320 
THE GAUDENERS' AND NATQKALISTs' CALENDAR FOR JULY. 
the wings of birds, and how varied are their forms, and 
texture ; compare the soft downy one, of the common 
Gold Crest {Regulus aKricnpillm) with the strong 
whale-bone like texture of the Swifts {C'l/psdus ajim), 
and you will be struck with the fact, that their mode 
of life must be widely different ; and this will prove, 
that an acquaintance with the various forms and tex- 
tures of the wings of bii'ds, is essential to a true know- 
ledge of their habits. The fields of golden grain are 
now a glorious sight, and birds of various kinds resort 
to them, amongst which the most numerous are our 
old friends the Sparrows {^Passer domesticits). I call 
them old friends, for there is no bird I am more partial 
to than the Sparrow, although by many he is considered 
a complete pest ; but that is for want of knowing all his 
good qualities ; if it were only for his close attachment 
to man, he would deserve our respect, but he has many 
other virtues to recommend him, which are overlooked 
from a want of a knowledge of his history. 
The farmer, when he sees them in his fields of corn, 
considers them as thieves and plunderers, and to a cer- 
tain extent he may he right ; he has clear evidence that 
they are then doing him no good, and so they are un- 
mercifully condemned. I think by a better acquaintance 
with their mode of life, a different conclusion would be 
arrived at. There are not always corn fields for them to 
feed upon, and I believe they eat at other times. Then, 
keep a calendar of them from January until December, 
watch them narrowly, book all their good and bad ac- 
tions, and having gone through all the evidence, judge 
justly, and I have little fear of the verdict ; for it mil 
be found that birds, instead of being destroyers, in 
which light they are considered by many, are a safe 
guard to the husbandman, and that the earth would soon 
become a desert, without their aid. H. W. 
Ento.mology. — "We are now arrived at the hottest season 
oftheyear,when the objects of the entomologist's search 
assume their most tropical character; amongst which may 
be mentioned the great number of species of Butterflies, 
the largest sized kinds of Beetles — such as the Stag 
Beetle, Cerambycidce, Sand Wasps, and the great 
Dragon-flies, hawking over pools in search of insects 
on which they feed most voraciously. Although these 
insects, however, delight in the brightest sunshine, ihe 
hottest hours of the day are by no means the best 
suited for the pursuits of the entomologist, the flight of 
insects being, at that period, so rapid, as well as so high, 
that it is almost impossible to catch them, whilst others 
secrete themselves to avoid the heat. Of this habit of 
insects flying high during the middle of the day, accom- 
panied, as it is in some species, by the emission of a 
loud humming sound, om' field poets and naturalists 
have often spoken. Thus, Thomson says : — 
" Resounds the living: surface of the ground, 
Nor imdeliijlitful is the ceaseless hum 
To him who muses thmt^h the woods at noon ; 
Or di-owsy shepherd, as he lies reclined, 
AVith half-shut eyes, beneath the floating shade 
Of willows gi'ay, close crowding o'er the hrook." 
" There is," says Gilbert White, " a natural occur- 
rence to be met with in the higliest part of our down^ on 
the hot summer days, which always amuses me much, 
without giving me any satisfaction mth respect to the 
causeof it; and that is a loud audible humming of Bees [?] 
in the air, though not one insect is seen. Any person 
would suppose that a large swarm of Bees was in mo- 
tion, and playing about over his head." Xirby and 
Spence, alluding to this sound, observe, that "the hot- 
ter the weather the higher insects will soar, and it is 
not improbable the sound produced by numbers may be 
heard when those that produce it are out of sight." 
Without attempting to solve the question as to the 
cause of this humming noise, I may observe that, as our 
poet of the " Seasons" has well remarked, in the words 
quoted above in italics, it is in woods and trees that the 
sound is heard as well as in open situations, and that it 
seems to be caused by Dipterous insects, rather than by 
Bees, which, except at the time of swarming, do not fly 
in company. 
^^"^ " Chief, the forest boughs 
That dance unnumbered to the playful breeze, 
The downy orcliard, and the melting pulp 
Of mellow fruit, the nameless nations feed 
Of evanescent insects." 
The Caterpillars of many species of Lepidopterous 
insects may now be found, and must be carefully at- 
tended to, the best time for beating the trees being early 
in the morning and after sunset, as during the day many 
of them remaiu quiescent, fixing themselves firmly to 
the branches and twigs, and only moving when the sun 
has quitted then- retreat. The umbelliferous flowers, 
and especially the flowers of the Elder-bush, should now 
be examined carefully in the hottest parts of the day, 
whilst the grassy banks and borders, as well as open 
places in woods, are now enlivened with many species 
of Butterflies, especially the diflTerent kinds of FritUla- 
ries — as Lathonia, the Queen of Spain ; Aglaia, the 
dark green Fritillary ; Adippe, the high brown ; Paphia, 
the silver washed ; and Silene, the small pearl-bordered 
Fritillary. The Painted Lady, Cynthia Cardui, is now 
to be met with, delighting to settle on the blossoms of 
the Spear Thistle, on which its larva feeds earlier in the 
month ; the beautiful Peacock Butterfly, with its gor- 
geous eyes ( Vanessa lo^, found on JS^ettles, in the Cater- 
pillar state, towards the beginning of the mouth, appears 
in the winged state at the end ; the glorious Purple 
Emperor Butterfly also makes his appearance about the 
middle of the month, flxing his thi-one on the topmost 
twig of some lordly Oak, and defending it with the ut- 
most pertinacity against all neighbouring rival Empe- 
rors. The elegant White admirable Butterfly, is also now 
tobe met with, although rarely ; " The graceful elegance 
displayed by this charming species, when saiKng on the 
wing, is greater, perhaps, than can be found in any 
other in Britain." 
*' Swift Camilla scours the plain, 
Flies o'er the unbending corn, and skims along the main." 
" There was an old Aurelian of London," says 
Haworth, " so highly delighted at the inimitable thght 
of the Camilla, that long after he was unable to pursue 
her, he used to go to the woods, and sit down on a stile 
for the sole purpose of feasting his eyes with her fasci- 
nating evolutions." What a charming picture of the 
endurance of a pure love of Natm'o does this little ex- 
tract vividly bring before us ! 
Many of the species of the elegant little Blue But- 
terflies, Polyommatus, are now on the wing, especially 
on chalky districts ; but perhaps the most exotic-looking 
of all the insects now to be met with are the iEgeria; and 
Trochilia ; Lepidopterous insects having all the appear- 
ance of Wasps, Bees, and Sand Wasps of different kinds. 
Many of the larger species of Moths [Homhjcidce and 
Noctukke) are also now to be met .with. Indeed, as 
this is the month in which the greatest number of 
Moths appear, it may be as well to mention in this place 
a plan for the capture of the nocturnal Lepidoptera, 
which has recently been adopted by our collectors with 
the greatest success. It simply consists in daubing the 
trunks of trees, immediately after sunset, with coai'se 
sugar moistened with water. The Moths, especially if 
the weather be stUl and the air charged with electricity, 
are attracted to the trees, where they feast on the sweets 
to such an excess, that, on applying a lamp (a buU's- 
eyed one is best) in the dark, they may be secured 
without attempting to fly oif. 
Owing to the vast number of species now to be cap- 
tured in the winged state, we have not thought it 
advisable to continue the List of species hitherto given, 
which would extend to far too great a length for om- 
pages. J. 0. W. 
t 
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