204 The Irish Naturalist. October, 



I will answer in all seriousness the four questions that have been 

 propounded. 



1. I called Bombus tcrrestris a " Humble Bee," because that appears to 

 be the authentic designation of which " Bumble Bee " may possibly be 

 only a corruption. 



2. Possibly the queen bee did not want more water, it might be that 

 the worker only wished to use some for moistening the wings that 

 adhered to the body. 



3. I am not sure that the worker bee fought viciously with the queen 

 bee, it may have been vice versa, and that the worker was merely acting 

 as it did in self-defence. I said that they " seemed to fight viciously 

 with each other," not that either one or the other actually did so. 



4. The worker bee to all appearance carried the water by the aid of its 



jaws (maxillae). 



F. W. Burbidge. 

 Dublin. 



Entomological Notes from Abbeyleix. 



During the present year I took the following beetles amongst many 



more in this locality: — Chlcenius vestitus, Payk. Agabus bipustulatus, L. — 



on a garden hedge. Halyzia conglobata, Iv. Sphccridium bipustulatum, F. — 



one perfectly black specimen. Necrophorus ruspator, Er. Cychramus 



fungicola, Heer. Sinodendron cylindricum, L.— numerous specimens in 



rotting wood. Meloc prose arabcc us, 1^. — widely distributed from April to 



early June. Adimonia tanaccti, L. — apparently widely spread here. Gale- 



rucella vibumi, Payk. — numerous in the woods. 



J. Montgomery Browne. 

 Abbeyleix. 



Reported occurrence of the Red-throated Pipit in Ireland. 



In the Zoologist for July, Mr. F. Coburn writes fully concerning two 

 specimens in his possession, which he considers undoubtedly referable 

 to this species — the one shot by himself in Mayo in 1895, the other by 

 Mr. H. Elliott Howard iu Donegal in 1898. We have not noticed this 

 record earlier, since we understand that our leading Irish ornithologists 

 are not yet satisfied regarding the identity of these specimens. We trust 

 that further investigation will definitely determine whether Authus ccr- 

 vinus is to be added to the Irish list. 



Turtle Dove in Co. Dublin. 



On Bank Holiday, 5th August, I obtained a Turtle Dove (male) in adult 

 plumage at Portmarnock, Co. Dublin. The bird was alone ; it would be 

 interesting to find this species breeding in Ireland, as most of the 

 specimens have been obtained early in spring and in the autumn, the 

 latter almost invariably being inmature birds. 



W. J. Whwams. 



Rathgar. 



