S( //i.VC'/ifUlsS//'. 



'59 



|)l'l■K^^l■;l■;ll^ l\ Ksskx. A fricnil and I wviv 

 lioianising at I'anhuryin ICsscx last AuKiisl, an<l <in 

 c\iiiiiinin(,' a pond wt loiiml ihal it eaniaincci ihrte 

 sptcius uf (liukwced, viz., /.ciinia minor I., /.. 

 fvlyrrhi:a L., and /., i;il'l>a L. This last is a rare 

 and local species, but e.isily recoRniscd by its tumid 

 cells underneath the leaves. — Eihviii E. 'I'lirner, 

 Co,^eshall, lissv.\. 



I'AsciATKI) Oliciiih. .As .Mr. Cooper stales (aiilt. 

 p. 91) that he found what was to him the lir.st fasciated 

 .specimen of an orchid. 1 presume that he means a 

 British sp^'cies. It n\ay interest him to know that I 

 found a .specimen of B/'ifih/is havinj; a bifurcated 

 spike forminy a fork some halfway up the inHore- 

 scence, both stems beini; clothed with (lowers in the 

 usual manner. It was growing by the side of a ro.acj 

 adjoining the undergrowth of a wood, and had made 

 it.s way through a heap of road-.scrapings. -Tittow 

 A', '/'iinitr, Coggis/iall, Essex. 



Lkicrsia .\rvzoiihcn, L'misiai. I'dRM. — I send 

 you a specimen of Kuropean cut-grass, that appears 

 lo ha\e de\"eii>ped an unusual j^rowlh. In various 

 botanical manii.ds the Hriiish form of this plant is 

 said to have the panicle included partially within the 

 sheath of the htst leal. This is, I am aware, the form 

 generally found in Uritain. The example enclosed is 

 one of some galhced within the last few d.iys at 

 AmberU'V W'ildlirooks. West Sus.sex. Vou will note 

 that the panicle has grown more than two inches 

 clear of the last leaf, i'ossibly this is due to the 

 recent hot w eather. — Tlioiiias hilloii, i(\ A'eiishigtou 

 Plaii, /iiit;/iloii^ 3j;//i August, /Sgg. 



Bi.aikAeinki) Wiiiri'; Bi'ttkki i.v. -.\lthough 

 many of the present generation of lepidopterologists 

 are inclined lo imagine that .l/'oria ira/at\t;i is prac- 

 tically extinct in liritain ; such is by no means the 

 case. I have it on excellent authorilv that this 

 interesting butterfly is comm.)n in a limited district 

 in Kiist Kent, where last .summer, hundreds might 

 have been taken. Several specimens were submitted 

 in confirmation, out of a couple of dozen that were 

 taken and set. They occur in fruit orchards and 

 gardens. We have an invitation lo visit the locality 

 next season, when we hope to report further on this 

 liutterlly. — /o/iii '/'. Ciirriiii^.'iui. 



TwistinV, oi-' Lki'Iikiitkrous l'i;i'A.--I have 

 been watching the curious iwisting habit of some 

 pupae of bulteillies belong ng to the genus I'anessa, 

 and note that they do not appear to be capable of 

 effecting this motion until about thirty-six hours after 

 becoming pupae. They seem to lose the pi»\\cr .igain 

 aboHl forty-eight hours before emeigence. I presume 

 they possess the iwisting motion to dislod;4<- insects, 

 especially ichneumon flies, and various prtdatory 

 enemies. 1 have seen a caterpillar which had crawled 

 on to a Vanessa pupa not only di.slodged but actually 

 thrown some di.slance by the vigour of iliis twisting 

 motion. Many lepiilopierous larvae pDsse.ss this 

 habit, but few to the same extent as soitie of the 

 Vanessidac which, hanging hea<l downu;ir<ls by the 

 apex of the last segment, twist round and round with 

 remarkable rapidity. — A*. y. ////^V/^-y, ,\'rr/ntjii Court, 

 Soutlisea, September 1 1 , iSqi;. 



.\n I. aki V .Mi.Ai. .\ luiious, to nie unexplain- 

 able incident cunie under my notice a year or two 

 since, when dealing a bush infested by goosciierry 

 caterpillars. .Suddenly in the warm sunshine I f.nind 

 a specimen of green sawtly, which bad, apparently, 

 but just issuid fr<jm its chrysalis case, .as it was in a 

 most soft and pulpy condition, almost trans|)arent. 

 and with its wiigs still unexpaniled and crumpled. 

 Set. upon pre|)aring this seemingly helpless (nature 

 for the microscope, I was surprised lo find that its 

 stomach and intestines were filled with the remains 

 of an insect or insects, the chitinous portions lieing as 

 hard and as sharp in outline as they would have been 

 in a living stale. The softer portions nearest the exit 

 were, however, fully digested, those abcjut midway 

 partly so, the remainder, as alreaily nienlioncd, filling 

 up the space between the paitially digested and the 

 oesophagus. How did a creature apparently so help- 

 less and unprotected contrive lo capture and devour 

 the llv or beetle, which had evidently been invested 

 in a chitinous integument ? It is highly improlmble 

 that the lly had gnawn its way out of its case and 

 swallowed a portion of the cocoon, indeed the con- 

 tents of the stomach cle-arly indicate that they bclimgcd 

 lo ,in insect, and not to a mere .structureless ca.se. 

 I'erhaps some keen observer of these hymenoplerous 

 flies, m,ay be able to afford me an explanation of the 

 curious circumstance. The object I consider one of 

 the most remarkable in my cabinet. — Edward II. 

 Kobertson, H'oodvillc, ISreeiilwuse Lane, I'ainswiek, 

 Ghs. 



lI.MiiTs Of Common .Ma.ntis. -In a w<irk bv 

 Miss L. N. Badenoch lectntly published, she describes 

 the habits of the common mantis. I should like to 

 mention two points in which the .Vustralian species 

 seems to dilTer from that described by Miss L. N. 

 Badenoch. I have watched large numliers of the.se 

 insects, for long peii<«ls. In all instances when a 

 mantis saw a fly within easy distance, it would 

 commence to sway itself genth' iVom side lit side, and 

 .so swaying would gradually move to within sinking 

 distance. Then slop perfectly still, and lemains so for 

 a few .second.s. Having caiefully measured the 

 distance, it rapidly darts out both forelegs, grasping 

 the fly round the head with one leg and over the 

 wings with the othei. .Miss Uadenoch says that it 

 only darls oul one leg, and thai the fly is crushed 

 between shank and thigh My ol;scrvaiions do not 

 confiim her observation by any means. I have never 

 seen a fiy crushtd when caught by a mantis. .\s lo 

 the mode of eating the fly. I have always seen them 

 commence to ftcd on the body at the junction of the 

 head with the thorax. The head is (|uickly severed 

 and the niantis cats down into the centre of ihe bodv. 

 Miss Hailenoch jays that the body is torn inlo pieces 

 and devoured in a moment. This has never happened 

 inany I haveobserveil. — EranI; M. l.:tller,Launiest(n 

 Tasmania, June iSi,g. 



Xtl'KR AMI CiRAsS SNAKK I'RATliR.VIZIM;. — iSome 



time ago, while gathering vioiels im a hill near Hath, 

 I observed a curious association of snakes, wlich I 

 should hardly have believed had I not myself made 

 the observation. A coimnon gra.ss snake and a viptr 

 were lying together intertwined, the coils looking as 

 one snake, excepting for their difference in pattern. 

 They were basking in the sun, and I watched them 

 for some time, but on being disturbed they uncoiled and 

 dis:\ppearcd among some bushes. -.-/. E. Burr, Hath. 

 .\I.HIMSM IN I'l.owivRs, — I can add another rare 

 plant to the list of white varieties of inflorescence. 

 In a wood about five miles north of Bath, I found a 

 fine plant of A7/i/;/;<- .Me:ereu::i with while flowers 

 which. 1 bclirvc. is a rare fonn. .1. E. /^urr. Path. 



