239 

 FIELD NOTES. 



MOLLUSC A. 



Limnea stagnalis introduced into Cumberland. — This 

 species has no place in any of the lists of Cumberland Mollusca 

 that I have seen, nor have I ever found it myself. In July, 

 1914, I brought half a dozen fine adults and a quantity of 

 spawn from Wanstead Park in Essex, and put them down in 

 some ponds on the old rifle range at Cummersdale near Carlisle. 

 On May 19th last, while working these ponds for Water 

 Beetles, I netted two nice specimens of L. stagnalis. I am 

 recording it now to explain its occurrence here in case anyone 

 ' discovers ' it. — J as Murray, 2 Balfour Road, Carlisle. 



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HYMENOPTERA. 



May = bIobs poisoning Bees. — While in Deffer Wood, near 

 Skelmanthorpe, on the morning of May 13th, my attention 

 was attracted by the brilliance of the flowers of a small bed of 

 May-blobs, Caltha palustris. I found the flowers had also 

 attracted a number of humble bees, with disastrous results. 

 There were eight Bombus terrestris and four B. venustus on 

 the flowers, all either dead or dying. One terrestris, not so 

 helpless as her sisters, was feebly thrusting her tongue amongst 

 the stamens, and continued doing so for a few minutes, but 

 eventually became listless and as defenceless as the rest. When 

 I left, four of the bees were quite dead. A few honey bees, 

 Apis mellifica, were also working the flowers, but they were 

 never seen to use their tongues, they seemed to be only collecting 

 pollen by walking about over the anthers, golden masses of 

 which were packed between the upright hairs on the thighs of 

 the hind-legs. They suffered no harm. Listless humble bees 

 are quite common objects on the flowers of thistles and scabious 

 in the autumn, but then the purpose of their lives has been 

 accomplished ; but in this case, the insects were all young 

 queens working to get a home together for their progeny. 



The weather at the time was hot and close, and on the 

 preceding and following nights, heavy thunderstorms passed 

 over the district. In striking contrast to last season, humble 

 bees are abundant this season ; the common wasp, however, is 

 scarce. The charming little bee, Andrena fulva, which I have 

 only once before noted in this district, has been a constant 

 visitor at a few gooseberry bushes in the garden during the 

 last few days. — B. Morley, Skelmanthorpe, May 16th, 1917. 



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Mr. F. H. Day, of 26 Currock Terrace, Carlisle, is endeavouring to 

 draw up a list of Westmorland coleoptera, and would be glad if any readers 

 of The Naturalist, who have records for the county, would communicate 

 with him. 



1917 July 1. 



