484 



MRS. O. A. MEURITT HAWKES ON THE 



the Lad J- bird has some enemies besides parasitic Hies. In this 

 country the \firvse are eaten to some extent by Syrphid larvse, for 

 which reason it was imperative to examine carefully all leaves 

 put in the breeding-l)oxes, as if any of these voracious Syrphids 

 were inadvertently introduced, they soon made an end of the 

 Coccinellid larvae as well as the aphis. Spiders also eat these 

 larvae, as they have been found sucked dry in spider's webs on 

 several occasions. In England I have observed Flycatchers and 

 Sparrows taking septemjjunctata and hipunctata, and also found 

 considerable numbers of the elytra of s&ptempunctata in the 

 droppings of Sea-Gulls when that Coccinellid was abundant on 

 the coast. Elytra of bipunctata and septempunctata have been 

 seen in the pellets of the Brown Owl. In America, Flycatchers 

 and young Swallows are stated to eat Lady-birds. There also 

 all stages of the Coccinellidse are eaten by Mantis religiosa and a 

 Wood-Bug, Podisus serievent^ns (1). 



g. Hibernation. 



The periodical appearance of vast numbers of various Cocci- 

 nellids has long been known. These appearances are of two types : 

 (1) increased numbers of the insects in various districts of tlie 

 country during the spring or summer, in places where there were 

 or had been large numbers of aphis; and (2) large numbers of 

 the insects at specified places, usually in the spring or autumn, 

 where there was or had been no food. In the latter case the 

 insects are in close juxtaposition, and may occur in such quantities 

 that the term " masses," used by Johnson, most fitly describes 

 the case. 



Se2:)tempu,iictata have occurred in masses by the seaside in 

 England in the autumn, and Fabre (10) has ol)served them on 

 Mount Yentoux in the Vaucluse Alps at a height of 4500 feet 

 in June and October. This is a condition similar to Hippodamla^ 

 which is constantly found in large masses on the western 

 American Mountains, where it is known that they gather to 

 hibernate. The same phenomenon possibly also occurs in the 

 Alps and other European mountains. The masses by the sea are 

 probably pre- and post-hibernation gatherings. Johnson suggests 

 that the yellow excretion may play some part in gathering these 

 numbers together. If this is so at the time of hibernation, it 

 may also be a factor in gathering Coccinellidse together for 

 feeding purposes. 



In Staflfordshire I have found hundreds of septempunctata 

 swarming over sand-hillocks by the roads and on the commons, 

 on warm days in April, at a time when they are beginning to 

 emerge, in places where there is no sign of aphis. I have never 

 found bipunctata in large quantities, although they do collect in 

 small groups under bark for the winter hibernation. Mr. Alfred 

 Priest reported to me the presence of large numbers of bipunc- 

 tata in the neighl)ourhood of a disused chimney-stack in 



