40 



THE FIELD DIARY OF SOLITARIUS. 



JANUARY. This month has not hitherto presented me with any- 

 thing peculiar to it, although I have paid as much attention to field 

 pursuits during its continuance as I have in other months. The active 

 reader, however, must not let this remark deter him from searching the 

 fields at this time of the year, for much may be noticed by him that 

 has escaped my observation. 



FEBRUARY 7, 1832. At Kilburn I found the larva of the goat- 

 moth (Cossus ligniperda) concealed in the earth beneath a stone, 

 which is rather a singular situation to find it in, as it generally inhabits 

 willows and poplars, to which and other trees it is very destructive. 



8, 1831. In the soft earth of a bank at Kilburn, I found seve- 

 ral specimens of Chrysomela staphylea, and of Pcecilus cupreus. 



MARCH 5, 1833. The dung-fly (Scatophaga stercoraria) appeared. 



16, 1831. The red-ants (Formica rufa) commenced their labours 

 in Kensington Gardens. 



17,1837- Found the scarlet satin-mite (Trombidium holoseri- 

 ceurri) in Kensington Gardens, where I noticed that the squirrels are now 

 in a state of activity, jumping with their wonted agility from bough to 

 bough. 



19, 1833. At Paddington, in the afternoon, heard the song of 

 the blackbird (Merula vulgaris) for the first time this year. Saw a 

 Scarabaeus vulgaris on the wing. 



27, 1831. Heard the skylark (Alauda arvensis) for the first 

 time this year, at Harlesdon, on the Harrow Road. 



22, 1832. At Lee, observed a flock of fieldfares, and a single 

 specimen of the nettle-butterfly {Vanessa Urticce). Snails were copu- 

 lating. 



25,1831. The common bat ( Vespertilio Pipistrellns, GEOFF.*) 

 flying at Kilburn, at about seven o'clock in the evening. This species 

 is said to fly throughout the year ; but although I have observed it in 

 the cold evenings of October, November, and December, yet I have 

 never seen it during the frosty nights of January and February. In 



* The Rev. Mr. Jenyns, in the Linnsean Transactions, denies that our com- 

 mon-bat is, as is generally supposed, the Vespertilio murinus of Linnaeus, and 

 endeavours to prove (and I think with success) that it is the V. Pipistrellus 

 of Geoffrey. I have therefore adopted the latter term. 



