234 The Irish NaUoalist. December, 
NOTES. 
ZOOLOGY. 
The food of Silpha subrotundata. 
MM. Fairmaire and Laboulbene, in their " Faune Entomplogique Fran- 
caise," Tome i, state of Silpha atrata, L. : — "II fait, comme I'espece pre- 
cedente, la chasse aux limaces." This observation I was never able to 
verify till the present autumn. In September, at Coolmore, I found a 
specimen of S. subrotundata sitting on a leaf of Black Knapweed {Cen- 
taurea ni^ra, L.) and hard at work devouring a snail. The beetle was 
holding the shell with its two front legs and thrusting its long narrow 
head into the opening to devour the snail within. I had often noticed the 
peculiar narrow shape of the head of S. subrotundata but I did not realise 
till I saw it at work the meaning of the shape of its head. S. atrata L. 
has the same shaped head and so has 5. lacrigata Fab., the latter being 
the species referred to by MM. Fairmaire and Laboulbene in their remark 
quoted above as "I'espece precedente." The same authors state of 
5. dispar. Herbs t, that H is found " au bord des maies, ou il parait devorer 
les petits mollusques." It would thus appear that its food resembles 
that of 5. subrotundata, and it would be very interesting to observe its 
mode of attacking its prey. The food of the other species of this genus 
is varied. Thus S. rugosa, L. is always found in carrion, but 5. opaca L., 
in the larval stage at any rate is frequently found a,ttacking Mangold, vide 
Professor Carpenter's reports of Injurious Insects for 1896 and 1907, 
Economic Proceedings of Royal Dublin Society, where most interesting 
accounts are given of the ravages of this insect. 
Canon Fowler says that S. quadripunctata, L., is found on oaks and 
other trees, not in carcases, and that it feeds on the larvae of various 
insects. The larvae of 5. thoracica, L. are said to feed on decaying fungi ; 
the perfect insect seems to have a parti? lit}'^ for fir plantations and feeds 
on carrion. The genus may therefore with safety be said to be on the whole 
one that is useful in destroying snails, larvae of insects and doing sanitary 
work by removing decaying animal and vegetable matter like Charles 
Kingsley's spider-crab in " Glaucus." 
W. F. Johnson. 
Poyntzpass, 
Ravens on Brandon, County Kerry. 
On Brandon, last June, on the cliffs below the summit, Ravens were 
abundant. On one occasion I counted twelve, and two days later no 
less than sixteen were seen together, playing in the air and performing 
fantastic evolutions. 
Dublin. R, Lloyd Praeger. 
