Francis Walker; Piercefield, near Chepstow, October, 1852.

Occurrence of Vanessa Antiopa near London. — Whilst partridge-shooting on Friday last, with my friend Mr. Barlow, we saw a splendid specimen of that fine insect, Vanessa Antiopa, and have heard of the capture of others this season.—Fredk. Bond; Kingsbury, Middlesex, November 1, 1852.

Erroneous Record of the Capture of Clostera Anachoreta..—I have seen the specimen of Anachoreta recorded by Mr. Weaver (Zool. 3399), and find that it is nothing but the common reclusa; it does not differ in the least from the ordinary appearance of the species, except in perhaps being a little more ferruginous. If I had bred it, I should have thought nothing of it.-Henry Doubleday; Epping, November, 1852.

Notes respecting Acherontia Atropos.-On the morning of the 6th of August I received from Thorngumbald, a village six miles distant, a very fine larva of Acherontia Atropos, which had been found the day before. The person who sent it informed me that if I went over I could probably find plenty more, he having obtained above a dozen in his own garden a short time before: I therefore lost no time in walking there, anxious to get as many as possible. On arriving at the village, and commencing my search, I found I was unfortunately rather too late, for on examining the potato-plots in the garden where so many had been captured, I perceived they had all gone under ground, nothing but the trimmed plants and enormous sized excrement being visible. The larvæ appear to be very stationary in their habits, not roaming about, but remaining in a comparatively small space, as appears from the bared branches of the plants and the excrements. I also remarked that they eat very little until within a short time of their full growth, when from their traces they must feed enormously, and although I searched for the remains of their earlier growths, I was unsuccessful. I afterwards visited some other potato-fields in the neighbourhood, and after some time was fortunate enough to find two full-grown larvæ. They are exceedingly difficult to discover, and I have little doubt that many were overlooked. The best plan is to cast the eye carefully over the plant until it is arrested by a projecting bare branch, trimmed of its leaves, and on a closer inspection a larva is sure to be found. On my arrival at home I placed my larvæ in a breeding-box, with plenty of food: on the 12th they went into the ground. I then removed the box into a fern and orchid stove, being anxious to have the perfect insects this year. On the morning of September 24 I was gladdened by the sight of a splendid specimen, and in a few days more the other appeared. I found the moths very pugnacious, for on disturbing them with my fingers they would exhibit a strong inclination for fighting, striking with their strong fore-feet, and uttering at the same time their well-known peculiar squeak, which reminded me as much as anything of the note of the marsh titmouse, only much shriller. It does not appear to me to be difficult to account for the periodical plenty and scarcity of this insect. In warm seasons, similar to the one just past, the larvæ arrive at maturity and undergo their change into the pupa state in August, the moth appearing in the following month: their eggs would consequently perish from the low temperature of the ensuing winter. Should the summer, however, not be a very warm one, the larva undergoes its change in September, and remains underground until the following June. This seems to be the most probable reason why the larvæ are found in great plenty some years, and then years and years will elapse without one being seen.-G. Norman; Hull, Oct. 9, 1852.

Notes on the Death's-head Sphinx (Acherontia Atropos). — Not being an entomologist, I do not know whether the eyes of this insect have been observed to be luminous in the dark, but I noticed this to be the case in a living specimen which came into my possession a fortnight since; the light thus proceeding from the eyes was soft and subdued, and though decidedly luminous, yet reminded me of the lustre of an opal. This specimen, when provoked by meeting a finger or other unexpected obstacle in its way, when crawling about, frequently uttered the mouse-like squeak which is known to be characteristic of the species. Both this individual, and another which was taken at Cromer at the same time, was extremely tenacious of life, but at length yielded to the effect of repeated doses of Prussic acid.-J. H. Gurney; Lowestoft, October 11, 1852.

Occurrence of Deilephila Celerio at Welton. As I see all our entomological authors consider this insect as rare in Britain, and Stephens even deems it a moot ques→ tion whether it be a British species at all, I consider it may be as well to record that

I had a living mature specimen brought to me yesterday, which had been caught by a farmer's lad here. The lad, from its being unlike any moth he had seen, was induced to send it to his master, who gave it to me; and a splendid specimen it is, apparently only just escaped from the chrysalis.-Thos. Thompson; Welton, near Hawden, September 22, 1852.

Voracity of the Dragon-fly.—The fact mentioned by Mr. Scott, as to the voracious propensity of the large dragon-fly (Zool. 3628), is corroborative of a similar one, recorded by me in the Entomological Magazine,' (i. 518).-J. F. Stephens; Eltham Cottage, Foxley Road, October 18, 1852.

Proceedings of the Entomological Society.

November 1, 1852.-J. O. WESTWOOD, Esq., President, in the chair.

The following donations were announced, and thanks ordered to be given to the donors: The Zoologist' for November; by the Editor. 'The Athenæum' for October; by the Editor. The Literary Gazette' for October; by the Editor. Entomologische Zeitung' for August, September, and October; by the Entomological Society of Stettin. Annals of the Lyceum of Natural History of New York,' Vol. v. Nos. 4, 5, and 6; by the Lyceum. 'Monographie des Guêpes Solitaires, ou de la Tribe des Euméniens,' par H. F. de Saussure: cahier 2: Paris, 1852; by the Author. A lithograph portrait of Dr. J. E. Gray, framed and glazed; by Mr. F. Smith. Four specimens of Coremia erutaria, and two of Eidophasia Messingiella; by Mr. J. B. Hodgkinson. Two specimens of Hydræcia Petasitis; by Mr. N. Greening. A collection of British Anoplura, or bird-lice (named by Mr. Denny), three large storeboxes, and some miscellaneous insects; by the Rev. Leonard Jenyns. A series of illustrations of the natural history of Vespa Britannica; by Mr. F. Smith. A box containing sixty species of British spiders, preserved in spirit in small glass tubes; by Mr. R. H. Meade.

A letter accompanied the last-mentioned donation, in which Mr. Meade says:

"The species are arranged and named according to the catalogue recently published by Mr. Blackwall in the Annals and Magazine of Natural History.' The species are mostly very common, and my motive in sending them to the Society is not to present them with anything rare, but to show what I consider to be the best method of preserving specimens of this class of animals, which cannot, like true insects, be kept dry, without entirely losing their characteristic forms. When placed in small glass tubes, filled with spirit of wine and well corked, they may be preserved for any length of time, and, except for purposes of critical examination, may be sufficiently seen, without removal from the tube, for the purpose of determining the species."

Mr. Boyd exhibited a fine Vanessa Antiopa, and specimens of Luperina cespitis, Depressaria Carduella, D. rotundella, D. pallorella, and other species of Lepidoptera, recently captured in the Isle of Wight.

Major Sheppard exhibited a hermaphrodite Polyommatus Alexis, taken this year in Hainault Forest. The right side is male and the left female, as is usual in such cases. Mr. Winter exhibited a fine Chærocampa Nerii, taken at Brighton; a remarkable variety of Spilosoma Menthrasti, with very large black spots on the under wings; and a singularly pale variety of Oporabia dilutata.

Mr. Weaver exhibited a quantity of insects, taken by him this year in Perthshire. The Coleoptera included Hylecœtus dermestoides, Dircæa discolor, Lycus Aurora, Boletophagus crenicollis, Aphodius uliginosus, Hardy, A. Lapponum, Pytho depressus, and Brontes flavipes. Also Cetonia ænea, bred from larvæ which fed in ants' nests on the pupa of the ants; the cocoons being covered with small bits of wood, and thus differing from those of C. aurata, which are formed entirely of earth. Among the Lepidoptera were Oporabia neglectaria, O. precursoria, O, autumnaria, O. proximaria, O. filigrammaria, Plemysia lapidata, Tinea Picarella, and Psyche opacella, var.? The different series of Oporabia under the above names Mr. Weaver believes to be distinct species, and that the Psyche he gets in Scotland is not P. opacella, which it most closely resembles, differing in the males being larger and having longer antennæ, and in the habits and formation of the cases of the larvæ.

Mr. F. Smith exhibited a series of illustrations of the natural history of the treewasp (Vespa Britannica), among which the President drew special attention to the fact that the larva makes a distinct case or cocoon within its cell.

Mr. Smith also exhibited various parasitic insects found in the nest of the same wasp.

Mr. Moor exhibited a walnut, in which he had found several Dipterous larvæ belonging to the family Muscidæ, some of which he had reared to the perfect state.

Mr. S. S. Saunders exhibited some Chalcididæ, parasitic in the nests of an Osmia, and some Dipterous parasites on a Pompilus. Also, a complete series of illustrations of the natural history of six species of Stylopidæ ; all brought by him from Albania.

Mr. Edwin Shepherd exhibited a variety of Lepidoptera recently captured near Dover, including Agrotis saucia, Heliothis armigera, Hadena lutulenta, Spilodes sticticalis, Depressaria depressana, D. Pimpinellæ, and a new species of Gelechia allied to vilella.

Mr. Douglas exhibited the larvæ of several species of Nepticula, mining in leaves of various plants.

The President exhibited a curious cottony formation from the body of the larva of a Sphinx, forwarded from China by Mr. J. C. Bowring. It consisted of the cocoons of a parasitic Eurytoma, and some of the perfect insects were left entangled.

The President also exhibited some of the plates of M. Emile Blanchard's new great work entitled L'Organisation du Règne Animal.'

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Mr. Moore communicated the following extract from 'Allen's Indian Mail,' of October 5, 1852.

"Gigantic Spiders.-Captain Sherwill, in an expedition to the Kurrukpoor Hills, south of Monghyr, found upon the summit of Maruk, a table-topped hill of 1,100 feet elevation, several of the gigantic webs of the Epeira spider, some of which measured (including the guy-ropes) from 10 to 20 feet in diameter, the reticulated portion being about 5 feet, in the centre of which the spider, of a formidable size and very active, sits waiting for prey. 'The webs' he says 'from their great strength offered a sensible resistance when forcing our way through them; in the web of one of the spiders we found a bird entangled, and the young spiders, about eight in number, feeding upon the carcass. The bird was, with the exception of his legs and beak, entirely enveloped in web, and was much decomposed; the entwined web had completely pinioned the wings of the bird, so as to render his escape impossible. The bird was about the size of a field lark, and was near the centre of the web; the old spider was about a foot