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HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



sist in nearly every little accumulation of water. A 

 friend of mine, a practical entomologist of long experi- 

 ence, told me he lately took twenty-two good species 

 of Hydradephaga from a small pond. And I have taken 

 with the net at a single stroke such a quantity of 

 water bugs that their odour was quite discernible at 

 some little distance. But how much more plenti- 

 ful is life now — in September — for all the above took 

 place in spring ! It is impossible to convey to one 

 who does not go and see such things for himself 

 any adequate conception of what numbers of living 

 beings exist everywhere.— C. Francis Young. 



Woodpeckers' Eggs. — I have no doubt the 

 variety which Mr. Wheldon describes in some eggs in 

 his possession of the green woodpecker is rare, but 

 specimens which appear from the description to be 

 similar are described in Stevenson's " Birds of 

 Norfolk," vol. i. p. 2$-].—J.H. G.,jun., A^orthrepps, 

 Norwich. 



Woodpeckers' Eggs. — The following extract 

 may interest your correspondent, Mr. Geo. Wheldon. 

 It is taken from an article entitled " On the Nesting 

 of the Nuthatch, as observed in Norfolk," by F. 

 Norgate, which appeared in "The Zoologist" of 

 February last. After mentioning that he had found 

 other birds in possession of the nesting holes of the 

 nuthatch and woodpeckers, and one species of bat 

 in those of the latter, Mr. Norgate says, "Fungi also 

 take possession of these nests sometimes, and so 

 quickly do they grow, that fresh eggs are occasionally 

 imbedded in the solid hard wood of a Polyporus as 

 perfectly as a fossil shell might be in its matrix of 

 flint or chalk. I can well imagine that some of the 

 perennial Polypori such as Polyporusfomentarius might 

 preserve eggs for many years. I once opened a green 

 woodpecker's nest by boring a fresh hole into the 

 bottom of it. The bird was in, but there were no 

 eggs, so I plugged up the hole I had made by ham- 

 mering a dead bough into it. Several days afterwards 

 I reopened it, and found the base of the cavity filled 

 by a very hard fungus which I did not take the 

 trouble to identify. Imbedded in this fungus were 

 three green woodpeckers' eggs, which I had great 

 difficulty in carving out with a chisel. On the top of 

 the fungus were four more eggs mottled and spotted 

 regularly all over with rich brown stains, but 

 beautifully polished, as if the colour was natural. 

 They much resemble the eggs of the common sand- 

 piper in colour and markings. On another occasion I 

 found in an old nest of Fiats major a clutch of blue 

 tits' eggs stained almost black, but this stain was 

 possibly caused by sap from the oak-tree. The 

 fungus which I havefound most commonly blocking up 

 woodpeckers' nesting holes is Polyporus squamosus" 

 —Frederick J. W. Oakley. 



Sea Anemones. — I was much surprised the other 

 day to find inside an anemone two animals exactly 

 resembling shrimps, except for the colour, which was 

 olive-green. The smaller one was clasped in the arms 

 of the larger. Both were alive, and evinced great 

 disinclination to be separated. I should be much 

 obliged if any one would tell me if anemones are in 

 the habit of swallowing such animals alive, and also 

 what those animals could be, — whether shrimps 

 discoloured from being retained inside the anemone, 

 or some other animal. — Minnie, Nimmo Castle, Eden. 



Moths.— In reply to H. C. Brooke, in Science- 

 Gossip of August 2, I have no doubt this moth is 

 Deiopeia, genus Pulchella. They feed on forget-me- 

 nots. I have seen one with five chains of red spots, 

 but they are rare. — Thomas Kingsford. 



Privet Hawk and Oak Eggar. — In the autumn 

 of 1878, I kept about half a dozen larvae of S. Ligustri 

 which in due time went down. Last spring (1879) 

 I had several larva? of the oak eggar ; these also 

 spun up in the usual way. About August 25th, how- 

 ever, I found a perfect and fully developed specimen 

 of each moth in my breeding-cage — a female Ligustri 

 and a male oak eggar — both buzzing round the inside 

 of their prison. Is it usual for these moths to remain 

 so long in the pupal state ? — G. W. C. 



Migration of Wagtails. — Whilst strolling 

 along the shore at Scarborough, on the 20th of August, 

 I observed a large flock of pied wagtails (Motacilla 

 Yarrellii), with which were mingled a few yellow 

 wagtails [Budytes flava). There were over forty of 

 them, flitting from rock to rock, and apparently in 

 a state of considerable excitement. Occasionally a 

 dozen or more would fly out to sea, but ere they had 

 gone a hundred yards they would return, apparently 

 with the intention of inciting their companions to 

 follow them. At length the whole flock rose simul- 

 taneously and flew off to sea. After they had got a 

 little way from land, they took a turn to the south, 

 but ere they were quite out of sight, I saw, by the aid 

 of a glass, that they once more made for the land, 

 and settled upon the rocks. I did not watch them 

 further ; but I have no doubt that they were prepar- 

 ing for migration, notwithstanding that a con- 

 siderable number remains with us through the winter. 

 —J. A. Wheldon. 



Nesting of the Pied Flycatcher. — This 

 year I was fortunate enough to find the nest of a 

 pair of pied flycatchers {Muscicapa luctuosa, Tern.). 

 It was rather loosely constructed of hay and moss, in 

 a hole in a pollard willow, close by the banks of the 

 river Wiske, Northallerton. The hole had all the 

 appearance of having been enlarged. Whether the 

 beak of the flycatcher would be strong enough to do 

 this, I cannot say. It may have been tenanted by 

 some other creature before, although it looked as 

 though it was newly done. The nest contained three 

 eggs, considerably incubated. The old birds were 

 very "fussy," and fearlessly approached within a 

 yard or two of the intruder on their home. In reply 

 to Mr. Geo. Wheldon, I may state here that there is 

 a green woodpecker's {Picas viridis) egg, very 

 faintly blotched with yellowish-brown, in the Scar- 

 borough museum. — J. A. Wheldon. 



Bands of Flies in India. — Readers of Science- 

 Gossip may be interested in the following Indian 

 notes : — Being at the palace of the City of Delhi 

 some years back and searching for interesting objects, 

 I noticed a long black band on the ground reaching 

 from the buildings to the edge of the shadow and then 

 disappearing ; on nearing to find the cause, I found the 

 black band to consist of an immense number of 

 extremely minute dipterous flies, marching over the 

 sand into the sunshine, on reaching which their wings 

 appeared to dry instantly, and they rose in the air in 

 light clouds, scattering in all directions. They issued 

 from a crack in the cemented wall of a low building 

 at the end of the throne-room, and used as a soldiers' 

 lavatory. I tried to make the tiny creatures alter their 

 course, but to no purpose ; the band was six or seven 

 inches wide, and from the wall inside, about eleven 

 paces to the sunshine. I believe them to have been 

 Mitsca domestica, as at times this insect becomes 

 almost a plague in that city. Is this appearance in 

 such numbers a common occurrence ? — J. Id. Smith, 

 Be/fast. 



