Field Notes. 299 



Gill Beck, where a bluish-grey mud was seen oozing up between the 

 boulders in the bed of the stream. A stick was thrust down into this 

 mud to a depth of several feet without meeting with any resistance. Simi- 

 lar places are found in adjoining streams and arc known locally as ' quick- 

 sands.' At Gill Bottom was the refuse-heap of an old lead working in 

 the Kinderscout Grit. Higher up the stream are sections of shale 

 containing septarian nodules. Near Westfield a fossiliferous bed was 

 found which yielded Posidoniella laevis, P. sulcata and Glyphioceras 

 diadema, the zone fossil of the Sabden Shales. Above Stone Head several 

 other fossiliferous beds were pointed out before the party left the stream 

 to ascend Hawshaw. From the top of the ridge a line view of the sur- 

 rounding country was obtained, the glacial overflow channel on Combe 

 Hill being clearly seen on the southern skyline. Descending into Lothers- 

 dale, the full thickness of the Pendleside Limestone was seen at Hawshaw 

 Delf, where the beds dip south at a high angle. On the opposite side of the 

 quarry a fine section of the apex of an anticlinal fold was seen. Raygill 

 Quarries were approached by the old road along the top of the anticlinal, 

 where were some old workings. When the party assembled within the 

 quarries, the leader pointed out the position of the bone-cave, the barytes 

 mine and other features. Owing to the absence of weathered surfaces, 

 the effects of pressure, and the detrital matter contained in the limestone, 

 fossils are not easy to find in these beds. After a short time had been 

 devoted to collecting specimens of fluor spar, calcite, barytes and other 

 minerals, the return journey was resumed through the village of Lothers- 

 dale and down the right bank of the stream. About half-a-mile below 

 Dale End, and near the junction of Lothersdale and Surgill becks, a large 

 Silurian boulder measuring approximately 9 ft. by 5 ft. by 4 ft. 6 ins., 

 attracted attention. From here, the party crossed the fields to Norwood 

 Lane, and back to headquarters. 



Winter Habit of the larva of Zeuzera pyrini (sesculi). — 



As Zeuzera pyrini is mentioned among the Lepidoptera in 

 the Doncaster Natural History Notes for 1917 {see p. 262), 

 I should be interested to hear the experiences of readers of The 

 Naturalist, especially from the North, about the habits of the 

 larva during the winter months. During the first week in 

 January, 1917, I found a burrow in some ash wood, which a 

 man was sawing up for me, and on cutting it open and by 

 splitting the wood exposed the larva, rather over one inch 

 long, which was so completely still that I thought it was dead, 

 as it remained so for more than five days although removed to 

 the house and kept in a warm room in its wooden home. Then 

 it began to wake up, and knowing the activity of the species 

 in woodwork, I thought it wisest to end its existence ; the 

 wood and burrow I still have. From the appearance of its 

 burrow at the time, I was inclined to think it had been active 

 up to about a month before ; but one cannot, of course, lay 

 down any dogma on such a case. It would be interesting to 

 know from others who have found larvae in winter, whether 

 they were active or not, and whether the winter at the time 

 was severe or mild. I cannot find any information in books 

 about these last-mentioned points. — F. D. Welch, M.R.C.S., 

 Hartley, Kent. 



191S Sept. 1 



