Page:Hardwicke's Science-Gossip - Volume 1.pdf/153

Wild Bees' Nest.—A few weeks ago, on felling some elm trees in the neighbourhood of Warwick, a wild bees' nest was discovered in a hollow part of one of the elm trees, in a fork of the tree at about twenty feet from the bottom. It appears that the bees' nest was built upon the débris of an old starling's nest, which might have been in existence for several years. The bees were alive when the woodmen discovered the nest, from which they extracted nearly a bucket-full of honey of very fine quality. Large portions of the comb, &c., remained in the hollow place in the tree after the workmen had destroyed the bees and collected the honey. There were three separate entrances to the nest; two were in a bough which branched out immediately above it, and the other one below, in the trunk of the tree. We wish to be informed whether or not this is an uncommon occurrence in apiology?—W.

Early Wasp.—I found this morning (March 17th) upon the window-sill (which has a due north aspect, with the house standing upon a northern slope, and quite in the country) a torpid wasp, plump and bright-coloured, which, upon being placed in warm water, immediately revived. What renders the circumstance more extraordinary is, that the weather for many days has been very cold, with east wind, and almost total absence of sun, with slight snow-fall on most days. In Markwick's "Naturalist's Calendar," April 2nd is the earliest date of appearance, and in Gilbert White's, May 23rd.—R. K.

Pendent Wasps' Nest.—Late in the autumn of 1864, a curious wasps' nest, of a round shape, and hanging from a branch of a spruce-fir, was sent to me by a friend who had cut it from a fir-tree in Wickwood Forest. It is of a round shape, measuring in circumference about twenty-two inches and in diameter seven inches, with the mouth hanging downwards. The branch from which it is hanging is three-eighths of an inch in thickness, and the nest is fastened to the small twigs at the end of the branch. Its shape, and the paper-like substance with which it is covered, give it, at a distance, the appearance of a huge cedar-ball. The cells which are built at the mouth appear to me to be larger than those of the nests which are built in the ground. Perhaps some of your readers may be able to say if this is a nest of the common wasp (Vespa vulgaris), or of some other species.—George Scarsbrook, Chipping Norton, Oxon.

The Male Gall-Fly (Cynips quercús-folii).—Many distinguished students of the Diptera have, it is well known, examined thousands of gall-nuts of the oak, finding only a single female in each gall, without ever finding a single male. No male specimen of Cynips, it is believed, had ever been found, or been alleged to be found, until September last, when Mr. John Robertson (author of the "Anatomy and Physiology of Pholas Dactylus"), after examining many hundreds of galls, which he found in great abundance on the sessifloral oaks in the neighbourhood of Bognor, Sussex, discovered a male and a female both in one gall. The crypt of the male was only about a tenth of an inch from the outside of the gall. In size the male crypt is scarcely a third of the size of the female crypt. Of course, the male is much smaller than the female; the difference is less, however, between the size of the sexes than between the size of the crypts. There is no mistaking the male when seen, if the observer is well acquainted with the female. On being exposed to the knife, the male fly, unlike the sluggish female, was soon wide awake, alert, and nimble. He disappeared before the means of capture could be applied. This quickness, with the instinct of concealment, and the locality of his crypt in the gall, probably explain why he has never been found. Split the gall, and the male is not likely to be found; but pare it, and he will be found by observers with the patience and perseverance necessary to examine a few hundred galls. Mr. John Robertson shows the gall, with its male and female crypt, to anybody who wishes to see it. During the approaching autumn, this observation can be corrected or confirmed by the students of galls.

[N.B.—We publish the foregoing verbatim, as communicated to us by Mr. John Robertson, and entirely at his request and upon his responsibility. We do not think the facts proven. Confessedly, the male insect escaped, and a second insect was found in the gall; but if it did not remain to be examined, what evidence can be produced that it was a male gall-fly, or even a Cynips?—Ed. Sc. Goss.]

Vegetable Monstrosities.—In reference to Mr. Holland's valuable paper in the last number of Science Gossip, I may state that while walking to-day (May 9th) through a wood near West Wycombe, Bucks, I found a single example of the wood anemone (Anemone nemorosa) similar to the one therein figured. The white petal or sepal was, however, quite perfect in shape, and rather larger than is usually the case. In a field near the same wood I noticed, among hundreds of examples of the ribwort plantain (Plantago lanceolata) a specimen bearing two flower-heads: at the base of each of these were clustered five or six smaller ones, which gave the plant a somewhat remarkable appearance.—B.