THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 231 
species on the currant-bushes in gardens, and often on the 
common lilac. It is not by any means restricted in its food 
to low plants; and hardly an entomologist has not, at some 
time or other, beaten it from the sloe or oak in the course of 
his researches. Young individuals of A. Caja will sometimes 
feed on various bushes i in gardens during the autumn, taking 
to the low plants in the early spring. The indiv iduals noted 
by Mr. Wittich may belong to the latter species.—J. fi. S. 
Clifford. 
Eupithecia Pygmeata. —On the 23rd of August I took a 
fine specimen of this insect at Witherslack. I also took it 
flying along with Grapholita obtusana the last week in May, 
which is the usual time of its appearance in this district. It 
seems quite strange to see the Helianthemum in full flower 
again, as well as the wild thyme: the hot weather soon 
burnt them up on the limestone, and since the rain has come 
on all seems fresh again. ‘There were very few insects: 
Argyresthia spiniella, Coriscium cuculipennella, Gelechia 
similella, Laverna miscella, were among the best species I 
saw. The intense heat has quite killed lots of plants: I 
could not see a single gentian for Asychna profugella to feed 
on.—J. B. Hodgkinson ; 15, Spring Bank, Preston, Sep- 
tember 6, 1874. 
Bombus Lucorum.—One evening last week, being on Shirley 
Common mothing, at about 11.30 p.m., [ netted what seemed 
to be, by the light of the lantern, a moth hovering over the 
flowers of the bramble. On examining my captive more 
closely I found, to my surprise, that it was not a moth, but a 
humble-bee (Bombus Lucorum). Can any of your readers say 
whether it is usual for these insects to fly by night? I never 
before remember to have seen, or heard of such a habit.—_W. 
A. Forbes; West Wickham, Kent, September 11, 1874. 
Death from the Sting of a Hornet.—You certainly have 
some entomological readers in the neighbourhood of Reading. 
Could you not get them to investigate this case more thoroughly ?- 
Not that I think it at all improbable that a nervous, excitable 
person may die through the sting of a hornet, wasp, or bee; 
in fact, if lremember rightly, the Hon. Grantley F. Berkeley, 
some few years ago, recorded in the ‘ Field’ newspaper the 
death of an old man from the sting of a bee. ‘This occurred 
in the garden of Mr, Lovegrove, Waldron, near Lambourne, 
