133 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



and arranged by Mr. W. West, the curator. There were several instructive 

 cases of life-histories of Lepidoptera, lent by Messrs. Croker, McArthur, 

 Quail, &c. ; and of insects injurious to farm crops, by Mr. S. L. Mosley. 

 The variation of Lepidoptera in Britain was illustrated by several exhibitors, 

 among whom were Messrs. C. S. Gregson, T. W. Hall, J. W. Tutt, and 

 S. Webb ; some of the aberrations of Vanessa urticte and Abraxas grossula- 

 riata, shown by the last-named gentleman, were extraordinary, as also was 

 a black specimen of Papilio machaon exhibited by Mr. Leech. Examples 

 of mimicry among Lepidoptera were exhibited by Prof. Stuart. Mr. R. 

 McLachlan exhibited British Trichoptera (caddis-flies), with larval cases. 

 Homoptera were shown by Messrs. Billups and West, and there were loans 

 of Coleoptera from Messrs. C. H. Goodman, W. Manger, G. A. Lewcock, 

 and others. Three lantern exhibitions were given on each evening ; and 

 Mr. F. Euock's lecture on " The Wonders of Insect Life," illustrated by 

 micro-photo-slidesj was an intellectual treat thoroughly enjoyed by all. — Ed. 



CocciNELLiD^ EATEN BY Black-headed Gulls. — On Several occasious, 

 during the last three years, I have frequently seen a number of black- 

 headed gulls flying about over the tops of some tall trees in a small 

 plantation near the river Mersey. They attracted my attention more 

 especially by their curious flight, which was very like that of a company of 

 swallows chasing their prey ; by this I guessed that they were capturing 

 insects on the wing, but to be quite sure of this, one of the birds was shot, 

 and as it fell to the ground it became suspended by its legs to the lower 

 branches of a tree, when it immediately cast up a number of specimens of 

 a Coccinella, numbering between thirty and forty individuals. In company 

 with the gulls there were frequently a number of starlings, also flying as 

 if chasing insects, but whether they were feeding upon Coccinellidse or not 

 I am unable to state, as I have not examined their stomachs. The gulls 

 only frequent this spot on sunshiny days during flood-tide, apparently for 

 the purpose of obtaining insects and nothing more. It is very curious that 

 the Coccinellidse should fly so high, and much more so for the gulls to feed 

 upon them ; they are the last birds that one would suspect of doing this. 

 I regret that I am unable to give the name of the Coccinella, as at the time 

 I attached no special value to my observation, but since reading my son's 

 note {ante p. 100), I thought this might prove of interest. — R. Newstead, 

 Sen. ; Ince, near Chester, April 9, 1891. 



Birds feeding on Nauseous Insects. — In 1875 a large whitethorn 

 hedge between Shoreham and Lancing was being devoured by larvae of 

 Liparis chrysorrhcea. Four cuckoos that were flying in and out of the 

 hedge fell to the gun of Mr. F. Trangmar. Thinking the birds had been 

 feeding on the larvae, we examined the contents of their stomachs ; but 

 although we could find no trace of larvae amongst the almost com- 

 pletely digested matter, we observed the remains of several wing-cases of 

 different Coleoptera, and I distinctly remember finding, in two of the birds, 

 elytra of the common ladybird. — H. McArthur ; 35, Averill Street, 

 Fulham Palace Road, W. 



An Entomological Myth.— In all our lists of British Lepidoptera 

 occurs the name of Cucullia scrophularim, Hiib. It has been recorded from 

 Bloxworth, but the Rev. O. P. Cambridge now writes, " 1 doubt whether my 

 Bloxworth examples are any more than C. verhasci." I believe myself that 



