172 The Irish Naturalist. September, 



Eryngium campestre in Ireland. 



On Monday, August 5th, on the occasion of the Cork Naturalists' Field 

 Club excursion to Sherkin Island, Co. Cork, I gathered specimens of an 

 Eryngium pointed out to me by Mrs. J. J. Wolfe, which on subsequent 

 examination proved to be E. campestre — a species apparently not seen in 

 Ireland since 1819, when it was recorded by Drummond, from near 

 Ivismore, Co. Waterford. It grows in some quantity on one spot in an 

 old pasture field with exclusively native plants, and may be indigenous ; 

 but further search for other stations in the locality would be desirable 

 before adding it with certainty to our list of undoubted natives. Its dis- 

 tribution in England is not inconsistent with its being a native in Co. 

 Cork, as Mr. Arthur Bennett, F.L.S., who has kindly verified the identity 

 of my specimens, considers it likely to be native in West Cornwall, Kent, 

 Suffolk, and Devon, but doubtful elsewhere. 



R. A. Philips. 

 Cork. 



ZOOLOGY. 



Notes on Humble Bees. 



I recently had an opportunity of watching the curious behaviour of 

 two Humble Bees (Bomdzts ierrestris) — a queen and a worker. The queen 

 was wet and chilled, and the worker came along and showed great solici- 

 tude. It crawled over the body of the larger bee and examined its wings 

 and legs minutely , and fetched water from a water-lily leaf with which, as I 

 thought, to loosen the queen's wings, which seemed fixed to her body. 

 It also lay on the body of the queen for two minutes, or more, motion- 

 less, as if to warm it. Then they both rolled over, and seemed to fight 

 viciously with each other, and then rolled off a large water-lily leaf on 

 which all the above actions took place, and I secured both by lifting them 

 out of the water. 



F. W. Burbidge. 

 Trinity College Botanic Gardens. 



Vanessa io near Londonderry. 



When at Burnfoot, about seven miles from Derry, near Lough S willy, 

 I saw, on the road to Inch (which road is generally covered with water), 

 a Peacock Butterfly, and another in a lane leading to railway-crossing 

 about a hundred yards from Burnfoot Station. It was between the nth 

 and 25th of May that I saw these two, during the very hot weather. The 

 Butterflies were so large that I heard the rustling of their wings when 

 flying, and I distinctly saw the round rings on each wing. Of course it 

 is just possible I may have met with the same butterfly twice, on different 

 days. However, having seen one shows that they are not extinct in that 

 locality. 



W. T. C. Ward. 



Belfast. 



