Notes and Observations 10 Part 1

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WEATHER

REPORT

OCTOBER.—Here little of any significance occurred. Rainfall was 1.44 inches, low for October. Sun and mean temperature were close to the average. T h e last few days were unpleasant, with cold north winds and squally showers.

NOVEMBER.—The second dry November running .82 inch of rain. T h e mean temperature was slightly average 19.2° to 41°. A cold spell around the 22nd gave the most severe frost recorded this winter (time mid-February). Sunshine calls for no comment.

gave only below the and 23rd, of writing

DECEMBER.—Sun deficiency which was a record was the outstanding feature. T h e r e were only just over 14 hours. T h e average is near 55 hours. T h e r e were successive days with no sunshine from the 14th to 21st. Rainfall was 1.94 inches, only at Christmas was there any suggestion of a cold type of weather, but this proved only transitory. There was little frost.

J A N U A R Y , 1957.—This was the mildest January since 1948, with the mean temperature nearly 4° above normal. Rainfall was 1.22 inches (below the average). Sunshine at 58 hours was slightly high. Frosts occurred on 14 nights (compared with 21 nights in April, 1956, as a matter of interest).

R. R. WILSON, Belstead Hall.

NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS M O L E ( T a l p a europea).—In June I saw a mole swim across a small shallow stream about 5 yards wide.—B. B A R R I N G T O N , Hollesley.

(Neomys fodiens).—In November, 1955, I caught a melanistic water shrew, black all over save for a small buffish patch under the chin and a grey stripe about } inch wide down the underside from chin to tail.—ROY DRIVER, Knodishall.

WATER SHREW

Melanism in the water shrew is apparently not uncommon.

Barrett-Hamilton and Hinton ( " British Mammals " 1910 - 21) say that there is no evidence that it has any recognisable distribution according to locality but the subject is obviously worthy of investigation. C. (Mustela erminea).—A stoat was recently caught in a mole trap in my garden. T h e trap was missing and was found in a hedge some five yards from where it had been s e t : the stoat was dead in the trap. Weasels are not uncommonly caught in mole traps, but I have never before known a stoat to be so caught.

B. BARRINGTON, Hollesley.

STOAT

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77

(Mustela nivalis).—In September, in my garden I saw a weasel run out of a flower bed into the middle of the lawn and Start running round in circles jumping in the air and performing other gymnastic feats. Immediately several sparrows flew down and made a semi-circle some 10 yards in diameter. T h e weasel seemed gradually to carry its Performance closer to the sparrows b u t they flew away before it was within striking distance.— WEASEL

B. BARRINGTON, H o l l e s l e y .

(Arvicola terrestris).—An immature female waterrat about | grown (weight 100 grammes) was killed by a cat in my garden 25th September, 1956. T h o u g h quite close to the sea this is about a mile f r o m the nearest fresh water.—S. O G I L V I E , Ness House, Sizewell.

WATER-VOLE

One morning this (1956) Summer, I was out watching waterfowl by the side of a large lake in this neighbourhood. I was wading through some tall herbage growing knee-deep in the water at the edge of the lake when I suddenly came upon a round ball of dried sedge and rushes built in the crown of a tuft of sedge.

It was about the size and shape of a rugby football—perhaps a little smaller. I could find no entrance but by making a small hole in the side, I found it to contain 3 or 4 young watervoles which I judged to be about 10 days old as they were covered with f ü r and had their eyes open. T h e lining of the nest was of finely shredded grass and sedge. YV. H . PAYN, Härtest.

(Rattus rattus).—In this county the black rat has for long been confined to the sea ports of Ipswich and Lowestoft where in the past reinforcements from vessels f r o m overseas have probably enabled the small colonies to survive. Düring the early years of the recent war there was a fairly substantial black rat infestation in Ipswich and the Ministry of Food organised in that town some research into the ecology of the animal. T h e Medical Officer of Health for the Borough reports that at the present time the n u m b e r of black rats in Ipswich is very small and that the last black rat body to be recovered was early in 1955.

F r o m Lowestoft the Medical Officer of Health reports that the animal seems to have been exterminated in that town. T h e last colony known was at the Co-operative Factory in Waveney Drive in about 1950. T h e last black rat seen on any vessel in the port was aboard the drifter " Jacqueta " some two or three years ago. C. BLACK R A T

BADGER (Meies meles).—At about 5.30 a.m., on 23rd July, 1956, a badger trotted past me on one of the Forestry roads at Dunwich.

It seemed quite unconccrned, in fact I don't think it took any notice of m e

a t all.

F.

K.

COBB.

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NOTES AND

OBSERVATIONS

(Myocastor coypus).—On 23rd June, 1956, near the lake at Holbrook Gardens, the Eastern Counties Otter hounds killed three coypus. They were all in a hole, were not füll grown and obviously all belonged to one litter. They weighed 12 - 14 lb. each.—A. C. C. H E R V E Y .

COYPU

(Dama dama).—A neighbour of mine teils me that for several years now fallow deer have been Coming into her garden and eating her yew bushes. Can someone explain why yew is poisonous to horses, donkeys and cattle but apparently not so to deer ?—W. H. P A Y N , Härtest.

FALLOW DEER

September 23rd, 1956, in Grundisburgh, Sheila Frost, a pupil of Grundisburgh School, caught a Camberwell Beauty butterfly, Nymphalis antiopa L. CAMBERWELL BEAUTY.—On

Every year, a few migrants from Northern Europe are reported along the East coast. An account in the press in July stated that, at the end of that month, about one hundred Camberwell Beauty butterflies were released at Greenwich. Unless these insects were plainly marked, this ill-advised action means that all records of captures later this year are valueless from the point of View of records of migration..—S. BEAUFOY. THE MILLER.—Although I understand it is no rarity, I believe it is sufficiently uncommon to be worthwhile recording that on the 15th August, here (at Henham), a Caterpillar of the Miller (Apatele leporina Linn) was found feeding on poplar leaves.

STRADBROKE.

Evergestis extimalis Sep. (Margaritalis Schf.). A single example of this pretty little pyrale came into my grandson's light-trap on September 8th. T h e species had not been noted in Suffolk when Bloomfield published his list in 1890, but in his supplementary list in 1900 he gives one record—Tuddenham, June 1898.

Morley mentions in the " M e m o i r s " that it was taken there again in 1900 and subsequently in 1901 quite commonly. With the exception of Thetford (Aug. 1931) it does not seem to have been noticed in recent years. In any case it appears to be an insect more or less confined to the Breck, and I can find no record for East Suffolk. In a field adjacent to my grandson's light-trap lupins are being grown for seed and with them has sprung up an abundant crop of charlock, which may account for the straggler.

A.

P.

WALLER.

T H E S P O T T E D CLOVER (Heliothis scutosa Schiff.) seen in Suffolk.— On Sunday, September 30th, 1956, while visiting Havergate Island with a friend for the purpose of bird-watching, I noticed a large number of the Silver Y (Plusia gamma Linn.) hovering over a clump of sea aster still in bloom, when suddenly I spotted

NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS

79

a much paler moth with a creamy appearance. It settled finally on the flowers and I was able to see distinctly two kidney-shaped marks on the forewings with a dark border towards the outer edge, while hind wings had a dark border with a pronounced dot in the centre. I realised at once it was something out of the ordinary, but most unfortunately I had no net with me. I had only pill-boxes and just missed the insect in trying to catch it in this way. I was able to see it long enough to make me feel sure it was the Spotted Clover M o t h — A L F R E D W A L L E R , Waldringfield.

Note :—At least seven specimens of the Spotted Clover were taken in the Eastern Counties, mostly in Norfolk, in 1953. There is a record from Suffolk in September, 1938.—C. G. M. DE W O R M S .

T H E P I N E H A W K IN W E S T SUFFOLK.—Major General G. F .

Johnson teils me that towards the end of June, 1956, while motoring along one of the roads to the south of Brandon he spotted no less than eight Pine Hawks (Hyloicus pinastri Linn.) on Scots firs over a space of about 4 0 0 yards.—C. G. M. DE W O R M S .

Epeira diademata.—There may be others as ignorant about spiders as I am, so, although the Rev. Dr. Hull says this one is so common that a record could hardly be justified, I will describe the lovely creature I saw near my window last September. It was quite half an inch broad with bright sandy für (or should it be hair ?) and a white Latin cross down its back. Its great thighs were almost transparent in the sunshine and had black rings round them—the biggest spider I have seen alive.

I sent a description somewhat faulty to Dr. Hull and later caught a rather smaller duller specimen to send him. This lady was in the middle of her wheel-shaped snare having her dinner off a large fat-bodied moth.

I could not teil what moth it was because the wings were crumpled and I think unexpanded. I packed her off with her dinner and she arrived after her long journey to Durham in excellent form and quite lively. Dr. Hull has established her in his garden on Lysimachia. He comments, " Your lady is a ' cit * if ever there was one, but in the open on a furze bush her attire would have been much warmer in colour and her leg rings black as jet.

On the field walls on our Durham hills Diademata is much smaller with a nondescript raiment of dingy brown.

The dorsal cross is present but very slender."

JANET C . N. W I L L I S , Ipswich.

Potentilla anserina (Silverweed) An abnormal form.—A number of mossy green pincushions from 3 to 9 inches across, which I found growing on Dunwich beach in 1955, have been identified by Kew and medial sections mounted in their herbarium.

The plants on first sight bore little resemblance to Silverweed as it is generally recognized. The " pincushions " were made

80

NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS

np of hundreds of very small upright stems as thin as threads, with minute pinnate leaves and microscopic, almost transparent flowers very tightly bunched.

Later in the season, all trace of the plants had gone, but in 1956 a further search was made and two more plants were found with a similar formation, the stems all growing out from an extended swollen root, but each stem considerably larger than in the 1955 specimens. On both occasions when these abnormal plants were found, the normal forms were found in close proximity.

It is considered at Kew that the abnormality may perhaps be due to a gall on the root.

M. M. WHITING, Blythburgh.

Clathrus ruber.—Miss Hayter wrote early in October, 1956 that Mr. L. M. Nicholson of Ufford had found this rare and lovely Lattice Fungus. Mr. Porter recognised it from Miss Hayter's drawing as a species new to Suffolk. Mr. Nicholson sent him some " eggs" which duly burst and revealed the beautiful coral-red lattice, and Mr. Porter was able to photograph it in both monochrome and colour. The lovely thing has a very nasty smell.—J. C. N. W. Epipactis purpurata=E. sessilifolia.—Mr. Bingley repo Mr. D. P. Young found this " Violet Helleborine " at Cornard this summer (1956). This is a NEW record for Suffolk, though it is already known at several stations in Hertfordshire and Essex.

Carex otrubae Podp. FALSE FOX SEDGE.—One of the commonest sedges generally distributed on the Suffolk marshland and elsewhere is described by Chapman, T. and W., as a " stout tufted perenial up to Im. in length offloweringstem ". A plant found at Waldringfield this year (1956) on the edge of a marsh ditch had flowering stems up to 188 cm.—P. J. O. TRIST.

NOTE TO CONTRIBUTORS All articles, notes and records intended for our next Transactions should be in the handsof the Editor, Mr. G. E. Curtis, Belstead House, Ipswich, before April 15th.

It is important since our last two numbers have been delayed by unfortunate circumstances that we should return to our usual dates of publication.