234 



FIELD NOTES. 



BIRDS. 



Ring Plover Nesting in Nidderdale. — The Ring Plover 

 has for the last few years nested in a certain place in Upper 

 Nidderdale and has successfully reared young. They are 

 again nesting this year, but only one pair. The female is- 

 sitting and the male spends his time with a party of Dunlin. 

 The Dunlin, in full summer plumage, at the time of writing 

 May i6th, have not yet departed for their breeding ground on 

 an adjacent moor. — R. Fortune. 



— : o : — 

 HEPATICS. 



Diplophyllum taxifolium Wahlenb. in Westmorland. 

 — In July, 1900, Mr. LI. J. Cocks sent me specimens of the 

 above species, collected on Hart Crag, Westmorland, in August, 

 i8q8. In going through some old letters I find Mr. Cock's 

 specimen and letter, which had never been answered. The 

 specimen is correctly named and is an addition to Mr. Stabler's 

 ' List of Westmorland Hepatics,' published in The Naturalist. 

 Mr. Cocks writes : — ' April 30th, 1918. I was amused to 

 have a letter from you answering one which must have been 

 written nearly twenty years ago, am very interested to know 

 that you confirmed my specimen of Diplophyllwn taxifolium 

 from Westmorland {it is surely worthy of specific rank). Hart 

 Crag, where T gathered it, is an eastern spur of Fairfield, 

 looking down on Brothers' Water (height 2,698 ft.).' The 

 specimen is deposited in the Manchester Museum. — W. H. 

 Pearson, A.L.S. 



-: o : — 

 LEPIDOPTERA. 



The Pairing of tiepialus lupulinus. — On June 2nd, at 

 9-10 p.m. (summer-time), I noticed a female Hepialiis lupulinus 

 resting on grass commence ' calling ' by vibrating her wings. 

 Presently a number of males ' assembled ' to the place, flying 

 about very quickly and in great excitement. Three minutes 

 elapsed before one of the males found the female and copulated. 

 This delay was evidently caused by the fitful way the female 

 ' called.' The wing vibrations were only continued for a few 

 moments at a time with short rests between. When the pair 

 united I immediately boxed them, and placed the box a few 

 yards away on the ground. None of the flying moths ever flew 

 near the box, conclusively proving that the cause of the at- 

 traction had ended. However, the immediate space around 

 where the female ' called,' that is a circle of about two yards 

 across, was still the centre of much commotion. Five minutes 

 after the pair was boxed at least twenty males were eagerly 

 searching about for the female. Individuals were continually 

 leaving, while others kept arriving, the numbers present at 



Naturalist, 



