THE DENIZENS OF AN OLD CHERRY TREE. 3 



spent many a pleasant hour, hunting for insects in their native 

 haunts, and, in the proper season, giving chase to that rarity of 

 our native butterflies — now, we fear, nearly extinct — the Large 

 Blue {LyccBna arion), king among its brethren, born amid the 

 bee-haunted wild thyme, whose opening flowers told us the time 

 to look for this coveted prize in its perfect state. To capture a 

 specimen sailing along before the stiff breeze (which often prevails 

 on these hills), one needed to excel in running to keep the insect 

 in view, especially when our chase extended over such rough places 

 and disused quarries as usually form the haunt of this species. 



But our limbs are not so strong as they were in those days, and 

 the roads to these lovely spots are long, so we are now content to 

 observe those insects which are to be found nearer home ; and, if 

 the reader will bear with us, we will attempt to describe some of 

 the marvels^of insect life observed in the stump of our old cherry 

 tree during three months of 1893. 



Some years ago this cherry tree was struck by lightning, and 

 soon after showed signs of decay. The limbs broke off during 

 the strong gales which sometimes sweep up the valley from the 

 Bristol Channel with terrific force ; but the stump, now only some 

 seven feet high and about ten inches in diameter at its base, 

 was left standing, as it formed a convenient post on which a metal 

 clothes line had been attached for years. For the last three years 

 signs of its being inhabited were freely shown by the numerous 

 particles of wood scattered from time to time on a bed of marjo- 

 ram growing round its base, on the leaves of which the ejected 

 light coloured " jaw dust " from above, showed in striking contrast 

 to the colour of the herb, and which induced our old gardener to 

 remark that the old stump was " wivvil e'ten and dakadey." We 

 had many times watched to see whether any insect passed in or 

 out of the holes from which the dust had fallen, but without suc- 

 cess until October 23rd, 1892, when at mid-day, in the sunlight, 

 we saw a black wood wasp {Femphredon) actively examining ^the 

 mouths of the larger burrows. Wishing to secure it for identifi- 

 cation, we managed to get the agile creature into a glass tube, but, 

 accidentally dropping the cork, our prisoner was gone in an instant. 

 Now, knowing what to look for, we waited and watched, and 

 within ten minutes we were rewarded with another visit from this 



