430 OBSERVATIONS ON 



This appearance reconciled me in some measure to 

 the wonderful account that Scopoli gives of the quantities 

 emerging from the rivers of Carniola. Their motions are 

 very peculiar, up and down for many yards almost in 

 a perpendicular line. 



SPHYNX OCELLATA 



A vast insect appears after it is dusk, flying with a 

 humming noise, and inserting its tongue into the bloom of 

 the honeysuckle; it scarcely settles upon the plants, but 

 feeds on the wing in the manner of humming birds. 



WILD BEE 



There is a sort of wild bee frequenting the garden- 

 campion for the sake of its tomentum, which probably it 

 turns to some purpose in the business of nidification. It 

 is very pleasant to see with what address it strips oft 

 the pubes, running from the top to the bottom of a 

 branch, and shaving it bare with all the dexterity of a 

 hoop-shaver. When it has got a vast bundle, almost 

 as large as itself, it flies away, holding it secure between its 

 chin and its fore legs. 



There is a remarkable hill on the downs near Lewes in 

 Sussex, known by the name of Mount Carburn, which 

 overlooks that town, and affords a most engaging prospect 

 of all the country round, besides several views of the sea. 

 On the very summit of this exalted promontory, and 

 amidst the trenches of its Danish camp, there haunts a 

 species of wild bee, making its nest in the chalky soil. 

 When people approach the place, these insects begin to be 

 alarmed, and, with a sharp and hostile sound, dash and 

 strike round the heads and faces of intruders. I have 

 often been interrupted myself while contemplating the 

 grandeur of the scenery around me, and have thought 

 myself in danger of being stung. 



