NATURAL HISTORY NOTES. 
297 
apart. Nearly all were found feeding on tlie potato, but two were 
sent me from Leicester, which had been found feeding on the plant 
commonly called tea tree; and on the 5tli September, I obtained one 
of three which were feeding on the privet, a food-plant not hitherto 
recorded, I believe, for the larva of atropos. Mr. J. B. Wieldt, F.Sc.S., 
informs me that till this year he has only seen one specimen here for 
fifteen years.— Wilfred Moss, The White House, Loughborough. 
The Weapons of Butterflies.— Having recently read a paper on 
“ The Weapons of Animals,” I was much interested this morning to 
observe how a butterfly is armed for the defence of his rights and the 
robbing of his neighbours. On the disk of a sunflower there sat a 
bumble bee, a hive bee, and two large flies (dijJtera apparently), all 
regaling themselves in peace and amity. A fine red admiral hovering 
by took a fancy to the same sunflower, and settled in the middle of it, 
flapping vigorously his great handsome wings. The bees and the flies 
edged away towards the margin, but he continued to flap till they 
were fairly driven off and he had the field to himself. Then he 
worked diligently over it, trying every floret with his long bent pro¬ 
boscis. The bees and the flies made several attempts to return, but as 
soon as they came within sight or touch, flap went the great wings, and 
away they flew as if they were frightened. The admiral kept the 
place entirely free from intruders for nearly five minutes, when he 
took himself off to “ pastures new.” F. T. Mott. 
Aregma bulbosum.— It has occasionally been asked whether the 
above fungus is as common as Dr. Cooke reports it to be, for it has 
been carefully sought in this district for the last year or two with little 
success. At the present time it may be found abundantly in the 
neighbourhood of Bewdley, quite justifying Dr. Cooke’s observation of 
“ very common.” I noticed that for the distance of perhaps a mile 
nearly every bush was more or less attacked by it. For the microscope 
this object mounts well in glycerine or balsam, and is very interesting. 
If any reader would like a leaf I shall be pleased to forward one on 
receipt of stamped envelope.—J. W. Neville, Wellington Boad, 
Handsworth. 
[It is quite true that Phragmidium bulbosum scarcely merits the 
name of a “very common” species in this neighbourhood, for it is 
extremely local and irregular in its appearance, although where it does 
occur it is often in great abundance. The same is equally true, how¬ 
ever, of most of the “ common” species of leaf-fungi, not only for this 
neighbourhood, but, I believe, for many others. Xeuodochus carbonarius, 
again, is a rare species, yet in the only locality near here where I have 
seen it (Water Orton), it grows in such great profusion that, both in 
1883 and 1884, I could, if required, have gathered several thousands 
of affected plants. I have seen P. bulbosum in large quantities near 
Solihull, and near Kenilworth, besides other places; at the former 
place the bushes along the roadside for some distance appeared as if 
sprinkled with red paint, owing to the conspicuous blotches upon the 
leaves. This was in 1883. It is necessary, however, to state that the 
Phragmidium bulbosum of Cooke’s works (Aregma bulbosum of the older 
editions, a name now obsolete) includes two species :— P. violaceum and 
P.Rubi , the distinguishing characters of which may be found in the 
“ Midland Naturalist ” for 1883, p. 21. It is of the former that I 
speak, P. Eubi being more rare here. I have seen no specimen of the 
latter from this neighbourhood. Phragmidium obtusum is the most 
common species, being always to be found by a little searching; P. 
mucronatum is more rare ; and the rarest of all the Pliragmidia of this 
