SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



ZOOLOGY 



m 



Early Hepialus hectus. — I was at the Lakes 

 in the middle of April (Easter week), and picked up 

 a perfect specimen of Hepialus hectus on the open 

 road, under a wood below Lyn Rigg, about a mile 

 from Ambleside. As the caterpillar of this pretty 

 moth appears in April, and the perfect insect in 

 June, this seems a remarkable occurrence. I have 

 set it and placed it in my collection as an exception. 

 — Miss W. Jarrett, Camerton Court, near Bath ; 

 May loth, 1895. 



Testacella haliotidea in Kent. — A number 

 of this species of snail were dug up in the vicarage 

 garden here last autumn and present spring. One 

 specimen secured was devouring a worm which it 

 continued to consume in captivity. It afterwards 

 rejected it and seemed only to suck the juices. One 

 half of the rejected worm was normal in colour, the 

 other half of a dirt}" white. T. haliotidea was found 

 generally at a depth of six inches under the 

 surface. - — (Rev.) R. Ashington Bullen, Shoreham, 

 Kent; May, 1895. 



Those who have visited the Grosvenor Museum 

 at Chester, must have noticed the cases illustrating 

 the life-history of birds. These beautiful groups 

 are acknowledged to be some of the most skilful 

 examples of artistic and scientific taxidermy and 

 natural arrangement ever produced. It is there- 

 fore interesting to note that Mr. G. Watmough 

 Webster, of 33, Bridge Street Row, Chester, is 

 about to publish by private subscription a series of 

 photographs of these groups. In some cases it 

 is scarcely possible to credit the statement that 

 photographs are other than instantaneous pictures 

 taken in the open air, and so skilfully have the 

 cases been arranged that the final effect is as 

 though the camera had been brought face to face 

 with nature. 



Bat Flying in Daytime. — On the 13th April, 

 I observed a bat on the wing at about one o'clock 

 in the day, in bright sunshine. The locality was 

 the main road through the village of Bonchurch, 

 Isle of "Wight, near the pond familiar to all to 

 whom the neighbourhood is known. The bat was 

 fhying leisurely to and fro over the road at a height 

 wmich I estimated to be about ten or fifteen feet 

 from the ground. It several times came lower and 

 flew close round my head, when it might have 

 been easily captured with a net. A cold east wind 

 was blowing at the time, but the spot in question 

 was sheltered by the trees and high ground. I am 

 not sufficiently acquainted with the bats to be 

 able to offer any definite opinion as to the species, 

 but it appeared to be a small one, probably the 

 pipistrelle. On a passer by throwing a cap at it, 

 the little animal flew rapidly away in a straight 

 line, from which it would appear that notwith- 

 standing the bright light, it was able to see 

 sufficiently clearlv to readilv direct its flight. — 

 jr. P. Quelch, 8, Eccleston Road, Ealing Dean, W. ; 

 April 30//1, 1895. 



Abundance of Wasps. — From several parts of 

 the country an abundance of female wasps is 

 reported this spring. This might have been 

 expected, considering the long time they were 

 locked up by frost during hibernation, safe from 

 predatory enemies. J. T. C. 



Luminous Centipede. — In reply to the query of 

 Miss Mann, the centipede is probably Geophihis 

 (Anthronomalus) longicornis, pictured in Wood's 

 Natural History (Vol. iii., page 693). I found a 

 specimen late one evening, in August, man)' years 

 ago, but have never seen one since. It left a track 

 of phosphorescent light on the herbage over which 

 it had crawled, and my fingers had the appearance 

 of having handled one of the old-fashioned lucifer 

 matches. — Hy. Ullyett, Folkestone; May, 1895. 



Luminous Centipede. — On a night walk from 

 Ben Alder, in Inverness-shire, to Loch Rannoch, in 

 -Perthshire, by the side of the River Ericht, in 

 company with the late Dr. Buchanan White, I saw 

 mam- luminous centipedes. We walked in "Indian 

 file ' : on account of the narrowness of the path, and 

 the first disturbed these animals and caused them 

 to glow brightly. The night was wet and warm in 

 summer-time, in 1875. I have also seen them on 

 the Poll Hill, near Sevenoaks, in Kent. — John 

 T. Carrington. 



Luminous Centipede. — The species mentioned 

 by Miss Mann (ante page 82), as occurring in her 

 garden at Chigwell, belongs to the family Geophil- 

 idae. It is either Geophilus longicornis or G. electricus. 

 I suspect that it is the latter as it exhibits more 

 phosphorescense than longicornis. Miss Mann can 

 easily distinguish its species, as longicornis has 

 fifty-five pairs of legs and long antenna?. G. 

 electricus is very common about Shoreham, Kent, 

 on w T et, warm nights, from February to June. I 

 have only noticed it once on a dry night, viz., June, 

 1894, in a road called " Old Ham," which is about 

 a mile from the village. — (Rev.) R. Ashington Bullen, 

 Shoreham, Kent. 



Notes of a Home Naturalist. — On April 

 18th, in one of my glass jam-bottles, in which I 

 keep small aquaria subjects, and in this special 

 one. Corethra plumicornis, or Phantom Larva, I 

 noticed on the surface three dove-grey midges, or 

 two-winged flies. Thinking they must be the produce 

 of the larvae which I had never seen transformed, I 

 covered the bottle up with green gauze. On April 

 20th, I found another midge. I removed the three 

 original and new inmate, noticing on top of the 

 water what resembled a glass-jointed rod, with a 

 diamond-like round head. Thinking this was the 

 larva developing, I recovered it, but next day 

 found another fly drying wings still limp. I then 

 discovered the glass rod object was the original 

 shell of the fly, and removed three to a card where 

 they soon lost their elegant crystal appearance, and 

 became like gold beaters' skin in texture. Number- 

 less flies now began to appear, some brown with 

 straight antennae, others dove-grey with sickle- 

 shaped antennae, much haired or plumed. At last 

 I had the pleasure to see one born. The head first 

 emerged from the odd shaped and horned pupa 

 case ; then after a period of rest, with a long 

 continuous effort, one wing much crumpled 

 emerged, and after a longer period of rest the other 

 wing. The fly's case remained as a crystal trans- 

 parent casket. After an hour or so the insect's 

 wings were dry, and it was ready to fly. Are the 

 brown and grey flies male and female or different 

 species? — (Mrs.) Emily J .Climenson, Shiplake Vicarage, 

 Oxon ; May 13th, 1895. 



