132 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



of the Saturnia (not even excepting yonr own beautiful 

 sketch) have made it a segment too short ? I send a sketch, 

 taken from life last week, to show you what I mean. — F. H. 

 Battershy ; Augmt, 1866. 



[The admirable drawing sent by Mrs.Baltersby has thirteen 

 very obvious segments, besides the head and a small segment 

 bearing the anal claspers, — E. Newman^ 



The Turnip-grub a Food of the Lapwing. — I should feel 

 greatly obliged by your telling me the name of the caterpil- 

 lars herewith sent: they were taken from the stomachs of two 

 lapwings shot as they rose out of a turnip field. The grub 

 has injured the turnip crop for the last two years, and the 

 lapwings must by feeding on them do a vast deal of good. — 

 W. E. Beckwith ; Wellington, Salop. 



[The larvae are those of Agrotis Segetum, which I described 

 at length in the ' Zoologist' for 1865, p. 9545. I am much 

 pleased to find that beautiful bird the lapwing thus establish- 

 ing a substantial claim to our protection. — E. Newman.'] 



Answers to Correspondents. 



F. S. A. — The insect forwarded to me is the winged male 

 of the garden ant (Formica nigra) ; the swarms you speak of are 

 not extraordinary : it is the economy of this as well as many 

 other ants for the winged individuals, both male and female, 

 to appear simultaneously and suddenly, at this season or a 

 little later. In September I have seen " countless thousands" 

 floating on the surface of the Thames between London and 

 Gravesend ; a strong northerly wind was blowing, and the 

 ants appeared to be continually arriving from the Essex 

 coast, and joining their companions in a watery grave. 



Bee. — The bee is Melecta armata of Smith's ' Catalogue 

 of the Bees of Great Britain,' the Apis punctata of Kirby's 

 ' Monographia Apium,' and Melecta Clotho of my Monograph 

 in the ' Entomological Magazine.' 



Cynips. — The galls sent by " Cynips" are those of Cynips 

 lignicola : I know of no artificial remedy, but the blue tit- 

 mouse is a natural one : in the woods of Herefordshire the 

 galls and their natural enemy are equally abundant. — E. N. 



