NOTES ON THE SEASON 1910. 63' 



December 12th. I introduced a number from Box Hill into my 

 Kinbratiis observation nest, ^Yhere they lived for a few months. They 

 sit about with the ants and run in and out among them. The >i s 

 sometimes appeared to threaten them with their jaws, but never bit 

 them. 



Antenno})horiis piibescens, Wasm. — This mite was taken on the ants 

 in nests of L. fiacns at Ripley," on April 27th, and Sandown '' (Isle of 

 Wight), on May 14th. I introduced specimens into my inubratiis 

 observation nest, and they at once fastened themselves on to the ants. 



Vrupoda ovolix, Kram. — I found a number of this species, which is 

 new to Britain, on ants in the loiibratiin nest from Weybridge. The 

 mites were fastened to the front legs of the ^ s. In some instances, 

 an ant had one on each front leg. It is figured in Wheeler's'' book 

 on ants, after Janet, the mite being shown, however, fastened to the 

 middle leg of iM^ins iiii.ctus, ^ . [L. niixtns is a race of L. iiiiibrotns, it 

 is without the exserted hairs on the tibije, etc. It has been recorded 

 from Bickleigh, near Plymouth, by Bignell,f and Isle of Man, by 

 Grimshaw:!:). The localities marked '■■ are new records for the species 

 in question. I must again thank Mr. N. D. F. Pearce for kindly 

 naming many of the species for me. 



Myrmecocorus Seeds. — Professor Weiss sent me some seeds of the 

 greater celandine, gorse and broom, to test my ants with. On July 

 8th, I put a, number of the celandine seeds in a small box lid, where 

 the ants in my fulii/invsnx nest could obtain access to them. One ant 

 took a seed. By July 14th, more seeds had been carried oft", and by 

 July 19th, all the seeds had been collected by the ants and taken 

 away; some were partly eaten. These ants treated the gorse and 

 broom seeds in the same way. Forwica exsecta also collected all these 

 seeds.' They seemed to eat part of the seeds, but the majority they 

 placed on one of their damp sponges, where the seeds grew and the 

 ants used to climb up and down the small plants. 



In my F. riifa nest, however, the ants never touched a single seed, 

 though they had lids of all three species presented to them. This 

 was curious, as Prof. Weiss § has shown that F. nifa has dispersed the 

 seeds of gorse and broom in nature. 



Notes on the Season, 1910. 



By EUSSELL E. JAMES. 



Everywhere one hears complaints of the past season, but my ovrn 

 experience during the several short trips that my little leisure has 

 allowed me, has been, that we have had the greatest year with Noctitae 

 since 1892. 



Probably they have been no more plentiful, but as they have come 

 to treacle in great numbers wherever and whenever I have tried, from 

 early June to early September, they have at least been more in evidence 

 and more obtainable than usual. 



Light on the other hand has been singularly unattractive, and an 

 apparently ideal night in July stands out in my memory as the great 



* Anls, Their Slructure, Development, and Behaviour, 1910, p. 411. 



t Entom., xiv., 1881, p. 262. 



+ Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., 1908, p. 89. 



§ The New Phytologist, vii., 3, 1909, pp. 81-89. 



