their stridulating powers well developed.-W. T. PEARCE; 111, High Street, Gosport, November 20, 1889.

Isle of Wight.-Acherontia atropos was by no means uncommon here in September, when larvæ and pupae were found singly scattered over a considerable area.-ALBERT J. HODGES.

Dorsetshire.-On 10th August last, I received by post a larva of Acherontia atropos, which was found feeding on vegetable-marrow in a nursery-garden at Blandford. It immediately pupated, and the perfect insect emerged and fully expanded on 18th October.-C. B. SMITH; 58, Rectory Road, Stoke Newington, N.

SPHINX CONVOLVULI IN 1889.-The following additional records have been received:

Co. Cork. This Sphinx-moth was very common at Glandore this autumn, previously the capture of two or three only having come under my notice. I saw and captured about eighteen, all visiting the flowers of Nicotiana affinis. Every favourable evening in September a couple of these fine moths flew over the favoured plants, making a loud buzzing sound in their quick flight. — C. DONOVAN; Westview, Glandore, October 23, 1889.

Lancashire.-I took four S. convolvuli this year, on a patch of Nicotiana affinis in my garden, the dates being Augt. 24th, 29th, Sept. 8th, 13th.G. PODMORE; Charney, Hall, Grange-over-Sands, October 25, 1889.

Isle of Wight.-I can add two captures of S. convolvuli to your list, which specimens came to petunia bloom on Sept. 11th and 12th last.

ALBERT J. HODGES.

DEILEPHILA EUPHORBIA.-This very rare insect in Britain has this year re-appeared. A young friend, this autumn, came upon thirteen nearly full-fed larvæ, feeding upon Euphorbia paralis. They all very shortly after capture pupated, though three of them died in the process. The remaining ten are at the present moment healthy pupæ in my possession. I believe it is now many years ago since the larvæ of D. euphorbia were last taken in this country. The above are British beyond all doubt.(Rev.) J. SEYMOUR ST. JOHN; 42, Castlewood Road, Stamford Hill, N., November 22, 1889.

SMERINTHUS POPULI, RAPID DEVELOPMENT OF.-. -It may be of interest to note that a young friend of mine, living near London, has bred several specimens of the above in August last, from ova laid two months before.— J. M. ADYE; November 20th, 1889.-I found a full-fed larva of S. populi at Southsea, on July 14th, which pupated and appeared as a moth on the 14th August.-W. T. PEARCE; 111, High Street, Gosport.

SMERINTHUS TILIE: MALES ASSEMBLING. Last year, I again, in Surrey, took about a dozen S. tiliæ, assembling round a captive female.HARRY M. SEE; 4, St. Paul's Close, Walsall.

PARASITES OF BOMBYX RUBI. When preserving some of the larvæ of Bombyx rubi, I came to an unusually fine specimen and which to all appearance looked as healthy as the others. Upon emptying it I found that it was completely filled with nearly full-grown ichneumon larvæ. These I found, upon preserving them in spirits, to number fifty-six. This, I think, is an exceedingly high number to be enclosed in one larva. A. LIONEL CLARKE; Barton, Gloucester.

EPIONE PARALLELARIA VAR.-Whilst collecting Lepidoptera early in July, 1889, a short distance from York, I had the good fortune to take the very rare variety of the extremely local E. parallelaria (vespertaria), along with several type specimens. The variety is of a dark uniform brick-red colour, and has the usual dark border.-WILLIAM HEWETT; 3, Wilton Terrace, Fulford Road, York, October 20, 1889. [This variety is more commonly bred than captured; some years not unfrequently.-ED.].

METROCAMPA MARGARITARIA VAR. - On July 29th, 1889, I bred a beautiful variety of this elegant species, with all the cilia pale red, which seems to be a continuation of the red streak at the apex of the fore wings. The cilia thus coloured adds much to the beauty of the insect. NEWSTEAD; Grosvenor Museum, Chester.

- R.

ODONTOPERA BIDENTATA VAR.—I took a fine variety of O. bidentata on the 18th May last, which is perfectly black all over. HARRY M. SEE; 4, St. Paul's Close, Walsall.

-I obtained some ova of

IRREGULAR EMERGENCE OF LEPIDOPTERA. Nemeophila russula in 1889, which hatched in due course. Two of the larvæ fed up rapidly, pupated, and became perfect insects on the 2nd September. The remainder are now about half grown, and are behaving as might be expected from them. Broods of Melanthia ocellata and Euplexia lucipara have acted in a similar manner; and of two pupa of Notodonta ziczac, one has already emerged, but not the other. — C. NICHOLSON; 202, Evering Road, Upper Clapton, N.E.

COLORADO ENTOMOLOGY.-In Entom. xxi., pp. 298-305, I gave an account of some entomological explorations in Eastern Custer Co., and S.W. Pueblo Co., Colorado, enumerating the species taken, so far as then identified. In Entom. xxii. I added three Hymenoptera to the list. Since then I have obtained the names of various other species taken, which I quote below, as a further contribution to the fauna of this interesting regiou. For identifications I am indebted to Prof. A. S. Packard, Dr. G. H. Horn, Dr. John Hamilton, Lord Walsingham, and Mr. W. H. Edwards. (1.) E. Custer Co. :— Saprinus sphæroïdes, Lec., Coccinella 9-motata, Hbst., Epuraa papagona, Listrus senilis, Lec., Desmaris constrictus, Smicronyx fulvus, Papilio asterias, Fab., Pyrgus tesselata, Scudd., Pamphila nevada, (2.) S.W. Pueblo Co.:-Dendroctonus terebrans, Amara fallax, Lec., Badister obtusus, Diplotaxis heydeni, Serica curvata, Lec., Diabrotica atripennis, Ditylus obscurus, Tomicus pini, Say, Tachyporus jocosus, Say, Crocota brevicornis, Walker, Tolype, u. sp., Padisca dorsisignatana, Clem., Psecadia dicostrigella, Cham., Epyris monticola, Ashm., n. sp.-T. D. A. COCKERELL; West Cliff, Custer Co., Colorado, October 19, 1889.

Scudd.

NOTES FROM NEW ZEALAND.—We have again been favoured with an unusually fine winter in New Zealand, as the following notes on insects observed during August and September will sufficiently show, seeing that these two months are the equivalents of February and March in Europe. On July 31st my brother saw the first hybernated specimen of Vanessa gonerilla, and on Aug. 13th they were very abundant in the Botanical Gardens, as well as Ichneumon mediator and several Diptera. On Aug. 21st I found a large number of the full-grown larvæ of Nyctemera annulata ou the New Zealand groundsel (Senecio bellidioides), but saw no perfect insects. I also

opened a nest of Formica zealandica, which contained large numbers of winged males and females, so that I conclude this species takes its conjugal flight in the spring, whilst that of Atta antarctica occurs in the autumn. On August 29th and 31st I was engaged in collecting Coleoptera, and, besides taking several of the Pselaphida, succeeded in obtaining four or five specimens of Otiorhynchus sulcatus, a somewhat uncommon species in New Zealand. September has been a warm wet month. The commonest species of Lepidoptera was Pasiphila bilineolata?, of which I managed to obtain a good series, and hope, with the assistance of Mr. Meyrick, to be able at last to rescue that unfortunate insect from the chaotic condition in which it has so long been involved. Sept. 22nd was a lovely spring day, and on visiting an old locality, where I have collected at least weekly for upwards of seven years, I was astonished to meet with Vanessa otea, a species hitherto only recorded from localities as far north as Napier and New Plymouth. I also saw many hybernated specimens of Vanessa cardui, so it appears likely that we are again to be favoured with this interesting species in unusual numbers. I should also mention that during the last week in September, a young friend of mine captured two male specimens of Charagia virescens at a shop window in Palmerston North, attracted by the light. It will therefore, perhaps, be necessary to somewhat modify the statement in my former paper as to the rarity of that species in the imago state (Entom. Feb. 1885). In one of these specimens the white spots on the forewings are slightly larger than usual, almost forming a continuous band from the costa to the inner margin of the wing. The other is typical.-G. V. HUDSON; Wellington, New Zealand, October 3, 1889.

HYDRADEPHAGA NEAR LONDON. My search for aquatic beetles in a pond near Tottenham during the present month, resulted in the capture of nineteen specimens of Hydrophilus piceus, sixteen of which were perfect. The elytra of one were somewhat deformed, so I returned it to its hauuts. Dytiscus marginalis was also very plentiful there. The pond was large and deep, but the beetles were amongst the weeds near the surface and about three or four feet from the edge of the pond. Near Stamford Hill, about the same time, I also got Dytiscus circumflexus (2), D. punctulatus, and Hydrous caraboides. With II. piceus were also four nice specimens of Ranatra linearis.-F. MILTON; 164, Stamford Hill, N., Nov. 20.

NEW VIEWS ON THE SUBORDER HOMOPTERA. · Burmeister says truly, "a system can only separate and connect where Nature itself has marked separation and connection." I will not involve myself in a discussion as to the sharp and natural distinctions between suborders and families. As Mr. Distant (Entom. xxii. 360) seems to be clear in his mind on this point, I, in company with others, should value his definitions, or those, indeed, of any one competent to give them. Species, for practical purposes, are natural facts. Families are inferences from facts, which is a very different thing. I now gather that "les Cigalles Muettes," of Latreille, including the Fulgorinæ, Cercopinæ, Jassinæ, &c., are neither Cicada nor Cicadide, but that they range as equally distinct groups Aphis, Coccus, and Psylla. But I suggest that the authorities of great names (the pioneers of Zoology) are not to be dismissed simply because they seem to be not "modern." My critic" knows no silent Cicadide." However, under one or more of the following terms,-Cicada, Cicadariæ, Cicadidæ, Cicadinæ, Cicadellida, Cicadinen, and Cicadelles,-Les Muettes are

with

grouped by Linnæus, Fabricius, Schrank, Germar, Burmeister, Fallen, Kirschbaum, Sahlberg, Fieber, Walker, Edwards, and Scudder. The author of this note finds himself in good company as to the choice of a title to his forthcoming illustrations of this group of insects. Dr. F. Zavier Fieber published his Katalog. d. Europæischen Cicadinen '(embracing the Fulgoridæ, &c.) in 1872. The posthumous papers of this "grand hémiptériste" were edited by M. Reiber, assisted by Messrs. Puton and Lethierry, in 1875. Dr. Stal dedicated his fourth volume of Hémiptéres ' to his friend Dr. Fieber in 1866. I fail to see why the author of 1875 is to be dismissed as an authority on European Cicadinæ, as being the least modern of the two. A friend proposes the names Stridulantes and Silentes, instead of the neuter names Stridulantia and Silentia, as inserted in my sketch-plan; they seem to be better.-G. B. BUCKTON.

·

MORE NOTES FROM THE NEW FOREST.-I can corroborate Mr. Blaber's remarks (Entom. 261), as to the general scarcity of Lepidoptera, and the complete failure of “ sugar at Lyndhurst in 1889. I went there on the 25th June and stayed till the 10th July. The first ten days were all that could be desired as far as the weather was concerned, but after that rain set in, and, I believe, continued intermittently till the middle of August. Of Diurni, Lycana agon was common and in splendid condition, but, as usual, rather local. Of L. icarus I did not see a single specimen, and only one Thecla quercus. My experience, however, does not coincide with Mr. Blaber's as regards Argynnis paphia. I only saw a few males at first, but both sexes became very abundant towards the end of my stay. Of the variety valesina I saw two, one of which I took. I hear they have been rather common there this season. A. adippe was fairly common, but I only took one aglaia. Limenitis sibylla was by no means scarce, as I frequently saw two or three at once. The Pieridae were conspicuous by their almost total absence. Epinephele ianira and E. hyperanthes were extremely abundant, as usual. E. tithonus and Hesperia thaumas (linea) were just coming out, though H. sylvanus was common. I was too early for Vanessa io, V. atalanta, Pararge megara, and Gonopteryx rhamni, though a few hybernated specimens of the latter were still to be seen. Of Melanargia galatea I took five specimens in an enclosure near the station. Of moths, Nemeophila russula was not uncommon on the heaths; but night-flying moths were remarkably scarce, especially Noctuæ. Larentia pectinitaria, Melanippe montanata, and Acidalia remutata, seemed to be the principal things, and Tortrix viridana was a perfect pest, when flying, from its knack of looking like any other insect but itself. I noticed that the trees did not present such a miserable appearance as they did last year, which was, perhaps, on account of the comparative scarcity of larvæ.-C. NICHOLSON; 202, Evering Road, Upper Clapton, N.E.

ERRATUM. Entom. December, 1889, in Mr. Bignell's communication, page 306, lines 5 and 7 from foot, for Trogus exaltorius read T. exaltatorius.

SOCIETIES.

ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. - December 4th, 1889. - The Right Hon. Lord Walsingham, M.A., F.R.S., President, in the chair. Prof. Franz Klapálek, of the Zoological Department, Royal Museum, Prague, was elected a Fellow of the Society. Mr. W. L. Distant

The

exhibited, on behalf of Mr. Lionel de Nicéville, a branch of a walnut tree, on which was a mass of eggs laid by a butterfly belonging to the Lycænidæ. He also exhibited two specimens of this butterfly which Mr. de Nicévillə had referred to a new genus and described as Chatoprocta odata. species was said to occur only in the mountainous districts of North-West India, at elevations of 5000 to 10,000 feet above the sea-level. Dr. D. Sharp exhibited the eggs of Piezosternum subulatum, Thunb., a bug from South America. These eggs were taken from the interior of a specimen which had been allowed to putrefy before being mounted. Although the body of the parent had completely rotted away, the eggs were in a perfect state of preservation, and the cellular condition of the yelk was very conspicuous. Dr. Sharp also exhibited a specimen of Pacilochroma lewisii, Dist., a Pentatomid bug from Japan of a dull green colour, which when damped with water becomes almost instantly of a metallic copper colour. Mr. J. H. Leech exhibited a large number of Lepidoptera recently collected for him by Mr. Pratt in the neighbourhood of Ichang, Central China. The collection included about fifty-four new species of butterflies and thirty-five new species of moths. Capt. Elwes observed that he noticed only two genera in this collection which did not occur at Sikkim, and that the similarity of the insect fauna of the two regions was very remarkable. He added that about fifteen years ago, in a paper "On the Birds of Asia,” he had called attention to the similarity of species inhabiting the mountaiu ranges of India, China, and Java. Mr. M Lachlan remarked that he had lately received a species of dragonfly from Simla which had previously only been recorded from Pekin. Mr. Distant said he had lately had a species of Cicada from Hongkong, which had hitherto been supposed to be confined to Java. Mr. W. H. B. Fletcher exhibited a preserved specimen of a variety of the larva of Sphinx ligustri, taken in a wood near Arundel, Sussex. Mr. W. White asked if the larva was normal in its early stage; he also exhibited drawings of the larvæ of this species, and called especial attention to one of a variety that had been exhibited at a previous meeting by Lord Walsingham. Mr. F. D. Godman read a long letter from Mr. Herbert Smith, containing an account of the Hymenoptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, and Coleoptera he had recently collected in St. Vincent, where he was employed under the direction of a Committee of the Royal Society, appointed to investigate the Natural History of the West Indies. A discussion followed, in which Dr. Sharp, Cipt. Elwes, Lord Walsinghim, and Mr. M'Lachlan took part. Capt. Elwes read a letter from Mr. Doherty, in which the writer described his experiences in collecting insects in the Naga Hills by means of light and sugar. Mr. Doherty expressed an opinion that light, if used in very out-of-the-way places, rather repelled than attracted insects; in fact that they required to be accustomed to it, and that the same remarks applied to " sugar." Colonel Swinhoe said that the attractive power of light depended very much on its intensity, and on the height of the light above the ground. By means of the electric light in Bombay he had collected more than 300 specimens of Sphingidæ in one night. Mr. J. J. Walker, R.N., stated that he had found the electric light very attractive to insects in Panama. Mr. M'Lachlan, Dr. Sharp, Mr. Leech, Capt, Elwes, the Rev. Canon Fowler, Mr. A. J. Rose, aud others continued the discussion. Mr. Lionel de Nicéville communicated a paper entitled "Notes on a new genus of Lycænidæ." Mr. F. Merrifield read a paper entitled "Systematic temperature experiments on some