Feb, 



1,1368.] HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



41 



The Oak Egger Moth.— It appears to be well- 

 known that as soon as a female moth— of some 

 species— bursts the chrysalis, the males will arrive 

 from all directions ; but, according to a book I 

 lately read, the attractive influence is unappreciable 

 to human sense. If the last statement is generally 

 believed, I think I can help to elucidate the subject. 

 In June I caught a large and (to me) strange larva, 

 in due time it spun a very tough cocoon, and from 

 it, in September, emerged the imago which proved 

 to be a female Oak Egger Moth (Lasiocampa 

 quercus). The succeeding day I placed it at the eud 

 of the room where I was sitting— the door being 

 open ; during the subsequent two or three hours I 

 had five males enter the room ; I especially observed 

 one flutter some distance past the door, when it was 

 evident he discovered a mistake, for he quickly re- 

 traced his flight to the door, when after a little 

 ceremony he boldly entered. Those who have seen 

 a hare hotly pursued by the hounds suddenly turn 

 through a hedge at a right angle to her previous 

 headlong career, and then saw the hounds overrun 

 the scent and trace back, witnessed an error 

 corrected similar to the moth's in his excursion. 

 Again, I had nasal evidence of a powerfully odorous 

 emanation from the insect. My olfactory nerves 

 left me no room to doubt what that potent, yet 

 secret, influence was which directed to an unseen 

 object. — John Onions. 



Erogs — Some one, in a previous number of 

 Science-Gossip, speaks of frogs climbing up glass. 

 As to whether a frog can ciimb a window pane or 

 not, I cannot say, but I can assure you that I and 

 my son went out to collect frogs, &c, and we put a 

 number of little frogs into a wide mouthed bottle, 

 up which they climbed, and would have made their 

 escape had they not been prevented. — G. Bullard. 



Spiders. — Some few years ago, where I was living, 

 there was an out-house adjoining a plantation, and 

 in the autumn a number of spiders used to con- 

 gregate on the inside of the outhouse, and a number 

 of flies ; but instead of the spiders killing the flies, 

 the flies killed the spiders. They used to get under 

 the belly of the spiders and suck all the goodness 

 out of them ; they were long-legged spiders with 

 bodies about as big as half a pea ; the flies were 

 little stout-made brown ones. — G. Bullard. 



Rare Birds in Kent. — On Tuesday the 19 th 

 November, 1867, a fine specimen of the Golden 

 Eagle was shot at Lydd, Kent ; it was first seen by 

 the groom of the Rev. B. Cobb, and afterwards 

 shot by the son of Mr. John Wood, farmer ; it is 

 now in the possession of Mr. G. Jell, ornithologist, 

 to be preserved. The bird is in excellent plumage 

 stands about two feet high, and measures nearly 

 three feet in length. This is the first Eagle shot iu 

 this locality in the memory of man. There has also 



been shot lately iu this neighbourhood three speci- 

 mens of the Hoopoe (Upupa Epops), a fine specimen 

 of the Arctic Skua Gull {Lestris Rlchardsonii), and 

 a Quail (Tetrao Coturnix), all of which have been 

 preserved by Mr. Jell.— James Ward,' Ely Court, 

 Staplehirst, Kent. 



The Birds op Berks and Bucks. — Mr. Alex- 

 ander Clark-Kennedy is about to issue, under the 

 above title, " A Description of the Local Distribu- 

 tion of all the British Birds that have ever (as far 

 as the author knows) occurred in Berkshire or 

 Buckinghamshire." Notes on the occurrence of 

 rare visitors, original anecdotes of birds, or the 

 dates of the arrival and departure of emigrants, 

 will be thankfully received by him. The work will 

 be illustrated by coloured photographs ; its price to 

 subscribers being Cis. All communications should 

 be addressed to Alexander Clark-Kennedy, Esq., 

 Messrs. Ingram & Halton, Booksellers, Eton, by 

 whom also subscribers' names will be received. — B. 



Woodcock {Scolopax rusticola). — A friend of 

 mine found a nest of this bird some two years since 

 on the estate of Mrs. Honeywood, of Marks Hall, 

 which, although frequently visited by the curious, 

 hatched its eggs and brought off its young in 

 safety. — C. Denny, Kclvedon. 



Wooden Taps and Acari.— If wooden taps are 

 used for beer or wine and a portion of the liquor be 

 poured into a glass, which is held so that the light 

 may fall obliquely upon the surface, and the ob- 

 server, instead of looking directly downwards, 

 places his eye at an opposite angle to the light, 

 living mites will be found floating on the surface : 

 these are sugar mites (Jcarus sacchari). If a hand 

 magnifier is used, or some of the acari be placed 

 under the microscope, their character will be very 

 evident. No doubt it is conducive to the success of 

 the experiment if no liquor has been drawn for a 

 few days previous to the trial ; for the mites exist 

 about the external part of the tap, and are washed 

 into the glass when the liquor is first drawn off. 

 These Acari are able to survive during very severe 

 weather ; for on the 8th of the present month (De- 

 cember) I drew off about a tablespoonful of ginger- 

 wine into a very small wine-glass, and found forty or 

 more of them alive upon the surface. As far as my 

 observation extends, it is not necessary that the wine 

 or beer should contain cane sugar in order to pro- 

 duce these mites ; all kinds of wine seem subject to 

 produce them, provided the taps be of wood. To 

 obviate the swallowing of these disgusting insects, 

 it is worth while to try taps made of Wedgewood's 

 ware ; but they are somewhat expensive and require 

 care. A cheaper material has lately been used in 

 making an earthenware tap, which, it is hoped, may 

 prove to answer the purpose.— S. C. Sayer, Swinton, 

 Manchester. 



