322 MR. T. A. COWARD ON THE [Apr. 9, 



We find, to sum up, the following facts : — 



1. The Greater Horseshoe Bat, and apparently in the mild 

 climate of Somerset the Lesser Horseshoe also, if the weather be^ 

 open at the end of December and beginning of January, is not in 

 a state of hibernation. It moves in the caves, awakening without 

 artificial stimulus, and leaves the caves a^^parently in search of 

 food. 



2. To a great extent the same haunts are used in summer and 

 winter, seeing that numbers of both sj)ecies are to be found 

 hanging near- the entrances to the caves in the winter in situa- 

 tions certainly resorted to during the summer. 



3. Both species are susceptible to the presence of a man when 

 they are apparently asleep. They show by their movements — by 

 bending their legs and raising and slightly sw^aying their bodies — 

 that they are influenced by the disturbance. It appears, from the 

 way in which colonies dwindled in size from time to time, that 

 the bats, after being thus disturbed, though not actually awakening- 

 at the time of the visit, retire from the situations they occupied 

 to deeper recesses. 



4. Food is conveyed into the caves from without and devoured 

 there, the bats hanging whilst they feed. 



5. Certain creatures are captured and eaten in the caves. 



6. Creatures incapable of flight are captured by the bats and 

 devoured. 



7. When feeding the Greater Horseshoe, like its congener, 

 makes use of the interbrachial membrane and not of the inter- 

 femoral pouch. 



The following is the result of Mr. Robert Newstead's examinatioji 

 of the dung and insect remains which I obtained in the Cheddar- 

 caves. 



Wings of the following moths : — 



Scotosia dubitata Linn. ] Probably captured when these insects 



Gonoptera lihatrix Linn. J were hibernating in the caves. 



Trivhcena orbona Fabr. 1 /-< . i ^ i • . .i 



rrr ■ 7 it- Captured and conveyed into the 



Irtp/icena pronuba Liinn. y '■ . "^ 



-r^ 7 7 . J 7 T • caves m summer. 



Aylopliasia 'poiyodon Lmn. J 



Dry dung, obtained in the summer haunt where I found no 

 bats in winter. 41 pellets minutely examined. 



About 68 per cent, contained the remains of Lepidoptera. 

 ,, 66 ,, ,, ,, Coleoptera. 



., 24^ ,, „ ,, Diptera. 



,, 7| ,, ,, ,, Arachnida (Spidei-s). 



,, 2| ,, ,, ,, Hymenoptera. 



,, 2 1 ,, ,, ,, Trichoptera. 



Of the Coleopterous lemains at least 44 per cent, were of 

 Geoti'tipfis x in about 12 percent, there were fragments of Melo- 



