excused himself on the plea that "De minimis non curat lex." But afterwards he devoted much attention to the Micro-Lepidoptera, and was one of the first to breed the little Cemiostoma of the Genista tinctoria, now known as Wailesella. For many years he was the Conservative registration agent for South Northumberland. More than twenty years ago Mr. Wailes began to be afflicted with deafness, and this infirmity increased to such an extent as to debar him from his usual intercourse with his friends. When unable to continue his Entomological pursuits, he turned his attention to horticulture. He was twice married, but had no family.-H. T. S.

ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON: 1st November, 1882.-H. T. STAINTON, Esq., F.R.S., President, in the Chair.

Mr. Jenner Weir exhibited two immature examples of a species of Conocephalus, found living in Messrs. Veitch's hot-houses. He thought they were probably C. ensiger, Harris, an American species.

Mr. Billups maintained that the beetles submitted to him as having caused damage to beer casks in Rangoon, were Tomicus Saxeseni (cf. ante, p. 120 and p. 144).

Mr. Pascoe exhibited a curious spider's nest from Sardinia; it consisted of a silken bag partially covered with small stones, and was formed close to the ground.

Mr. George Lewis exhibited three species each of the families Histeridæ, Syntelidæ, and Lucanidæ, illustrating his remarks on the Syntelida, as given in the Ent. Mo. Mag., ante p. 137.

Mr. Butler communicated the concluding portion of his paper on the Lepidoptera of Chili, collected by Mr. Edmonds: this part comprised Micro-Lepidoptera, and supplementary Noctuidæ, &o.

December 6th, 1882.-The President in the Chair.

Mr. E. A. Fitch exhibited, on behalf of Mr. Bignell, examples of Platymetopus undatus, the new British Homopteron noticed in Ent. Mo. Mag., ante p. 155.

Mr. Meldola exhibited a small moth in bad condition, sent by Dr. Fritz Müller, from Brazil, interesting because Dr. Müller assured him that it had been seen to deposit living larvæ, and hence was viviparous.

The Rev. H. S. Gorham exhibited specimens of Cryptophagus validus, found on beer casks in his cellar in Sussex; he had found larvæ feeding on a fungus on the casks, and thought they were those of the beetle.

Lord Walsingham exhibited examples of Niptus hololeucus, sent to him from Scotland, and which were reported to have damaged silver plate; at any rate, there were holes in the plate on which the insects were found; he suggested that there might be some corrosive property in the fæces of the insects.

Sir S. S. Saunders exhibited and reported upon fig-insects from Madagascar, collected by the Rev. W. Deans Cowan; the remarkable thing about them was that they only had four legs, the intermediate pair being obsolete. He also read a letter from M. André respecting the terminal segments of Halticella.

Professor Westwood communicated notes on M. Giraud's statements respecting the Eurytomida.

Mr. Cameron forwarded descriptions of ten new species of Nematus from Scotland.

Dr. Sharp sent a revision of the genus Tropisternus in the Hydrophilidæ.

Mr. Meyrick sent an elaborate memoir on the classification of the Tineina, in which he attempted to shew that schemes based upon European forms only, will not bear the test of scrutiny, when applied to those of Australia, New Zealand, &c. He also dwelt largely on the importance of structural characters in Lepidoptera, as opposed to those ordinarily taken from markings, &c.

January 17th, 1883.-Anniversary Meeting. The President in the Chair.

It was announced that the prize of £50, offered by Lord Walsingham, for the best essay on Sclerostoma syngamus (see notice of meeting for October 1st, 1879, vol. xvi, p. 140), had been awarded to Dr. Mégnin, of Paris (two competitors); no essay regarding Strongylus pergracilis had been received.

The following were elected Members of Council for the ensuing year, viz. :—J. W. Dunning, M.A., F.L.S., E. A. Fitch, F.L.S., F. D. Godman, M.A., F.R.S., Rev. H. S. Gorham, F. Grut, F.L.S., W. F. Kirby, R. McLachlan, F.R.S., J. W. May, K.N.L., F. P. Pascoe, F.L.S., E. Saunders, F.L.S., J. W. Slater, H. T. Stainton, F.R.S., and C. O. Waterhouse.

The following officers were subsequently elected,' viz. :-President, J. W. Dunning; Treasurer, E. Saunders; Secretaries, E. A. Fitch and W. F. Kirby; Librarian, F. Grut.

The outgoing President read an address, which was ordered to be printed, and the meeting terminated with the usual votes of thanks to the officers for their services during the past year.

ANNOTATED LIST OF BRITISH ANTHOMYIIDÆ.

BY R. H. MEADE.

(continued from p. 148).

20. PHORPIA, R. Desv.

Anthomyia, p. Meig., Schin., Macq., Walk.
Aricia, p. Zett.

Chortophila, p. Macq., Rond.

Gen. ch.-Eyes bare, contiguous or sub-contiguous in the males, remote in the females; arista tomentose or bare; face slightly prominent; abdomen depressed, oblong, or linear; alulets small, with equal-sized scales; wings with the anal veins prolonged to the margin; legs black.

1. FLOCCOSA, Macq., Rond.

floralis?, Fall.

2. TRANSVERSALIS, Zett.
3. PUDICA, Rond.

4. DISSECTA, Meig.
5. INCOGNITA, Rond.
6. LACTUCE, Bouché.
7. OBSCURA, Macq.
8. MUSCARIA, Meig.
brevicornis ?, Zett.

9. HISTRIO, Zett.

10. CILICRURA, Rond.
fusciceps?, Zett.

11. TRICHODACTYLA, Rond.
12. FLORILEGA, Zett.

13. IGNOTA, Rond.

14. CEPETORUM. sp. n.

ceparum?, Meig. antiqua, p. Schin. 15. NEGLECTA, sp. n. 16. EXIGUA, sp. n.

parva?, Desv., Macq.

This genus contains a rather heterogeneous collection of small flies, including all those black-legged species whose males have contiguous eyes, which cannot be placed in any of the preceding genera.

Several small species are embraced in this group which are very difficult to determine, as they are very much alike, and do not possess any very marked distinctive characters. Several different species. have, I believe, been described under the same name, and I think that the same species may have been described under different names; so that it is very difficult to arrive at just conclusions. The females of distinct species are, in some cases, so similar, that it is almost impossible to name them correctly, unless they are found associated with the corresponding males.

P. FLOCCOSA, Macq.

The males of this common species may at ance be recognised by the tuft of hairs on the under-side of the base of the hind femora, and by the inner sides of the hind tibiæ being ciliated along the middle part of their inner surfaces with a series of short bristles of unequal lengths. There is but little doubt that this species is the same as the M. floralis, of Fallén, Meigen, Zetterstedt, Schiner, and others; for the general descriptions of both species agree together, though none of the last-named authors mention the tufted femora. The face is rather prominent; the eyes (of male) sub-contiguous; the arista pubescent; the thorax marked with three rather broad and widely separated stripes; the abdomen narrow and rather tapering, with a wide, black, dorsal, longitudinal stripe, which becomes narrower towards its extremity, and is more or less dilated opposite the upper margin of each segment, which is marked with a narrow, transverse, black line. The female has the eyes separated by a white, intra-ocular space, occupying about a third of the width of the head, containing a wide central stripe, usually red at its front part, and black behind; but sometimes entirely black. The thorax and abdomen are both lighter in colour than in the male, and are indistinctly striped; the latter is oblongo-ovoid in shape, with the apex pointed.

The larvæ feed upon the stems of cauliflowers and other varieties of the cabbage tribe. I have received specimens of the fly from Mr. Inchbald, bred from the first, and I reared several myself last summer from cabbage plants sent to me by Mr. Dunn, of Dalkeith, in consequence of their being infested with the " cabbage-fly."

grubs of the

The larvae of A. floralis are said, by Zetterstedt and Schiner, to feed upon radishes (Raphanus sativus), and Winnertz has bred this fly from the roots of Brassica napobrassica.

P. TRANSVERSALIS, Zett.

This species has the abdomen oblong, flattened, rather short, covered with soft hairs, and marked along the dorsum with a widish, longitudinal, black band of even width, interrupted opposite the edges of the segments, which are bordered by a whitish line. The thorax is very dark grey, marked with three indistinct, longitu

dinal, black bands, and has light grey sides. Zetterstedt says that the alulets are "sordide albida," but I have found both these and the halteres to be usually of an orange colour.

This is rather a local species. I have found it abundantly in a plantation near Bradford, and have received specimens from Mr. Inchbald, which he had bred from the leaves of Rumex acetosa, which are mined, or, rather, blotched, by the larvæ.

P. PUDICA, Rond.

This is a pretty, bright-looking fly, about the same size as the last (6 mm. long), but having the abdomen rather more elongated and pointed. The thorax is of a glistening whitish-grey colour, lighter on the front margin and on the shoulders; it is marked by a central black stripe, which only extends along the anterior half, and by two very wide lateral bands, which reach the bases of the wings. The abdomen is of a slight pinkish-grey colour (sometimes glaucous), with a slender, continuous, tapering, longitudinal, black stripe.

The sub-anal male appendages are small. The hind tibiæ are armed with a few bristles towards the upper part of their inner sides. I do not know the female. Not uncommon.

P. DISSECTA, Meig.

This rare species is characterized by having yellowish-brown wings, sub-contiguous eyes (in the male), a nearly bare arista, a dull, dark grey thorax, with cinereous shoulders, and three, rather indistinct, black stripes, an oblong, flattened, rather narrow, abdomen, of a light grey colour, clothed with numerous soft hairs, and marked with an interrupted dorsal black stripe, formed by four triangular spots, the bases of which are dilated into transverse bands opposite the upper edge of each segment. It has straight, perpendicular, external, transverse veins to the wings, and the male hind tibiæ are armed with a few short bristles of uneven lengths in the middle of their inner sides.

I have not seen a female.

I captured one male at Thorparch, near York, in August, 1878, another at Silverdale, in Lancashire, in May, 1881, and a third near Bicester, Oxon, in June, 1882.

P. INCOGNITA, Rond.

This species, of which I have only seen one British male example, captured by the late F. Walker, closely resembles P. dissecta by its brown wings and other general characters, but differs by having a more pubescent arista, narrower cheeks, a more nigrescent thorax, and a narrower abdomen, which is marked with much larger triangular spots, which cover the greater part of the dorsum.

I possess a typical continental male specimen which was named by the late Professor Rondani. I do not know the female.

P. LACTUCE, Bouché.

This species is of a deep rich brownish-black colour with brown wings. The eyes of the male are contiguous, with the frontal triangle red; the arista is pubescent: the cheeks rufous; the thorax with a cinereous tinge on the shoulders and sides; the abdomen is oblong and flattened, of an uniform brown colour, when

viewed from before backwards; but looking of a grey colour with brown reflections, and having an interrupted dorsal stripe, when seen from behind.

This pretty, well-marked species is said to feed, in the larval state, on the lettuce. It appears to be of rather local occurrence. The only place in which I have found it has been a kitchen garden near Buckingham, where I captured several males on several occasions. I have not seen a female.

P. OBSCURA, Macq.

The thorax of this species is black, with the front margin and shoulders glistening greyish-white. The anterior edge is intersected by three, and sometimes four (when the middle one is bifid), abbreviated black stripes, which form two or three irregular, bright, white, spots, giving a peculiar and characteristic appearance to the fly. The abdomen is oblong, rather narrow, flat, and glabrous. It is grey, with a wide, interrupted, black, dorsal stripe, and has three straight, transverse, brown bands, which cover the upper halves of the second, third, and fourth segments. The length is about 4 mm. (2 lin.).

Very rare; I have seen but one male specimen, which I captured near Bradford, in June, 1879.

P. MUSCARIA, Meig.

This is characterized by being narrow, elongated, black, and hairy. The face and epistome are both prominent; the antennæ are very short, the second joint being almost as long as the third, which is short and wide; the palpi are long, hairy, and dilated at their extremities; the thorax and abdomen are indistinctly striped; the latter is very narrow, and thickly clothed with long hairs; the hind femora are very hairy, but the hind tibiæ are bare on their inner sides. These remarks apply to the male, I do not know the female.

Very rare.

P. HISTRIO, Zett.

This, and the two following species, are peculiar by having the hind tibiæ of the males ciliated along the whole length of their inner sides with short erect hairs or bristles. The present fly, which is considerably larger than either of the two following (it being from 7 to 8 mm. in length) has the arista decidedly pubescent; the thorax whitish-grey, marked with a black central stripe (bifid in front), and with two wide, irregular lateral bands. The scutellum has the edges, and sometimes the centre, marked with brown. The abdomen is oblongo-conical, with the apical segment small. It is marked with a narrow, black, longitudinal stripe, as well as with black transverse lines. The wings have the external transverse veins oblique and sinuous. The hind femora are nearly bare of hairs on their under surfaces; and the hind tibiæ have the bristles arranged in a double row along both their inner and front sides; the bristles being of slightly irregular lengths.

This rare species, of which I only know the male, approaches in form, and by its pubescent arista, to those Anthomyds placed in the genus Hylemyia.

P. CILICRURA, Rond.

This little species, 4 to 5 mm. (about 2 lines) in length, is of a dark brownishgrey colour, marked on the thorax with three rather indistinct, wide, brown, longi