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HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



[Dec. 1, 1869. 



Death's-head Hawk-moth {Acherontia atropos). 

 — In the last number of Science-Gossip your cor- 

 respondent " T. P. Barkas " records the abuudancy 

 of the caterpillar of A. atropos this season. Per- 

 haps it may interest him, as well as others 

 of your correspondents, to know that it has also 

 occurred in unusual plenty at several places in 

 Norfolk. I have now four of the pupae of this moth 

 undergoing their last transformation, one of which 

 was brought to me in the larval state, the other 

 three in the pupal state. Several other of my 

 entomological friends also possess pupse, one of 

 whom has now no less than thirty, all taken from 

 one potato-field.— Robert Laddimaa, Norwich. 



Short-eared Owl {Strix brachyotus) Nesting 

 n Norfolk. — Prom a correspondence with Mr. 

 Stevenson, as to the position of the nest alluded to 

 in the last number of Science-Gossip, I am in- 

 clined to think the young Owls in Winterton Decoy 

 were of the long-eared species, the nest having 

 been placed in a tree, whereas the Short-eared Owl 

 almost invariably nests on the ground. — /. G. N., 

 Aldborough Rectory. 



Tortoises in Winter. — I should be glad to 

 know from any one who has kept them whether 

 freshwater tortoises will stand the winter in the 

 open air without protection. Mine are in a garden 

 tank or pond, which contains four or five hogsheads 

 of water, standing about two feet deep, and they 

 mostly spend their time on a ledge or shelf, which 

 is just covered by the water, and which supports a 

 few stones and shells, on which they can climb if so 

 disposed. One which was sold as a " Mediter- 

 ranean Tortoise" is about six inches long and 

 closely streaked; the other three were called "North 

 American," and are smaller, and spotted with yel- 

 low. I. should be glad to learn their scientific 

 names. — George Guyon. 



Snow -bunting. — A correspondent of a Cornish 

 weekly paper I have had sent me, writing from 

 Camborne, says he has, within the last fortnight, 

 seen on a common near that town several of the 

 Snow-buntings flying with the Larks. He shot one, 

 which was a beautiful specimen of this rare bird so 

 far west. — H. Budge. 



Red Admiral.— In reply to Mr. S. J. B. Mose- 

 ley's query this month under the above heading, I 

 may state that all the Fanesscc have a great par- 

 tiality for sweets, more indeed than other Diurni. 

 Sugaring trees or blossoms in the daytime has 

 been proposed as a means of capturing the rare 

 V. antiopa ; but I am not aware whether this plan 

 has ever been carried into effect. About three 

 weeks ago, while staying at Hastings, I had occasion 

 to pass through a plantation where I had been 

 sugaring the previous evening. There I noticed 

 three or four specimens of Vanessa atalanta settled, 



imbibing the remains of the treacle and sugar ; they 

 were, however, very much on the alert and flew 

 away directly I approached, only, however, to re- 

 turn again after the lapse of a few seconds to 

 continue their repast. This butterfly often visits 

 ivy-bloom, so resorted to at dusk by autumnal 

 Noctuag. I may take this opportunity to mention 

 that although as a rule this has been one of the 

 worst seasons known for Lepidoptera, I nevertheless 

 captured many Agrotis saucia (the Pearly Underwing) 

 in the plantation I have just alluded to. — /. C. Mel- 

 ville, Nov. 3. 



Bees Deserting. — I have for more than thirty 

 years been a bee-keeper, but have never lost a swarm 

 from the above cause until this year. Early in June 

 I purchased a capital swarm, and put it into Pet- 

 titt's " Hive of Hives," with a comb well filled with 

 honey, and several pieces of guide-comb on some of 

 the other bar-frames. They worked well for two or 

 three days, and made some good additions to the 

 guide-combs, when they left the hive, taking away 

 all the honey, and went I know not where. I 

 have had as many as twenty cases of desertion re- 

 ported to me this season. One swarm I sent to 

 London one Thursday morning, whence they 

 were taken to Blackheath, and were given their 

 liberty on being placed in the garden there, where 

 they commenced working immediately, and they 

 worked well all Priday, Saturday, and Sunday, until 

 about noon when they took it into their heads to 

 "flyaway," and were never heard of afterwards. 

 This swarm was in one of Pettitt's " Temple Bee 

 Hives." Therefore your correspondent, Mr. Wm. 

 Balchin, may rest satisfied that he is not alone in 

 this " flyaway season " ; and perhaps he was not so 

 fortunate as I was after all, for about ten days after 

 I lost my bees I was out walking, and in a bush 

 by the side of the footpath I saw something looking 

 rather black as I passed, and on stepping back 1 

 found it to be a swarm of bees. Having a large 

 silk handkerchief in my pocket, I took it and fitted 

 it nicely over all the bees, and after giving the 

 bush a smart shake, I brought away my prize- 

 took them home and put them into a hive without 

 losing a single bee, and they are at the present time 

 in my apiary likely to stand the winter. Now, as to 

 the cause of swarms deserting their hives, I be- 

 lieve it to be this— viz., that the queen is a young 

 queen, unfertile, very flirty, and was running about 

 the hive like a wild bee all the while she was in it ; 

 and it would be interesting not only to me but to 

 many readers of your excellent journal if Mr. Wm. 

 Balchin would kindly state whether he found, in any 

 of the combs which the bees deserted, any signs of 

 fertilization. I have been much interested in the 

 article of "D. D. B.'s" in your last number on 

 Ligurian Bees. — W. J. Pettitt, Italian. Apiary, 

 Dover. 



