Notes and Observations 8 Part 1

2

THE COYPU

Several deep ditches connected with the pond and they in turn linked up with a main watercourse. Mr. Haslam's opinion is that the Coypu " got off course " from the main watercourse and finding itself deprived of its natural food, helped itself to a little kale.

The Coypu does not appear to be a prolific breeder like the rat, although 250 are reported to have been trapped over the past 6 years by the Norfolk Pests Officer in the belief that they were responsible for damage. Observation has now altered this opinion, but it is probably desirable that the animal's numbers should be kept in check.

GREY SQUIRREL, Sciurus carolinensis, Gmelin. A grey squirrel was shot on this estate about two years ago by one of our keepers.

I saw it running about for a week before we were able to shoot it, but have never seen one since. I am quite sure that it was in fact a grey squirrel, as before coming to Suffolk I was in an area where these pests are common (L. Lithgow, Ampton Estate, Bury St. Edmunds, in lit., Sept., 1952). I know of only one other confirmed report of the presence of grey squirrel in this county when four were shot on Major Llewellyn Davies' estate at Herringswell, two in January, 1947 and two in early March, 1947 (C. Bowers, Pests Officer, W. Suffolk A.E.C., in lit., Sept., 1952). There have been persistent rumours for some years that this animal has been seen in the county, but the above are the first two confirmed records. Mr. Boreham says (in lit., Aug., 1951) that he can find no trace of it near Bury St. Edmunds, but that the red squirrel, S. vulgaris leucourus, Kerr, is common in that district particularly in the three Fornhams and West Stow. It is to be hoped that the destruction of these, the firstcomers, has for the moment prevented its spread into the rest of the county. T h e grey squirrel can look very red at certain seasons of the year, as can the red squirrel grey : there is an admirable series of coloured plates of the seasonal coat changes of the grey squirrel in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, vol. 121, pt. iv., Feb., 1952, which would prove useful should this pest once more reach Suffolk.* HARVEST MOUSE, Micromys minutus soracinus, Herman.

Early in July this year I watched a harvest mouse feeding upon seeds of cocksfoot grass by the roadside in Fornham St. Genevieve.

(H. J. Boreham, in lit., Aug., 1951). A dozen or more harvest mice were seen when we were threshing a Stack of s. 143 Cocksfoot for seed at Great Glemham. (D. Dow, Feb., 1952). *I have just received the skull of a grey squirrel shot at N o r t o n this m o n t h . C . Nov. 1952.

MAMMALS

3

B A D G E R , Meies m. meles, Linn.

Düring the last three months it has been my pleasure with the help of two keepers to locate five badger sets, three in Essex and two in East Suffolk. The two East Suffolk sets are within seven miles of Ipswich and from both the badgers have turned out their winter bedding. Badgers mate in October and the period of gestation is 16-18 weeks, so the cubs, which are born blind and helpless, may be expected to venture forth in April. T h e best time to see badgers is between 11 p.m. and 2.45 a.m. and it is essential to approach them up wind. The West Suffolk badgers are known to many, now East Suffolk is on the map so far as badgers are concerned (H. Drake in lit., 3.4.52).

I saw recently in the light of my car headlights a badger crossing the Saxmundham /Framlingham road and have subsequently found that there is an earth in this Parish. (C. H. Kerr-Smiley, Rendham, October, 1952).

F I E L D V O L E , Microtus agrestis hirtus, Bellamy.

My cat brought in two field voles to-day. I have not observed it to have caught this species before (E. T . Goldsmith, 11.4.52). (I have frequently seen cats eating Microtus, a creature which would overrun the countryside were its numbers not kept in check by carnivorous animals and birds. T h e same is probably true of the bank vole, Clethriononys glareolus britannicus, Miller, though to the human nose the flesh of this latter has a most unpleasant smell. That of Microtus smells much more appetising, certainly some of the closely allied voles from high altitudes in the mountains of southeast Asia are quite palatable. C.).

R A B B I T , Oryctolagus cuniculus, Linn.

It was during 1935 that I first observed black rabbits at West Stow Sewage Farm, and one or two have been observed there nearly every year since, but it was not until this year, on May Ist, 1952, that I noticed two which were of unusual colour. The flanks were light fawn, backs almost red, a shade or two lighter than that of the red squirrel. They were about three-quarter grown and appeared to be of the same litter, both using the same hole (Henry J. Boreham, May, 1952). (Black wild rabbits are not uncommon and in some country districts the objects of superstitious beliefs : in one area in Somersetshire in 1915, they were said to be the temporary abode of the spirits of witches, it was considered unlucky to kill them and I was told that the proportion of black rabbits was increasing rapidly. In Wigtownshire, in 1952, they are called " Meenisters " and said to be inhabited by the spirits of departed clerics, but nobody objects to killing them. T h e skull of many tame rabbits differs from that of wild rabbits in the shape and structure of the posterior limb of the postorbital process : in some cases odd coloured wild rabbits have an infusion of tame rabbit blood, which might also show itself in the skull. The Mammal Recorder would be pleased to receive the skins and skulls of any odd-coloured wild rabbits for study purposes. C.).

4

MAMMALS

Y E L L O W - N E C K E D F I E L D M O U S E , Apodemus flavicollis wintoni, Barrett Hamilton. Little is known of the distribution of this animal in the county though it has been reported from a n u m b e r of places. T h e r e is in the B.M. a specimen from Woolpit, Ticehurst (Trans. S.N.S. II, p. 17, 1932) knew it only from Tostock," Andrews (loc. c i t , I I I , pp. 214 and 309, 1937) reported it f r o m Mendlesham and Higham. Since then it has been reported f r o m Woodbridge (Rev. H. A. Harris, 1949) Fiatford (Report CPFS 1951) Great Glemham (Cranbrook, 1951), Melton ( D r ' P H . Martin, F.R.C.P., 1952), Dunwich (Mrs. G a m t y , 1952) Newbourne (S. Somerville, 1952). Even less is known of the animal's distribution in Norfolk. " I have never come across flavicollis in East Norfolk, despite having looked out f o r it often I have been told that it occurs near W y m o n d h a m (in chalky boulder-clay country) and that is all I have ever heard of it in Norfolk " (E. A. Ellis, in lit., 5.4.52). It is probable that it exists side by side with the common long-tailed field mouse (A. s. sylvaticus, Linn.) throughout the country, but has not been reported, since few people distinguish between t h e m In general A. flavicollis is decidedly larger and with a longer hind foot while the yellow ehest spot frequently forms a complete collar T h e skull too is more massive and angular and in case ot doubt the head should be skinned, boiled and cleaned: the skull can then be kept for further identification. A note of the sex and body measurements of the animal should be attached to the skull.

T h e following table gives the comparative sizes of the two animals (The tail and head and body should be measured with the tail held out at right angles to the body.)

A. flavicollis.

A. sylvaticus.

(Average and extremes in millimetres)

Head and body Tail, excluding hairs at the tip Hind foot from heel to to of

108 (102-115) 107 (92-115) ^

95 (90-105) 90 (79-99) ^

Ear f r o m meatus I ...... 17.5 (17-19) 15.5 (15-16) Both animals occur in wcods, hedgerow, gardens etc., and both will go into gresnhouses, potting sheds, and on occasions actually into houses : both can easily be topped m the «rdinary " little nipper " type of mouse trap, though the sort which has the bait fixed to a hook instead of on a platform is better : the latter type goes off directly the victim places his forefeet on the platform and invariably damages the skull. Members who are interested might set a series of traps in appropriate p l a c e s - s c h o o l children could be encouraged to do i t - a n d keep a record of the animals so obtained. T h e majority will doubtless be A. sylvaticus with probably voles and house mice as w e l l - t h e numbers of each, if trapping is carried out over a considerable penod, would give some indication of the relative numbers.

C.

23

GEOLOGICAL

SECTION.

SINCE the formation of the Section only one report has been received for inclusion in the record, therefore, only a few observations from the Ipswich area appear.

Westerfeld. Gravel Pit in Church Lane. This is a deposit of glacial gravel, highly contorted in parts and including rafts of chalky boulder clay. The working of this pit is now discontinued.

Barking. Chalk Pit of Needham Chalks Ltd. The section shows boulder clay resting on the chalk. The lower part of the boulder clay is separated from the upper by a series of mainly lenticular beds of calcareous silts, etc. These beds are the results of melt water draining gently from below an ice sheet.

This section is important in showing, if not an example of deposits of two glaciations, at least a re-advance of the ice after a temporary retreat. The site needs to be kept under Observation and the erratics collected separately from the lower and Upper clays, only thus can the possibly separate character of the deposits be determined.

Creeting St. Mary. Broom Hill, etc. There is a series of pits in this hill, which is described byProf.P. G.H.Boswell*asesker-like, and he refers to the gravels as being erratics from the boulder clay.

A recent inspection of these pits has shown many of the erratics to be Basalt and Rhyolite, the former resembles the Derbyshire Toadstone and may reasonably be supposed to have come from the Peak district. No other local site has yielded so much basalt and it is evident these gravels are outwash from the morainic material of an earlier glaciation, perhaps " Mindel," or second phase of the Ice Age. The gravels are covered and cut into by the Upper Chalky Boulder Clay which may be of the " Riss " glaciation, and contains large boulders of Spilsby Sandstone and ferruginous limestone from Lincolnshire. At the base of the Creeting Hill, which rises to over two hundred feet, are from twenty to thirty feet of whitish sands, remarkably free from stones.

The sands appear to rest on the chalk which was formerly exposed in an abandoned pit at the corner of the lane at Jack's Green.

Occasionally fossil vertebrae of Jurassic reptiles are found in the gravels, commonly those of Icthyosaurs and Pleisiosaurs. H. E. P. Spencer. * M e m o i r of Geological Survey.

" T h e C o u n t r y around I p s w i c h " 1927.

30

FOSSIL FROM CHALK DÜRING August, 1940, whilst making his air-raid shelter, M r .

W . Thurlow of Grove Park Road, Bury St. Edmunds, drew my attention to a huge object which he had come across after cutting through one foot of soil and sub-soil and five feet of chalk. I collected as many fragments as I could find hoping to reconstruct the fossil, but, unfortunately, many pieces were missed owing to the difficulty of seeing them. I was, however, able to reconstruct one fragment which measures six inches by three and three-quarter inches and appears to have been two or three feet in breadth.

I submitted fragments of the above fossils to M r . Richard V. Melville of the Geological Survey Museum, who replied as follows : " Your fossils are mostly pieces of Inoceramus lamarcki Parkinson var. cuvieri J. de C. Sowerby, a form with an extended ränge in the Upper Chalk, but especially common in the Coranguinum Zone . . . It is interesting to note that you also have two fragments of Inoceramus involutus J. de C. Sowerby, a species also practically confined to the base of the Coranguinum Zone. T h e horizon of your finds is thus pretty definitely fixed. Inoceramus lamarcki var. cuvieri can easily attain a breadth of three feet and I have seen imperfect specimens even larger than this."

Attached to the last mentioned shell were the remains of the tubes of Serpulid worms, two Polyzoa—Actinopora complanata (Römer) and Leptocheilopora tenuilabrosa Lang, and the encrusting sponge—Porosphaera sessilis Brydone. On another piece of shell were two specimens of a cyclostomatous Polyzoan which is probably Discocavea sp., but one cannot be certain as it is worn.

All the above mentioned were kindly determined by Dr. H .

Dighton Thomas, of the British Museum, and have been m corporated in their geological collection. JOHN L. GILBERT, Wansford.

NOTES AND CORRECTIONS ON A GEOLOGICAL DISCOVERY AT HARKSTEAD. (See Volume V I I , Part I I I , Page 117) Transactions for 1951.

SINCE the publication of the notes on my finds in the Lower Eocene Beds exposed at Harkstead, East Suffolk, and the reference to certain deposits and fossils found at the old Kyson Bnckfield, near Woodbridge, some corrections and additions to my statements have proved necessary.

T h e fossils of the Kyson Brickfield were obtained in the year 1839 by M r . W . Colchester of Ipswich and some were drawn and described by Sir Richard Owen in " British Fossil Mammals

SUFFOLK LUMBRICIDAE

33

Genus. Eisenia. Malm em Michaelsen.

8. Eisenia fcetida (Savigny). Sudbury, Glemsford, Cavendish.

9. Eisenia rosea (Savigny).

Sudbury, Glemsford, Hadleigh.

10. Eisenia veneta (Rosa) var. hortensis (Michaelsen).

Sudbury.

Genus. Eiseniella. Michaelsen.

11. Eiseniella tetraedra (Savigny), forma typica.

(River Stour).

Sudbury

Genus. Lumbricus. Linne.

12. Lumbricus castaneus (Savigny). Sudbury.

13. Lumbricus festivus (Savigny), Sudbury, Glemsford.

14. Lumbricus rubellus (Hoffmeister).

15. Lumbricus terrestris (Linnaeus). leigh.

16.

Sudbury.

Sudbury, Cavendish, Had-

Genus. Octoclasium. (Oerley).

Octoclasium lacteum (Oerley). Sudbury.

A Nematode. Whilst collecting from the Newbournian Red Crag at Felixstowe during August, 1942, I accidently squashed an earwig (F. auricularia) that was hiding in a fossil shell.

Immediately a nematode, about the size and colour of Mermis myrmecophila emerged from it.

I have recently been able to name this species by the aid of Dr. T. Goodey's " Soil and Freshwater Nematodes " (Methuen) as Mermis nigrescens, Dujardin. Dr. Goodey teils us that the worms occur most abundantly in June, eggs are laid, and the further development depends on these eggs being eaten by some suitable insect, such as an earwig or grasshopper.

JOHN L .

GILBERT,

Wansford, Peterborough.

34

ENTOMOLOGICAL NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. NOTES ON THE SEASON 1952, M A I N L Y F R O M SUFFOLK. There was not much on the wing in the Stowmarket area until February 24th when Theria rupicapraria, Hbn. and Erannis marginaria, Borkh. appeared at light, followed on the 29th by Anisopteryx aescularia, Schiff.

I spent a week on the Devon-Somerset border at Easter, but owing to the cool nights very little appeared at light or at sugar and only the common Orthosias at sallow bloom.

Back in Suffolk, on April 19th, Lycia hirtaria, Clerck., Selemia tetralunaria, Hufn., and a pale grey form of Orthosia incerta, Hufn., and Coenotephria nigrofasciaria, Goeze, were taken in the Barking woods. Three larvae of Aporophyla lutulanta, Borkh., were found after dark at Knodishall on May 3rd, but only one reached the pupal stage. On May l l t h , at Butley, Hippocnta jacobaea, Linn., was common on the wing and later in the year the ragwort plants in this area were stripped by their larvae.

There was also a number of Painted Lady butterflies about in the sunshine, an unusual sight in East Suffolk where I have always found this insect rather uncommon. On June lOth, Plagodis dolabraria, Linn., came to house lights and on the 14th I took a Single Lithostege griseata, Schiff, at Barton Mills. I visited Icklingham with Messrs. John and Geoffrey Burton on the 21 st where they took several Anepia irregularis, Hufn., and kindly gave me a couple of specimens. Subsequently I discovered young larvae of this species on heads of the foodplant, but only three reached the pupa stage. Incidentally, they fed upon a mixture of silene otites, various garden rockery pinks and carnation flower buds. We also found Mesotype virgata, Rott, Aying quite commonly at Icklingham. A visit to the same spot at 2 a.m. on the way home from Wicken Fen only produced a larva of Calocampa exoleta, Linn., a species not often seen in Suffolk, but unfortunately it failed to pupate. A male and female Zeuzera pyrina, Linn., were found at rest on a bean stick on July 8th and two specimens of the pretty little pyrale Loxostege sticticalis, Linn.

Nothing much of interest appeared during the rest of July except two Sarrothripus revayana, Scop., on the 20th and 30th. I was away in Scotland for the first fortnight of August. On my return I had a full-fed larva of Hyloicus pinastri, Linn., given to me. It was found at Great Finborough. This, in conjunction with a moth found at Stowmarket in 1950, seems to indicate that the species is spreading westwards from its headquarters nearer the coast, or has it been overlooked ?

On August 23 I visited a small area of marsh near Thorpeness in the Company of Messrs. J. and G. Burton, who had brought their mercurv vapour lamp. Among the large number of moths

E N T O M O L O G I C A L NOTES A N D

OBSERVATIONS

35

attracted were twelve species of wainscot, Tripraena fimbriata, Linn., Pheosia gnoma, Fabr. = dictaeoides, Esp., Euxoa cursoria Hufn., Tholera cespitis, Fabr., Earias clorana, Linn., and Schrankia costaestrigalis, Steph. On the 24th I took a melanic Cleora rhomboidaria, Schiff. = Gemmaria, Brahm., at Stowmarket, while with the Burtons and A. E. Aston at Staverton woods on the 30th we took two specimens of Stilbia anomala, Haw., several Caradrina ambigua, Fabr., Leucania albipuncta, Fabr., Ennomos erosaria, Borkh., and Semiothisa liturata, Clerck. According to the memoirs, S. anomala, Haw., has only once before been recorded from Suffolk. Mr. Aston also took a fine Herse convolvuli, Linn. H. E. C H I P P E R F I E L D .

T H E SEASON 1952 I N S U F F O L K .

As a result of the unusually early influx of migrants in March, a specimen of the Painted Lady (Pyrameis cardui, Linn.) was seen on March 18th near Haiesworth.

At this time a large batch of hibernated Arctia villica, Linn. (F.2. gen.) were feeding well, but the resultant moths were disappointing, very few showing even minor Variation. Pupae of wild larvae of Celastrina argiolus, Linn., were brought indoors and produced butterflies. About 40% of the pupae were the hosts of the ichneumon fly Listrodromus nycthemerus, Grav. Düring the Easter period in the fine weather prevailing, a search for Nymphalis polychloros, Linn., in its former haunts near Henham and Frostenden was unsuccessful. Vanessa atalanta, Linn., however, was more noticeable than usual during the spring months. Light at Frostenden on April 19th attracted a fewPolyploca ridens, Fabr.

Selenia tetralunaria, Hufn., and a melanic Eupithecia abbreviata, Steph. A visit to Belstead's sadly skeletonised woods on May 3Ist confirmed the continued presence of Boarmia punctinalis, Scop. = consortaria, Fabr., subsequently reared to the pupal stage from ova obtained. Drymonia trimacula, Esp., Tethea or, Fab., and Eilema sororcula, Hufn., were also observed.

Trunk searching on Fritton Warren on June Ist revealed several Celama confusalis H. - S., a Single Ellopia prosapiaria, Linn., and an Apatele leporina, Linn. Pupae of the latter kept indoors did not emerge until the end of the month and early July. On June 8th, Mr. G. Todd and a friend came in quest of the larvae of Nonagria neurica, Hübn. We searched for a couple of hours among the swarms of larvae of N. geminipuncta, Haw., and Arenostola phragmitidis, Hübn. The only N. neurica, Hübn., was one found by myself, but too near pupation to be recognised as a larva which in spite of its disturbance and eviction from the reed, pupated and produced a male on July 5th. As evidence, the chief point of interest is that the pupal Chamber was in the upper half of the same reed that the larva had fed in and not in an old reed as generally supposed. The window was small and circular. On passing through Bury St. Edmunds on July 12th

36

ENTOMOLOGICAL NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS

I saw a few larvae of Calocalpe cervinalis, Scop. = certata, Hübn., on the now almost exterminated Barberry.

The last Coenotephria berberata, Schiff. I saw was in May, 1949, sc> I fear it may now be extinct there. Several Nonogria neurica, Hubn were taken at several different places between July 12th and 30th when it was badly worn. This suggests that it occurs in all the coastal marshes at suitable spots. A fewEremobia ochroleuca, Esp Scopula rubiginata, Hüfn., and 5 . emutaria, Hubn., were also taken. Mr. F. H. Lyon, staying at Thorpeness, told me he had taken there Sterrha ochrata, Scop., worn by June ZSth. There were also numbers of larvae of Malacosoma castrensis, Linn, on Havergate Island. On the unpropitious night of August 7th at Easton a single specimen of Nola albula, Hübn. (not long before added to the Suffolk list by Mr. Chippcrficld), came to the sheet in ample compensation for the meagre bag. On beating pines at Herringfleet on August 17th dislodged several near y full-fed larvae of E. prosapiaria, Linn.

These usual y hibernate when small, but in this instance they pupated shortly afterwards and moths emerged from September 6th to 9th. Une Colias croceus, Fourc., was seen at Dunwich on August J l s t .

P. J.

BURTON.

LEPIDOPTERA AT LIGHT IN 1 9 5 2 .

I a m n o longer a b l e to do

active work in the field, but my two grandsons, Alfred and John Waller, have been working a light-trap which I gave them and this, with the local public telephone box has produced really interesting results. Out of a hundred or more species, ten have turned up which I had not seen here in this particular distnct during hlty years collecting. Among these some are generally rare or scarce in the county : - ( N u m b e r s refer to the Memoir). 18\ Spüosoma urticae, Esp., 61. Calymnia pyralina, View., 272 Aconita luctuosa, Esp., 493. Bapta bimaculata Fabr., 5 1 9 Angerona prunaria, Linn., 803. Zygaena filipendulae, Linn., (not at light).

Pvrales : 734. Hapalis ferrugalis, Hübn., 748. Anama vervascahs Schiff 685. Euzophera suavella, Zinck.

Tortncidae : 99U. Argyroploce purpurana, Haw. A. luctuosa Esp., seems to be straying about the county, although the Memoir says " totally confined to the Breckland." One has been taken at Roydon and there are two or three recent records elsewhere.

T h e same, perhaps in lesser degree, may be seid of S. urticae, Esp C. pyralina, View., A. prunaria, Linn., fnd B. bimaculata, Fabr Z filipendulae has been abundant in a dry marsh near here I had never taken it in this village er distnct before.

Amonest other species which have come to light I may mention, 209. Leucania albipuncta, Fabr. This insect no longer seems a rarity, though it is the first time I have noticed it since I took a specimen fifty years ago. Four came into my room one evemng and several to the light trap. Other interesting Pyrales include

ENTOMOLOGICAL NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS

37

727. Nymphula nymphaeata, Linn., 737. Perinephela sambuca Schiff., 744. Rhodaria aurata, Schiff, 745. R. cespitalis, Schiff., 753. Notarcha verticalis, Schiff. = ruralis, Scop., 770. Endotricha flammealis, Schiff, (very numerous), 776. Synaphe angustalis, Schiff. Among the Tortricidae I was pleased to see two specimens of 990. Argyroploce striana, Schiff., and many 936. Eucosma citrana, Hübn., 955. E. foenella, Linn. In July the brilliant little 1452. Nemotois fasciella, Fabr. = Schiffermillerella, Schiff., was sitting about in my garden. A. P. WALLER. THE OCCURRENCE OF Lycia hirtaria, Clerck., IN SUFFOLK. On the 2nd of May this year, 1952, six male examples of the Brindled Beauty were found at rest on walls in Beccles beneath lamps round which they were doubtless Aying the previous night.

I cannot understand such a late appearance in a season which, apart from the blizzard of 28 /29 March has by no means been of a retarding nature for that species. We have found L. hirtaria to be largely absent from Suffolk for many years and although a Beccles resident of many years standing, it was not until the 3rd of March, 1938, an exceptionally early date, that I came across one. while the only other records have been one each on April 3rd, 21 st and 23rd, 1943. The S.N.S. Memoir of 1937 (p. 84) says, " Supposed to be generally distributed, but few records. Common at lights in Ipswich in 1893. One at Higham, near Bury, and at Gorleston." E. T. GOLDSMITH. FURTHER NOTES ON SUFFOLK LEPIDOPTERA IN 1952. I was

interested to see a perfect specimen of Vanessa atalanta, Linn., on April 14th, the earliest date I have noted it here. Its condition suggested it had had sheltered quarters locally. On April 18th, I saw Pyrameis cardui, Linn., obviously an immigrant, another on May 6th and by the 9th they were Aying in dozens on a lilac hedge in my garden. I have not seen such an inAux since the September invasion of 1903. On May 22nd, no doubt owing to the prevailing east wind, there seemed to be a further arrival.

Nymphalis polychloros, Linn., is, I hope, recovering from its scarcity of some years ago. Two or three specimens were seen here early in April and the Rev. H. A. Harris in a letter dated July 22nd says it was frequenting the runner bean blossoms in his garden at Woodbridge. I have observed a few Polygonia c-album, Linn., but no Colias croceus, Fourc. Herse convolvu Linn., has been Aying in my garden. A. P. WALLER. COMMUNICATION BETWEEN INSECTS. I think many breeders of Lepidoptera have a faint belief that there may be some form of communication between insects of different sexes in the same species while in the pupal stage prior to emergence. No one who has bred moths can have failed to have been Struck by the

38

ENTOMOLOGICAL NOTES AND

OBSERVATIONS

convenient emergence of two individuals of the opposite sex often within a few hours of each other. In captivity there may be numbers of pupae in close proximity in soil, moss or rotten wood and it would seem easy for sound waves or vibrations to be communicated in the manner of tappings of the deathwatch beetle in wood T h e rotation of a pupa in its cocoon can be heard by human ears and as the insect is often fully formed for some time prior to emergence, there seems a possibility that some form ot communication is feasible. I had two instances of this this year.

In 1950 I had about a dozen larvae of Apatele leportna, Linn., which pupated in a large piece of cork. Only two emerged in 1951 At midday on June 19th this year a male and female emerged almost simultaneously and no more until the 24th, a remarkable coincidence without collusion. T h r e e larvae of Ellopia prosapiaria Linn., of different sizes beaten in August, pupated over a penod of ten days and a male and female emerged together on September 6th, a very cold and unpropitious day. It may of course be chance, but it seems to occur very regularly. P. J. B U R T O N .

40

BUTTERFLIES IN 1952.

ON the whole, with the exception of the autumn, the year seems to have been a favourable one for British butterflies, the season starting with a large immigration of Painted Ladies (Vanessa cardui, L.), early in March. As a result, numbers of this species were seen all over the country. It was the commonest species which I saw in Devon at Easter. The progeny of these immigrants have been very numerous. Another migrant, the Red Admiral (V. atalanta, L.), has also been common. I did not see any Clouded Yellows (Colins croceus, Fourcroy), in the spring and have seen only four (two in Devon and two in SufTolk) at the time of writing (September).

T h e first of the hibernating butterflies to be seen was a Peacock {Nymphalis io, L.), at Ipswich on l l t h March. This was soon followed by the Small Tortoiseshell (Aglaia urticae, L.), the Comma (.Polygonia c-album, L.), and the Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni, L.), on 17th March, also at Ipswich. The Large Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis polychloros, L.), was not seen until 26th April, in Brimlin Wood.

At the end of June it was very pleasing to see large numbers of White Admirals (Limenitis Camilla, L.), Aying in the woods at Belstead and Wherstead. More were seen than at any time during the last ten years. About ten years ago, when the species was also common in these woods, I was fortunate enough to capture a var. nigrina and also a var. semi-nigrina. This year again I captured a perfect var. semi-nigrina. With the White Admirals were Aying a few Silver-washed Fritillaries (Argynnis paphia,

L.).

In July Small Skippcrs (Thymelicus sylvestris, Poda), and Essex Skippers (T. lineola, Ocho.), abounded on rough ground by Tuddenham Road in Ipswich ; Purple Hairstreaks (Thecla quercus, L.), and White-letter Hairstreaks (Strymonidia w-album, Knock.) were common in the Belstead area, while on Purdis Heath, just outside Ipswich, many Silver-studded Blues (Plebejus argus, L.) were seen at rest on the ling. One specimen was found in which the spots on the underside were very much reduced.

S.

BEAUFOY.

ASSEMBLING. DÜRING the season a number of virgin females of different species, which had emerged from pupae in captivity, were placed in an assembling cage which was hung at night in the garden at Tuddenham Road, Ipswich, and males were successfully assembled,

BUTTERFLIES IN

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1952

pairing with the females taking place in the cage. Species assembled were : Puss (Dicranura, vinula, L.), Privet Hawk Moth (Sphinx ligustri, L.), Pale Tussock (Dasychira pudibunda, L.), Peppered (Biston betularia, L., var. carbonaria, both sexes), Garden Tiger (Arctia caja, L.).

T h e cube-shaped cage is built of netting on a wooden frame, about 14 inches side, with an inward-pointing cone on one side and works on the same principle as the lobster-pot, allowing easy ingress, but making escape from it difficult.

S.

BEAUFOY.

Vanessa cardui, Linn. AT THORPENESS. Lord Cranbrook and M r . Beaufoy have asked me to pass on the record of a Painted Lady in excellent condition seen at 3 - 4 yards' ränge at Thorpeness o n March 16th. I had presumed it was a hibernated specimen, but sitting in the same Square yard of sand next morning was a Small Tortoiseshell. But I have no doubt as to the Painted Lady's identity, since I have found confirmation in several immigrants of this species on the South Coast during the first week in March.

D.

G.

GARNETT.

49 NEWS

FOR

NATURALISTS.

CHEATING.—In the East

Anglian Daily Times of March 14th, Mr. Frank Burreil of Fornham St. Martin reported " Motoring along the road at Icklingham on Tuesday afternoon a pair of Wheatears were to be seen." This moved Mr. Engleheart to comment, in a later issue, " Why was I not at Icklingham on the 1 Ith to see the pair of Wheatears motoring along the road as reported by your correspondent ? No wonder they arrived early."

(We hope that M.B.O.U's. will insist on fair play among their patrons and that they have disqualified these enterprising Wheatears and given the award for early arrival to another who came honestly on wing. Did this pair elude the Customs on imported motor vehicles ?—Editor).

1952,

SEAL IN THE DEBEN.—Whilst sailing on the River Deben between Waldringfield and Ramsholt on June 25th, I was rather surprised to see, what I believe to be, a common seal, some 15 yards astern. Its head suddenly appeared, and it regarded the boat with a quizzical expression. The seal then dived leisurely, without sign of alarm, and, re-appearing some distance off, headed for the sea. This happened on about five occasions, each time I steered closer, getting a better view of the animal, the head of which was dark grey or black, with a grey muzzle.

On diving, its length of four tofivefeet could be estimated, and I am of the opinion that it was a full-grown specimen.

Is a solitary seal, such as this, an unusual visitor to tidal rivers on this coast during the summer months ? GEOFFREY J. MASKELL, Ipswich, in East Anglian Daily Times, 30.6.52.

INDUSTRY.—" Duplicate," the champion hen, laid nine eggs in two days while at the SufFolk County Show at Ipswich, making a total of 372 in 155 days." Daily Telegraph, June 6th, 1952.

LIFE IN OCEAN DEPTHS : from Daily Telegraph, 21.6.52.—The Danish research ship Galathea, 1,305 tons, arrived at Plymouth Sound to-day on the last stage of her 63,000-mile voyage of exploration. She brought back many scientific secrets, the most important of which was the factual evidence of life at the greatest ocean depth.

Operating over the Philippine Deep, she had brought up two tiny sea anemones from 35,410 ft., the greatest known depth in the area. Thefindis believed to open up a newfieldof marine science.

50

NEWS FOR NATURALISTS

Dr. Anton Bruun, Doctor of Science of Copenhagen University, who led the expedition, said the complete investigation of their finds would take several years. They found no areas without animal life.

Among other specimens found was a sea spider, taken at a depth of 18,000 ft., and a typhlone, an eyeless creature taken at 16,000 ft., off Ceylon. No trace was found of great sea serpents.

Dr. Bruun said, however, there was plenty of reliable evidence for the existence of such creatures.

ROYAL STURGEON.—The main dish at the officer's mess, No. 3619 (County of Suffolk) Fighter Control Unit of the R.A.A.F. on April 20th, 1952, was a Royal Sturgeon, acquired by a member of the Unit, and offered according to tradition to the sovereign.

H . M . the Queen was graciously pleased to give permission for the Sturgeon to be eaten on her birthday.

T h e Company included our President, who is the honorary AirCommodore of the Unit.

FLAMINGOS I N ENGLAND.—Recently an enquirer, writing to The Daily Telegraph with regard to escaped flamingos in England, asked if they could stand an English winter. There is no doubt that they can. I have kept flamingos—both African and South American—on my pond for over twenty years. They pass the winter in the open without any shelter and seem to enjoy it. I find the South American birds hardier than the African. I understand that it was found at Whipsnade that flamingos could not be kept out of doors during the winter as they became imprisoned in the ice. With me, they do not run this risk, as the spring which feeds the pond and which has a reputed flow of 70,000 gallons a day, with an all-the-year-round temperature of 51 degrees, Fahrenheit, prevents any ice from forming over a large area of the pond. L. H. VULLIAMY, Ipswich, 20.10.52.

W H I S K Y FOR TITS.—Sir Grimwood Mears writes, " Early in January, about 10 a.m., a Blue-Tit was sitting on the edge of a coconut fastened to the side of my bedroom window. It was very old, very thin, very weak. Quite suddenly it feil on to the sill. I opened the window and my wife picked it up. It appeared to be dead. Putting it into a box with cotton wool, my wife mixed two or three drops of whisky with three or four drops of water and with a slender paint-brush rubbed it along the closed beak.

Instantly the bird became surprisingly vigorous, strongly fluttering.

So we let it go at once and it flew strongly away. Ten minutes later it returned and ate some of the coconut. I saw it again for a moment a few days later. T h e n I think it must have died.

Later, my wife saw another Blue-Tit fall from the guttering about

NEWS FOR NATURALISTS

20 feet to the ground. treatment with the same milk was given it, again to bite upon the brush away happily. It was that the first one."

51

She brought it in and we tried the same result. Then I held it whilst some warm on a paint brush, and very soon it began and hungrily to suck the milk. It flew a younger bird and in better condition

TREE I D E N T I F I E D . — A tree at the Henley Road corner of the East SufFolk and Ipswich Hospital grounds arouses much curiosity especially when its large panicles of three-sided pods turn russet-red in autumn. It has been supposed by some that the Hospital is growing its own Senna pods. This is not so ; the tree has been identified by Miss M. M. Whiting as Koelreuteria paniculata, Lasom., of the Order Sapindaceae.

D U T C H CLOVER, Reversion in.—(This note is put forward in the hope that some morphologist will write an authoritative article for us field botanists on this interesting subject and on that primitive survival the Magnolia). I have found specimens in which each part of the flower in different heads has reverted to the primitive form of a petiole and leaf—usually the calyx or one petal, stamen or the Stigma (the keel being replaced by two leaves). But I once found a specimen in which all the floral parts together had reverted, making a dense mop of tiny leaves.

It seems to me that these have developed from the petiole which carries a tiny clover leaf. (The bracts of the sycamore are sometimes found with a tiny leaf at the apex). Why is it that when this clover escapes from cultivation this tendency is so frequent, for I have not found it in a field of cultivated clover ?—J.C.N.W.

A new mycologist, Mr. Eric Crozier, enthused by his first Fungus Foray, writes that a fungus hitherto unrecorded, is to be found in cold situations, particularly doorsteps, viz. Lactarius uniteddairius argenteus, commonly known as the Silver Bottle-top.

[We must remind a new member that this is a scientific journal and we require that the naming authority be added after a specific name, thus, Lactarius uniteddairius, Croz. Other varieties of the species have been found locally, var. 2 aureolus and var. 3 incarnata.—Editor.]