Orenburg, on the confines of Persia. Zegris eupheme is a South Russian species, and occurs in the Crimea ; the variety mertdionalis occurs in Southern Spain. Leucophasia sinapis is a very generally distributed species in Europe. Ihave never been abroad without meeting with one of the broods ; I have found it throughout Switzerland, at Digne, the Riviera, and in Corsica. ‘The Continental specimens, especially from the south, appear to be rather larger than British examples. Leucophasia duponcheli is a well-defined species, and seems to have rather a limited area of distribution. I have taken it at Digne, and at about 1500 feet in the mountains at the back of Nice. The second brood of this butterfly, var. w@st#/va, closely resembles the second brood of Z. s¢zapzs. I find the best way to separate the species which occur together is to examine the antennze. In szzapis the under side of the club is white, and in duponchelt brown. I have referred very briefly to the last species in this paper, which specially refers to the genus 7azs and Euchiloé. 33 The Scientific Aspects of Entomology. By J. W. Tutt, F.E.S. Read October 13th, 1898. In bringing forward for discussion such a subject as that conveyed by the title of this paper, one recognises that many details connected with the points one must necessarily touch upon will present them- selves under various aspects to different individuals. At the same time one may safely assume that among a body of men all deeply interested in the study of entomology, or kindred subjects, there will be no great difference of opinion as to broad principles ; and here one may notice that, whatever one has to say about entomology must necessarily present a broad collateral parallelism with botany, con- chology, and other studies that have their origin in field rather than in laboratory work, so that any remarks made about the one subject will largely find an echo in the sister sciences, and any broad principles touched upon will probably be found as applicable to them as to the particular subject under consideration. Science comprises the knowledge of facts, the classification of facts, and the deduction of principles from the facts thus classified. The pursuit of insects, the thousand and one details of work done by entomologists in the field, is but the alphabet of their study ; it does not constitute science. It is only when a man classifies the facts thus obtained from his practical experience, and is able to deduce generalisations from the details that he has observed, that his work becomes scientific, and that his results may be called science. The observations of the field naturalist, and the careful description of species, are the groundwork on which the science of entomology is built, but they are not the superstructure itself, and should not be mistaken for it. The formation of this foundation is an absolutely necessary and useful work, and the individuals who engage in it are doing a very useful service ; but to the science of entomology, to the solution of the problems of animal life and its origin, it bears just about the same relationship that the organ-blower bears to the music, compared with the musician who plays the instrument. If a man will take some small group of insects containing but few recognised species, study them in detail ad ovo, compare them one with another, and deduce Joné fide conclusions from his observations —that man is scientific. If he will take a larger group of insects and study some one structure in detail, and deduce some general conclu- sions from his observations—that man is scientific. If he will collect a small group of insects over the whole range of their geographical distribution, point out to us why each individual species is confined within certain limits, why their localities are isolated and consist of small tracts of a few hundred square yards, scattered here and 3 34 there over thousands of square miles—that man is scientific, and doing scientific work. It is quite clear, from the enormous ground covered by our sub- ject, that to do good work a man must specialise in some particular branch. This may, according to the taste of the individual, be the systematic, the biological, or the philosophical; for it appears to us that all the side branches ultimately resolve themselves into one or other of these main stems. ‘The first two branches have had an existence as long as the science of entomology itself ; the last is naturally the product of our modern methods, and is only possible to men of special intellectual capacity, who have had excellent preliminary training, and are able at once to make observations and to draw logical deductions from the facts observed. We can go back for at least one hundred and fifty years, and find systematic entomologists sharply and distinctly separated from the biologists. The ignorance of the old entomologists who worked out the biology of our insects is profound so far as relates to their know- ledge of the names and affinities of insects. None of their insects bore names, and their work is not always, therefore, of that special value that it otherwise might be. But if Réaumur, Swammerdam, and the other pioneers in insect biology were not systematists, very certain indeed it is that the early systematists were not biologists ; and this distinction lasted more or less until the last quarter of a cen- tury. True it is that in the meantime some systematists had begun to add notes on the life-histories of certain of the species, but such notes were generally intended to help the field collector to name his captures in their early stages, and had no real scientific value ; and, of course, books of this kind are published up to the present day. During the last fifty years, however, the distinction between the biologist and the systematist has to a certain extent broken down. This may be in part due to the improvement in the general education of a large part of those who give their attention to the study of ento- mology ; it may be also in part due to the great improvement and to the more general diffusion of scientific methods of work, and it may be due to the fact that it is now more generally recognised that a know- ledge of the other branches of the science leads to a better compre- hension of the special branch to which the student is attached. This is proved to have been so in the case of those who have been most successful in the study of the more philosophical branches of ento- mology, almost all the most eminent thinkers having had a pre- liminary training as systematists and biologists. No longer, then, do those who study the biological problems relating to insects form, as it were, a group of scientific men quite apart from the systematists, nor are the latter absolutely ignorant of the broad facts of the anatomy and physiology of the insects they study. The time, too, has to a great extent gone by when the philo- sophical student was looked upon with contempt by the biologist and systematist, and vice versa, ‘The number and abundance of species, 35, the ease with which many may be reared in large numbers, the rapidity with which the broods follow each other, and the consequent ability to obtain results rapidly, have tended to throw on the study of insects the greater part of the practical work by which the experi- menting biologist has attempted to fathom some of the mysteries surrounding the phenomena of life. It frequently happens, there- fore, that the biologist appeals to the systematist for material, and often becomes more or less interested in systematic work himself ; on the other hand, men who commence as systematists often find them- selves branching off into biological or philosophical studies. Darwin commenced as an ardent coleopterist; Wallace was a systematic lepidopterist ; and the published systematic work of Bates and Trimen must be well known to allof you. Poulton, too, commenced by collecting and arranging Lepidoptera, and is at the present time superintending the rearrangement of the “Hope” entomological collections in the University of Oxford. Chapman, who has revolu- tionised our ideas of the classification of the Lepidoptera, and perhaps done more than any other entomologist towards bringing entomology into line as an exact science, 1s a well-known systematist in more than one order. Such examples might be multiplied exceed- ingly, and I have no hesitation in stating that some work in systematic entomology is of the greatest advantage to those students who take up the biological or philosophical sides of the subject ; and I would urge that, without some knowledge of field work—often a very exact and thorough knowledge—ultimate success in the working out of many philosophical problems is almost impossible. There can be little doubt, then, that some close attention to systematic work, and some exact knowledge gained by actual observation in the field, make the very best basis on which to climb to success in the other branches of the subject. Sooner or later the systematic entomologist, especially if he does his own collecting, finds himself drifting more or less into the biolo- gical side of his subject. He, perhaps, has bred specimens for his collection, and has thus become interested in the phenomena pre- sented by their metamorphoses, and, instead of being satisfied with the mere killing and setting of the specimens for his collection, he commences probably to collate the facts that he observes, and attempts to draw conclusions therefrom. This naturally leads up to the more subtle problems relating to the conditions of life, to the modifications of the various forms, and ultimately he is led to attempt to explain the origin of the various forms or species themselves ; for it may be taken for granted that when once the inquisitiveness of a really intellectual man has been aroused, he will follow up his investi- gations to their ultimate end. It is the strong side of the human intellect to want to know the how and why of everything ; and hence, so far as one seeks knowledge for its own sake, this must be considered as the highest branch of this and all parallel subjects. I will now deal with a few of the various branches of entomological 36 science to which the attention of scientific entomologists has been directed of late years, and first as to the subject of ‘‘ Classification.” The matter of classification naturally deals with the relationship that insects bear (1) to each other and (2) to all other animals. The animal kingdom is primarily divided into two great sections (1) the Protozoa (or one-celled animals) ; (2) the Metazoa (or many- celled animals). In the latter the cells are generally built up into tissues, and the tissues arranged in three fundamental layers—the ectoderm (outer layer), the mesoderm (middle layer), the endoderm (inner layer). The vast assemblage of animals included in the Metazoa are subdivided into several main groups or phyla, of which the chief are the Porifera (sponges), the Coelenterata (sea-anemones, jelly-fishes, &c.), Vermes (worms), the Echinodermata (sea-urchins, star-fishes, &c.), Mollusca (snails, mussels, &c.), the Arthropoda (crustaceans, insects, &c.), and the Vertebrata (ascidians and fishes to man). The insects belong to that phylum termed Arthropoda, so that the nearest allies to insects, 7. e., those belonging to the same phylum, include the Arachnida (spiders), Crustacea (lobsters, crabs, &c.), and the extinct Trilobites. It is generally conceded by all naturalists that insects stand at the head of the Arthropoda. ‘Their bodies are complicated in structure, and their organs more specialised in the adult stage than those of any other class belonging to this particular phylum. There can be no doubt that the power of flight has led to the great success of insects in the struggle for existence, and that their ability to move rapidly has been the basis of their success in escaping from their numberless enemies, and the proximate cause of their numerical superiority in genera and species. For a similar reason probably— viz. the power of moving through the water rapidly— fishes owe their success over animals that lead an aquatic life. The Arthropods as a whole are characterised by the body being made up of segments bearing jointed appendages. The segmenrs, too, are more or less clearly divisible into a cephalothorax and abdomen, by which characters they are separated from the Annelid worms. In their internal organs, however, the general character and arrangement of the organs, the position and general shape of the alimentary canal, of the nervous and circulatory systems, agree broadly with those of the Annelid worms, so much so that many naturalists trace the descent of the Arthropods from the worms ; others, however, prefer the much safer theory that the two have descended from a common ancestor which possessed the main characters now common to both these groups. As a matter of fact the Arthropod phylum contains within itself such important sub- divisions that it is possible it comprises the elements of at least three or four other phyla. Many eminent entomologists have discussed the origin of insects within the Arthropod phylum. We have no further time at our disposal than to state that by their structure, metamorphoses, and embryology, the Myriapoda and 37 Insecta stand apart from the Arachnida and all other Arthropods ; whilst two singular animals—the /eripatus and Scolopendrella— appear to connect the insects with the Annelids. The peculiar structure of these animals suggests them as stranded surviving remnants of a multitude of extinct forms, leading up from ancestors, at least closely allied to the Annelid worms, to insects. The relation of insects to each other has formed the basis of much exact and detailed study ; and it is probably the amount of detailed observation made that has led to so much diversity of opinion among specialists, one considering certain eharacters of importance that are not supposed to be of much value by others. Generally speaking, however, the nature of the metamorphosis has formed the broad basis on which most systems of classification have been founded ; and so long as one recognises that the character of the metamorphosis represents the degree of specialisation of the various classes of Insecta, the arrangement based thereon must be considered a fairly safe one. On this basis we have two main divisions, the first comprising two classes whose species are without wings and ametabolous, 7. e. not presenting any of the ordinary phenomena of metamorphosis. The second includes the winged forms; but since the degree of metamorphosis which the latter undergo varies considerably, this section is subdivided into the heterometabolous and holometabolous groups,—the former including those orders that have a more or less incomplete, the latter those orders that have a complete metamor- phosis. These may be tabulated thus: . Thysanura. . Colembola. . Orthoptera. . Dermaptera. Platyptera. . Ephemeride. . Odonata. . Thysanoptera. Hemiptera. . Trichoptera. . Lepidoptera. Diptera. . Hymenoptera. . Coleoptera. ( Synaptera “a Lal S|} wi Insecta 1 | ( Heterometabola L Pterygota Holometabola BON HRNAUNUAHODHD (‘—- n Since, however, as we have stated, this system of classification is based on the phenomena presented by metamorphosis, and we propose dealing later with this subject, we may leave the considera- tion of the relationship existing between the heterometabola and holometabola until later in the paper. It would be impossible even to give the barest outline or indication of the biological work that has been done in relation to insects. When we consider the various stages through which insects pass, the complexity of almost every tissue and organ, and remember that every tissue and every organ has been, perhaps, the life-study of 38 some specialist, one may get a fair conception of the work already accomplished in this branch of our science. Not that these men have studied their subject as entomologists fer se, but rather as biologists in the broadest sense. It has been recognised for at least a century and a half that a knowledge of the structure and functions of the organs of insects afforded a valuable basis for the further study of analogous organs in the higher animals. The broad principles of insect anatomy and physiology were worked out in the last and early part of the present century by Swammerdam, Réaumur, Lyonet, Latreille, Cuvier, Kirby and Spence, Burmeister, and more recently by Westwood, Huxley, Graber, Brauer, and a host of eminent biologists, and their work can of course be con- sulted in the ordinary way. Much yet remains, however, to be done even in this direction, especially in matters of detail. There is no need, therefore, apart from the impossibility, to deal with this branch of entomological science, or even, indeed, one branch of it in detail ; and our remarks, put into the form of a survey of a few of the leading facts, must be exceedingly brief. In all insects the skin consists of a layer of epithelial cells called the hypodermis, which secretes the cuticle, the latter being of varying thickness, flexibility, and durability in different insects. ‘The cuticle becomes hardened by the presence of a substance called chitin, whilst the joints or portions of the cuticle, where movement is possible, remain thin and flexible. This outer covering, then, whilst not interfering with the freedom of movement, forms a more or less solid crust, and is a permanent protection to the soft organs within ; at the same time it makes a solid base for the attachment of the muscles. Chitin is a most remarkable substance, practically insoluble under chemical reagents, is rapidly deposited at the end of embryonic life, and quickly hardens on exposure to air. ‘There are numerous pores or canals passing through the cuticle; some of these carry off the secretions from the dermal cells; through others hairs or setze pass, whilst others are even supposed to have some functional purpose in the aeration of the tissues directly beneath the chitinous covering. The segments themselves are simply thickenings of a continuous cylinder of skin, and are not independent individual rings or segments. ‘The segmentation of the skeleton, too, is correlated with the serial arrangement of many of the organs, e. g. the gangha of the nervous system, the ostia of the dorsal vessel, the outer openings of the respiratory tubes, &c. In the unjointed worms the body forms a single but flexible lever. In the earthworm the body- wall is divided into a number of somewhat hardened segments joined by flexible intersegmental membranes, so that each section can be moved independently. So similar, in the main, is the struc- ture of many insects, especially the larval forms, that one might well suppose that this metameric structure of worms and insects has been inherited from a common ancestor. ‘The peculiar segmented con- 39 dition of insects gives them a great freedom of movement, and we may safely assume that the need of a greater freedom of movement has led to their segmentation. The crawling movement of an unsegmented worm-like body would tend to lateral movement, and such lateral strain, acting intermittently or alternately from side to side, would tend to keep certain parts of the body flexible, whilst the more prominent portions to which the muscles were attached would require to be specially protected from injury. ‘This necessity has been met by deposits of chitin, and thus has probably arisen the separation of the more prominent indurated portions of the body-wall from the flexible intersegmental areas, and, as a result, segmentation, as we understand it, has probably taken place. We have already stated that the overwhelming superiority in numbers of insects over all other terrestrial animals is probably due to the fact that their wings enable them to escape from many animals that would otherwise prey on them. ‘True, many insects have no wings at all, and others only have them in their adult or imaginal state, yet the possession of wings is the important structural feature by which insects differ from all other Arthropoda, and it is well known among entomologists that it is in the wingless larval and pupal stages that the greatest amount of destruction of insect life takes place. The wings of insects are thin, broad, leaf-like folds of the integu- ment, which are, in reality, outgrowths of the lateral parts of the mesothorax and metathorax respectively. They are moved by powerful muscles, which occupy the greater part of the thoracic cavity. ‘The size of the mesothorax and metathorax depends largely upon the size of the wings they carry. In certain Orthoptera the hind wings are larger than the front pair, and we then find the meta- thorax larger than the mesothorax. In the Odonata, or dragon-flies, in which there is little difference in the size of the two pairs of wings, there is little difference in size between the meso- and meta- thorax, whilst in the Diptera, which have only rudimentary hind wings (called halteres), the metathorax is correspondingly decreased in size. The wings of insects are simple, very thin, chitinous lamelle, consisting of an upper and lower layer united round the edges, so that in reality each wing forms a closed sac. Between these two thin layers isa fine network of hollow chitinous tubes called nervures. These latter are somewhat complicated in structure, each consisting of a central hollow tracheal vessel encircled by a blood-vessel. The latter in turn is surrounded by the hypodermis of the wing, upon which the outer chitinous wall (consisting of two layers) is spread. The structure of the wings of insects themselves still leaves much room for original study. I will now invite your attention for a few minutes to the way in which the wings of insects are formed, and for this purpose we will consider them in relation to the Diptera and Lepidoptera, in 40) which orders the mode of development of the wings has been somewhat fully observed. ‘The wings in certain Lepidoptera, and probably in many other insects, begin to form in the embryo before the larva or grub hatches from the egg. ‘They first appear as folds or outgrowths of the hypodermis, and le in pouches on either side of the body. In those insects that have no distinct pupal period, as the grasshoppers, the wings begin to appear externally in the third stage of larval life, z. e. after moulting has taken place twice ; in the holometabolic insects, as the Diptera and Lepidoptera, the wings are not seen externally until the pupal state is reached. Herold was the pioneer of these studies on wing- structure, and in 1815 he described the “primitive wings or wing germs” in the caterpillar of the cabbage white butterfly (Lreris brassicae) after the third moult. This observer informs us that the primitive wing germs appear on the inside of the meso- and metathorax, and may be recognised by their attachment to the hypodermis, and by their regular symmetrical form, whilst fine tracheze were observed attached to the wing germs. At the same time Herold discovered the mode of origin of the nervures of the wing, and traced out the mode in which the scales were formed. Earlier observers, Malpighi, Réaumur, Swammerdam, and Lyonet, had observed these wing rudiments in the larva just before pupation under the old larval skin, and although they were observed to be situated in the “fat body” of the larva, without being attached to it or being a constituent part of it, and that they were fastened to the skin in a deep fold which the skin makes at the point of attachment, yet their true nature was scarcely understood. We might here observe that in all those butterflies with prominently developed pupal wings, the wings are specially well developed in the last larval instar. ‘They are par- ticularly noticeable in the full-grown larva of Luchloé cardamines and Axthocaris belia. Whilst Weismann was conducting his researches into the embry- ology of insects (particularly the Diptera, Musca vomitoria and Sar- cophaga carnaria) he observed that the larve of these flies had developed wings previous to pupation, and also that the legs, imaginal mouth appendages, &c., were also undergoing development. He then discovered that these various structures—wings, legs, &c.— were developed from minute masses of microscopic cells which he called “imaginal discs.” Six of these “imaginal discs” were ob- served on the venter of the three thoracic segments, and four lateral discs, one on either side of the meso- and metathorax. The former gave rise to the legs, the latter to the wings of the imago. The “imaginal discs” of the wings were afterwards found to be present in newly hatched larve. They appear to be from the first in connection with the hypodermis, and are attached to minute tracheze, forming minute folds of the peritoneal membrane of these tracheee. These tracheal enlargements increase in size until at last they become differentiated into a mass that corresponds with the 4} upper part of the thoracic segment, whilst a tongue-shaped rudiment becomes developed into the wing. It is, however, at the time just previous to pupation, and at the actual time of pupation, that the great development of the embryonic wing takes place. Previous to this the wings have been folded into a lateral cavity ; but at this stage the sheath of the rudimentary wings is drawn back, blood is forced in, and the wings are thus everted from the cavities in which they have hitherto been confined. This seems to be one of the many important changes that take place in the larva during the quiescent period preceding pupation. At the actual change into the pupa, however, the imaginal buds extend rapidly along their edges, and the pupal wing is developed as a closed sac, the future growth of the wing taking place during the pupal stage of the insect. Before entering into a somewhat full consideration of the further development of the wing, and the scales with which some wings are covered, it may be well to notice here that the general principle of wing-development just outlined has been shown to be correct, not only for Lepidoptera and Diptera, but also for the Hymenoptera, Trichoptera, Coleoptera, and Neuroptera. In the ant-lion (AZyrme- leon formicarius) Pancritius found no rudiments of the wings in larvee a year old, but they were detected in the second year of larval life, and are said not to differ much histologically or in shape from those of Lepidoptera. In the Coleoptera and Hymenoptera the imaginal buds appear rather late in larval life, yet their structure is like that of those in Lepidoptera. During the pupal period the wing becomes much corrugated and folded, and scales are developed on the wing surface. How then, it may be asked, does the small, thick, corrugated, sac-like wing, which in the nymph or pupa (or even at the time of emergence of the imago) consists of a series of closely compressed folds, become the large, thin, flat, leaf-like structure which we see in the perfect insect ? In the pupal wing considerable growth and development take place in various ways. Among other structures, the inner surfaces of the upper and lower layers of the wing membrane give rise to a number of vertical prolongations, which finally meet each other in what is termed the ground membrane of the wing. These vertical fibres, then, stretching from one membrane to the other, prevent the two surfaces from separating widely from each other, and also main- tain them at a fixed distance. When, therefore, the hemolymph or blood is forced between the membranes of the wing by the insect, it does not cause the wing to swell out so as to form a balloon-shaped sac or bag; but the processes holding the two membranes of the wing closely together cause the blood to be spread equally and the . folds to be gradually unrolled from the base outwards by the pressure exerted by the blood. When the wings have attained their full size the hemolymph coagulates, the upper and lower layers are still more closely united, and the nervures are solidly buried between them. 42 The application of the term Lepidoptera, or “ scale-winged,” to the order that includes the butterflies and moths has begotten the popular but erroneous idea that only these insects have scales. Scales are only modified hairs, and Semper has proved beyond question that their mode of origin is quite identical, whilst even in some larvee the hairs become flattened and scale-like. ‘True scales are characteristic of the Synaptera and Lepidoptera, yet they also occur in Trichoptera, in Psocidee (Amphentomum), in many Coleoptera (Curculionide, Cleride, Ptinide, Dermestida, Scarabeide, Cerambt- cide, &c.), in the Culicidze, and a few other Diptera. At the same time it may be well to notice that whilst many species in all these latter orders are without scales, not a single species of the Lepidoptera is known in the imaginal stage to be without them. When the pupal wing is undergoing development certain large nucleated hypodermal cells in the wing may be observed to undergo a certain amount of elongation, the elongations projecting beyond the surface of the wing. ‘The cells thus developed are placed at regular intervals on the surface of the wing, and the prolongations at last form regular rows on the surface. It is at this time that the hypodermis of the wing is thrown up into a series of regular ridges which run across the wing. Each of these ridges carries on its summit a row of the prolongations, or primitive scale-cells as they really are, whilst the furrow between two adjacent ridges repre- sents the interval between two rows of scales. The scales always project from the tops of these ridges. The scale-cell increases rapidly in size, flattens out, and finally assumes the outward shape of the mature scale. A layer of chitin is then secreted over its entire outer surface, so that the scale becomes a thin, flat, chitinous bag, filled with protoplasm, the chitin upon the upper surface being striated, the lower surface smooth. Many scales have two sets of strize, a well-developed longitudinal set and a finer transverse set. These striations diffract the light, and give rise to the iridescent colours that many scales, particularly those of Lepidoptera, exhibit. So long as the scales remain filled with protoplasm they are quite transparent ; but the protoplasm afterwards becomes coarsely granular, and appears to give place to a secretion from the hemolymph which contains the necessary material for the elaboration of pigment, the white coloration being quite different from the opaque whiteness noticeable in some air-filled scales. This secretion from the hemo- lymph does not appear to enter the scales which will be finally white (due to air contents), but does in many species enter other scales without undergoing any further differentiation. These scales remain white, although under the influence of certain chemicals—ammonia, &c.—-the white is readily changed to a cream or yellow tint, e. g., the white ot JZe/anargia galathea, of Polyommatus corydon, &c. This material has been designated ‘ pigment-factor.” by Riding. In those pigmented scales which do not remain white, the secretion 43 or pigment-factor soon becomes ochre-yellow in tint, and having remained in this stage from twenty-four to thirty hours, the mature colours begin to show themselves. The scales of insects, which vary much in shape, are hollow and loosely attached to the surface of the body or wing by a short, slender pedicel which fits into a minute, close-fitting socket that perforates the wing membrane. ‘Their surfaces have frequently an elaborate - series of longitudinal ridges, marked with striz, and with transverse striae between them. ‘The primary use of scales is undoubtedly to protect the body, but the secondary uses have become as important as, or perhaps more important than this. The two most important of the secondary uses to which the scales have been put are—(1) the formation of the colour patterns by which the insect is protected, either by the similarity these bear to the environment of the insect or by their startling nature, so that when suddenly exhibited to a would-be enemy the latter is sufficiently taken aback to give the insect a chance of escape; (2) by their modification into androconia or scent-glands in certain male insects, thus forming an important secondary sexual character, and increasing the chance of procreation in the species. We may now consider very briefly the nature and uses of the colours of insects, and may at once state that these arise in one of three ways : (1) by interference, (2) by diffraction, (3) by the presence of pigment within the scales. The physical structure of the body- surface, wing-surface, or scale-surface may give rise to interference or diffraction colours, or both. We have seen that the body- surface, wing-surface, and scale-surface of insects is composed of chitin, and Schneider tells us that the latter consists of a number of irregular lamineze of exceeding thinness, and as these layers are super- imposed upon each other, we have at once the layer of thin transparent plates necessary to produce interference colours. We have also seen that the chitinous surface of the body or wing or scales is frequently covered with exceedingly fine ridges and strize. Kellogg says that there are some 500 striations to the millimetre on the scales of the imagines of AZ¢cropteryx (one species of which, of a metallic green colour, is abundant in the month of May in the flowers of buttercups), and as many as 1400 striz to the millimetre on the scales, of the fine tropical butterflies belonging to the genus J/orpho. The continually changing colours of many insects, as the position of the insects is made to vary, are due to diffraction. ~The third way in which the colours of insects may be developed is due to pigment deposited in the cells of the cuticula or on the inner surface of the scales. Mayer has shown that when the protoplasm is withdrawn from the scales of Lepidoptera at the time of their forma- tion a secretion of hemolymph enters, and deposits on the imner surface of the scales a material which varies in different species and in different parts of the same wing, and has the power of absorbing certain rays of light and reflecting others, and thus giving us the 44 colour impression we observe. Colours produced in this way we call *‘ pigmentary.” Mayer’s demonstration that the pigmentary matter deposited in the scales of Lepidoptera is a derivative of the blood secreted at a time when the histogenesis of the tissues of the imago has been completed within the pupa, gives a hint as to the actual nature of pigments. They would appear to consist of the nitrogenous material or waste present in the blood left after the building up of the essential tissues of the insect, formed into definite secretions, which the insect is enabled, as pigment, to get rid of in a purposeful manner. It must not be forgotten that all the vital activities of the pupa are taking place in a multitude of ways in a closed cell ; that no waste can be excreted, there being no outlets in the pupa for this purpose; and therefore the new combination of chemical elements which forms the tissues of the imago must balance to a nicety those that existed in the very different structures of the newly-formed pupa. It is well known that almost all newly emerged lepidopterous imagines void one or more drops of fluid with a uric base after emergence from the pupa. ‘This must be the residue of the material not utilised by the vital functions accompanying the processes of histolysis and histo- genesis. Many years ago Meldola demonstrated that the yellow pigment of Gonepteryx rhamni was soluble in water, and that the aqueous solu- tion had an acid reaction. Krukenborg discovered that in the blood of different beetles and lepidopterous pupz there were various colouring matters constant in different species, and readily recognis- able under the spectroscope, and specially noted the yellow-brown lymph of A¢éacus perny? and the yellow-green lymph of Saturnia pyri. Hopkins has shown that the yellow pigment in certain Pierid butter- flies is a derivative of uric acid; and Griffiths has demonstrated that the green pigment found in several species of Papilio, Limenitis, as also in various Sphingid, Geometrid, and Noctuid species, also con- sists of a derivative of the same product. This has been termed “lepidopteric” acid. We have already shown how these uric pig- ments must arise as the result of the vital activities of the pupa during the time that the imago is being developed. It is impossible, in the time at our disposal, to enter any more fully into this phase of the subject. One thing appears quite cer- tain, however—viz. that the nature of the pigmentary deposit is as characteristic for each individual species as are the shape and struc- ture of the scale in which it may be deposited. With those who consider that the colours of insects originate within the insects them- selves we are inclined to agree, since there can be no doubt that the nature of the pigmentary deposits and the scale-structure determine absolutely the colours of the insect. With those who ascribe the phenomena of colour variation to internal causes we should agree so far—and only so far—that a difference of physique, and consequent available energy, would necessitate a difference in the quality of, or a 45 difference in the relative quantities of the materials composing the pigment. Many ill-pigmented specimens of Lepidoptera, probably resulting from this cause, frequently come under one’s notice. When, however, naturalists ascribe the origin and modification of pattern to these internal forces, we disagree most strongly ; for, whilst the forma- tive material of the patterns is undoubtedly the result of internal activities, the arrangement of the material is, in my opinion, and as I have elsewhere discussed at length, due to utility, and has been brought ab ut and perfected by natural selection. This, of course, brings us to the threshold of the absorbingly interesting subjects of mimicry and protective resemblance—matters quite outside the p ssi- bility of consideration in so short a paper. One other aspect of our subject, however, has been much studied of recent years, and can hardly be altogether passed over in silence. I refer to the phenomena attending the ‘‘ metamorphosis of insects.” Striking as are the changes of form through which the embryo passes before leaving the egg-shell, the changes that these insects, with a complete metamorphosis, subsequently undergo are almost equally remarkable. ‘lhe cause of these changes is undoubtedly to enable them to lead a different mode of life, and to adapt them to the changed conditions that characterise the mode of life adopted at various stages of their existence. The post-embryonic life of a winged insect, such as a fly, bee, &c., is divisible into three stages—the larva, pupa, and imago, the term ‘metamorphosis being applied to the changes that take place during the post-embryonic stages of life. The larva of such an insect (fly, bee, butterfly, beetle) lives an entirely different life from that led by the pupa of the same animal, and this again differs from that led by the imago or perfect insect ; so that the insect in its three forms leads to all intents and purposes three distinct lives, existing under entirely dissimilar surroundings, and necessitating entirely different habits, To enable it to do this the organs themselves have to undergo con- siderable modification. Certain structures useful in one stage may be useless in others, and hence disappear (e. g. the lepidopterous prolegs) ; others are modified entirely in character, owing to different requirements in the mode of use (e. g. the mouth parts) ; 3 again, others arise, as it were, suddenly from structures previously in a very rudi- mentary state (e. g. antennze and wings). The changes that take place at a metamorphosis occur not only in the external body and its append- ages, but also in the internal crgans, the changes extending some- times not only to the shape and general external character of the organs, but also to a difference in function. All insects do not undergo the same degree of metamorphosis. The differences between the larval, pupal, and imaginal condition of Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, Diptera, Lepidoptera, and Trichoptera are very marked ; but to the early stages of the Heterometabola—Orthop- tera, Hemiptera, Odonata, &c.—the term larva and pupa are scarcely applicable. Many naturalists use the term “larva” for the early 46 stages of the insects included in those orders characterised by their species having an incomplete metamorphosis, and the term ‘‘ nymph” to the active pupal stage preceding the appearance of the imago. Many others, however, employ the term “nymph” to include all the early stages between the egg and the imago. The “nymph” in this sense, then, when applied to such insects as grasshoppers, &c., denotes the young which lead an active life up to the time of the final development of the perfect insect, that quit the egg in an advanced condition of development, having regard to their powers of locomo- tion, and that have at this time the mouth parts formed after the same type of construction as those of the adult insect. We have, then, so far seen that there are two distinct conditions of metamorphosis in insects—that represented by the Orthoptera and that represented by the Lepidoptera. In the Synaptera (z.e. insects without wings), however, development is direct, the young differing neither in form, structure, nor habits from the adult. Hence such insects are said to be ametabolous ; and since these insects show no tendency whatever to undergo any trans- formation, it is quite clear that metamorphosis is a phenomenon that has been induced in insects since the first winged forms appeared, and our knowledge of its details suggests that it has been intensified with the specialisation of the most highly developed orders of the class. As we have already said, the transformations of winged insects vary in degree, and they fall naturally into the two groups—the Heterometabola (with incomplete metamorphosis) and the Holome- tabola (with complete metamorphosis). In the former we have observed that the adults differ from the freshly hatched young chiefly in having wings ; they have no inactive, resting, or pupal stage, and the wings are only acquired after successive moults. We have also seen that the orders belonging to this group comprise the Orthoptera, Dermaptera, Platyptera, Ephemeride, Odonata, Thysanoptera, and Hemiptera. To illustrate this mode of metamorphosis any common grasshopper will serve our purpose. Many of these have five moults, and six stages or instars, five of which belong to the nymph stage. In the first two stages there are no rudiments of the wings; these appear after the second moult. This development of rudimentary wings is accompanied by slight changes in colour and size, and similar changes occur at each moult, until, in the adult, the full mature colouring and completely formed wings are developed. It is, however, in the phenomena presented hy the metamorphosis of the Holometabolic section of insects that most interest centres. In these the larva undergoes a definite number of moults or exuvia- tions of the skin, generally constant for the same species, although female larvee frequently have an instar more than those of the males. After each moult there is generally a considerable change, and hence in many larve each stadium (or period between two moults) is characterised by a particular form of armature or plumage. The term “larva,” then, is specially applicable to the young of the 47 holometabolous orders of insects. The word literally means a “mask,” and was applied to the caterpillars of butterflies and moths by the old philosophers, because they considered that the larva masked the later stages ; that, in fact, the larval skins enveloped the pupa, and this the imago, and that having shed its normal number of skins, the imago, always present within the larva and pupa, was liberated. To a certain extent this idea of the old naturalists was accepted until comparatively recently, but was completely overthrown by Weismann’s discovery of the imaginal discs in the larva and the mode of their development. This discovery has, of course, com- pletely changed our ideas of the nature of metamorphosis, and revo- lutionised our knowledge of the fundamental processes concerned in the change from larva to pupa, and from pupa to imago. We have already referred to the periodical moults or sheddings of the skin that larvee undergo. Previous to exuviation taking place the larva indulges in a prolonged rest; later the old skin splits in the region of the head, and gradually, and usually without any apparent effort on the part of the larva, the skin slips back over segment after segment until it is completely cast. With the exception of a series of almost imperceptible vermiform movements of the segments the larva appears to be taking no active part in the process, the skin slipping off as the larva advances much like a glove is slipped off the finger. There is a fluid circulating between the two skins just previous to the moult, and this acts as a lubricant during the process, and there is no doubt that the development of the hairs and other cutaneous structures beneath the old skin facilitates the change. When the larva has just completed a moult its skin is exceedingly soft and delicate, but the latter soon hardens. Not only is the in- tegument shed with its hairs and setz, but linings of all internal organs that have had an ectodermal origin (e. g. the tracheze, mouth lining, and part of the alimentary canal) are cast with it. In the apodous larvee of certain Hymenoptera, bees, &c., the delicate skin is not shed whole, but breaks away in shreds or fragments during the process of moulting. The old notion that the larva shed its skin because it was no longer large enough for the growing animal is not now accepted. There can be little doubt that moulting is really an excretory process, by means of which the accumulation of waste matters is periodically got rid of. It is necessary now to return to the subject which we recently left, viz. that relating to the actual development of the imago of the Holometabolic insects. Herold was the first author who objected to the erroneous theory, held by Swammerdam and others, that the newly-hatched larva had in it at the time of birth all the parts of the larva, pupa, and imago, each of which became visible in turn at every subsequent moult. As we have before mentioned, however, it was not until the real nature of the internal changes was dis- covered and explained by Weismann that any radical difference of opinion as to the nature of metamorphosis was accepted by natu- 48 ralists. This biologist showed that a process of histolysis was set up in the larval tissues of certain Diptera, that these tissues were entirely destroyed, and that from the resulting elements of this histolysis the new organs were built up, the growing imaginal buds utilising the histolytic products of the larva for their own nutrition. Although his researches were confined to the A/uscide, his observations and conclusions were soon found to have a much wider and more general application. The imaginal discs of Weismann are, as we have already said, separate cellular masses or folds which give rise to the appendages, wings, and other parts of the imago. ‘They arise from the hypo- dermis, are usually present in very young larve, sometimes even in the later embryonic stages. Such imaginal buds have been shown to exist for each part of the body, not only for the appendages and wings, but also for the different sections of the digestive canal and other internal organs. During the quiescent stage preceding pupation these discs commence to enlarge, whilst at the same time there is a destruction of the larval organs, the latter being due to the activity of the leucocytes or blood-corpuscles. This continues until most of the larval tissues are reduced to a creamy mass, the imaginal buds, however, remaining unchanged in character, but, on the other hand, utilising for their own growth the material that the histolytic process has produced. ‘These two processes of histolysis and histogenesis go on side by side, and of course are not completed until the final formation of the imago within the pupal case. Some of these discs undergo their development in the early, others in the later, stages of the pupal period. An explanation of the process of the development of the imaginal buds into the various imaginal organs would involve far too much detail to be included in this paper. We must, therefore, bring to a conclusion our remarks on metamorphosis, and will do so by sum- marising the principal points that relate to its origin. These may be stated as follows :—(1) The Synaptera or apterous insects have no metamorphosis, the winged insects only undergoing the changes already described. This would suggest that metamorphosis fer se was not inherited from the primitive ancestor of all insects. (2) The earliest and most primitive orders of winged insects pass through a slight metamorphosis only; but as the adults of certain orders became more specially adapted to get their food whilst in the air, and in a manner totally different from that by which they obtain it during their larval existence, the metamorphosis became more com- plete. (3) The advantage accruing from metamorphosis in such orders as Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera, Diptera, and Coleoptera is evident from the vast number of species that have been developed and are now in existence. (4) The fossil remains of insects suggest that in the Paleozoic period ametabolous and heterometabolous insects alone were in existence. The holometabolous insects are much newer and are much richer in the number of species than 49 the older forms. (5) The great abundance of species in these orders shows that metamorphosis is a great advantage to insects in the struggle for existence. The period of exuviation is, in all Arthropods, a very critical one, and they are at that time more than usually helpless before the attacks of their enemies. The holometa- bolous insects, by their power of storing up surplus food (fat-body) in the larval stage, which they can use at leisure for their further development in the pupal stage, by their power of hiding within cocoons, &c., without the necessity of seeking food during this critical period, are able to undergo the necessary changes in their organisation with a minimum of exposure and risk. Metamorphosis, then, appears to be an adaptive habit which certain insects have adopted in their struggle for existence against those enemies by which they are everywhere surrounded, and against those animals that compete against them for food. The habit of flying, by which they are able to escape from numberless enemies that have not this power, was probably one of the first factors in their develop- ment that led to their ultimate success. The additional ability to store up food in the early active (larval) stages of their existence, so as to allow them to adopt a hiding habit and quiescent external form at the most critical period of life, must, however, have been the proximate cause of that success which has culminated in their being numerically the most successful types of terrestrial life in existence, the number of species being almost incredible. _ Gentlemen, I am afraid this is very bare and very meagre,—an attempt, perhaps, to cover too much ground in a limited time ; still I trust the time occupied will not have been altogether wasted. I trust that I have been able to show you that there are branches of entomology still rich in treasures for the worker, that there are views of entomology beyond the destruction of our fauna, and that material should be collected only for a definite scientific purpose and end, and not accumulated to kill time, or because it will have a money value some day. Lazy Days by the Sea (chiefly concerning Lepidoptera). By Ropert ADKIN, F.E.S. Read October 27th, 1898. WHETHER it is the sudden release from the everyday cares of business routine that engenders a desire for absolute indolence, or the familiarity of one’s surroundings on going frequently to the same place for one’s annual holiday that inspires a feeling that there is not much to be gained by unduly exerting one’s self, I know not; but I am fully conscious that on the occasion of my visit to Eastbourne in July and August last I felt no keen inclination to take any great amount of physical exertion, but rather to amuse myself by noting such facts and queries as came in my way whilst strolling about the vicinity of the town, inhaling the delightfully fresh sea breezes, or basking in the glorious sunshine which prevailed during the greater part of the fortnight or so that I was there. One thing that particularly struck my attention was the comparative scarcity of butterflies met with on my daily rambles. Of course there are exposed parts of the Downs where one does not ever expect to find any great number; but there are also many sheltered nooks, such as the undercliff between Holywell and Beachy Head, where they are often, I may say usually, to be found in great pro- fusion. ‘Time after time I traversed this particular bit of ground, both during sunshine and when the shadows fell in the late after- noon, but always with the same result. At first I thought that the season being a late one, I must be too early for them, but this could not apply to the later days that I was there. ‘The fact was brought more particularly to my notice by the circumstance that our fellow- member Mr. Lachlan Gibb of Montreal, who was staying in this country, was spending a couple of days with me, and expressed a wish to renew his acquaintance with the ‘“ Blues,” such as we had collected over this same district many years ago. Leaving home in the early afternoon we made our way to Beachy Head (on the summit of which, by-the-bye, we saw the only specimen of Vavessa cardui that came under my notice while I was at Eastbourne), and descending by the path to the edge of the cliff, we reached the undercliff just as the sun was getting behind the hills and the “ Blues” settling down to rest, just the most favourable time for taking them; but although we searched diligently, and found both Lycena corydon and L. tcarus, we hardly completed a score between them, although I had often in other years found them by hundreds. Pieris brassice and P. rape were, of course, to be seen wherever one went, the former predominating, and becoming, I hear, somewhat abundant in the neighbourhood after I had returned to town, 51 Lpinephile tantra was noted in some numbers, but Satyrus semele was a comparative rarity on the down sides, where it is often one of the most abundant species. A few Canonympha pamphilus, two or three odd examples of Polyommatus phleas, and the like of Vanessa urtice complete the list of butterflies that came in my way, but doubtless the number of species might have been increased had the more inland districts been traversed. So much has been said and written of late regarding the drinking habits of butterflies, that had not the following incident, which came under my notice, been unusually well demonstrated, I should have hesitated to.record it. The morning of August 2nd was warm and sunny, with hardly a breath of air stirring, and to fill in an odd half- hour I strolled along the centre parade in front of the town. The path here is made of very fine shingle and chalky earth, and, to keep it in suitable order for the promenaders and others, who at times do congregate thereabout, 1s watered each morning and afternoon by means of a diminutive water-cart drawn by a couple of men. I had leaned my back against the rail, and was looking dreamily at things in general and nothing in particular, when one of these water-carts was drawn along, and my attention was attracted by quite a number of white butterflies that were following it; one and another of them would settle down from time to time on the freshly watered path, and I had no difficulty in approaching them, whilst thus settled, sufficiently closely to distinctly see them sucking up the drops of wet mud made by the water falling on the dusty surface of the ground. ‘The operation was often repeated, a resting butterfly rising and following the falling water for a time, and then settling down to drink again. I also noticed that as the water-cart passed along, a butterfly would occasionally flit out from among the tansy that grows luxuriantly on the banks, and join those that were following the cart. The incident brought to my mind a similar one that came under my notice in the streets of the same town some years ago ; but I was not then able to observe that the butterflies, though settling on the damp ground, were actually drinking, as they undoubtedly were in the present instance (Proc., 1887, p. 68). Perhaps there is no harder work to be found than the arduous task of doing nothing. When one is ostensibly taking a holiday many opportunities will occur for attempting it, but I will venture to say that a very few minutes’ trial will fully satisfy any ordinary being of the difficulty of such an undertaking. At any rate, that has been my own experience ; and possibly it was the desire to get away from such a hard task that led me to wander around the highways and byways of the town, seeking what its walls and gate-posts might reveal in the way of resting species. Eastbourne, so long as I can remember, has always been a good place for the two common species of Lryophila, but of late years b. murals appeared to me to occur much less commonly than formerly ; indeed, so few examples came under my notice when I was there two or three years ago that 52 I had great fear that the excessive cleanliness of the householders of the sea front was positively exterminating the species, an opinion which I think I ventured to express to you at the time. Formerly the “compo” gate-posts were the places where it was most frequently found ; but these said posts having been painted or hearthstoned, or otherwise cleaned, the conclusion that mz«za/zs had been cleaned away also was not unnatural. At any rate, I had made several tours of inspection of these said gate-posts, having visited them almost daily for a week or so, without finding a solitary example, when we happened to get a dull, windy day, and several A. murals were found, together with an unusually large number of B. pera. I did not at the time in any way connect the presence of the insects with the state of the weather, for the positions in which they were found were often by no means sheltered, but subsequent experience suggested to my mind very plainly that it was a case of direct cause and effect. The walls of an old bridge a mile or two out of the town have been a favourite place for muzvalzs as long as I can remember, and on making a pilgrimage thither to see whether they would still prove as fruitful as formerly, one imago only was found ; but a careful scrutiny of the recesses in the walls easily brought to light a considerable number of recently vacated pupa-cases, and fully a couple of score that contained living pupee ; these varied very much in size,—so small indeed were some of them that I thought they must be 4. ferda, but not one of that species was bred from them, nor have I ever taken it on these particular walls. It was while I was returning from this expedition that the thought occurred to me that it would not be very difficult to see whether there were any Bryophila cocoons on the posts on the sea front of the town where we had found the imagines already referred to. Avyophila cocoons are not easily seen, I admit; but with a practised eye, plenty of patience, and the aid of a not too sharp penknife, one may in time clear almost any get-at-able wall of most, if not all, the cocoons upon it. I therefore determined to make a thorough inspection of the posts and intervening low walls along the front. Selecting such times as the roadway was least frequented, I went over them leisurely from end to end, with the result that I found only one cocoon, and that fully half a mile from the spot where I had found the few imagines ; and this cocoon, judging from appearances, was probably an old one, and possibly had been there for several years. I was not surprised at this negative result, for, as I have before mentioned, the posts had been so often cleaned that few of them had any growth of lichen at all upon them. Where, then, did the insects that one occasionally found on them come from? On pass- ing my experiences of taking them through my mind, it came to my recollection that it was on windy days that they were found, and on windy days only. The obvious suggestion, therefore, was that they had been dislodged from their natural resting-place, wherever that might be, by the wind, and had settled down on the first spot that 53 afforded them necessary protection. This led me to look higher up on the house fronts; but although one may be gifted with fairly long sight, to say whether the darkening of the compo some fifty feet or more from the ground on which one stood was caused by the growth of lichen, was too much of an undertaking. But it so happened that in the house where I was staying I occupied a bedroom on the second floor, and as the lower rooms had bay-windows, which my room had not, I was enabled to get out of my window on to the roof of the bay and examine the coping, which, although out of reach, was not many feet above my head. Here I found not only a con- siderable growth of lichen, but was also fortunate in detecting a perfect insect resting close by it. Here, then, was the solution of the problem, and it is interesting to know that although the species may be exterminated from its lower feeding grounds, it is unlikely that anything short of pulling down the whole of the houses on the sea front of the town simultaneously would materially affect its numbers. The specimens exhibited include a bred series and one of captured examples ; each, it will be noticed, vary considerably both in colour and the intensity of their markings. The former includes some miniature specimens bred from the small pupze before mentioned, one of which is exceptionally dark and devoid of green coloration, being simply a grey and black insect ; but none in the bred series are of the pale buff colour that some of the captured examples are, and I am inclined to think that this form, which is frequent among captured specimens, is the result of fading. 2. fer/a is a decidedly commoner species in the district than the last-named, and may be found on almost any old wall in the town, though more abundant on the sea front than further inland. It appears to run into a local form, having an appreciable amount of buff tone in the pale ground colour. ‘The series exhibited included the lightest coloured specimens taken this year, and the majority of them show a decided buff tone when compared with a series taken at Poole, in Dorset, last year, which I have placed beside them for comparison. Another species that has interested me very much in previous years is Actdalia marginipunctata, and it is needless to say that a sharp look-out was kept for it; but, being some couple of weeks earlier in the season than I had been in recent years when I had found the species, I hardly expected to meet with it. My wanderings in quest of it were, however, not altogether fruitless, as on July 27th I met with an unusually large, much-wasted example, sitting on the stones as usual, a monument of an early brood, which had evidently passed, and of which I had never previously been fortunate enough to find even a trace. ‘The only other example seen was on August 2nd. This was resting just out of reach, and an attempt, after having a good look at it, to get it under a pill-box simply disturbed it, and it was lost. It, however, had the glossy appearance of a specimen just fresh from pupa, and, I have little doubt, was an early example of the later brood (see “‘ Proc.,” 1896, p. 108). 54 Some years ago Mr. South, while collecting along the downs under Beachy Head, took some larve in shoots of Hosa spinosissima, from which he bred an interesting form of Peronea permutana. I have often since that time searched the scrubby bushes of the plant that grows sparingly on the banks all along the hollows of these downs ; but although there were the most distinct evidences of the larve having been there, sometimes quite plentifully, I had never succeeded in taking one—I had always been too late. ‘The present season being a late one, and the time of my visit somewhat earlier than pre- viously, I thought I should have a good opportunity of finding some larvee. I accordingly devoted an afternoon to the back-aching task, and had the satisfaction of finding a fine full-grown one ; but it was the only one, all the other shoots had been deserted. Yet it is some satisfaction to know that the food-plant still flourishes in the district, and that the insect retains a footing in it. It is now upwards of twenty years since I journeyed to Eastbourne with my friends Lachlan Gibb, and the late George Shearwood, with the expressed intention of having a day among the Pyrales. It was a glorious day at the later part of July, and I shall never forget the wealth of life in that particular group that we met with. The whole day was spent on the rough cliff front between the Wish ‘Tower and the chalk-pit near Holywell, and long before it was time to return every box we had was filled twice over. How different has it been of late years! The whole of these rough cliff banks have been turned into parades and roads, and although the Pyrales held a footing on the more distant cliffs and downs for a time, my experience of recent years appeared to show that they were year by year diminishing in numbers, until I feared, when in the neighbourhood two years ago, that they had disappeared altogether. Happy, therefore, was I to find that my fears were unfounded, at any rate so far as two of the species formerly- most common are concerned. Of these, Szenza punctalis was the more abundant. On the memorable occasion just referred to it was met with in the utmost profusion, numbers flitting up out of the herbage at every step that one took. For some years afterwards, although the greater part of its domain had _ been destroyed, it affected a small piece of waste ground that remained in its vicinity, but appeared to be diminishing in numbers year by year, and in 1896 I failed to find it. This summer, however, it again occurred there, although sparingly, and I was glad to find another and larger colony a couple of miles further along the coast, where it appears to be in somewhat greater plenty, and where it is subject to considerably less chance of disturbance. Odd specimens may be found over the greater part of the ground between the two places referred to, but it is only in sheltered spots having fairly thick cover that the species appears to exist in any numbers. Odontia dentalts used to occur, although somewhat sparingly, with the last-named species, but I have not met with it in the district for many years. I have not, however, lost all hope of yet finding it, as its food-plant, 5D the viper’s-bugloss (Zchium vulgare), still grows in many places on the downs. The other common Pyrale was Botys flavalis, a species of very different habits from the before-mentioned, frequenting the exposed downs, and formerly occurring pretty generally all over them, but of late years appears to have totally disappeared from those near the town, and it was quite by accident that I met with it this year. The ist of August, being a fine day with but little wind, provided an opportunity that I had long wished for of making a trip round Beachy Head by rowing-boat. It is not an undertaking that I would recommend to any one not pretty well used to boating, as the coast is, to say the least of it, an awkward one, being fringed by rocks all the way, and long spits of them run out into the sea for a mile or so at intervals. At high tide these are well covered; but, as we were avowedly spending a lazy time, we had no ambition to make the double journey against tide, and to avoid this one has to make a start when it is approaching low water; but even then, by a little careful manipulation, one may manage to slip through gaps in the reefs, and thus keep fairly close to the shore all the way. This we did without any great difficulty, and the grandeur of the scene well repaid us for any risk that we may have incurred. I had often gazed down from the giddy height of the cliff to the sea beneath, I had rounded the ‘‘ Head” on steamers at a respectful distance from its rock-bound coast, but never, until I found myself dancing on the wavelets in a frail skiff at its foot, did I appreciate the majestic gran- deur of that five hundred feet or so of sheer white cliff. Continuing our journey, we eventually reached Birling Gap, and having landed and hauled our boat a safe distance up the beach, we made our way up through the “Gap” on to the cliff, which, as the name of the place implies, is here quite low, to wait the advent of the young flood to help us on our way back to Eastbourne. It was then getting towards late afternoon, the sun shining obliquely on the hill-sides, when, as much to ‘‘kill time” as anything else, we started to walk over the undulating downs in the direction of Cuck- mere Haven. We had not gone many yards when I noticed a bright little moth jump up from the low soft herbage, flit a little distance, and settle down again ; then another and another. The place was veritably alive with them. I had little doubt as to the species, yet wished to make certain of it, but being avowedly on a boating ex- pedition, the only collecting tackle I had with me was a nest of four glass-topped boxes. I managed, however, by a little judicious “stalking,” to secure one of the moths in one of the boxes, and there I beheld, sure enough, my old friend Botys favalis. To fill the remainder of the boxes was only a work of time, not on account of the moths requiring looking for, but by reason of the difficulty of persuading a Pyrale, when “on flight,” to rest long enough to admit of a pill-box being placed over it, especially when one comes to the smaller sizes of the nest. Lithosta complana was also on the 56 wing, and I have no doubt that a considerable number of species might be found on these little-frequented downs if they were properly investigated. With regard to plants I have little to say, but I could not help noting the remarkable way in which the common centaury (£7y¢hrea centaurium) accommodates its method of growth to its surroundings. On the lower parts of the downs, where there is a fairly luxuriant growth of herbage, it is met with as a fine erect plant of some eight to ten inches in height; but on the higher parts of Beachy Head, where the herbage is much walked over, and consequently very short, the stem of the centaury is also so diminutive that the flower-head has the appearance of springing directly from the ground. ‘This dwarf form has, I believe, been described by some authors as a distinct species ; but one has only to follow the growth of the plants as they occur on the various parts of the downs to see that the gradations of height follow so closely upon one another, from the tallest in the hollows to the shortest on the down tops, that it is impossible to say where any dividing line can be drawn. In a field that I believe was supposed to be cropped with oats, but the chief produce of which was scarlet poppies (Papaver rhaas), I found one plant of that species having pure white flowers, and at a short distance from it one in which they were intermediate,—not that they were pink by the blending of the two colours, but scarlet flowers with a con- siderable amount of white splashing. On visiting Alfriston, the quietest village that I ever set foot in, I noticed that the mullein ( Verbascum, sp.) was growing luxuriantly out of the hard stone wall of the parish church. I believe the plant is occasionally found in similar situations, but it was its unusual robustness that attracted my attention in this instance. I have, if my memory serves me, referred on a former occasion to the immense number of snails (He/¢x aspersa) that harbour in the ivy-covered walls of the Eastbourne parades. In dry weather not a snail is to be seen; but it happened that one afternoon, after a couple of hours’ steady rain, I was strolling along one of the upper walks when I came to a spot where a grass lawn reaches to the top of one of these walls. For some reason, best known to themselves, the snails appeared to have congregated at this particular spot, and were making their way across this piece of grass in a steady stream. There must have been many hundreds of them, all moving in one direction as fast as they could crawl. The probable attraction was some flower-beds at the opposite side of the grass, some ten or twelve feet away from the wall, but the plants in the beds could not be seen by the crawling snails, nor was it likely that a sense of smell could have influenced them, as the wind was blowing from the snails towards the flowers, and would therefore take the scent away. What then could have influenced the snails to all take the one direction ? As you will have gathered from the title of this paper, I make no pretence to having worked out any special points or new features in 57 regard to the subjects that I have touched upon, but simply to record the impressions produced upon my mind whilst taking a few days’ rest at the sea-side. Necessarily they have taken the form of sundry more or less disjointed sentences, the only connection between them often being that they refer to a comparatively short time and to one locality. I trust, however, that they may not be altogether devoid of interest. ANY ADDRESS TO, tHE MEMBERS OF THE South London Entomological and Hatural History Society. re has been the custom of my predecessors in this chair to bring their year of office to a close by addressing to you afew words on the subject we have so much at heart. I do not propose to break through so excellent a time-honoured custom, and if I am unable to reach the high level set in some previous Presidential Addresses, at any rate I trust I may be able to interest you in a subject that has occupied the attention of some of the greatest intellects of this century—a subject that will make the nineteenth century famous in the annals of science, that has opened up to us new intellectual enjoyments, that has peopled with living beings the dark ages of the past, and that has led us to have a clearer conception of the organic beings around us, not even excepting man himself. I may premise, however, by referring to the fact that we are, In name at least, a Natural History Society, in practice we are essentially an Entomological Society ; and when one looks through the now extensive list of past Presidents one is struck with the fact that with scarcely an exception each has been essentially an entomologist, and we know that however interested they may have been in natural history | generally, their serious work has been devoted to the study of insects, and to these almost alone. If I follow in their footsteps and base my remarks more particularly on insects, it will be for the same reason that I am an entomologist first, and a general naturalist only by the courtesy of those who do not expect too much from those so called. In spite of this I should like to make a few remarks on the study of natural history, and the intellectual pleasure to be derived therefrom. Huxley once said: ‘‘ The value of any pursuit depends upon the extent to which it fulfils 59 one or all of three conditions. Either it enlarges our ex- perience, or it increases our strength, or it diminishes the obstacles in the way of our acquiring experience and strength. Whatever neither teaches, nor strengthens, nor helps us, is either useless or mischievous. The scientific calling, like all others, must be submitted to these tests, if we desire fairly to estimate its dignity and worth.” Supposing we follow up Huxley’s dicta, and apply the principles involved to our own particular study, that is to natural history as a science, not the mere dilettante view of nature, but to the careful observation of the facts around us, to the careful working out of the life-history of some one organised being through all the numerous cycles of change to which it may be subjected, to the actual classification of the facts observed, and to the formation of logical con- clusions based on the facts at our disposal. The study of natural history as a science may be considered under a variety of heads, of which the chief may be resolved into: (1) Its scope as mere knowledge. (2) The discipline gained in the acquisition of knowledge. (3) The power which the student gains in being able to utilise natural laws to the attainment of his own ends. The mere acquisition of knowledge in itself gives no mean return for the time spent. Scientific study is continually opening up some new source of intellectual delight. Science, considered as power gained, is always improving the condi- tions of our daily life, by giving us some advantage not previously possessed. Possibly, however, the discipline gained by the training of the faculties is the most important result, and the greatest advantage which students obtain from their devoted study of natural science in any one of its multitudinous phases. As mere knowledge, the pleasure to be obtained from the study of natural history is not to be despised. The study of any one branch necessitates, in a great measure, a know- ledge of many kindred subjects. The study of entomology requires the knowledge of a considerable amount of general biology, physiology, botany, geology, geography, and meteor- ology; whilst the impetus that has “recently been given to the study of variation and to the comparison of allied forms has made a knowledge of anatomy, morphology, and deve- lopment absolutely necessary ; and it is impossible, without a somewhat detailed grasp of a perfect cycle of these allied sciences, for a student to work out successfully the various problems connected with the existence of any single species, 60 however simple its structure, or however simple the condi- tions of its environment. All these subjects, therefore, are included in the study of natural history, and every student worthy of the name who takes an intelligent interest in his work must be more or less perfectly equipped with a general knowledge of these subjects, if he is to obtain satisfactory results from his own studies. Not that any naturalist can be supposed to have a really exact and detailed knowledge of all these sciences, any one of which is sufficient to occupy an individual for a lifetime ; but no man can be considered sa naturalist who has not mastered the general principles of each, so far as it refers to his own particular branch of work. The range of natural history, then, is a vast one, even if we consider only the number of problems it presents; but if we come to consider the nature of these problems, the pos- sibilities to the man of intellect are unsurpassed in any other field of scientific work. The great truths of morphology show that all organised beings are formed upon a small number of common types, and that these are to be resolved into still simpler structures, the whole being referable at last to simple cells which have been built up into a multi- tude of forms, some of which are of the utmost complexity. The facts of paleontology show us that most of the great classes of animals that exist to-day have persisted through vast «ons of time, endlessly modified in detail, developing © into slightly different forms, owing probably to a changed environment producing a multiplicity of specific types, that have been extinguished by developing into new forms as the environment has changed, and so on until the present time without losing the general appearance of the types to which they belong. That these common types had their inception in some simple form of life is now generally accepted by scientific men, but the time when this was so goes so far back that the mind utterly fails in its conception. The value of natural history as mental discipline is scarcely equalled by any other branch of science. All education should lead to the development of the human mind, and a properly educated mind should be capable of readily carry- ing out the processes of observation, of experiment, of induction and deduction. No branch of science tends more perfectly to the development of accurate powers of observation than natural history, and the naturalist must of necessity be able to discriminate resemblances and differ- ences of the closest kind, and often, indeed, of the most 61 complex character. To show the value of the experimental side of the subject is superfluous, for all the great advances that have been made during the present century in the sister sciences of physiology and of medicine, have been brought about by experimental research into the nature and func- tions of the organs and tissues of the animals that it is the naturalist’s work to study ; whilst the attempt to solve the relationship of any class of animals or plants, in other words to classify them, offers, perhaps, the very best training to the inductive and deductive faculties that it is possible ‘to con- ceive. The classification of any group of organic beings is. simply the application of inductive processes to the facts observed. The drawing of conclusions from details that at first seem altogether inadequate, but which are perfectly obvious to the trained observer and to a logical mind, shows that the deductive powers developed in a naturalist are of the very highest order. The naturalist, therefore, in the true sense, is an observer and a reasoner, and he who thoroughly gives his attention to his work leaves no side of his intellect untrained. If any doubt the efficacy of natural history as a source of mental discipline, and as an educational instrument of the highest value, let him attempt to describe in detail an insect or a flower, let him attempt to draw an accurate comparison between two closely allied species of animal or plant, or attempt to analyse the relations which any organism bears to itsenvironment. It is not always easy for a trained mind to do these things, and the clumsy attempts of untrained men are unfortunately only too familiar to all specialists ; and a man who considers that these things may be done skilfully, accurately, and thoroughly without special training, should attempt the task before forming a conclusion as to the utility or inutility of natural history as an educational instrument, or as a valuable means of mental training. Huxley, however, says that ‘intellect, however gigantic, confers but half the qualifications required by one who desires to follow science with success, and he who gains only knowledge from her, gains but little. The moral faculties of courage, patience, and self-denial, are of as much value in science as in life. The origin of an erroneous doctrine lies as often in the heart as in the head, and the basis of the character of a great philosopher will commonly be found, on close analysis, to be earnest truthfulness, and no imaginary gift of genius. It is character and not talent which is the essential element of success in science . . Ow) 62 and it seems impossible to doubt that the training of the moral faculty necessarily undergone by the philosopher must react upon the man.”’ This preface as it were is, however, little to do directly with the subject on which I had determined to address you ; but it will perhaps suggest an answer to many of you who may be assailed by some carping critic as to why we waste our time on what he considers trifles, or when one is sud- denly asked as to what is the value of a society like ours, or what advantage is to be obtained from the study of natural history. The subject to which I wish to direct your attention is the all-absorbing one of the variation and the natural con- sequence of variation, the nature of species. Little by little the old ‘‘ shibboleths”’ that collected round the definition of species are being swept away ; one by one the arguments that species, aS we have pleased to term them, have existed through all time in their present forms as separately created entities falls into disuse; one by one facts are added to our knowledge of the organic beings by which we are sur- rounded, that give us a truer insight and more correct appreciation of the organisms themselves, and their actual relation to the environment that surrounds them. The old query, Show us some species that have been formed in comparatively recent times? no longer comes as a thunder- clap to upset the equanimity of the evolutionist. The student has amassed material, he has made observations, and the general conclusions he is able to draw make for the strengthening- of the theory that the species now in exist- ence have.been evolved from pre-existent forms, modified in response to a changed environment, each rising as it were on the ashes of its predecessor, which becomes extinct in giving birth to its offspring, the environment which requires the development of a new form sounding the death-knell of the old form, which no longer responds sufficiently to it. We see species in this sense as a continuous series of modifications of previous forms, each in turn becoming extinct, though never really dying or creating a break in continuity, each modification brought about as a change in the external conditions of the life of the species, each modi- fication being developed because of its use to the species, and for this purpose only. Long before the publication of ‘‘ The Origin of Species,” many scientific men had stated their belief in the instability of specific forms, both of animal and vegetable life. Buffon 63 considered nature to be always in a state of flux and move- ment, and expressed the opinion that ‘‘ nature could effect anything with the forces at her disposal, except create matter and destroy it.” Dr. Erasmus Darwin and Lamarck both held that changes in species were caused by the direct action of their environment, and by the use or disuse of their various organs. St. Hilaire, Herbert Spencer, and others elaborated views of a similar character; but it was not until the publication of ‘‘ The Origin of Species” that a theory at all commensurate with the importance of the subject, with the mass of facts already collected, and gener- ally applicable to the various forms of organic life, was elaborated to explain the process of organic evolution, nor had any previous writer been able to show in what manner organic beings responded to and were especially adapted to exist in their environment, nor how known natural laws had been able to produce the complex adaptations, as exhibited by the various organs, to the environment in which each individual lived. The explanation of the process of organic evolution as enunciated by Darwin was, therefore, readily received by scientific men, not as an actual explanation of all the facts connected with the subject, but as a theory that helped to explain many of the difficulties that had hitherto obscured the manner of evolution, and the mode of operation of the forces at work in its production, by an appeal to natural laws; and his theory of natural selection, although by no means accepted in all its details at the present time, still remains with some modifications as to detail, as facts have since accumulated, the basis of the theory of the lines on which evolution hastaken place, and is generally considered to be the main if not exclusive means of the modifications that organic beings have undergone and are now under- going. Variation is the fundamental factor of the Darwinian theory of natural selection. It is quite safe to say that no two organic beings are exactly identical in all their cha- racters, and the amount of difference between individuals of the same species, not only in size, shape, colour, and external characters generally, but in the performance of their vital functions, is much greater than has been generally granted or is now generally believed; and this variation in the performance of the vital functions of an organism is of the greatest importance, for, in some degree at least, certain external variations are but the expression of this internal variation, which may be rapidly weeded out by 64 natural selection, if disadvantageous to the species, but which may be seized upon, and thus made a factor in the evolution of a new form, if it be advantageous. The details of the facts of variation are only known in a few classes of animals, and in these in a comparatively small number of species; but study shows that every organ and part, even the quality and nature of the tissue forming each organ, are subject to great and continued variation. The close study of a single species of our British Lepidoptera in the whole range of its geographical distribution, will show that these variations are not the small and comparatively unimportant differences that some opponents of the Dar- winian theory have asserted them to be, but considerable and marked in their extremes, with as a rule intergrading forms between the extremes, sometimes filling up the gap by almost imperceptible gradations ; whilst in others the grada- tions appear to be less numerous, the extremes being dis- tinctly marked and apparently very different in their general facies. These, so far as I understand, are included with sports or chance aberrations that occur but rarely in the life of a species, as ‘‘ discontinuous variations’”’ by Bateson, yet in their essence it appears to me they are distinctly different both in their nature and essential characters. Probably I shall have occasion to refer to these so-called ‘‘ discontinuous variations” later in this paper. The rapid multiplication of species and their enormous fecundity are other important factors in the scheme of organic evolution. The rapidity with which many species multiply is, as a rule, far greater than is generally assumed, and this is especially the case in what are termed the lower forms of organic life. Their fecundity, too, or reproductive power is equally amazing. It has been estimated that a single puffball produces 600,000,000,000 of spores to a cubic inch, and it is known that a single Wood Leopard Moth (Zeuzera pyrina) lays on an average above 1000 eggs. Assum- ing that the progeny of a single puffball lived and came to maturity, it is evident that in a few years the whole earth would be covered with puftballs; and if the whole progeny of a single Zeuzera pyrina lived, say for five or six genera- tions, the sexes being equally divided, the females would increase aS I : 500 : 250,000 : 125,000,000 : 62,500,000,000 : 31,250,000,000,000, the sixth generation numbering in both sexes 62,500,000,000,000 examples. In a few years the whole of our timber trees would be destroyed by the amazing numbers of Zeuzera developed, It is, however, well known 65 that the average number of each species is maintained from year to year, that there may bea slight fluctuation in abund- ance comparing one year with its predecessor or successor ; but we know that on the whole the single pair of 1880 was represented by a single pair in 18go, and that the single pair of 1890 will be represented by a single pair in 1900. We become aware after consideration of facts like these that a vast amount of destruction must take place year by year, and that only an exceedingly small percentage of the eggs laid can ever become perfect insects. What causes this destruction ? The answer is necessarily complex ; but however complex it may be, it brings us to the third important factor in the Darwinian theory of evolution, the tremendous struggle for existence that exists amongst individuals of the same species, and the conse- quent survival of the fittest. The destruction may be brought about by a variety of causes: (1) Atmospheric conditions—rain, floods, storms, cold, drought, excessive Inaue “Gie, Lollels, Cxes- (A) Natural enemies—dependent, of course, entirely on the class or species of animal or plant. (3) Changes brought about by man—agricultural improve- ments, drainage, &c. (4) Starvation—owing to destruction of food-plant, either from natural causes or from the abund- ance of individuals devouring the particular food-plant, often converted here into a struggle with individuals of its own kind. (5) Disease. There are, of course, many other factors which will occur as readily to any field naturalist as to myself. Probably the opponents of the theory of natural selection have objected most persistently and strongly to the small amount of variation noticeable amongst the individuals of most species from a given district. This is, of course, true up to a point, necessarily true; but the objectors forget that these individuals which have reached maturity are already the selected individuals of their race, having been already selected, if insects, in the oval, larval, pupal, and imaginal stages, for some qualities possessed which were lacking in and led to the destruction of their companions. The comparison is being made between those individuals which have been preferred owing to their having fallen in all their stages within the limits of the average type of the species, and because they responded best to the necessities of their environment in all their different stages. Surely this is sufficient to explain why the individuals appear to exhibit so small an amount of variation, especially when collected 5 66 in a restricted district, for it is well known that a species with a fairly constant form in one locality often branches off and produces distinct local races in other districts, each local race being very fairly constant in its general facies within its own area. Thecase of Melit@a aurinia, of Gnophos obscurata, &c., will at once occur to all naturalists. It is well known that whole broods of Lepidoptera reared in confinement often give a much greater range of variation than the same number of examples taken by chance in the habitat of the parents, and that have been selected by nature before reaching maturity. This is probably due to the facts that the whole brood, or a great part of it, 1s reared by the experimenter without much loss, and because, having been reared under artificial conditions, no selection has taken place. This, too, probably explains why, in the years of comparative abundance of a species, there is frequently a wider range of variation than when the species is compara- tively scarce, for the struggle for existence is more or less intermittent in its most severe forms, and under a combina- tion of favourable circumstances that may occur from time to time a larger number of individuals come to maturity. Nor must it be overlooked that the diversity and complexity of conditions forming the environment tend, in different years, to the selection of different characters: e.g. extreme cold will select those that can bear, and kill off those that cannot bear, a very low temperature; extreme drought will kill off those weak in other characters, whilst extreme wet will tend to the preservation of those that can stand ex- treme moist conditions, and the destruction of those that cannot. It is probably this complexity of characters, resulting from a complexity of environmental conditions, that permits of such a great range of variation as we often see in some species, although in every district (and I make this proviso so as to include distinct local forms, which often in their essence are almost species in themselves) that variation plays about a mean which may be looked upon as repre- senting the type of the species. That this is so is distinctly proved by the difference that we often find existing in the types of a species from different districts, in which the species is subjected to different environmental conditions, including among many other factors heat, cold, drought, and moisture. The typical form for a given district repre- sents, then, that form which is able to survive the various changes to which the species is subjected in different 67 seasons, whilst the more aberrant individuals are killed off, and sooner or later eliminated. In spite of this general truth, it is well known that we do occasionally find a marked aberration occurring among a large number of specimens which differ but little from each other. Such a form may bear no close resemblance to any of the examples comprising the whole brood to which it belongs, and yet may occasionally recur in other broods at more or less distant intervals of time. Such individuals are known as “‘ sports,” and are generally considered to be of little value in the progress of organic evolution by those who believe in the general efficiency of natural selection. Sports of this nature are generally supposed to be atavisms; and that this view is possibly correct is fairly well proven by the well- known Pyrameis cardut ab. elymt, odd examples of which are occasionally captured at long-distant intervals in this country and on the Continent, but which Fischer bred rather freely by exposing the pupz to low temperatures, 3° to 12° C., at a critical period of their development. In Vanessa 10, too, an occasional aberration is taken in nature in which the ocellated spots are resolved into their con- stituent parts, producing the series of pale submarginal spots, which is a decided Vanessid character, in a compara- tively unmodified form. In no part of the distribution of this species is this known to be the normal form, yet Merrifield was able to produce this form by icing the pupa at 33° F. for twenty-two days, following this by placing it in a refrigerator for twenty days, and then in a cool cellar for eighteen days, the imago, on emergence, showing the resolution of the ocellus into a chain of small bright white spots, with a slight bluish shade about them. There appears to be no doubt that the result is produced by the effect of a low temperature on the organic functions during histolysis and histogenesis; in other words, that it is an outward manifestation of an inward physiological change. Such internal variation as is here suggested appears to be due to the ability of the species (or its progenitor) to respond in past times to a degree of cold in its pupal stage now rarely experienced by it, the species still having sufficient elasticity in this direction to so respond if necessary, in which case the form produced is an atavism, and probably approaches to some extent the Vanessid stem from which V. 70 sprung. ‘‘ Sports”’ in their most marked forms are apparently outward manifestations of the extreme possibilities of variations of physiological functions which lie at the present time outside the normal 68 mean of the typical species, and which usually are eliminated in the struggle for existence, but which occasionally manage to reach the final stage of the species. Such ‘‘ sports” are, in their most marked forms, the true ‘‘ discontinuous varia- tions’’ of Bateson, and it is rather remarkable that certain modern evolutionists appear inclined, contrary to the generally accepted view, to look upon these discontinuous variations as not only of equal, but of even greater impor- tance in the evolution of species than the smaller individual differences existing between the more typical forms. It may be well before going further to obtain some definite and clear limitation to the term ‘‘ discontinuous variation,” which is coming into common use in our magazines and in the daily conversation of entomologists. It appears that the term is often misapplied, and one is inclined to think that the author of the term uses it in so wide a sense that it in- cludes many cases widely differing in their essence. The black Amphidasys betularia ab. doubledayaria, is often quoted as one of the most marked cases of discontinuous variation, but is it really a case of discontinuous variation at all? It is well known that in some broods, reared in confinement, the progeny have separated distinctly into two portions, one of the typical ‘‘ peppered”’ form, the other of the ‘‘ negro” aberration, with scarcely any trace of what might be termed intermediates. On the other hand, other broods have given a graduated series from the pale to black, the examples showing a regular gradation of forms varying but little from those nearest, but ‘leading from one extreme to the other. Apart from the fact, however, that an abundance of inter- grading forms do exist, it may be well to ask those that call the i black ” aberration a marked instance of discontinuous variation, whether it be really so? It occurs to me to ask whether this change from grey to black is so discontinuous as at first sight it appears? Of course the apparent change from white to black, as measured by the human sense of sight, is a great one; but is the change from a white or whitish grey to a black scale in A. betularia a great one, or so discontinuous as it appears? On the other hand, ts it not the simplest change that can take place, due to a primary modification of the chemical condition of the scale contents ? That there is an abundance of intermediate forms, with a fewer or greater number of black scales, does not vitiate the suggestion, but rather increases its value; for as the change is possibly due in this case to increased vital activities, it is to be expected that intermediate stages will exist and inter- 69 mediate forms result. In the same way it is possible that the yellow aberration /utescens of Callimorpha herais in reality more closely allied to the scarlet type than is the inter- mediate ab. saturnina, the yellow being the simplest chemical change that can take place in the normal scarlet pigment. In this way probably the colour of the ab. saturnina is due to the ability of the two germs (represented by a yellow and scarlet form respectively) to mix organically and produce a tint that appears intermediate to our senses. In other words, we may suppose that certain conditions produce the typical red form; other conditions (acting through the organism in its early stages) produce the yellow form, cross the red and yellow form, and red, or yellow, or intermediate forms may result. The question at once arises, Would under any conditions the yellow form become a species? It is quite clear, by the persistence and abundance of the yellow form in certain areas of the western distribution of this species, and its absence in other districts, that something in its environment is the cause of its development. It appears to be confined almost entirely to western France, the Channel Islands, and south-western England. Only once out of some hundreds (nay, thousands) of examples have I observed it abroad, and then in Piedmont (at Susa). Neither in the Pyrénées Orien- tales nor Asturias, in Savoy nor Dauphiny, near Aosta, the Austrian Tyrol, Bregenz, nor other localities in which we have seen this species (sometimes in amazing numbers) have we ever observed a yellow example. What conditions then occur in the west of France, the Channel Islands, and the south-west of England that do not occur in southern and central Europe? ‘There are less sun, more moisture, a later spring, and a longer summer, with their resultant effects on vegetation in these western districts. There are as results the more rapid feeding up of the larva, and more rapid metabolism in the pupal stage, in central and southern Europe. Not that the yellow” aberration never occurs in southern Europe; we have already noticed one at Susa among thousands of typical examples, and this shows that the physiological peculiarities tha: result in the production of the yellow coloration are within the limits of variation possible to the species even in its most typical form. If, however, this peculiar phase of the insect’s organisation has become so far developed, owing to changed environment, as to produce a very large percentage of ‘individuals so con- stituted in western Europe, it is clear that we have arrived 70 well on the way to the form becoming a specialised local race, responding by means of a peculiarity in organisation to a peculiarity in environment, and thus a distinct step towards its becoming a distinct species. On the other hand, one might ask whether this yellow coloration, being the expression of a slight change in the organism itself due to environment, and of value to the species under those peculiar environmental conditions amongst which it persists, indi- cates any greater step in the direction of a new species than does the development of a dark race of Gnophos obscurata on peat, and of a white one on chalk soils. I would answer that it does not indicate a greater step, because I am firmly convinced that specialisation to the complex conditions of a particular environment is the great factor in the development of specific forms, and in both cases instanced the changed conditions of environment have apparently resulted in a modification of physiological func- tion, in one of which the result has been the change of a red into a yellow pigment, whilst the other has resulted in the production of a greater number of black (on peat) or white (on chalk) scales. That these specialisations are mainly judged by naturalists by the external appearances of form and colour does not alter the fact that they are essen- tially manifestations of varying conditions of function in the organism, the external appearances being moulded by their utility to the preservation of the species in its respective stages. I was much struck, therefore, to read in the ‘‘ Materials for the Study of Variation” that ‘ the differences between speciés are specific, and are differences of kind forming a discontinuous series; whilst the diversities of environment to which they are subject are, on the whole, differences of degree, and form a continuous series. It is, therefore, hard to see how the environmental differences can thus be in any sense the directing cause of specific differences, which, by the theory of natural selection, they should be.” It may be well to examine this carefully. It is quite true that if we compare species such as Dryas paphia and Argynnis adippe, Apatura iris and A. ila, the differences between them are specific and differences of kind; but can we say that their respective environments, even if inhabiting the same wood, are not just as different in kind? But if we consider a group of organisms such as Anthrocera lonicera, A. medicaginis, A. trifoliit, A. palustris, and A. serizzatt, how far is this statement true? Certain groups of Evebia, 71 Melitea, or Colias would serve our purpose for illustrating this point equally well, and it becomes necessary before saying that the differences between species are specific to have a definition of the term species, an almost impossible thing in the present state of our knowledge, for the defini- tion is little more than a matter of personal opinion in all cases of real difficulty. Up to a certain point it is true to say that the differences between the various Anthrocerids just named are differences of kind, but do these differences form a really discontinuous series? One may also ask whether the differences are not in reality differences of degree rather than of kind, just as the diversities of environ- ment are stated to be, on the whole, differences of degree ? But do the differences of environment form a continuous series? Is there not a distinct difference between the environment of