THE KNTOMOLOGTST. 3Q9 



on its being seen fluttering over coal : I have noticed it fre- 

 quently settling on that mineral, and remaining motionless 

 for some xmmiles.— Bar id John French ; Chathdm, Ocloher 

 12, 1865. 



[Two other correspondents have written in confirmation of 

 Mr. Clifford's o1)servation, which to me was altogether novel. 

 — Edward Newman.^ 



•283. Bomhi/x nemiria near Wimbledon. — I piclied up, 

 this summer, a iew larvae of this once notorious cockney, but 

 now country gentleman, near Wimbledon, in Surrey, but they 

 were nearly all ichneumoned. — John R. S. Clifford; 21, 

 Robert Terrace, Chelsea, October 2, 1865. 



284. Scarcity of Wasps. — I see a notice (Entom. 303) 

 from Bournemouth on the scarcity of wasps this autunm. 

 Here, in the spring, the queen wasps abounded in a manner 

 I never before noticed : they swarmed over the gooseberry- 

 bushes when in flower, and many hundreds we had destroyed. 

 I remarked that when successfully " netted " we could go on 

 capturing them for a length of time, but if we missed one, or 

 one escaped out of the net, it seemed to sound a note of 

 alarm, for all left the spot at once for a time. As the season 

 advanced the wasps disappeared, but during June and July 

 Melia sociella was most abundant, and has probably caused 

 this diminution : 1 believe their larvae live in wasps' nests. 

 This autunm we scarcely see a wasp. — E. S. Hutchinson ; 

 Grantsjield, Leominster, October 3, 1865. 



285. Wasps at Ilkleij. — Mr. vSmith remarks (Entom. 303) 

 that there are no v/asps at Bournemouth this year. Visitors 

 to this place cannot boast of such a happy exem])tion : 

 during the last month they have been so abundant as to be a 

 serious nuisance, rendering the out-door life, to which the de- 

 licious weather tempted, a dubious pleasure for timid per- 

 sons. Sugar attracted them in great numbers ; on three trees 

 sugared lor Noctua? last night I counted upwards of eighty 

 wasps this morning. At the last Meeting of the Entomolo- 

 gical Society, I see Mr. Baly stated that wasps were abun- 

 dant this autumn at Aberdeen : it would be interesting to 

 learn whether the scarcity of which Mr. Smith speaks has 

 really been general, or only confined to certain districts. 

 Perhaps some of your correspondents will inf()rm us. — 

 Edwin BirchaU; Ilkley, Wharjdale, October 11, 1865. 



