PROCEEDINGS OF THE

ROYAL ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY

OF LONDON

S E R I E S C. JOURNAL O F M E E T I N G S

VOLUME 27 No. 5, 1962

ORDINARY MEETING

WEDNESDAY, 4th JULY, 1962, a t 5.30 p.m. (Tea 5 p.m.)

AGENDA 1. Confirmation of the Proceedings of the Ordinary Meeting held on 6th June, 1962.

2. Recommendation of candidates for Fellowship.

3. Recommendation of candidates for Fellowship.

4. Announcement of election of new Fellows.

5. Additions to the Library [see p. 191.

6. Admission of Fellows.

7. Exhibits.

8. Communications.

First reading.

Second reading.

Dr. H. F. Howden (a visitor) (Entomology Research Institute, Ottawa, C a d a )

The Habits of some North American Scarabaeidae (Coleoptera)

[ABBTRACT]

The family Scarabaeidae contains perhaps 2500 species in North America. Colour slides dealing with the habits of some of the more unusual species will be presented with particular emphasis on the Geotrupinae. Many American Geotrupinae are not (as popularly believed) dung feeders, the larvae feeding on litter and humus, while the adults in some cases are not known to feed. Some genera, such as Peltotrupes, perform spectacular feats of excavation, their burrows reaching a depth of from 6 to 9 feet.

Many Scarabaeidae are associated with certain types of dung or With nests. Some species of Troz are found only in owl or hawk nests. Some Orathophagus are general dung feeders, some are found only in pack rat nests, burrows of turtles, and two species are known only from caves. The habits of some species in these and fourteen other genera will be mentioned.

NOTICES The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, 3rd October, 1962.

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PROCEEDINGS OF THE ORDIXARJ. Mi*:

Professor G. C. VARLEY, President, iii the Chair. Present, 63 Fellows and 14 Visitors.

The minutes of the Ordinary Meeting and of the Special Meeting held 011 2 u d May, 1962, were confirmed and signed by the President.

The names of the following candidat'es for olect,ion were read for tilc first time : Mr. John Sam Aikins ; Mr. Richard S. Halter : Mr. Dick L. Deonier ; Xr. Osnian Ibrahim Gameel ; Mr. Laurence Aylmer Haldane ; Dr. Jehoshua Kugler, M.Sc., Ph.D. ; Mr. Shashi ICumar ; Dr. Derek Alan Robertson, B.Sc., P11.D. ; Mr. Joseph C. Schaffner ; Mr. Kenneth George Smith ; RIr. Gordon Dennis Trebilcock and Mr. Brian John Wood.

For the second time (taken as read) : Mr. Francis Mark Chutter, M.A4., M.Sc. : Miss Meryll Hooley, B.Sc. ; Mr. Brian Henry Phipps ; and Dr. S. Ramachndran.

The Secretary read the names of the following newly elected Fellows of the Society : Mr. Keith Wheadon Brown, B.Sc., Nakawa Forest Station, P.O. Box 1752, Kampala, Uganda ; Dr. Denis Horace Burges, 65, Albert Street, Slough, Bucks. ; Mr. William James Holmes, 75, Heathcote Drive, East Grinstead, Sussex ; Mr. Alan Peter Legge, Trebar- with, Providence Lane, Long Ashton, Bristol ; Mr. Edwin William Snell, Cadbury Bros. Ltd., Pasture Road, Moreton, \;CTirral, Cheshire ; Mr. P. Y. So, Dept. of Agriculture & Forestry, North Kowloon Magistracy Building, Taipo Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong ; and Mr. Albert Zerkowitz, 127, West 79th Street, New York 25, N.Y., U.S.A.

Thanks were voted to donors of gifts to the Library since the last meeting. Mr. B. H. Riley, Dr. I?. G. Smith and Mr. D. H. Udall signed the Obligation Book

The President extended a welcome to Dr. W. T. M. Forbes of Cornell University, and were admitted Fellows of the Society.

Ithaca, New York, and Dr. Z. Boucek of the Natural History Museum, Prague.

-'4p

Mr. G. E. Woodroffe reported the recent capture of the Lygaeid Bug, Pterometus staphyliniformis (Schilling), a species not previously recorded in Britain. It occurred in scattered colonies associated with the Black Ant, Formica Tufa L., on several miles of sea cliff near Lands End, Cornwall. Its appearance in the field is that of a giant Maerodema microptera (Curtis). From its known distribution its presence in Britain is not surprising, and it appears to be a native insect which has been overlooked rather than a recent introduction.

Dr. Bruce Johnson (a visitor) gave a paper on wing polymorphism in aphids, an abstract of which appeared on page 13.

In the discussion which followed, Mr. M. J. Way asked whether the tending of aphids by ants acted by having a calming effect on the aphids, causing them to move less and so produce less of a crowding stimulus to one another. Dr. Johnson replied that he believed that the influence of the ants was more direct than this. If an aphid received tactile stimuli from another aphid, the alate course of development was favoured, but if it was tended by an ant, the apterous course was favoured ; he considered it likely that both effects were produced directly through the aphid's nervous system.

Dr. C. R. Ribbands, commenting on the opposite effects produced by poor host condition and starvation, suggested that these might be attributed to nutrition, and possibly a poor diet was responsible for the winged form, whereas actual starvation produced the apterous form. Dr. Johnson replied that there was good evidence that the response to host condition was a sensory one and was not due to nutrition. Periods of starvation could perhaps be considered to provide some evidence for a nutritional effect, but the same effect could also be produced by injuries.

Mr. W. B. Broughton referred to the rather inconclusive results Dr. Johnson had obtained when stimulating aphids with a camel hair brush, and wondered whether he had tried a brush dipped in aphid or ant extract. Dr. Johnson replied that he had tried brushing with a dead aphid and in some preliminary experiments this did seem to have more effect.

Dr. A. D. Lees remarked that Megoura responded to tactile stimuli much as Dr.

Johnson had described for A . ctmcicoru and the response was fairly specific. If a number of Drosophiln was placed in a tube with aphids there was no resporise but an- ot,her species of aphid did produce a. response. Dr. Lees suggested tha t A . craccieorcc was not absolutely typiciri of aphids if development could be diverted during the first or second instar. I n Megoiira development was prenatally controlled during ii short period of sensitivity just :t few hours before birth. After birth the inclividual was determined and its development could not be influenced. It might be that somewhere there 11-as a difference of degree only between the species. A . crucciworu was ant attended where8.s Megoum was not, which might partly explain the difference. Dr. Johnson agreed that more evidence wax needed and pointed out that there were several records in the literature of other aphid species being influenced after birth. He felt that if the appropriate conditions c,ould be found postnatal diversion could probably be ob- tained in most species. He believed that the concept of determination was as inap- plicable to Mego'wcc as i t was to A . cracciwora, as there was evidence of direction having been taken before the point of decision and i t was still possible that postnatal diversion may be able to be demonstrated.

Ir. J. B. Briggs (a visitor) gave a paper on the activity of the strawberry seed beetle, Hurpahis rujpes (Deg.) (Coleoptera : Carabidae), as revealed by trapping experiments, an abstract of which appeared on page 14.

The discussion which followed was opened by the President, who asked if it had been possible to examine the gut content of any of the trapped beetles. Mr. Briggs replied that the crops were often full of the remains of other trapped animals-a formal- dehyde trap would be preferable for such an investigation. It was known, however, tha t the crop of Harpulus ru fpes feeding on seeds, revealed only a milky fluid.

Dr. T. R. E. Southwood said that Dr. Greenslade had found that a t Silwood the efficiency of pitfall traps depended on the level of the mouth of the trap. He con- tinued that if the recent theory that migratory activity is greatest when beetles are young was accepted, this might explain the differences in numbers. Mr. Briggs replied tha t the teneral phase in H . rufpes was fairly long. He felt sure that the increased activity was shared by the older generations for i t occurred before the emergence of the new generation and could perhaps be associated with mating.

Professor J. L. Cloudsley-Thompson asked if actinograph apparatus had been used to check any differences in seasonal activity. He thought also that trapping results might be affected by day length. Mr. Briggs replied that no actinograph experiments had been done. The temperature effect proved to be a direct one. I n late August when the largest numbers were trapped, the activity was greatest immediately after nightfall, and fell off during the night.

I n reply to a comment on the increased activity of Harpalus rufpes a t dusk a t the end of July, when there was an instance of large numbers infesting domestic premises, Nr. Briggs said he knew of other instances of such infestations. They were sometimes associated with new building development, in which cases the previous growth of weeds might cause a local build-up of population.

PAUL FREEMAN, Honorary Secretary.

ADDITIOXS TO THE LIBRARY Presented

British Museum (Natural History). The morphology and taxonomy of inale scale inspcts [The Trustees,

Rhythmic activity in animal physiology and behavioui. [Theoretical and Experi-

Age-g~ouping methods a n Diptera of niedical imnportunce with special [ W . H . 0. Monograph, 47.1

(Homoptern : Coccoiden) by M. 8. K. Ghauri. British Museum].

Svo, New York and London : Academic Press, 1961. )iicizial Biology. Tol. 1.1 [The Author].

reference to some rectors of malaria. [Professor D. S. Bertram].

4to, London, 1962.

Cloudsley-Thompson, J. L.

Detinova, T. S. Bvo, Geneva, 1962.

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Linsley, E. G. The Cerumbycidae of North America. Part 11. Taxonomy and classi- $cation of the Paradrinae, Prioninae, Spondylinae and Aseminae. Univ. Calif. Ptrbl. Ent . 19 : v, 1-102, 1962. [The Publishers].

Townes, H. and M. Ichneumon-JEies of America North qf Mexico. 3. Subfamily Gelinae, Tribe Mesostenini. Bull. U.S. nat. Mus. 216. Part 3. pp. viii, 1-602. 1962. [The Publishers.]

Purchased Breuning, S. Catalogue des Lamiaires du Monde. Lief. 5 . 8vo, Tutzing bei Miinchen,

1961. Metcalf, Z. P. 8vo,

North Carolina State College, 1962. Mitchell, T. B. Bees of the Eastern United States. Vol. 1. 4t0, North Carolina

Agricultural Experiment Station, 1960. In addition separates have been presented by Dr. W. J. Le Quesne ; Professor J. L.

Cloudsley-Thompson ; Dr. C. Ferrikre ; Mr. J. E. H. Blackie ; Mr. F. Wilson ; London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; Mr. P. M. Miles; Service Central de Documentation de l'Office de la Recherche Scientifique et Technique Outre-Mer, Paris ; Dr. J. J. Steyn ; Professor D. S. Bertram ; and University of Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station.

A bibliography of the Cicadoidea (Hornoptera : Auchenorhyncha).

- PRINTED BY ADLARD AND SON, LIMITED, BARTHOLOMEW PRESS, DORKING.