Observations 2 Part 1 by Suffolk Naturalists' Society

OBSERVATIONS.

OBSERVATIONS. A Pelican sat napping in front of a houseboat-door. His sleep was light and gentle : you could almost hear him snore. His head was tucked beneath his wing ; boredom was in his look : Too tired to catch the " tiddlers " that came floating dozon the brook. For hours and hours and hours he listened to the chatter Of one who in that houseboat lived, his name—eh ?—does not matter. He talked of Bird and Beast and Fish, with knozvledge comprehending ; But, to that poor tired Pelican, the talk seemed never-ending. This Human told of Plovers, pert, plump and collaretted ; Of Ruddy Sheld-ducks' nibbling, with habits much regretted ; Of Worms with tiny legs, in ooze of Breydon's slimy mud : Kipling would have called these things his idols, " Great Gawd Budd." Yet, notwithstanding such poor joke, in this prefatory rhyme I like to sing his wisdom of Bird, Fish, Beast and Clime. His weather-beaten wanderings sometimes provoke my mirth, But such as he hold me in fee and are salt of all the Earth.

GEOLOGY.—Our Haiesworth Secretary reports the discovery in Boulder-clay, while foundations of metal pylons were being <iug,'of Gryphcea incurva shells, some interesting fragments of Belemnites in his immediate vicinity, of Ammonites at Laxfield, and of Micaceous Schist at South Elmham St. James. With so puny a compensation do we have to content ourselves for the appallingly incongruous Martians that Stretch in uncompromising hideositv athwart the fair meads of broad Suffolk in too many directions. Why our particular County should have been selected by the Devil for utilitarian disfiguration, the gods alone can teil. Throughout the entire roads hence to Bournemouth one's vision is blistered by only a single line of such monstrosities, somewhere around Ascot perhaps: certainly it is sure to blot the (otherwise) most beauteous of landscapes with gaunt and blatant artificiality.—CLAUDE M O R L E Y . W A L N U T BLIGHT.—My Walnut-trees at Campsea Ashe are affected with something. It may be the new bacterial blight {Pseudomonas juglans), an organism that caused serious loss in the Walnut groves of California early in this Century, when it was also rife in New Zealand, and about fifteen years ago spread to most of the eastern states of North America ; later it extended to Chile, and in 1920 was recognized in Europe. It was found at East Mailing (Gardeners' Chronicle), and is now known in Kent, Sussex, Surrey and Worcester. At first I thought it was old age here, where the trees stand on the east front of the High House ; the two nearest the house are the worst affected. Some of the ualnuts at the Rectory here are also affected. The symptons shown are a gradual defoliation, with a good deal of dead wood amongst the smaller branches, a paucity of fruits and most of the fruits, when picked up, are rotten [characters noticed also at Monks' Soham Hall.—Ed.], I have had to feil two or three OF the group, as they looked so bad.—LORD ULLSWATER, in lit. 5 Jan. 1932.

OBSERVATIONS.

ARRESTED ACACIA SAP.—Here is the photograph of an extraordinary growth on a tree. T h e ball-like bunch is composed of close-set luxuriant twigs of the Acacia itself, issuing from a very slender branch. It was difficult to snap, because hanging fully twenty feet above the middle of a public road passing in front of Rivers Hall in Waldringfield. I have often seen similar growths on Büch-trees, but never on Acacia.—T. N . WALLER ; Sept. 1932. POTASH.—The note at i, p. 224, may lead to some misconception, because the use of calcined Beech-wood for Potash is now wellnigh extinct. Very little or none is made to-day from woodash. About the middle of last Century this process lost much of its importance through the rise of the " Vinasse " industry, consisting of residues from the manufacture of Beet Sugar. Since that time the production of potassium carbonate by Leblanc's process has become more and more extensive.— W. S. GILLES. [" Charcoal-burning," for the sake of the resultant Potash, is now interesting historically rather than scientifically and we should be glad to receive confirmation that the wood supposed to produce the most suitable Ashes was Beech. This tree stands last in the burned timber that is given in the old Encycl. Brit. 1797, 429 : " According to Sir Peter Warren the best woods for making Potash are oaks, ash, poplar, hiccory, elm, hazle and beech. They must be cut in November to February, split and stacked to dry. After twelve months in warm open weather, they must be burnt on a brick-hearth by a slow fire in a kiln, then put up in wooden-backs covered with water, and must remain well marshed and incorporated five months . . . " We have met with no reference to Potash in Saxon times ; but Gough says that the body of King William Rufus in the year 1100 was " placed on the rough black cart of Purkiss, the charcoal-burner, whose descendants have carried on the same humble craft ever since," throughout mediaeval times.—Ed.] MARINE PHOSPHORESCENCE.—No doubt Noctiluca miliaris, the Protozoan emitting this light, occurs all along our Suffolk coast; but, as Dr. Sorby locates it here solely in Harwich harbour where he found " about 4,000 " specimens to a gallon of water (Vict. Hist. 1911, 89), one may well record its occurrence in the River Deben at Ramsholt one night during September 1931 in such numbers that tangible masses could be detached and watched, glowing in the dark, upon one's clothes.—H. C. MURRELL. [This Noctiluca is one of the largest species of its Order, attaining a diameter of just one millimetre seu 1 j2s ofaninch; it is circular, but grooved down one side like a peach; from the groove protrudes a long and retractile whip-lash, near the mouthopening. These creatures cause most of the lampyrine phosphorescence of temperate seas, which emanates from the superficial protoplasm of their bodies.—Ed.]

OBSERVATIONS.

CCELENTERATA.—The well-known and beautiful Chrysaora isosceles, Linn., is certainly common on our coast (Trans, supra, i, 70) and again occurred at Felixstow on 9 August last. T w ö davs later at Sizewell were several specimens of quite a different Jelly-fish : perfectly clear-glass-like with no markings whatever, circular, about five inches in diameter and, as it was lying on the shore, thrown up by the tide, crisply breakable between one's fingers, as is a fleshy Boletus-fungus. What is its name ? A R A C H N I D A . — A five per cent. Solution of caustic potash will pretty surely dissolve Spiders* web (see i, p. 226) and, at the same time, leave the Insects' chitin, C 1 5 II 2 6 N 2 O, 0 , quite unaffected.—W. S . GILLES. CHELIFER N E W TO SUFFOLK.—Yet another of the interesting False-scorpions has been discovered among rotting wood and leaves in an alder-carr at Blocka Lane in Fritton on 16 October last, and sent us for determination, by Mr. Ellis. He is a charming httle beast, Chelifer cancroides, L., with black body, deep red cephalothorax and forceps, and olive-green legs with which he runs a good deal faster backwards than forwards. Backwards, where he has been, he reckons he may go again with safety ' forwards, all is ungecuthan and hence perilous as Pilgrim s found! WATER-SPIDER'S BITE.—While collecting water-snails at the Latimer Dam in Kessingland on 9 March last, we picked from mud at the bottom of a ditch the dead shell of Limnaa peregra. its orifice was partly blocked by dark matter, which we scratched away with our third-finger nail. This foreign matter instantly reprised by clinging to the tip of our finger and we saw, betöre (hastily !) shaking it off, that it was a specimen of Argyroneta aquahca, Lat. Though attachment had been but momentary distinct tingling like that from a weak nettle was at once set u p by the spider's poison-fangs; and this sensation, slight and without numbness, persisted from 3 p.m. to after midnight JNo vestige remained the following morning. .Fully a dozen more of these lively spiders were found a week later still lurking in empty L. peregra shells hence, blocked with scraps of weed. MITE N E W TO SUFFOLK.—Leaves of the ubiquitous Goosegrass {Gahum Apanne, L.) have been found to be distorted by A and £ Eriophyes galü, Kapp., at Bradwell, Gorleston, and near Browston Hall. So well is the parasite concealed that a microscope took some time to reveal the cause of distortion— A . ELLIS, June 1 9 3 2 . MITES' NOVEL T R A N S P O R T E R . — A specimen of the Noctuidmoth, Caradnna quadripunctata, Fab., came in to light at Monks' öonam House, dunng dinner on 16 August last, and attracted «tention by its unusual mode of flight: though nippy enough an the uptake from its fulcrum whenever approached, it flew somewhat heavily only a short distance before settling again

OBSERVATIONS.

When secured, the cause became evident: clinging to the underside near the apices of both hind wings only were twelve or thirteen specimens of the Acarid, Cheletomorpha venutissima, Kach of family Cheyletidae, named by Dr. Finnegan of the British Museum. Their position seems to show that attachment took place while the Moth was quietly sitting at rest, with its hind wings adpressed against some mitey surface. Moths seem to us a new transporter of Arachnids, for no Lepidoptenst interrogated is cognisant of a parallel c a s e . — C L A U D E MORLEY. INSECTIVOROUS A C A R I . — A female Limnobia nubeculosa Mg., was Aying in the evening of 7 June at Chedgrave in Norfolk, bearing two active fleshy red Mites that both dropped from the Gnat as it alighted. I found both Nepa cinerea and the Draeon-fly Agrion puella, L„ carrying Acari at Bradwell m Suffolk on 29 May 1932. Hvdrachnids were noted, infesting the Heteropterous water-walkers (Cerris) and Harvestmen (Phalangids), in Isle of Skye during August last.—E. A hi.LIB. CRUSTACEA : T H E RIVER C R A Y F I S H . — A note in the Local Paper on the capture in a submerged rat-trap of Potamobius palhdipes Ler., in the Bat river near Chain Bridge in Badley on 17 July last, drew another from Mr. Charles P a r t n d g e M.A., t.b.A., that he also took the species in an affluent of the Gipping, the Rattlesden river close to Onehouse inn, " a good many years a e o " These were single occurrences ; but our late Member, X S. J. Batchelder, F.L.S., writes that P. palltdipes was " abundant twentv or thirty years ago in the Gipping at Ipswich near the London^oad bridges. Three or four years ago ^ one just captured three hundred yards above these br dges. I have searched, perhaps too cursonly, there recently ; but was unable to discover any " (in lit. 6 Aug.). M r , Eyerett considers there to be no Crayfish in the Brett near H a d l e i g h (in lit. 17 Aug.). M Y R I A P O D A . — W h e n e v e r nothing is known of a subject, e g . the Suffolk exponents of this Class (cf. supra, i p. 227), a very little is preferable. There would be more if the post-offic had not reduced tubes and their Contents to the cond.t on of the Augean stables ! After impersonating Alpheus I ; n Birks has named in the Lithobiid« Ltthobzus arftcatus M ^ o n Centiped), taken at Brandon m May W29 and Foxhall on 27 March 1930 ; and L. Duboscqm, auct. in G.sleham sand pit on 2 Oct. 1930. In the Geophilid* Geophttolonguornu, Leach from Wangford marshes near Brandon in May 1929. Among he Millepeds, Polydesmid. are represented by Br-chydes-us „Jfirrm Latz of which several were found under a log in T d d Ä o n 14 May 1930 ; and L in a similar Situation at Woodcroft Hall in Monks Soham on 8 April 1929. If only a British monograph were availaDie, the small number of species would render d.scnmination of the group practicable.

OBSERVATIONS.

INEXHAUSTIBLE LOCALITIES.—One very hot day, about noon in the middle of last May, I was beating bushes in a swampy place at Belstead Woods, vainly hoping that I might find the local Digger-wasp, Nysson spinosus, Fab., which throughout Suffolk occurs only here, when a Beetle flew—flop !—on to mv umbrella. W i t h t h e wondrous rapidity usual in Geodephaga, he instantly rushed to the edge of it and disappeared ; but I, knowing these chaps' habit of dropping vertically to the ground, at once searched just below his point of descent. Sure enough, there he was lurking among the dense herbage of grass, groundivy, etc. So, to prevent escape, I pressed a glass-topped box hard down upon him and his surrounding Vegetation, under which he hid for some time. But the introduction of a whiff of soothing tobacco-smoke so irritated his olfactory nerves that he rose to the glass, and I rose f r o m my (extremely moist!) knees to examine the capture. H e was Flaphrus cupreus, D u f t . , a ground-beetle so conspicuous on account of his shagreenedcoppery colour and so large (over a -J-inch long) that 1 was astonished never to have had the pleasure of meeting him before anywhere in these woods. T h e m I have explored weekly for the decade following 1892, since which time no year has passed without some visits to t h e m being paid : yet here, in the fortieth year of Observation, they yield a new species that Suffolk boasts solely upon the m u d d y banks of the Little Ouse at Brandon ! No better illustration of how inexhaustible be good localities is p o s s i b l e . — C L A U D E WATER-BEETLES'

MORLEY.

DAYLIGHT

FLIGHT.—An

oppressively

hot

day, with very slight southerly wind and temperature reaching 70" in the shade, was 4 April 1926 in Gorleston : consequently the air was teeming with insects of many kinds. Shortly after noon, I saw numerous Water-beetles swimming in my garden aquarium, where they had just arrived of their own volition ; others kept dropping f r o m the sky, with a plop, into the water. As soon as I put a large sheet of glass flat on adjacent ground for a half-hour, similar Water-beetles dropped upon it faster than I could pitch them into a jar of water. T h e species consisted of a few Acilius sulcatus, Linn., some Agabi and various Hydropori; accompanying t h e m were Heteroptera of the genera Gerris and Corixa with Notonecta glauca, Linn., all dropping in the same way. Black-headed Gulls (Larus ridibundus, L.) were hawking these insects above the town ; and a tame bird of the same species was snapping u p t h e beetles in my garden.—E. A. ELLIS. [Hydradephaga are well-known to persistently mistake clear glass for w a t e r ; and, though their usual flight-time is night, abnormal heat frequently causes them to take wing by day, as was the case with Agabus bipustulatus, L., and A. chalconotus, Pz., in the New Forest late last June. But such flighting was obviously in very unusual numbers upon the above occasion.—Ed.]

OBSERVATIONS.

L E N G T H OF G L O W - W O R M S ' LIFE.—These beetles (Lampyris noctiluca, L.) have long been noted as occurring with us about Stowmarket (Hollingsworth's Hist. of Stowe 1844, p. 227) and, " previous to the enclosure of the commons in Reydon, the Glow-worm was abundant and was equally so at Easton before t h e plough had eradicated its heath " (Wake's Southwold 1839, p. 240). In most folks' minds they are associated with our hottest w e a t h e r : June to July (Stephens' Manual, 187), 5th July ( E M M . 1901, p. 226), etc. W e found the female in Glos, during late June 1931 ; among a score of its own large yellow eggs under bark about twenty feet u p a dead oak in the New Forest on 8 July 1929; and have taken large larvse during September, M a r c h and May. Certainly the imagines are commonest in July, when males have flown in to the attraction of light at Herringswell in SufTolk; and another was taken on 26th of that month, 1844, at Carisbrook in I.W. (now in our collection). Consequently it seems well to place on record the Observation of fifteen, seen so late as 28 August last in a boggy marsh by Fritton L a k e ; and these, though in diminishing n u m b e r s of seven on 7th and five on 16th, persisted in displaying their lampyrine lighted tili 28 September, which was a brilliant m o n t h of sunshine with warm nights, excepting a few days of north wind in the middle. H U M B L E - B E E S ' M I G R A T I O N . — F o r several years I have noticed Bees that come Aying from the land directly down the pier at Gorleston and go seawards singly or in scattered companies of not more than five at once ; but a long procession of such pass at varying intervals of both time and space. Most of them fly straight away over the water, and some so far that they become lost to sight, though more fall into the sea. A few seem to hesitate as they reach the lighthouse-hut at the sea-end of the pier, making a few turns about it but, sooner or later, they invariably go away from land. T h e result is the same as in the case of those that did not hesitate ; and none ever return. A curious point in the phenomenon is that a fair proportion come into contact with the woodwork of the above h u t and so forcibly that they fall, apparently stunned or lifeless, to the flooring of the pier below ; while others seem crippled by the concussion and drop through the interstices of the flooring into the water beneath. Such contact is rendered remarkable by t h e fact that I have, in no other case, seen a Bee in flight touch any obstruction whatsoever. Possessing little particular interest in Bees, I have paid no attention to the colour, etc., of these, merely observing that some were large and others s m a l l ; however, upon my asking one of the watchers in the H a r b o u r Light, I was informed that he had noticed only t h e colours yellow and black. In 1931, such a flight as those to which I refer took place on 29 June ; but I may add, in former years, I believe that I have noticed t h e m earlier than the end of that month.—E. E. HILI., Gorleston. [Insect Migration is a broad subject with a large

OBSERVATIONS.

literature peculiar to it from the days of Captain Cook. T h a t our correspondent noted no air-currents is regrettable : Darwin i Heagle, 159) observed a Locust at 370 miles from the nearest land that was not opposed to the trade-wind. T h e above Bees are obviously the commonest Humbles (Bombus terrestris, Linn.), which vary in size from 12 to 22 mm. Imperfect vision, causing their attempt to raze the lighthouse, suggests infection by either the Isle-of-Wight Disease or that Acariasis which induces them to alight upon ant-hills, where the Ants speedily detach the debilitating Mites (Gamasus gymnopteriorum : Schrank proposed the longicorn-beetle genus Gymnopterion for Fabricius' earlier Molorchus).—Ed.] ECONOMY

METHOCA

ICHNEUMONIDES,

LATR.—Our

Hon.

Treasurer and we summed up all that had been hitherto ascertained upon the Continent (Arch. for Zool. 1903, 255 & 1906, 1 - 4 8 ; Tijds. Ent. 1909, 284) respecting this rare Fossor's life-history in 1911 (Trans. Ent. Soc. ii, 452), though nothing of the kind had been noticed in Britain. Now we are enabled to confirm its parasitism here upon the common Tiger Beetle, Cicindela campestris, L., by discovering a female actually in the burrow ol a larva of that beetle on 3 July last, in sandy soil at the base of an earth-bank at Minstead in Hants. From that burrow it had already dragged the larva, which was found three inches away, paralysed by its sting and incapable of more movement tlian ineffectual snapping of its great jaws whenever the Methoca approached them. Elsewhere Methoca worked its own sweet will, tapping the body at various points with its antennae and most atfectionately snuggling up to it. Actual oviposition was not witnessed, and that it had not taken place before the death of the parasite on 14th inst, was proved by the absence of anything emerging from the larva. Both parasites and larvae were found 'n proximity, though not necessarily associated, at the same spot about 4 p.m. during 15-8 July 1925. We possess Methoca females also from Luccombe Chine, I. Wight, on 20 Sept. 1912 and in July 1917 (E. C. Bedwell), where it was among and probably parasitic upon Cicindela germanica, L. ; Kidwelly in (-'armarthan during August 1906 (E. A. Butler) ; and a male trom St. Ives in Cornwall on 14 July 1928 (Revd. A. Thornley). Kidwelly is on the parallel of Colchester, but the species has not been noted in Essex or Suffolk since it was recorded (Ent. Annual 1866, p. 131) from both counties by Fred. Smith. LEPIDOPTERA I N 1930.—Agrophila sulphuralis, L., and the reck plume, Oxyptilus distans, Zell., were plentiful near orlington ; as were both Brephos notha, Hb., and Tceniocampa populeti, Fab., at Raydon Wood, where was also seen Vanessa polychloros, L., with Nemeobius lucina, L.—W. S. G I L L E S . , IJukes of Burgundy were last recorded thence on 23 May 1898 } Hocking, as abundant. We are delighted to hear of the species' persistence.—Ed.]

OBSERVATIONS.

CLOUDED YELLOWS IN 1 9 3 2 — A small and restricted influx of these Butterflies is reported by our M e m b e r s , during the Single m o n t h f r o m mid-August. Isolated examples of Colias Hyale, L., were observed only on 15 August in the D e b e n marshes at Hemley (Rev. A. P. Waller) and on 14 September in Playford warren (Miss King). T h e coramoner C. Edusa, Fab., has been on the wing for an even shorter span :—one or two males at Sizewell denes on 11 August ( M r . Morley) and by the marshes at Boyton Hall on l l t h and 12th (Miss K i n g ) ; several males at H e m i n g s t o n e f r o m l l t h to 21st (Mr. Crisp) and one, of doubtful sex, with the above C. Hyale on 15th (Rev. A. P. Waller). T h r e e females were on clover on 18th and 19th, with another specimen on 26th at Gorleston (Mr. Doughty), where also was taken a male on 20th (Mr. Moore). A füll half-dozen perfect examples were Aying at Lavender-beds of the Bawdsey cliff on 24th ( M r . T . N . W a l l e r ) ; and a final one was sighted on Gorleston cliff during 4 September ( M r . Doughty). An appeal in the Local Paper on 11 October revealed no f u r t h e r occurrences tili M r . Richardson saw a perfect female at Fiatford so late as 21 N o v e m b e r . WOOD-WHITE BUTTERFLY IN SUFFOLK.—A

single

individual,

presumably a male, of Leucophasia sinapis, L., flapped quite slowly and gently with its characteristic flight past, within a yard of me, as I was strolling within the edge of a wood a mile or so f r o m Haiesworth, at noon on 19 M a y last. Miss J e r m y n in 1827 records the species f r o m Raydon W o o d ; Bloomfield in 1890 considers it " almost extinct," instancing but one taken by H . H a w a r d about 1880 at Wherstead and others before 1860 : " only in a wood near S t o w m a r k e t " (Naturalist 1857, p. 255), N e e d h a m , and the above Raydon. N o t h i n g later is known of its occurrence in Suffolk : unless M r . H . R. Yates of Langham Road in Y a r m o u t h ' s capture of " a W o o d White, the first I have ever seen h e r e , " during 1890 (Naturalists' Gazette iii, no. 26, p. 13) were effected south of Breydon. L. sinapis is of local distribution throughout England, and has been erroneously recorded f r o m Norfolk (Trans. Norf. Soc. 1884, p. 6 8 3 ) ; our H o n . T r e a s u r e r and I found it in some small n u m b e r s about fields on 16-17 J u n e 1913 at Killaloe in Co. Cläre, with one Aying low down beside L o u g h Derg there. M r . Engleheart has given me o t h e r s ; and during April 1931 the closely allied L. Duponcheli, Stgr., was taken by D r . Vinter and m e at both Villeneuve and Brignoles on the Cöte d'Azur.—CLAUDE MORLEY. SMALL

BLUE

BUTTERFLY.—Chrvsophanus

minimus,

Fsl.,

was

very rare excepting in the Breck District and between Needham and Ipswich in 1890 (Bloomfield's List) : in both it still persists (Harwood & Platten). Also, we are glad to hear f r o m him that M r . E. A. Ellis took it at Gorleston during 1921. D o these three localities stand alone in our County ?

OBSERVATIONS.

" T H E ' C A M B E R W E L L BEAUTY.'—This a u t u m n has witnessed an unusual abundance of the scarce Vanessa Antiopa, commonly called the ' Camberwell Beauty.' About twenty specimens are supposed to have fallen to the lot of the county of Suffolk, mostly within the last ten days of August and the first ten days of September. T h e Rev. H . K. Creed captured one at C h e d b u r g h near Bury St. E d m u n d s , Messrs. J. and E. Edwards five at Tuddenham St. Mary's, M r . C. R. Collen one at Stowmarket, Mr. R. Kay one near Bury St. E d m u n d s , M r . James Parsons two near Ipswich, M r . W. Downes one at Bungay, Dr. W. M . White one at S u d b u r y ; one was taken at Crowfield Parsonage, one at Glemham, three at Bradwell, and M r . C. F. Ling captured three close to Ipswich. Hibernated specimens will probably appear next spring.—A. H . W R A T I S L A W , School Hall, Bury St. Edmunds, Oct. 4, 1872." [This Note, here printed literatim from Proc. Suffolk Institute of Archaeology, iv, 1872, p. 300, well illustrates one of the most prevalent years of V. Antiopa, Linn. It shows no less than a score that were actually netted, within about as many days, at such diverse localities as Bradwell near Yarmouth, Bungay and down through G l e m h a m to around Ipswich, then north-west to Crowfield and S t o w m a r k e t ; around Bury, at C h e d b u r g h and T u d d e n h a m ; with a southern erratic at Sudbury. Even more is one Struck by the presence of fully a dozen Lepidopterists already lying in wait for such things, as long ago as sixty years. Nevertheless, we advance : where they slew, we (I sincerely trust) spare and content ourseives with observing.] " Now and then a rare butterfly would appear at Hitcham, e.g. the Camberwell Beauty. Professor J. S. Henslow was in the rectory garden with Judge Eagle of Bury St. E d m u n d s , w h e n one settled on a w a l l ; M r . Eagle stood sentry while the Professor ran indoors for his n e t : it need hardly be added that the specimen still rests in his collection, now in the possession of his son-in-law Sir J. D. Hooker, F . R . S . " (E. Counties Mag. 1900, p. 110), who was good enough to teil us at that time that the " Henslow Collection " was being kept by M r . Leonard Henslow at Bath. W here is it now, thirty years after ? SPECKLED-WOOD BUTTERFLY'S EXTINCTION.—Woods near Baylham Hall, and in the Lanes near the R a c e - G r o u n d at Ipswich (Jermyn, 1827). It used to be common in shady parts of our garden at Otley Rectory sixty years ago (Bloomfield, in lit. 1907). Now become very rare ; and not seen by Morley, Ransom or Norgate (id.). Never seen alive ; but I remember one in Fox, the Woodbridge bookbinder's collection, taken in that vicinity many years ago (G. T . Rope, in lit. 1920). I have not seen a specimen (Nurse, 1911). For an account of its gradual disappearance in other English counties, cf. E n t o m . Ree. 1916, P- 122: it still abounds in at least the N e w Forest and woods

OBSERVATIONS.

about Peterborough.—The last Suffolk record known is the occurrence of two examples in the garden of Koolunga House in Gorleston during 1918 (noted by Mrs. Whitehead, nee Miss E. H. Roche; and seen by Mr. Ellis) : this garden seems little disturbed during the last Century, but its position in mid-town renders the specimens more likely introduced. Is Parage AF.ger Linn., extinct throughout the whole of Suffolk ? SMALL ELEPHANT HAWK.—" Not uncommon in sandy districts. Brandon, Tuddenham, Bury, Needham, Aldburgh, Bungav" (Suffolk List). Myfirstwas taken at Hinderclay in 1886, when I was curate of Rickinghall (PREB. A. P. WICKHAM, in lit. 28 Dec. 1931). One in the garden of Bosmere House in Ipswich (Henry Miller). Fairly common at Needham Market in 1922 (Platten). Occasionally in gardens at Waldringfield (Waller) and Gorleston (Moore) circa 1925. One at Staverton Thicks during June 1929 (T. G. Powell). Excepting about Needham, this species seems a good deal rarer than forty years ago : we have never seen it alive. DEIOPEIA PULCHELLA, Linn.—My younger son, N. H. Wilkinson, now a master at a school in Oxford, was a very keen collector of moths as a boy and his collection is still in this house. It includes one specimen of the Crimson-speckled Footman, which he caught here in 1922.—MAURICE E. WILKINSON, (Head of) Lodge School, Aldeburgh ; in lit. 13 Oct. 1932. [Such school collections, encouraged by prizes under Mr. Wilkinson, are not to be ignored ; and the presence of such immigrants should be always published for future.use. This one has been taken at sea, several times fullyfivehundred miles from land. It ranges throughout the old world, is recorded singly from Ipswich in 1871 (Entomol. v, p. 412) and Felixstow on 10 July 1892 (I.e. xxiv, p. 1°1) ; but not from Aldeburgh since Dr. Hele found a " very perfect specimen " among grass by the martello tower on 14 October 1876 (EMM. xiii, p. 138).—Ed.] A NOCTUA NEW TO SUFFOLK.—Mr. R. P. Demuth of 7 Holland Park Avenue, West London, captured two males of Caradrina (Hvdrilla) palustris, Hb., at the lights of his motor-car in a typ Breckland field of sandy soil growing coarse grass, sorrel, campion, etc., " near Mildenhall" on 18-19 June 1932 at respectively 11.30 p.m. and 1.45 a.m. None were there seen on 24 June (Fntom. 1932, p. 183). In Britain the species is recorded from marshes at only Comptons Wood near York, the Cambs fens, Carlisle (I.e., p. 147) and Norfolk, where one male (f.nt. Annual 1870, p. 124) was "taken by Barrett near Norwich by means of light in June 1869 : very like C. Morpheus with peculiarly th abdomen ; and by Lord Walsingham in the neighbourhood of Stamford " (MS. note in Crutwell's copy of Stainton Manual). Its discovery as a Breek insect goes to confirm Herr Raebel's^dry pine-wood habitat in Germany (Int. Entom. Zeit, vi, May 1930).

OBSERVATIONS.

OCCURRENCE OF BRYOPHILA, E T C . — T h i s year all Lepidoptera were very late, and Butterflies peculiarly scarce in usually " svvarming" localities; for this, last year's bad summer is possibly responsible. T h e orange-ochreous form of Bryophila perla, Fab., occurs in Gorleston and Hopton. B. muralis, Fst., var. impar, Warr., first appeared on Cambridge walls at the end of the July heat-wave, a week or more after early B. perla ; but on 15th cold rain set in, and no more B. impar were seen tili 21 st, when sunny weather returned, and emergence persisted well into August. Hence it seems to spend an indefinite period in the pupal stage, several days of heat being necessary to evoke the imago. T h e case is doubtless analogous in typical B. muralis, which I saw this year at Swanage as late as 25 August, and have previously taken more commonly there f r o m 77 July.—On a visit to Lough Erne, Co. Fermanagh, this year I noted larvae of Acronycta leporina, L. ; Amphipvra pyramidea, L. ; and larvse of Eupithecia virgaureata, Dbld., feeding commonly on ragwort. One would not expect, sec. South, to find these moths so far north or at all in Ireiand.—Caradrina Flymi, Tr., is a Suffolk insect, occurring in both 1929 and 1932 between Gorleston and Hopton, where its food-plant's persistence is rendered precarious by a b u n g a l o w - s e t t l e m e n t . — E .

P . WILTSHIRE.

[Our

Member

seems unaware that several local records are p u b l i s h e d : Tapinostola elymi, Kessingland Aying over flowers, one on Lowestoft denes at light and a few by searching the grass at sundown, June 1890 " (Adds. in Bloomfield's 1890 List) ; locally common at Kessingland in 1903 ( E M M . 1904, p. 80). Mr. Moore took it at Gorleston during July 1929.—Ed.] INSECTS, ETC., AT " SUGAR."—This peculiar method of attraction is known to every Lepidopterist; but has been little practised by Dipterists, to whose Flies it is almost equally alluring by day. Its discovery was first published by Henry Doubleday in T h e bntomologist during the 'forties, and " has been the means of revolutionising the Science [in Noctuina-moths. T o it come the Noctuina. T h e y have tubes for sucking flowers And are very fond of sucking : As we often see, m y Laura, W h e n we spread the moistened sugar Or the sweet and sticky treacle On the tree-trunks to attract them.—Insect H u n t e r s , 17.]

Species previously unknown have been discovered, and those that were previously of excessive rarity have become a b u n d a n t . " f ° r success a careful selection of both weather and locality must be made. Insects, as a whole, are moved by common w p u l s e s : warmth, humiditv and darkness combined, form the motive factors, for which one must wait, avoiding moonshine. oodland, marsh and arable each has its especial kinds : hence c hose, with no small care, a half-mile Stretch of wood leading rom near Blocka Hall down a sunk lane to the squelchy marshes ^est of Fritton Lake, and thence u p a sandy lane to the ploughed

OBSERVATIONS.

glacial-gravel of Fritton village. This beat was sugared nightly from the last day of August to the first of October ; and, though producing little of outstanding note, it afforded hundreds of moths, proof of Suffolk's amplitude of Noctuina in the fiftyfour kinds observed.* No more than three Geometers, and one day a Butterfly were noticed f ; and the disappointingly sparse individuals of the Micro-lepidoptera % brought the moths to a total of sixty-five kinds. Among the Beetles, named by Mr. Doughty, hardly a dozen species turned up,§ with a single specimen of Colembola. Orthoptera showed the ubiquitous Earwig, Forficula auricularia, L., with the Grasshoppers Meconema thalassinum, DeG., Leptophyes punctatissima, Bsc. and Stauroderus bicolor, Chp., named by our Hon. See., who adds a long list of twenty-nine Diptera, all noticed by day excepting the Gnats and Daddies.§§ Hymenoptera were extremely scarce, even in respect of wasps ; and none were seen during day . f f Of other animals, Mr. Morley notes a species of Opilo among the Arachnida ; common Centipede Lithobius forficatus, L., and Millepede Julus albipes, Koch, among the Myriapoda; Woodlice, Oniscus asellus, L., in Crustacea ; black and grey Slugs, Arion ater, L., and Limax arborum, Bch., in Mollusca; and several Toads, Bufo vulgaris, Laur., were attracted to the insects at the base of t r e e s . — J O H N L .

MOORE.

* T h e s e are, sec. M e y r i c k : — V e t u s t a , H b . ; o r n i t h o p u s , R o t t . ; protea, B k h . ; A p r i l i n a , L . ; flavicincta, F . ; oxyacanthse, L . ; l u n o s a , H w . ; citrago, L . ; f u l v a g o , F . , w i t h var. flavescens ; flavago, L . ; gilvago, Esp. ; circellaris, H u f . ; litura, L . ; pistacina, F . ; m a c i l e n t a , H b . ; Iota, Cl. ; satellitia, L . , b u t n o t tili O c t . ; ligula, E s p . , O c t . ; vaccinii, L . ; straminea, T r . ; y p s i l o n , R o t t . ; saucia, H b . ; s e g e t u m , S c h f . ; p u t a , H b . ; plecta, L . ; C - n i g r u m , L . ; r u b i , V w . ; u m b r o s a , H b . ; x a n t h o g r a p h a , F . ; glareosa, E s p . ; c o m e s , H b . ; p r o n u b a , L . ; fimbria, L . ; (dissoluta, T r . , light at B a r n b y ;) p y r a m i d e a , L . ; t r a g o p o g o n i s , H f n . ; testacea, H b . ; trapezina, L . ; (micacea, E s p . , at B a r n b y ;) q u a d r i p u n e t a t a , F . ; m o r p h s e u s , H f n . ; f u l v a , H b . ; m e t i c u l o s a , L . ; l u c i p a r a , L . , o n 1 2 t h only ; p o l y o d o n , L . ; batis, L . a n d l e u e o s t i g m a , H f n . , A u g u s t only ; d i d y m a , E s p . ; (nictitans, Bk., at G o r l e s t o n ;) costistrigalis, S t p h . ; rostralis, L . ; (libatrix, L., at B a r n b y ;) festucae, L . , one, actually o n s u g a r ; a n d n u p t a , L . f F l u c t u a t a , L . ; very dark T r u n c a t a , H f n . ; a n d T h e r a Pobeliscata, Hb. Vanessa A t a l a n t a , L . J P y r a l i s costalis, F . ; H v d r o c a m p a n y m p h s e a t a , L . ; a w o r n T o r t r i c i d ; C e r o s t o m a costella, St. ; E n d r o s i s fenestrella, S t . ; D e p r e s s a r i a applana, F . a n d D . arenella, S c h f . § C a r a b u s violaceus et g r a n u l a t u s , L . ; P r i s t o n y c h u s terricola, H b s t . ; A n c h o m e n u s dorsalis, MU. ; D r o m i u s m e r i d i o n a l i s et quadrinotatus, D e j . ; D . q u a d r i m a c u l a t u s , L . ; S i l p h a atrata, L . ; C y p h o n n i t i d u l u s , I § § S c i a r a sp., in p r o f u s i o n o n f e w trees ; D i l o p h u s febrilis, L . ; Anopheles m a c u l i p e n n i s , M g . ; C u l e x p i p i e n s , L . ; L i m n o b i a bifasciata, Sehr, and n u b e c u l o s a , M g . ; T i p u l a l u n a t a & oleracea, L . , p a l u d o s a & obsoleta, M g . ; R h y p h u s p u n e t a t u s , F . ; T a c h y p e z a n u b i l a , M g . ; Pollenia rudis, F . ; M e s e m b r i n a m e r i d i a n a ; C a l l i p h o r a e r y t h r o e e p h a l a & vomitona, L . ; Lucilla Caesar & sericata, M g . ; Polietes lardaria & albilineata, F l n . ; H y e t o d e s i a erratica & scutellaris, F l n . ; M y d a ; a u r b a n a , M g . ; Hylemyia strigosa, F . ; C h o r t o p h i l a Pstriolata, F l n . ; S c a t o p h a g a stercoraria ana m e r d a r i a , F . ; T e t a n o c e r a r o b u s t a , L w . a n d L a u x a n i a Elisse, M g . t f A m b l y t e l e s palliatorius, G r . ; L a s i u s n i g e r , L . ; M y r m i c a r u b r a , L t r . ; Vespa vulgaris, L .

OBSERVATIONS.

SOME INTERESTING MICROS.—At the end of J u n e and in July last I was staying at Reydon, and a few nice species occurred to me. At Frostenden were Grapholitha (Acroclita) ncevana, Hb., Elachista albifrontella, H b . and, abundantly among rushes, Glyphipteryx Thrasonella, Sc. I n the Bus marshes just north o f ' Southwold were Catoptria (Eucosma) cana, Hw., Eupcecilia (Phalonia) affinitana, Dgl. and Chrosis (Phalonia) tesserana, T r . Near the boat-pond I f o u n d Penthina (Endothenia) sellana, H b . and Scardia (Tinea) arcella, Fab. I n the same salt-marshes were Homcesoma eluviella, G u . (bincevella, Hb.) and Ephestia Kuhnieila, Zell. F r o m gorse bushes in a marshy lane in Reydon I beat a Lithocelletis that I believe is L. ulicicolella, Staint., hitherto recorded f r o m Suffolk only at Lowestoft by B o y d ; b u t my name needs confirmation, as I doubt if there be a second brood of this species. At the end of July I took, within an hour, on Bawdsey cliff near t h e s e a M i m c e s e o p t i l u s (Marasmarcha) phaodactylus, H b . , Catoptria (Eucosma) citrana, H b . , C. (E.) cana, H w . , Dicrorhampha (Hemimene) qucestionana, Zell, and Sphaleroptera (Eulia) ictericana, H w . (longana, Hw.). [ T h e last, typically coast, species was also taken inland at Beccles by Dr. Crowfoot, and is said to be of c o m m o n occurrence u p o n the Breck-sands in north-west Suffolk by F a r r e n (Entom. 1886, p. 108).—Ed.] However backward the spring may have been, m o t h s were u p to their normal period of appearance in July, w h e n the Revd. J. W . Metcalfe of Westcott and our M e m b e r , M r . RaitSmith, took Epichnopteryx reticella, N e w m . , in the extensive salt-marshes of the D e b e n , where by the middle of August such things as Agdistis Benneti, Curt. (Bloomf. 1900 Suppl. & E M M . 1902, p. 247), which was a b u n d a n t and forming its conspicuous Y-shaped outline w h e n at r e s t ; Tortrix viburniana, Fab. ; Catoptria (Eucosma) cemulana, Schi, (tripoliana, B a r r . ) ; Sericoris (Polychrosis) littoralis, C u r t . ; and Gelechia (Aristotelia) brizella, T r . ; were unusually f r e q u e n t among the herbage.—A. P. WALLER. COCKROACH I N BANANAS.—To-day a lady here gave m e another specimen of Panchlora nivea, Linn. (cf. supra i, pp. 94 and lxxxi), found by her among Bananas purchased in Gorleston. It would be interesting to know why this beautiful exotic Cockroach, unknown in our County before 1914, should now be of annual occurrence.—JOHN L . MOORE, 3 April 1932. [Members will kindly reply.—Ed.]

MORE LOCUSTS.—The small influx of Acridium Danica (Trans, supra i, p. 229) to Yorks, Norfolk and north Suffolk last a u t u m n , certainly extended as far south as Southwold, where a specimen now in m y collection was captured on T h e C o m m o n during September. I also possess a second, taken at the same place on 9 September 1921, during which year no immigration of the pest appears in entomological periodicals.—D. W . COLLINGS.

OBSERVATIONS.

T H E SUFFOLK A N T - L I O N — I was delighted to see Mr. Doughty's great discovery in your last " Transactions " and shall include lt in the Monograph of British Neuroptera that I am writing for the Ray Society's publication. I see no reason why Myrmeleon formicarius should not prove British ; but one must first prove breeding in Britain. T h e larvae should be sought in sheltered places : under ledges, in tufts of grass, among small bushes, etc. They are, even when common, rather gregarious, i.e. local within their locality. Search should be made on calm days, because the pits in which the larvae live fill up in windy weather. A scoop is handy to ensure getting the larvae, which are very quick in retreating below ground and very susceptible to disturbances. I should think June and July, perhaps also August, the most likely months in this country. I have always been looking out for it here near Southampton.—FREDK. J. KILLXNGTON, F.E.S. This proof of breeding in Britain yet remains to be adduced. M r . Ellis writes on 14 April 1932 :—I have suspected all the time that Mr. Doughty's specimen came over from southern Europe, air-borne. Why not ? That seems rather more probable to me than that assiduous Entomologists have missed it as a resident all this while. [Regulär diurnal search of palings, within a halfmile of that upon which the sole British exponent of this species occurred last year, throughout the whole of September has produced no second example.—Ed.] T H E THRESHER S H A R K . — A S I understand that our Aldeburgh Local Secretary, Mr. Rope, is at present away from home, I report that on 1 January 1932 my son saw a Thresher (Alopias vulpes, Linn.) landed upon the beach there, eighty-five and a half inches long. It was stunned by a stone on the jaws' nerve-centre, though not abrased ; and revived after being secured to a netbarrow, which it dragged along the shore. T h e visitor, who waded or swam out and secured the fish, was probably ignorant of its terrible whip !—J. C. HERRINGTON ; 2 Jan. 1932.

A LOWESTOIT L A M P R E Y . — A Beccles fishmonger was exhibiting an unusually large Petromyzon marinus, Linn., last January. The specimen is recorded in the Local Press as " just on three feet long, brought into Lowestoft " and the whole account, correct enough in its details, regards it as a deep-sea fish : usually it extends to no more than twenty-eight inches. In an ordinary way, it is much oftener seen along our tidal rivers and in summer, when it comes in to breed. Our sole records are of this kind, and upon the north border. T o these may now be added: " A fine one was netted in Breydon Water on 21 May 1909 ; but it undoubtedly becomes rarer in local waters there each year, owing to increasing sewage " (Tr. Norf. Nat. Soc. ix, p. 83). In the Waveney, at times in some numbers (loc. cit. xi, p. 600). It is occasionally netted on Gorleston beach (Doughty).

OBSERVATIONS.

THRUSHES W H I S T L E D . — I have always regarded T h r u s h e s as shy birds, but in my garden reside two which are so tarne that they will fly, in hope of a meal, to any window from which I whistle. At first only one bird came ; but now his mate comes as well. Both relish crushed sweet biscuits, and always pick out the largest pieces first, even though these necessitate strenuous contortions before they can be swallowed. If I neglect the pair too long, they corae to every window in t u r n until, by looking in, they discover where I am ; then they persist in Walking up and down the window-sill until attention is accorded them. Their presence was first noticed in my two bird-shelters, one of which is surrounded by rows of black thread that keep the Sparrozvs away, I suppose because they think the thread some kind of trap, though no other bird minds it in the least. At both these tables are numbers of great and little Tits, Robins, Thrushes and Blackbirds, who all come to eat biscuit, whereto for a treat I sometimes add chopped monkey-nuts and pudding-raisins : a local shop supplies half-pound packets of sweet biscuits wrapped in grease-proof paper. T h e male and female T h r u s h e s are building now in a Laurustinus-bush in the garden and make no secret of their nesting-place, as they collect bits of dead rushes from the Goldfuhpond and then fly straight home with this building material. Five dogs preclude " Grimalkin " setting foot in the place ; and this may account for the Birds' extreme tameness ; also many baths are distributed about the garden, so that they get plenty of water, and m u c h mixed bathing adds to its attractiveness.— MRS. CARLYON-HUGHES, T h e Chase Way, Dovercourt, Essex 20 March 1932. EARLY C U C K O O S . — I t will interest M r . R. S. Girling, who noticed two Cuckoos at W r e n t h a m on 3 March 1931 and 1930 (Proc. vol. i, p. lxxvi) to know that G. J. Schoby of Rochester finds " f r o m a series of careful records " that such curiously early occurrences follow an abnormally mild winter. H e thinks a few Cuckoos suffer some injury before the a u t u m n migration and, having n o option, they are obliged to remain here and lose their migratory mstinct. These, having been sustained on worms and occasional green-stuff during winter, sally forth in early March sunshine to be acclaimed precocious migrants (Daily Telegraph, 11 M a r c h 1932). It all sounds rather fantastic : but I suppose it is quite possible.—H.

LINGWOOD.

ANOTHER E A G L E . — " W e have been visited at Blaxhall and ^hillesford by a White-tailed Eagle (Haliatus albicilla, Linn.). ->ne of my keepers saw the bird and reported it, but did not know what it was. M r . Alastair Watson's keeper recognized

® b l r d near Orford, and reported it. M r . Watson told m e a tortnight ago that the Eagle was still there : but perhaps he LAS gone home for Christmas ! " ( L O R D ULLSWATER, in lit. 2 6 Dec.

OBSERVATIONS.

1931).—Referring to the Press report of a similar Eagle, slain by a shootist at Whitfield near Dover on 8 March, the Revd. A. P. Waller " fears our H. albicilla is shot, alas ! I am glad lt was not brought down in Suffolk " (in lit. 14 March) and to have the Home Secretary's assurance in the House on 17th that " proceedings were being instituted against the person who killed it, contrary to the Kent Wild Birds Order." His sentence was too light. SUTTON HAWKS.—As its keeper for a decade preceding 1928, C. H. Hills reports to the Local Paper last February that he observed no less than eight species of Hawks in the small Firebrass Wood on the middle of Sutton Heath. Its timber is mainly larch, chestnut and Scots-pine, which he considers self-sown ; but all Suffolk heath-firs are planted by former, public-spirited owners, and this wood is termed by the Ordnance map " Long Plantation near Hatchley Barn." Enumerated are the Hen Harrier (<Circus cyaneus) that nest, rest and sleep among heather, and whose food as shown by Castings consists of small birds, field-mice, frogs, lizards (Lacerta vivipara) and even snakes (Tropidonotus natrix), apparently not uncommon in this district.— Common Buzzards (Buteo vulgaris) were sometimes mobbed by both Jays (Garrulus glandarius) and Hooded Crows (Corvus cornix), common near our coast in winter : we saw it in Butley on 5 Feb. 1932—White-tailed Eagle (Halicetus albicilla) occurred but once and was mercifully not slain, its swoop brought a fullgrown rabbit to an untimely e n d : " probably a young bird, driven south by stormy weather."—Sparrow-hawks (Accipiter nisus) were numerous, and regularly nested.—Peregrines, locally termed " Bull-necked Hawks " (Falco peregrinus), came in each autumn with the pigeon-flocks upon which they preyed, and could be deluded by decoy-pigeons.—Merlins (Falco cesalon) were rarer than Harriers. But Kestrels (Falco tinnunculus) occurred fairly commonly.—We are glad to learn that in this wood a small Heronry (Ardea cinerea) is still maintained.

This plainly illustrates what keepers could teil us, though they so rarely do, of local fauna ; and also how inadequately their bag is represented on " Keeper's Trees." In that vicimty, at Foxhall on 24 May last, such a larder contained no more than a dozen Hedgehogs (Erinaceus Europcsus, L.), four Stoats (Putonus ermineus, L.) or Weasels (P. nivalis, L.) whose bodies were too indurated to determine, one Jay, and a bird of prey that was probably a Merlin. But towards the south-west, in Raydon Wood on 19 May were the carcases, all in a desiccated condition, of both Stoats and Weasels, just a score of poor Hedgehogs, several Sparrow Hawks, Buzzard, two or three Hooded Crows, a good many Jays and a single Magpie (Pica rustica, Scop.)of which isolated specimens were seen Aying at Ubbeston on 21 May and north Holton on 6 June. So well are vermin represseü

OBSERVATIONS.

in the New Forest that a keeper's-tree on 22 July showed only fourteen Stoats or Weasels, one Hedgehog, a Sparrow Hawk and a Magpie. INTRUDING P A R R O K E E T . — I t may be of interest to record that there was a green Parrokeet in Fakenham for some three weeks during October and N o v e m b e r 1931. It roosted in a tree at t h e back of ir.y Old Rectory ; and we tried feeding it with maize, but it never eat any, and I can't imagine what it lived on. T h e Rooks mobbed it a good deal, and it finally disappeared on 14 November : I wonder if anyone elsewhere saw it after that date ? I think it must have been Palceorins torquatus : anyhow it was very similar to that species.—R. B. C A T O N . MIGRANTS L A T E . — U p to the present time, a single Lesser Whitethroat (Sylvia curruca, L.), that was observed at T h e M e r e here at 11.30 a.m. on 11 M a r c h , is the sole migrant either seen or heard this year. A Duck's double-yoked egg was shown m e last week : the internal egg was approximately the size of an ordinary Bantam's and its shell was complete ;" both shells were of the normal green colouration.—H. de M U S S E N D E N - L E A T H E S , major, Earls Soham ; 12 April 1932. LATE-NESTING C U R L E W . — I saw a Stone Curlew ((Edicnemus scohpax, Gm.), brooding two eggs on waste land by Wantisden Heath, on 24 August 1932. T h e eggs successfully hatched on 4 September, which is a very late date for these birds, M a y being the usual m o n t h for incubation. I was informed by a thoroughly competent observer that, on this same restricted area of ground, in late J u n e a couple of young Stone Curlews were approaching the stage of " running " with their parents. It seems the more natural inference that both broods were offspring of the same pair, t h a n that two pairs were involved. T h i s inference is interesting, because most authorities seem to think our species lays again only in the event of misfortune having overtaken the first clutch.—T. G. P O W E L L .

exhilarating t r a m p over the Icenhild 7 between Lackford a n d T h e t f o r d on 25 M a r c h showed u p early \ \ heatears {Saxicola aenanthe, L.) and Stone Curlews [Edicnemus scolopax, Gm.). Near the beginning of the m o n t h a sohtary M a g p i e (Pica rustica, Scop.) was seen on Risby D o w n s ; it is the first I have ever noticed in western Suffolk, but was very sny and would not let m e get within three h u n d r e d yards, t h o u g h observed it plainly t h r o u g h my glasses.—HENRY A N D R E W S . An albino Starling, except in respect to the tail-feathers 20 f T V u l " a r i s ' L 0 w a s i n m y N e e d h a m Market garden o n would not allow fnr uary' but me to approach near enough «r a photograph. O n t h e previous day three Swans flew over m a r k ? " ' ° n l y j U S t c l e a r o f t h e h o u s e s > i n t h e direction of Stownr« ui m i d " d a y : simply Aying f r o m one pond to another, i esumably. Referring to the rarity at F a k e n h a m of the Siskin OTHER B I R D N O T E S . — A n

OBSERVATIONS.

(Carduelis spinus, L. : supra i, p. 167), I may add that this bird is fairly common in some winter seasons near the River Gipping here feeding on Alder. Formerly the bird-dealers used to get it among Alders in meadows of the Gipping near Bramford rystation ; but fortunately the majority escaped, as they are smaller than the mesh of the bird-nets : some, however, were caught in trap-cages and by bird-liming.—E. W. PLATTEN. I have seen only one Carrion Crow (Corvus corone, L.) this season, and no skins of Rats and other prey, eaten by that crow, though in previous years there have been many on both the land and the seashore. [Hooded Crows (C. cormx, L.) have been common : we noted the species at, inter aha, Butley on 2/ January last.—Ed.] I have never known so many Grey Plovers (Squatarola Helvetica, L.) as this winter, when they did not leave tbe district tili after 3 April, later than is usual I think. Not a Single Golden Plover (Charadrius pluvialis, L.) has been observed, though flocks of them are generally to be seen upon certain fields here.—R. S . GIRLING, Wrentham ; 1 2 April 1932 When I was a boy and living at Reydon, which is still a real sanctuary for marsh birds, Redstarts (Ruticilla phamcurus, L.) were very c o m m o n ; and so they continued until about 191/ when they entirely disappeared. Next about 1923 I noticed a pair at Dunwich, but have not seen one smce then. I was pleased to hear, from his recent letter in the Local Paper, that the Bishop had seen Redstarts near Ipswich as lately as last year. T h e r e is at the moment—mid-April, 1932—a Magpie's nest (Pica rustica, Scop.) within sight of this house : but I do not mention it locally, or someone would be certain to destroy it !— C. P. RUNNACLES, Godwins Place, Hoo. Several nesting-boxes were put up at Whalebone House in Buxhall by Captain Havard. One in a Walnut-tree is tenanted by a Kestrel (Falco tinnuncidus, L.) with five young, now about a week old. T h e hole into the box is 3f inches Square; and no materials are introduced for the nest, which I climbed up to view • a Singular nest. Another box there, with similar sized hole, was the home of Barn Owls {Strix flammea, L.), which are now flown. At Minsmere in Dunwich, I recently observed a fine Marsh Harrier (Circus aeruginosus, L.) ; I believe lts mate has been caught and kept in captivity by the head keeper ol Glemham Hall, where my brother saw it.—H. COPINGER H I L L , Buxhall Rectory, Suffolk ; 10 June 1932. An almost totally white Partridge (Perdix cinerea, Lath.) was here last autumn ; its wings and tail are quite white and, when Aying, it reminded me of a Ptarmigan ; it has escaped the shooting season and is still going strong on 24 February 1932.—Yesterday, the 23rd, I saw a Buzzard (Buteo vulgaris, Lch.), that the keepers had reported as a large Hawk ; and I have no doubt as to the species, as I was not very far off and had my binoculars on i t : the last I have heard of here was in December 1926.—The

ARRESTED

ACACIA

SAP.

FRITTON

' SUGARED.'

OBSERVATIONS.

REVD. R. B. CATON, Fakenham, Suffolk. [Mr. Caton on 31 March " saw the corpse of the latter as a Keeper's T r o p h y ! " Later in the spring he heard of two more specimens ruthlessly slain.] A N EARLY B A T . — I saw a Pipistrelle flittering u p and down Thanet Road, near the Park in Margate, for some time a little before noon with the sun shining, on 16 January. I watched it carefully, Struck by t h e curious time of both day and year. Of course, this was in Kent, but I made a note of the circumstance, as any good Suffolk Naturalist would !—GRACE WATSON. [None appeared at Monks' Soham tili 26 M a r c h . — E d . ] ANTLERS AND H O R N S . — A very definite, though often overlooked, distinction exists between these appendages. Antlers are borne by onlv the male sex, they are of more or less solid bone (osseus), and annually shed : e.g. Deer. H o r n s are borne by both sexes though fre^uently of different development, they are of hollow horn (corneus) and p e r m a n e n t : e.g. Antelopes, Oxen, Narwhal.— HENRY ANDREWS. ORWELL F A U N A . — A Kingfisher (.Alcedo ispida, L.) was seen Aying up and down the dock, among the shipping, close to Stoke Bridge, in Ipswich for some time on 11 December ; perhaps recent frosts had caused fish in the Gipping's higher tributaries to cling so closely to the bottom as to be inaccessible, t h o u g h no food was visible about the dock and he would hardly feed upon the millions of S h r i m p s (ICrangon vulgaris, Fab.), which may be observed in great companies round the walls and piles there. One day last October I went down the River Orwell to I'inmill from Ipswich, and was pleased to find bird-life very numerous all the way. Considerable n u m b e r s of Curlew (ZV umenius arquata, L.), Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo, L.), Heron (Ardea cinerea, L.) and Snipe (Gallingo ccelestis, Fren.) were seen, the first being strikingly abundant. T h e Cormorants appeared to have a regulär perching-place about midway down, on a wreck in the m u d of the north bank ; many were seen fishing, and to come u p after each dive with an Eel (Anguilla vulgaris, I urt.) of which some were distinctly ponderable. Great l u m p s of beautiful and clean red-brown peat were being dredged in mid-channel near P i n m i l l ; and the dredger brought up, that day, from the peat of the river-bed some large Antlers, possibly of Reindeer [for Protozoa, Porifera (sponge spiculae), Birch, "ine, Alder (?), and bones of the above probable Rangifer tarandus, with those of Bison priscus, Rhinoceros tichorhinus and Elephas prtmigenius, in peaty loam of the Gipping valley ; also Elephas pnmtgenius, E. antiquus and E. meridionalis, etc., dredged f r o m bed of Orwell e s t u a r y : cf. Proc. Prehist. Soc. E. Anglia vi, Pl- in, pp. 194-208.—Ed.] which were rescued f r o m one of the BEF RE H tip 1931 ° P e d I T S L O A D - — R I C H A R D STILES, i n l i t . 1 1 Dec.