HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



43 



species, Stiorhynchus siilcatus, one of the weevils, and 

 forthwith depositing it within as food for the larvae to 

 be born from the eggs of the cerceris. On opening 

 a burrow, moreover, there was a cluster of twenty or 

 more beetles, neatly packed, each beetle being 

 paralysed by the sting of the cerceris, and, while 

 thus prevented from moving, still alive, so as to 

 afford fresh food for the larvae, as and when required. 

 Again, in August, I met with numbers of Odynerus 

 sfinifies busy at a colony they had formed on the face 

 of a cliff at Swanage, each female frequently arriving 

 with a small green lepidopterous larva, with which it 

 clambered up the curved mud funnel, forming the 

 entrance to the cell, adding it to the heap of similar 

 larvae which were found on opening a nest. Al- 

 together the habits of this group of insects are very 

 interesting, and are well worth investigation. — 

 H. Ramsden. 



Ornithological Voracity. — On the 28th of 

 November, Mr. Thomas Whitfield had the peculiar 

 luck to find a dead kingfisher on the banks of the 

 stream in Weasdale. Strange to say, it had appa- 

 rently been choked in the action of swallowing a 

 bull-head, the latter part of whose body was hanging 

 out of its mandibles. — T/ios. Hexvetson, The Lane, 

 Weasdale, Ravenstonedale, Westmoreland. 



Albino Rook. — This bird was shot at Newport, 

 Monmouthshire, it being pure white or cream colour. 

 — William Shakespeare, Naturalist, Cardiff. 



Bees and Lime-trees.— Your correspondent on 

 this subject in last month's issue of Science-Gossip 

 is quite correct in thinking that the juices contained 

 in the flowers of the lime-tree {Tilia Europira) are 

 possessed of poisonous properties, which prove fatal 

 to bees that frequent this tree when in bloom. Hive- 

 bees, humble-bees, and even wasps provide innumer- 

 able victims to the intoxicating poison which they 

 so eagerly imbibe from the flowers of the lime, and 

 the numbers of dead insects which strew the ground 

 underneath the trees testify to the fatal nature of the 

 nectar which they imbibe. Some of them, after 

 falling to the ground in an intoxicated manner, may 

 escape the utmost consequences of their death-dealing 

 repast, but to the great majority of them a short 

 carouse amongst the blossoms proves fatal. I have 

 not noticed that the thorax of the poisoned insect has 

 been scooped out, but I have often found the head, 

 thorax, and part of the body — one part of the body 

 being gone, and the other part having the inside 

 apparently scooped out. This I set down as being 

 due to the dead insects having been blown about by 

 the wind, the body, which soon gets to be stiff and 

 dry, being easily broken at one of the joints. Then 

 the spiders and earwigs take possession of the cavity. 

 — J. Bowman, Havelock House, Sunderland. 



Names of Fishes. — Could any one tell me what 

 is the correct name of a fish, of the carp species, 

 having an arched back like a bream, but the true 

 carp dorsal fin and plumpness of body ; the back a 

 darkish colour, and the sides a beautiful gold, and 

 a silvery gold lower, but when not catching the 

 light, of a bronzy colour? Could this be the fish 

 mentioned in Shirley Hibberd's " Fresh-Water 

 Aquarium," as the Crucian or German Carp (Cy- 

 prinus carrassius), of which he says, it "is easily 

 distinguished from its compeers by its bream-shaped 

 back, which rises from the nape into a high arch 

 along the line of the dorsal fin. It is found in the 

 Thames between Hammersmith and Windsor," etc. 



And also what is the name of another carp, back 

 dark, slightly tinged with dark red, and two reddish 

 marks on the head, and the sides of a very brilliant 

 gold bronze, and preserving the true carp outline 

 and fins ? Also of one exactly like the last, but 

 without any red tinge ; and another the same as that 

 but having the dorsal tin on the centre of the back, 

 like a tench's ? — A. G. Whishaw. 



Convolvulus Hawk Moth.— On August 31st 

 last, I had a very fine specimen of the convolvulus 

 hawk moth brought to me alive ; the wings were 

 slightly rubbed. It is the first living specimen I have 

 met with, but some years ago a woman showed me 

 a chrysalis, which, from the projecting proboscis, 

 something like the handle of a pitcher, and its large 

 size, I believe was the chrysalis of this moth. — 

 C. F. George. 



Cuckoo. — In answer to Mr. Wallis's question in 

 November " Gossip," whether I really saw the bird, 

 I can assure him it was even as I stated in my 

 previous note. I saw the bird, and saw the move- 

 ment of the throat during the utterance of the sounds, 

 and the bird flew away still crying cuckoo-koo. I 

 have frequently heard the bird since in the same 

 locality uttering the same three syllables. — F. J. 

 George, Charley, Lane. 



Cuckoo's-Mate. — Mr. W. E. Windus says (page 

 259) of the wry-neck (Yunx Tonpiilla) : " It is, I 

 should think, of insectivorous habits." I find that 

 Gilbert White, of Selborne, says of it in his 

 "Observations on Birds : " " These birds appear on 

 the grass plots and.walks. They walk a little as well as 

 hop, and thrust their bills into the turf, in quest, I 

 conclude, of ants, which are their food. While they 

 hold their bills in the grass, they draw out their prey 

 with their tongues, which are so long as to be coiled 

 round their heads." — Thomas Winder, C.E., Sheffield. 



Feeding Frogs and Newts. — In "Notes and 

 Queries " for October, a correspondent asks for in- 

 formation respecting the feeding of the above. 

 During the summer months, I give my little 

 batrachians a plentiful supply of small insects, cater- 

 pillars, house and meat-flies and their larvre, and 

 small garden worms. For winter's use, I always keep 

 a number of the latter in earth in flower-pots or 

 boxes, so as to be able to feed my pets when hungry, 

 and when food outside is not easy to obtain. _ It is a 

 common mistake to keep newts continually in water 

 as if they were fish and not amphibians. I have a 

 number of newts, salamanders, and green-tree frogs 

 in a large fern-case, with a small earthenware pan 

 for water, to be used as a bath. By paying attention 

 to their habits, and giving them a constant supply of 

 food, I have been able to keep some of my newts 

 in captivity for four and five years. My warty newts 

 are very partial to raw beef cut into small shreds, but 

 the smaller species and the frogs will seldom touch it. 

 The latter are especially fond of small earth-worms 

 (and the warty newts also), and it is very amusing to 

 watch the antics of froggie busily engaged in swallow- 

 ing a worm, in which proceeding he is greatly 

 assisted by his fore-feet, which are used to brush 

 away the superfluous earth, and to stow the ends of the 

 worm quickly and snugly into his mouth.— A. J. 

 Jenkins, New Cross. 



Educational Collections of Insects.— It 

 may interest Mr. Bath to know that, in conjunction with 

 Professor Westwood, I have had the honour to fit up 



