227 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



All communications to be sent to J. E. Robsox, Bellerby 

 Terrace, West Hartlepool ; or to S. L. Moslkt, Beau- 

 mont Park, Hudrlersfield. 



E. F. D., Oxford. — Your letter has been 

 laying at the printers. Dr. Ellis' address 

 was corrected in No. 77. 



NOTES, CAPTURES, &C. 



E. Blandina with Eighteen Spots. — I 

 find I have a specimen of E. Blandina with 

 j five spots on each upper wing, and four on 

 each hind wing. This is more than you 

 name in your account of the species. — Thos. 

 Hann, Byers Green. 



Captures at Crosby. - - The following notes 

 of captures may probably interest yon r readers. 

 Saturday, May 2.1st. The past fine weather 

 has brought out many insects, and the 

 afternoon was very profitably spent on the 

 Crosby sand-hills. I took a great number of 

 Hymenoptera, many being new to me. The 

 genus, Ophion was represented by two species, 

 the Apida by five, and the Vespidtr by one. 

 Larvae of Bombyx quercus were, for the great 

 part, full fed, and lying stretched full-length 

 along the stems of the willows. The beauti- 

 ful larvje of Orgy ia fascelina and Bambyx trifolii 

 were far from uncommon, but the former, 

 which were very fine, occurred more plenti- 

 fully than the latter. Those of B. trifolii 

 were rather young, and I took a good num- 

 ber just before dusk. They are very con- 

 | spicuous. and soon take alarm, rolling them- 

 j selves into a ring, but do not, as a rule, drop 

 from the plant on which they rest. In 

 confinement, they readily eat Whitethorn, 

 most species of Willow, and trefoil. 0. 

 fascelina teems to prefer Whitethorn and 

 willow. Euchelia j a cohere were just putting in 

 their appearance in the perfect state, flying 

 in the hottest sunshine, but some had already 

 lost their beautiful crimson markings. One 

 specimen of Lycrrna alexis was seen. 

 Wednesday, 25th May. A short time spent 

 in the same locality, during the evening of 

 this day, yielded the same larvse, together 



with an imago of Cidaria russata, a friend 

 residing at Crosby told me that a specimen 

 of Nyssia zonaria came to treacle about a 

 month ago. I was not aware that this 

 moth had a partiality for intoxicants, but 

 perhaps a similar incident has come under 

 the notice of others. I was much surprised 

 the other day to find a fine, fresh specimen 

 of Smerinthus populi, at rest on a wall, almost 

 in the heart of the city. A couple of poplars 

 grew near. Polvommatus phlceas is now out 

 on the railway embankment near Otterspool. 

 — Charles H. H. Walker, 180, Faulkner 

 Street, Liverpool. 



A Tame Gulliemot. — A gentleman gave 

 me a Gulliemot last Monday that he had 

 caught when bathing. It was quite uninjured 

 and very wild, bit fiercely, and cried out 

 loudly. Its note then, was like the quack of 

 a duck, or between that and the caw of a 

 rook. I had it to carry home in my hands, 

 and had great difficulty in getting it there 

 without being bit, and it struggled incessantly 

 to be away. In one week it has become so 

 tame that it follows me about the garden till 

 I dig it worms, which it catches as 1 throw 

 them to it, and it scarcely takes any notice 

 even of the children about, and will let them 

 carry it about in their arms. There is a 

 small pond near, to which the boys carry it 

 every day. As soon as it gets near the water 

 it jumps in, dives, and splashes about as 

 ducks and geese sometimes do, but it never 

 remains in very long, swimming to the side, 

 where it sits pruning its feathers till it is 

 carried home again. The first time it was 

 taken there, some ducks were in the water. 

 It attacked the drake, and soon drove them 

 all from the pond. Now, they swim off as 

 soon as it appears. It will eat the small 

 newt (L. punctatus), but not the larger species 

 (T. cristatusj, but, except fish, it appears to 

 prefer the earth worm to anything else. In 

 digging for worms I have turned up larvae of 

 j the Common Swift, of the Earwig, and the 

 i Wire Worm, but it would not touch any of 

 j them. Altogether it is a most interesting 



