THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



31 



£ icipally at the large end and sometimes forming 

 a ing or zone. The nest and situation of the 

 ] .e Tit are similar, but the eggs are smaller and 

 n re thickly spotted, more especially at the large 

 e . Both these are pretty common. The Cole 

 *] is not so common, and the nest — which is 

 s« lewhat like the last — I have always found in 

 tjtks among tree roots, &c. The eggs are white 

 i h a few scattered spots of red-brown. The 

 e s of the Marsh Tit differ in having the spots 

 vy fine and numerous, particularly at the large 

 < I. The nest — which is of the usual type — is 

 s 1 to be placed in a hole in a tree or in a bank. 



e nest of the Long-tailed Tit is very different, 

 b ng similar to the Golden Crest's, but larger and 

 sr pended from the branch of a tree ; the number 

 osggs is the same as those of the other Tits, from 

 si to nine, they are rosy- white with a few minute 

 if -brown specks. The Bearded Tit may some- 

 ties be found in Norfolk ; it has a long tail, and 

 tJ male has two beards of black feathers. The 

 lit is composed of dry leaves, grass, &c, and is 

 mzed in a tuft of coarse grass or among a mass 

 (■broken down reeds. This bird lays four or five 

 ms about the size of the Great Tit's, but differing 

 ilieing streaked instead of spotted. 



ANNUAL EXHIBITION 



C HAGGERSTON ENTOMOLOGICAL 



SOCIETY. 



e Annual Meeting of this Society was 

 1 at io, Browlow Street, Haggerston, on Thurs- 

 i and Friday November 13th and 14th. Up- 

 ds of 50 cases of insects 'were exhibited by the 

 nbers, the principal exhibitors being Messrs. 

 Cedle, E. G. Meek, Southy, Pratt, Bri- 

 1 Hillman, Vandenberg, Clark, Harper, 

 £W, &c. The attendance of members and 

 :ors filled the room to overcrowding, 

 .mongthe exhibits we may mention with special 

 roval some interesting cases from the cabinet of 

 Hillman, illustrating Economic Entomology, 

 showing various fruits and plants, and the 

 cts attacking them. Both Messrs. Eedle and 

 iNklin sent cases of beautifully preserved 

 se and the moths they produce. Greatly in- 



creased interest has attached to these Exhibitions 

 since it has been discovered how to preserve larva? 

 in a perfectly natural state. Several cases of 

 Exotic Lepidoptera, lent by Mr. E. G. Meek, were 

 much admired, and Mr. Vanden berg's collection 

 of coleoptera also attracted considerable attention. 



Among the rarer species shown were British 

 examples of P. Daplidice, A. Iris, Y. Antiopa, A. 

 Aln i,D. Orion, and many others. Varieties are much 

 more highly prized of late years, and no exhibition 

 would be complete without some abnormal form, 

 or local peculiarity. Several interesting examples 

 were on view, among which we may mention a 

 unique variety of C. Cardui, a blue female of L. 

 Alexis, and especially a perfectly black specimenof 

 B. Hirtaria, the Brindled Beauty, shown by Mr. 

 Briant, and taken last spring in London. The 

 Exhibition was in every way a success. 



Ants open a field of thought, and their habits pre- 

 sent an unfailing source of interest. A member o^ 

 the Philadelphia Academy of Science has been 

 noting the habits of formica rufa, the red ant. 

 From his researches he finds that in the various 

 communities there are regulations in virtue of 

 which the workers are fed without being obliged 

 to leave the scene of their labours. The foragers 

 of a community returning by known paths from the 

 tops of trees, have the abdomen distended with 

 honey. They are stopped at the foot of the tree by 

 the workers of the ant nest, inquest of food. The 

 replete animal seats himself on his hind legs, and 

 places his mouth opposite that of the hungry ant ; 

 sometimes two and even three will thus be fed from 

 one mouth simultaneously. The replete is generally 

 obliging, but if he prove refractory he is promptly 

 stopped and held with vigour. From the nume- 

 rous observations made by the investigator he con- 

 cluded that there was perfect amity between the 

 ants of a district comprising about 1500 ant nests, 

 and milliards of inhabitants. Individuals belong- 

 ing to various nests at a distance from each other 

 always fraternized when brought together. When 

 ants, however, were put in water, then replaced in 

 the nest, they were always attacked as enemies, 

 and if the assailants were bathed they were attacked 

 in turn, It appears that a bath momentarily de- 

 stroys the peculiar odour or other characteristic 

 mark by which the ants recognise each other. 



