Изображения страниц
PDF
EPUB

Incurvaria masculella and Oehlmanniella, Lampros minutella, May, June

May 4

Lampros oppositella, May, June

4-punctella, May 6

atrella, July 3 tripuncta, June 18

From this list you will perceive several species to be double-brooded, which have not, to my knowledge, been mentioned as such before. There are two other species, Xanthosetia Zagana and Roxana Wœberana, that I have taken, the former May 14, June 19 and July 29, the latter in June, July, August and September; and all the specimens equally fine. — John Sircom, jun.; Bridlington, September 13, 1844.

Note on the capture of a Female of Lithosia muscerda. Although the male of this rare species has frequently been taken in the marshes at Horning, yet from the time of its first discovery by Mr. Sparshall, the female has very rarely been met with. I had the good fortune however to capture the latter sex just before sunset on the 17th of last July, in copulâ with a male, resting on a piece of grass, a few inches from the ground. It differs in several respects from the male, the abdomen being larger, and the expansion of the wings greater; but the chief distinction is in the antennæ, those of the male being highly ciliated (under a lens), while those of the female are hardly if at all so.-Henry F. Farr; Lower Close, Norwich, October 2, 1844.

Note on the parasitism of Scopula prunalis. About the middle of April I found some caterpillars of Phlogophora meticulosa in my garden. These I took, and put into a box containing some moss and earth, and supplied them with parsley, which they ate very freely, and were full fed in about ten days. Each spun a slight web among the moss, except one, which, to my surprise, crawled to the top of the box, and spun a fine transparent web across one corner, as a spider would do. In two days it became a brilliant green chrysalis, and in two days after I observed a dingy looking yellowish brown grub, as I thought, issuing from the chrysalis; and concluded it was one of the numerous pests of entomologists. I expected it would spin a cocoon, but it only attached itself by the extremity, and changed into a brown chrysalis, which (as it did not appear like that of a fly) I did not disturb, and towards the end of June, the 23rd I believe, it produced, if I mistake not, Scopula prunalis, No. 836 of Wood's Index. This is a simple statement of facts which fell under my own observation, and I thought they might interest some of the readers of 'The Zoologist,' as it is the first instance of the kind which I have seen. Wm. Turner; Uppingham, Rutland, October 16, 1844.

Description of Pseudotomia Artemisia, a new British Moth. In July, last year, I took a single specimen of this insect, at Margate, but did not at that time know its true habitat. In August last, at the same place, while searching about a species of Artemisia for Spilonota fœnella, I again met with this insect; and wherever I found the plant, I was sure to find the insect also. When disturbed, it would sometimes fly down to the clover or saintfoin growing near the place, but would generally return to the other plant in a very few minutes. I have found an old specimen in my cabinet, which I have had for many years unnamed; and Mr. Chant has another. He also took the insect in July last at Greenhithe, where Artemisia vulgaris was growing. Anterior wings deep fuscous at the base, beyond the middle greyish brown, with a slight golden tinge; the costa with four oblique blackish dots; the hinder margin with three small transverse black dots, upon the extreme margin is a slight notch, giving the apex a round appearance; in the middle of the inner margin is an obscure greyish patch cilia cinereous and glossy, with a slender dark line at the base. Posterior

wings fuscous.

Measures 7 to 7 lines.

This obscure species seems to have been overlooked by our authors, or probably taken for a dark variety of P. simpliciana. — William Bentley; 3, Critchell Place, New North Road, October, 1844.

Further Notes on the habits of Cossonus Tardii. In a former note (Zool. 702) I stated that I had been fortunate enough to capture eleven specimens of Cossonus Tardii, in the course of three weeks, at Mount Edgcumbe in Devonshire, my observations, when it was written, only extending up to the 3rd of June. I also observed that the 66 beech >> was the tree to which they appeared most attached, which, as far as my researches went, was true, inasmuch as in the Mount Edgcumbe locality, beech is almost the only tree cultivated. Since that time, however, I have traced their devastations along the southern coast of Cornwall, from Mount Edgcumbe on the east to Fovey on the west,- -a distance of twenty-two miles; and have, moreover, found them in almost every tree, with the exception of the oak, but most abundant in the sycamore, out of a single trunk of which I took fifty-four specimens. The number of specimens that I captured amounted in all to about a hundred and fifty, varying immensely both in size and colour. The female appears decidedly the rarest of the sexes. In the month of July, when they were out of the wood, I captured them all in the earth which had collected in the decayed stumps, where I found them congregated exceedingly close together, and clinging to the interior of the trunks, generally about five or six at a time. It is curious that during the whole four months, I only observed a single example actually out of the hollow trees, which solitary specimen I found on the 26th of September, crawling upon the bark of a beech tree at Mount Edgcumbe. They stick very tight to the wood, and I killed several specimens in trying to disengage them from their hold, many of them allowing themselves to be torn in pieces rather than give up their position. For the first two months of the summer, all the specimens I captured were quite perfect; and it is a remarkable fact, that after that time, until the end of September, they appeared, each consecutive week, more and more imperfect, many of them wanting three, four, or even five legs, and in one instance I discovered a living trunk, its antennæ (by which alone it could show its "liveliness") only remaining. How to account for this I cannot say; but it is certainly a fact worthy of notice, for, wherever I observed, it was the same, and therefore could not be the effect of chance in a few solitary specimens, inasmuch as it did not merely hold in one, two or three instances, but in all. - T. Vernon Wollaston; Jesus Coll. Cambridge, October 12, 1844.

Your correspondent Mr.

Note on the Otter's breeding on the banks of the Trent. Briggs, of King's Newton, is rather incorrect in stating (Zool. 714) that the otter never breeds on the banks of the Trent. It has been known to breed on that river near Burton, within the memory of many persons now living there. A female was caught in a trap on the river Dove, about three miles from thence, in August last, which was evidently suckling young at the time; the male otter was also traced higher up the same river, but not captured, nor were the young ones found. About ten years ago,

my cousin, the present Rector of Rolleston, shot two otters on the Dove, in this parish, a male and female, as they were disporting together on the banks of that river; and within my own recollection, several others have been caught in this neighbourhood.— Oswald Mosley; Rolleston Hall, near Burton-on-Trent, October 18, 1844.

Notes on the Mammalia of the Isle of Wight.

By the Rev. C. A. BURY, B.A.

YOUR readers will not find any thing extraordinary in the Natural History of the Isle of Wight. Considering its limited area, and insular position, its Fauna is, perhaps, as rich both in species and individuals as was reasonably to be expected. Because it may not be more prolific than other districts of equal extent, that is no sufficient reason against my recording in your pages what I may have succeeded in ascertaining of its animal productions. Local Faunas possess an interest perfectly independent of the number of species recorded. It is their nature, rather than their number, which imparts a value to the knowledge of the productions of any given district in the estimation of the scientific naturalist; and in this view, did the Isle of Wight afford not one half of what it does afford, my task would have been equally useful, if useful at all, for the promotion of natural science. I could wish, for my own information, for the benefit of 'The Zoologist,' its readers generally, and its Editor in particular, in short, for all reasons, that more local Faunas were contributed. Those that have appeared, are certainly not among the least interesting of the contributions to its pages. I think they tend to raise the character, as well as increase the interest of the work: and may I venture, without presumption, to caution such, and all other contributors, on the necessity of extreme accuracy in their statements; and to warn them against giving as fact, without personal investigation, what may have been communicated to them by perfectly credible, but not scientific, or well practised observers. The difference resulting from the exercise of great care and discrimination on the one hand, and the want of them on the other, will be just this: that 'The Zoologist' will, or will not, as the case may be, hereafter be looked upon and quoted as an authority; natural science will, or will not be really advanced; and the labours of the Editor and contributors will, or will not, have been in vain. I am, however, very unwilling even to appear to dictate to my fellow-contributors, but I have myself met with so many disappointments, after all but full conviction of the correctness of what had been reported to me, that I could not refrain from giving this caution; and I will only plead, by way of apology, my regard for the reputation of "The Zoologist,' and that of the "Gilbert White Society."

My account of the Cheiroptera will be far from perfect. I have

found it very difficult to procure specimens; and too little is generally known of this class of animated beings to allow of my obtaining much information from others that could be relied on; consequently I have succeeded in establishing only five of the fourteen or fifteen British species, though I cannot doubt that more are indige

nous.

The Pipistrelle is common.

Of the Serotine I have procured several specimens: three from Newchurch, one from Brading, and four from Appledurcombe; and on June 7th of this year was brought me, caught alive in a hole in a wall at Bonchurch, a specimen about three parts grown; from which I infer, that the bat, or at least this species, does not attain its full size during the first year.

Daubenton's Bat has been obtained four or five times, but I think it is common. Its habits appear to be more diurnal, and less dormitory than those of most other bats; one specimen in my possession was shot flying up and down the high road in Bonchurch about three o'clock in the afternoon of January 19th.

The Long-eared Bat I have obtained several times, but do not consider it so abundant as either Daubenton's, or the Pipistrelle. An interesting variety of this bat was brought me by a friend in March last. The fore parts of the back and breast were of so much paler a tint than usual, that I instituted a careful comparison between it and an ordinary specimen : detecting, as I thought, some slight variation of form in different parts, I judged it best to forward both individuals to head quarters, and accordingly despatched them by post (naturalists ought to subscribe liberally to the memorial to the originator of the penny post) to Mr. J. E. Gray, who pronounced the one to be only a variety of P. auritus, but considered it worthy of a place in the British Museum.

The larger Horseshoe Bat has come into my possession several times, and I think it is far from uncommon. The width of the flying membrame enables me to distinguish it, when on the wing, from the Serotine. On the 18th of December, 1843, two individuals, male and female, were brought me alive, having been captured in a crevice of the cliff over Bonchurch. There was a peculiarity about them which appears not to have bsen recorded as belonging to this species: around the throat, and suspended over the chest, was a well defined tippet, the fur of which was much longer, rather paler in colour, and, as appeared to me, of a somewhat finer texture. A remarkably large individual, caught June 5th, had no such tippet, while two others,

captured in September, have the fur of the throat longer than that of the rest of the body, but the tippet is not so well defined as in those taken in December. Query, Is this tippet a provision for the winter? One of the tippeted specimens is in the British Museum.

The Hedgehog abounds. My first introduction to this animal in these parts was in January, 1838, and that under somewhat peculiar circumstances: we were visited by a severer frost, and of longer duration than is usual to this climate, and the ground was decked in a thin coating of snow; the day was beautifully bright, and though I was at that time somewhat of an invalid, having been sent to pass the winter in this best of British climates by my excellent friend, Dr. C. B. Williams, I ventured on a stroll in the neighbourhood of St. Lawrence. On rounding a projecting point of the cliff, I beheld on the ground before me a creature which, at first view, not a little puzzled me. Closer inspection showed me a hedgehog, with the parts where the tail is situated towards me, and one hind leg stretched far beyond what I should have supposed the full extent of a hedgehog's hind leg, over the animal's back, from which it was intently scratching certain nameless parasites; these little sanguinary creatures having, probably like itself, been roused from a state of torpor by the warm sunbeams. After some seconds it discovered the intruder on its privacy, and elevating its snout to an angle of 45° with the plane of the horizon, with a view apparently to ascertain my intentions, and not feeling, I suppose, sufficient confidence in my humanity, it commenced and effected a cool and deliberate retreat to its place of hibernation. I wish I could feel myself warranted by facts to assert the positive harmlessness of the hedgehog. The paper by W. H. S. in this month's Zoologist' (Zool. 715), reminded me that in the manuscript I was about to forward you I had said nothing on the subject. Personal observation does not authorise the expression of a very decided opinion. I have had many a hedgehog in my possession; for, when residing in Hertfordshire, I had a setter which was remarkably clever at finding them; and as surely as she found, I carried them home, and turned them loose in my garden. For bread and milk, and earthworms, they evinced a wonderful liking, but with flesh or eggs I never tried them. So many instances of their devouring eggs have, however, been reported to me, that I cannot doubt the fact: but, admitting the fact, let it be also remembered that an animal is not to be condemned because it occasionally does wrong: (who of your readers will be content to bear such a judgment?) Let the amount of good and evil done be fairly weighed, and an equitable

« ПредыдущаяПродолжить »