124 



THE BRITISH NATURALIST. 



[June 



in the year would probably afford excellent results from the exercise 

 of the sweeping net, brought us to a place where a row of pollard 

 willows bordered a small brook. This was the metropolis of Plagiodera 

 and on the rugged bark of these willows we brought our chisels to 

 bear. Plagiodera armovacicB^ like its commoner relative Phvatora 

 vitellines hybernates in the deepest chinks of the bark of the tree on 

 whose leaves during all the stages of its career it has subsisted. They 

 were nestled sometimes two and three together, in the innermost 

 recesses, or even on the underside of the bark. Sometimes we could 

 just catch sight of a steel blue gleamx of elytron esconsed deep in a 

 chink, and then the greatest care had to be exercised m the extraction. 

 They were not, however, plentiful, and a great deal of decortication 

 had to be done to secure a very limited number I, however, was 

 very well content; pollard willows, clear sinuous brook, Plagiodera, 

 were all new to me, and not to be found in our less favoured county of 

 Cheshire, so I returned after a very pleasant afternoon, and with a 

 new species to add to my collection. I should add that on inspection 

 two other species were found among our captures : Phratora vulga- 

 tissima and Phadoii cochlearice. — W. E. Sharp, Cheshire. 



Killing Insects on the Setting-board. — Sometimes we find 

 our insects revive after they are set. Instead of taking them off the 

 setting-board again, I used to drop a little chloroform on them, but now 

 I cover them with napthaline and in a short time they are dead. The 

 setting-board can then be turned upside down and the napthaline will 

 fall off leaving no traces behind. — ^^F. Milton, 184 Stamford Hill, N. 



[It is sometimes an advantage for our insects to revive on the boards, as they often 

 deposit ova then, that we would not otherwise obtain, A friend of mine obtains ova 

 of Bvactea regularly in this way. I strongly recommend albo-carbon instead of 

 napthaline in all cases where the latter is used. It is not a tenth of the cost and is 

 quite as effective. — Ed. B.N. 



Birds' Eggs at the South London Exhibition. — We noticed 

 that Mr. J. A. Cooper exhibited a splendid collection of birds' eggs 

 and nests at the South London Entomological Society. Among others 

 were an exceedingly variable series of the eggs of the guillemot and 

 razor-bill, also a variable lot of lapwings' eggs, including two white 

 varieties. Long and varied series of the eggs of the golden plover, 

 three species of tern, great black-backed gull, one of the eggs of the 

 latter being nearly white. A number of eggs of the cuckoo, with the 

 nest and clutches of eggs in which they were taken, including the 

 nests of the wagtail, tree pipit, chaffinch, greenfinch, hedgesparrow, 

 robin, flycatcher, yellow bunting, etc. There were also long series of 

 eggs, exhibiting the variation in different clutches of the same species. 

 The nests of the pied flycatcher (Yorkshire), Dartford warbler (Surrey), 

 wild duck, redshand, lapwing, plover (the last four from Essex 

 marshes), a peculiar flat nest of the chaffinch with a clutch of white 



