32 SPOLIA ZEYLANICA. 
NOTES. 
1. Behaviour of Toads when confronted by a Snake.—I was much 
interested in Mr. E. E. Green’s note on the “‘ Curious action of a toad 
when confronted by a snake”’ (Spolia Zeylanica, vol. ITI., Part XI. 
January, 1906, p. 196), since my colleague Mr. 8. A. Heron and I 
once witnessed precisely similar behaviour on the part of toads 
towards a snake, although the species were different. In this case 
the actors were an English ringed snake (T'ropidonotus natrix, Linn.) 
and three common toads (Bufo vulgaris, Laurenti), and the comedy 
was performed on the floor of an English greenhouse. The behaviour , 
of the toads when confronted with the snake was exactly as described 
by Mr. Green, although, with its usual reluctance to feed in public, 
the snake made no attempt to attack them. The appearance of 
the toads was certainly most grotesque, and there is little wonder 
that a snake is disconcerted by the performance, which, as remarked 
by Mr. Green, is apparently due to an inherited instinct. In the 
case of English toads, at any rate, very many individuals in all 
probability pass their lives without ever seeing a snake. 
I venture to think that the inflation of the abdomen, and perhaps 
also the tiptoe position, is due to a widespread instinct, which 
prompts a small and comparatively defenceless animal, when in the 
presence of a recognized or potential enemy, to make itself as large 
as possible. Many instances of this might be quoted, but the 
expansion of a cobra’s hood, the behaviour of a half-tame owl when 
approached, and the action of a cat in the presence of a strange dog, 
will suffice as iilustrations. 
ERNEST E. AUSTEN. 
British Museum (Natural History), 
Cromwell Road, London, S.W., . 
April 4, 1906. 

2. Notes on the Ceylon Honey Bee.—It is well known that the 
Ceylon honey bee (Apis indica) depends largely for its hive require- 
ments on the cocoanut palm, but the ‘‘toddy-pot” suspended from 
the end of the undeveloped inflorescence in the process of extracting 
