Insects. 2501 



how the curved method of setting came to be adopted in this country : it certainly is 

 not natural, and in small moths increases the difficulty of distinguishing characteristic 

 markings, more particularly under a lens, as so small a portion of wing can be 

 brought into focus. Let any one make trial of the two methods, and the comparative 

 facility of observation offered by the new one will be at once apparent. On the Con- 

 tinent the flat system is universal. To accomplish the end proposed, I have cork, 

 not less than \ inch thick, papered and fastened with glue to a board, with a groove 

 to receive the bodies, varying from less than T ' g th to T |ths of an inch wide, and of pro- 

 portionate depth. The moth, previously pierced, is then placed so that the pin is 

 upright, and the wings are extended till they are at a right angle, in which position 

 they are maintained by a small piece of glazed card on a pin. If, as is often the 

 case, the wings will not stay in the proper position until these cards are put on, they 

 may be held right by a pointed paper " brace," placed at the base of each. The 

 moths should not be removed until perfectly dry : much of the bad setting seen in 

 cabinets has arisen from this cause. — J. W. Douglas ; 2, Eton Grove, Lee, Kent, May 

 28, 1849. 



Partiality of Micropteryx calthella for other Flowers besides those of the Caltha 

 palustris. — While searching this afternoon for this little gem, in a low marshy tract 

 favourable to the growth of the Caltha, I discovered it not only on the flowers of this 

 plant, but on those of an allied genus (Ranunculus), and on one of the Stellatae (Ga- 

 lium cruciatum)." — Peter Inchbald ; Storthes Hall, Huddersfield, May 24, 1849. 



Note on a Hive of Bees working without a Queen. — On June 15th, 1814, I had a 

 swarm of bees. Two days after they were placed on the stool they appeared in a 

 state of great confusion, running in and out of the hive and up and down the exterior 

 with great anxiety, whilst at intervals the most profound stillness prevailed ; and again 

 the most lamentable notes were heard, peculiar to them only when they have lost a 

 queen. Upon examination I found a fine young queen, well matured, dead upon the 

 stool. Gradually they became more settled, worked a little, but not with the usual 

 vigour, gradually diminished in numbers, and when taken in August the hive and its 

 contents weighed 20 lbs., the season for the production of honey having been extra- 

 ordinary. By close observation I found that they had not bred a single bee ; but the 

 combs were of the clearest colour, and the honey of the purest character I ever saw. 

 No farina or egg in the cells. I never saw a single bee carry any pellets on its legs 

 all the summer, and I never observed a single drone in the hive. — John Green ; Mel- 

 bourne, Derbyshire, June 6, 1849. 



A certain indication of Swarming. — In 1844 I discovered the following curious 

 indication of the time when a swarm was about to leave the hive, and have noticed it 

 in every succeeding year. But in order to make observations correctly, it is necessary 

 to have the apiary particularly clean and free from rubbish. It is well known that 

 the cells in which the young queens are bred are closed at the top for some days be- 

 fore they emerge from them : when this takes place the sealing of the cells may be 

 found on the settling-board or on the ground near the hive : these sealings are small 

 and round (about one sixth of an inch in diameter), slightly concave, and of the same 

 colour as a comb about a year old. As certain as these sealings are found (providing 

 the weather be fine and genial) so sure will a swarm rise in the course of a few days : 

 indeed, whenever I have discovered this indication, I have either had a swarm on the 

 same day or within two or three days ; and a greater number of these sealings will be 

 found several days before a second swarm arises. — Id, 



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