JULIUS BODO VON WIELDT. 
The death of Mr. J. B. Wieldt, of Loughborough, which occurred 
on 30th July last, will leave a gap in the ranks of the limited 
number of Leicestershire field naturalists which will be hard to 
refill. Of a somewhat retiring disposition, his circle of friends and 
correspondents was naturally not a wide one, and only those who 
knew him intimately were aware of the wealth of information 
relating to birds and insects he had acquired. It has been the 
writer’s privilege to have enjoyed his friendship for nearly twenty 
years, and to have been at one time his constant companion in his 
rambles amongst the Charnwood Hills. Though a Prussian by 
birth, he had long been naturalized in this country. He seems to 
have acquired at an early age his taste for the study of natural 
history, and often has the writer had the pleasure of listening to 
his discourses on the birds’ eggs he found, and the butterflies he 
caught in his native forests and wilds. 
Taking up his residence in Loughborough some twenty-five 
years ago, he at once devoted himself to the study of the local 
Lepidoptera; and during the remaining years of his life he discovered 
many good species, and also saw others completely disappear from 
haunts where they were at one time abundant. He was especially 
successful in finding larvae, and was also most skilful in their 
preservation. Examples of his work, now in the possession of the 
writer, are most life-like, and if restored to their natural haunts 
would deceive even the sharpest eyes. He particularly prided him¬ 
self on the capture of a fine series of the Hornet Clearwing, which he 
found in an osier bed a few years ago. His strong point, however, 
was Coleoptera, a branch of entomology which he studied with 
enthusiasm during the last ten years of his life. His knowledge 
relating to the various species of beetles to be found in the neigh¬ 
bourhood of Loughborough was remarkable, and one might almost 
say complete. 
He also devoted considerable research into the habits of local 
birds, and such species as the Wood Warbler, Hawfinch, Grass- 
November, 1893 . 
