OBSERVATIONS ON BUTTERFLIES ¢ HORNETS. 339 
frequent one, and the disappearance, by it, of the butterfly in 
question, when sitting on this tree-trunk, almost as complete, 
sometimes, as in the case of the Leaf Butterflies of India and the 
Farther East. 
These smaller hornets were still on the tree to-night, after 
dark, at about nine, but neither then, nor during the daytime, did 
I see any of the large ones. 
July 20th.—To-day, during a space of time in which formerly 
some half-dozen would have visited and kept flying about and 
feeding at it, one only of the larger species of hornet came to 
the tree, and, flying down on a particular spot where they had 
all been accustomed to feed, alighted, incidentally, right on one 
of the smaller kind, who was busy there. Asa result of this, the 
large one incontinently flew right off and away, and did not 
return ; nor did any others of her kind make their appearance 
whilst I was there. Now, in a similar rencontre, during the first 
day or two after the arrival of these smaller hornets on the 
scene, the latter would have flown to some other place on the 
tree, and the larger kind have established themselves in their 
room, or, if not at once, would probably have returned and done 
so, or even if ousted (but this was not the course of things) 
would have remained to feed elsewhere. This frank retreat, 
without even any preliminary circlings about the tree, but 
straight away, is unprecedented, in my experience hitherto, 
except once under quite different and artificial conditions, and 
that was when I rubbed with a Japanese menthal, which I had, a 
certain spot on the tree, to which one of these large hornets 
(there being then no other kind) was in the habit of coming. The 
instant after alighting she flew off in a straight line, without stop 
or stay, exactly as did this other. From the above incident, and 
their absenting themselves shortly (though how shortly I cannot 
say) after the arrival of these smaller hornets, it would seem as 
though the latter were in some way obnoxious to Crabro vulgaris. 
That these are pestered by them I have myself seen, though I 
should not have thought it was to the point of their leaving such 
dwarfs in possession. 
July 21st.—A Great Tortoiseshell came and drank for some 
moments at the same place with a hornet, before the latter 
drove it away, with a hostile demonstration. The hornet was 
2D2 
