The Vivarium 



57 



Our vivarium contains, in addition to the above, two of the 

 three British newts, viz., Lophinus punctatus and L. palmatus. 

 The former, though usually spoken of as the " common newt " 

 is in many districts (as at Haslemere) not so common as the 

 palmate newt. The latter is smaller, and the tail terminates 

 abruptly in a threadlike filament, instead of gradually tapering 

 to a point. 



An ants' nest contained between sheets of glass, on the plan 

 devised by Sir John Lubbock (Lord Avebury) and described 

 in his " Ants, Bees, and Wasps" (p. 2), always proves a 

 source of attraction to visitors in the winter, as w T ell as summer 

 months. We have had for two seasons past a nest of the 

 amber- coloured meadow ant {Formic a flava) displayed under 

 these conditions. It is probably the most intelligent of European 

 species, forming the grassy hillocks from 9 to 18 inches high, 

 so commonly seen in some districts. The queen, which is 

 much larger than either workers or males, requires very 

 careful searching for upon opening a nest; but the peculiar 

 little white woodlice (which delights in the long name of 

 Platyavthous hoffmanseggii, they are a sort of guest of the ants) 

 may be always easily discerned. 



Every spring we take out of the Museum and arrange in this 

 department a series of our summer migrants, accompanied 

 with general notes on bird migration. The following may be 

 seen now : Swallow, martin, swift, sand martin, cuckoo, 

 corncrake, nightingale, wryneck, nightjar, redstart, Yellow 

 wagtail, garden warbler, w T heatear, chiffchaff and whinchat. 



Kept under a bell glass and fed with lettuce and cabbage 

 leaves are some half a dozen .examples of the large edible or 

 vine snail {Helix poviatia), the largest of our native land 

 molluscs. This species occurs chiefly on the chalk in the 

 southern counties. At one time it was supposed to have been 

 introduced by the Romans, but of late years the opinion has 

 gained ground that it was indigenous. In the same quarters is 



