. 

 230 A YEAR WITH NATURE. 



during the summer of 1899 the Humming Bird Hawk Moth 

 was exceedingly plentiful, and many residents in the country 

 mistook the Moth for a Humming Bird, owing no doubt to the 

 rapidity of the Moth's flight. The late A. H. Haworth, in his 

 delightful volume on "British Lepidoptera," thus describes it 

 "This interesting species, in the winged state, frequents gardens, 

 flying in sunny weather during most of the day. Its food is 

 the nectareous juice of the tube-bearing flowers. This it ex- 

 tracts with amazing address by the assistance of its exserted 

 spiral tongue, inimitably posing itself all the while on rapidly 

 vibrating wings, whence its name of Humming Bird. It is 

 delightful indeed to behold and contemplate the dexterity ex- 

 hibited by this charming insect whilst it sails, all gaiety and 

 grace, round the tall sprig of a lark-spur, or other flower, 

 probing to the very bottom every single tube, neglecting none, 

 and trying no one twice.'* The colour of the fore-wings is 

 brown with blackish transverse markings, and of the hind-wing 

 orange with brownish fringes. The body is brown, and has a 

 caudal tuft of black hairs, which is capable of being expanded 

 and shut up. Hot weather is, as a rule, favourable to insect 

 life, and the summer of 1899 was a notable instance of this. 



The sparkling little Copper Butterfly is described by Stain- 

 ton as " October's one Butterfly," but on warm days the Red 

 Admiral may still be seen. During the Summer named it was 

 more plentiful than I have ever known it to be. The Gamma 

 Moth is to be seen on bright Autumn days, as well as the 

 Many Plumed Moth. The Crane Fly commonly known as the 

 Daddy Long Legs is about too, and although a far cry from 

 the insect world, this is the Fungi Season. 



When sere leaves fall we know that the Summer is past, 

 and Winter is fast approaching. To the Ornithologist it is 

 a somewhat melancholy season for the reason that his 

 favourite feathered visitors have nearly all departed. It is at 

 the Autumn season, when the golden and bronzed leaves flutter 

 carelessly to mother earth, that our thoughts often wander to 

 the birds which have been with us during the Summer. I sup- 

 pose that of all the wonderful and varying traits in the character 

 of a bird, there is nothing more marvellous than the way in 

 which migration movements are conducted, and I am often 



