4. Food and Food HabitsJournal of Animal Ecology, Vol. 23, No. 1 (May, 1954), pp. 198-201Published by: British Ecological SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1676 .

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198 Abstracts Miles, M. (1952). Parallel diapause in a host insect and its parasite. Ent. Mon. Mag. 88, 63.

Erioischia brassicae usually produces three to four generations a year and its Cynipoid parasite, Trybliographa rapae, emerges some time after peak emergence of the host. When the emergence of an adult of Erioischia brassicae from puparia collected in October 1949 was delayed until May 1951, that of an adult of Trybliographa rapae was delayed until August 1951.

Richards, 0. W. (1952). Some records of British Ichneumonidae cyclopneusticae (Hym.). Ent. Mon. Mag. 88, 102.

A list of species, including four new to Britain, mostly taken on a clump of bamboo at Slough, Bucks., in August-September 1933, 1934 and 1938.

Simmonds, F. J. (1953). Inter-relationships of the parasites of the frit-fly, Oscinella frit (L.), in eastern North America. Bull. Ent. Res. 44, 387-393.

An investigation undertaken to obtain biological control agents of potential use if introduced into England. Studies the extent and importance of competition amongst larval and pupal parasites of the frit-fly. There appears to be little interference between the various species in the parasite complex.

Smit, F. G. A. M. (1953). The presence in Scotland of Tarsopsylla octodecimdentata (Kol.), a flea hitherto unrecorded from the British Isles. Scot. Nat. 65, 5-10.

Two nineteenth-century records from Perthshire of a monoxenous flea of Sciurus vulgaris now published for the first time.

Stoker, M. G. P. & Miles, J. A. R. (1953). Studies on the causative agent of an epizootic amongst Manx shearwaters (Puffinus p. puffinus). J. Hyg., Camb. 51, 195-202.

Evidence suggests that the virus disease which causes severe blisters in September cannot be classified in any of the known virus groups.

Thompson, G. B. (1953). Notes on ectoparasites. Rep. Skokholm Bird Obs. 1952, 36-37. Notes on Ceratophyllus borealis and Echidnophaga gallinaceus, both fleas.

Thompson, G. B. (1953). Contributions towards a study of the ectoparasites of British birds and mammals.-No. 1. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (12) 6, 401-425.

Instructions for collection and preservation of all groups. Descriptions, history, distribution, life- history, effect on host, and parasites of two Diptera Hippoboscidae: Crataerina pallida and Stenepteryx hirundinis, parasites on the Swift and House-martin respectively.

Thompson, G. R. (1952). A record of Echidnophaga gallinaceus (Westwood) (Siphonaptera) from Skokholm Island. Ent. Mon. Mag. 88, 281.

This flea, which was taken on an adult white wagtail (Motacilla alba), is here recorded for the first time from the British Isles.

Woodroffe, G. E. (1953). Actia antennalis (Rond.) (Dipt., Larvaevoridae) bred from larvae of Monopis rusticella (Clerck) (Lep., Tineidae). Ent. Mon. Mag. 89, 11.

The host of this fly was hitherto unknown.

4. FOOD AND FOOD HABITS

Benson, R. B. (1953). A new British Nematus (Hym., Tenthredinidae) attacking black- currant. Ent. Mon. Mag. 89, 60-63.

Nematus olfaciens n.sp. attacks Ribes nigrum, R. rubrum and R. uva-cristata in Dundee and Gloucestershire.

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Parasites 199 Brian, M. V. & Brian, A. D. (1952). The wasp, Vespula sylvestris Scopoli: feeding, foraging

and colony development. Trans. R. Ent. Soc. Lond. 103, 1-26.

Nest development and brood sequences in a number of nests are described. A few aspects of flesh- feeding are considered, together with role of sugary liquids in the economy of this species. A study of foraging workers is aided by observations on marked individuals.

Conder, P. J. (1953). Some individual feeding habits of gulls breeding on Skokholm. Rep. Skokholm Bird Obs. 1952, 30-34.

Food and feeding habits of Larus argentatus, L. fuscus and L. marinus; foods discussed include limpets, corn, eggs, other birds and ants.

Cott, H. B. (1953). The palatability of the eggs of birds: illustrated by experiments on the food preferences of the ferret (Putorius furo) and cat (Felis catus); with notes on other egg-eating carnivora. Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 123, 123-141.

Results with these predators are similar to those obtained previously with other animals.

Crowcroft, P. (1952). Refection in the common shrew. Nature, Lond. 170, 627.

The habit is described from observations made on juveniles and adults of both sexes of Sorex araneus.

Davies, M. J. (1953). The contents of the crops of some British Carabid beetles. Ent. Mon. Mag. 89, 18-23.

A preliminary qualitative examination was made of the crop contents of 366 adult Carabids repre- senting eighty-four species in sixteen tribes. Fairly clear-cut food preferences were found; eight genera were carnivorous, two herbivorous, seven liquid feeders, probably carnivorous, and three mixed feeders, probably scavengers.

Duffy, E. A. J. (1953). Lead cable severely damaged by Ptinus tectus Boieldieu (Coleoptera, Ptinidae). Bull. Ent. Res. 44, 83-84.

Larvae, feeding on food scraps discarded in the centre of a wooden cable drum in Kent, bored into lead-sheathed cable in order to pupate.

Fincher, F. (1953). Some notes on the food of birds. W. Midland Bird Rep. 18, 6-9.

Observations on the food taken by 39 species in one wood.

Gillham, M. E. (1953). The distribution of seeds by gulls. Rep. Skokholm Bird Obs. 1952, 34-35.

The breeding gulls of the Pembrokeshire island as a biotic factor in plant distribution.

Green, J. (1952). The food of Typhaea stercorea (L.) (Col., Mycetophagidae). Ent. Mon. Mag. 88, 62.

Fungal hyphae were present in the gut contents of five adults, four contained also decayed green plant matter, and two, fungal spores. Sporonts of a septate gregarine protozoan were found in the mid-gut of one.

H[arrison], J. W. H. (1951). The rose leaf-cutter bee (Megachile circumcincta) and the leaves of the common convolvulus. Vasculum (sub.), 36, 29.

Calystegia sepium attacked by the bee.

Hayden, J. & Kirkby, P. (1953). Observations on bats in the Bishop's Stortford area. Starfish, 6, 8-13.

Includes notes on the food of Pipistrellus pipistrellus and on the habits of several other species.

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200 Abstracts Hill, A. R. (1952). A survey of insects associated with cultivated raspberries in the east of

Scotland. Ent. Mon. Mag. 88, 51-62.

Observations on seasonal occurrence, abundance and economic importance of 137 species found on cultivated raspberries, mainly in Angus and East Perthshire and in limited surveys of wild raspberries and wild bramble (Rubus fruticosus), including three Mirids recorded from Scotland for the first time. Only Byturus tomentosus, Incurvaria rubiella, Otiorrhynchus singularis and Lygus pabulinus, with Ampho- rophora rubi and Doralis idaei, both of which transmit raspberry virus diseases, are of major economic importance.

Hodgson, S. B. (1953). Insects at the flowers of orchids. Entomologist, 86, 165. The moths Procris geryon and Odezia atrata at pyramidal orchid, and the butterflies Ochlodes venata

at fragrant orchid, and Vanessa io at spotted orchid in Hertfordshire.

Laurence, B. R. (1952). Observations on Hydrellia (Hydropota) griseola Fln. (Dipt., Ephydridae). Ent. Mon. Mag. 88, 31-33.

Both sexes feed on small insects trapped in the surface film of puddles, and a list of insects preyed upon is included. Living insects are attacked. Mating also takes place on the water surface.

Laurence, B. R. (1952). The prey of some Empididae and Dolichopodidae (Dipt.) Ent. Mon. Mag. 88, 156-157.

The prey of Hilara litorea flying in deep shade under yew trees, mostly comprised Aphids, although Diptera greatly outnumbered Aphids in a suction trap operated in a more open part of the wood. Myzocallis annulata, M. tiliae and Metopolophium dirhodium, which feed on hazel, lime and grass, respectively, comprised 57 % of the prey of H. litorea.

Pringsheim, E. G. (1952). On the nutrition of Ochromonas. Quart. 7. Micr. Sci. 93, 71-96.

Detailed experimental evidence shows the extraordinary nutritional versatility of Ochromonas. Although species of this genus possess chlorophyll, they need additional organic substances for nitrogen, independent carbon and energy sources, and certain growth factors.

Q[uick], H. M. (1953). Some feeding habits (Scilly). Rep. Cornwall Bird Watch. Soc. 22

(1952), 51.

Brief notes on food and feeding habits of Saxicola torquata, Turdus ericetorum, Arenaria interpres, Capella gallinago and Rallus aquaticus in the Scilly Isles in 1952.

R-, C. (1953). The foodplants of the moth Depressaria angelicella Hb. Vasculum (sub.), 37,22.

Larvae on Heracleum sphondylium in Co. Durham.

Smith, K. G. V. (1952). On the prey of two swarms of Hilara maura F. (Dipt., Empididae). Ent. Mon. Mag. 88, 38-39.

In general, the prey of a swarm flying over steadily flowing water in an open, sunny situation and that of another over sluggish water with overhanging bushes were representative of the same orders. Chiro- nomids were most frequently taken, followed by Aphids and, in the shady situation, Psychodids.

Stride, G. 0. (1953). On the nutrition of Carpophilus hemipterus L. (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae). Trans. R. Ent. Soc. Lond. 104, 171-194.

Consists for the most part of a description of experimental work using artificial foods, but does include a method of culturing this Nitidulid.

Weber, A. P., Zwillenberg, L. 0. & Van der Laan, P. A. (1952). A predacious amoeboid organism destroying larvae of the potato Root Eelworm and other Nematodes. Nature, Lond. 169, 834-835.

A new species probably belonging to the family Vampyrellidae (Proteomyxa) has been observed to ingest young larvae of Heterodera rostochiensis and other larval Nematodes. Included are notes on the life-history.

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Food and food habits 201 Woodroffe, G. E. (1952). A note on the food plants of Coriomeris denticulatus (Scop.)

(Hem., Coreidae). Ent. Mon. Mag. 88, 255. Nymphs were confined to Trifolium arvense in one gravel pit in Buckinghamshire and to Medicago

lupulina in another, though the adults occurred on many plants in the former; the food plants of this species therefore appear to be more restricted than has been indicated in the literature. Syromastes rhombeus, Megalonotus chiragra, Coreus marginatus and the predator, Nabis mirmicoides, were associated with it in both pits.

5. MIGRATION, INTRODUCTIONS AND LOCAL DISTRIBUTION

Alderton, P. (1953). Seagulls on the outskirts of a town in winter. Starfish, 6, 18-20.

Observations on the diurnal routine of a flock of Larus argentatus on a playing field at Brighton, Sussex.

Allen, A. A. (1952). Lathridius norvegicus A. Strand (Col., Lathrididae) rediscovered: an addition to the British list. Ent. Mon. Mag. 88, 282-283.

This beetle was, with L. constrictus, associated with moulds at and near the edges of bark on the recently burnt parts of an old beech in Epping Forest, but the habitat range of L. constrictus was found to be rather wider. Acritus homoeopathicus and Micropeplus tesserula were also present in the same situation.

Allen, A. A. (1953). The Coleoptera of a suburban garden. 5. Clavicornia (Part I). Ent. Rec. 65, 225-231.

A further sixty-six species are dealt with in this part. [See 1951, Ent. Rec. 63, 61-5, 187-190, 256-259; 1952, ibid. 64, 61-63, 92-93 and abstract in 1953,J. Anim. Ecol. 22, 181.]

Arnold, G. A. & Lapworth, H. (1953). Alvecote Pools. W. Midland Bird Rep. 19, 9-14.

List of the birds observed at a group of artificial freshwater pools in north Warwickshire, since 1928.

Bagenal, T. B. (1953). The birds on St Kilda, 1952. Scot. Nat. 65, 19-24.

Not a complete census of the islands, but an attempt to determine the minimum number present. Thirty-six species were seen on a visit of 18 days in July and August.

Baynes, E. S. A. (1952). Report on migrant insects in Ireland for 1951. Irish Nat. 7. 10, 247-248.

Notes on three butterflies, six moths and one bee (Bombus lucorum).

Baynes, E. S. A. (1952). Insect migration. Irish Nat. 7. 10, 301-302.

A reported instance of migration in the bee Bombus lucorum is considered to be more likely to have been a mass movement towards an area with a strong honey-flow.

Baynes, E. S. A. (1953). Report on migrant insects in Ireland for 1952. Irish Nat. 7. 11, 45-51.

Reports on eleven species of Lepidoptera and one dipteron from seventeen observers.

Blake, A. R. & Mirams, D. R. (1953). Further observations on the birds of the West Bromwich area. W. Midland Bird Rep. 19, 17-22.

A census of breeding birds in an area of 1800 acres, mainly of grassland.

Boyd, J. M. (1953). The sheep population of Hirta, St Kilda, 1952. Scot. Nat. 65, 25-28.

A comprehensive census showed 1114 Soay sheep on the island, to which 107 were transferred from the neighbouring island of Soay in 1932.

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