Article beginning on page 175.
Psyche 3:175, 1880.

Full text (searchable PDF)
Durable link: http://psyche.entclub.org/3/3-175.html

The following unprocessed text is extracted from the PDF file, and is likely to be both incomplete and full of errors. Please consult the PDF file for the complete article.

CAMBRIDGE, MASS., JAN. iSSi.
- ---
Cuw~~~ii?ti'cati'o~s, e.~rhft#fea n71d editor$ copies shci~lli he midresstd la Eel-roils OF PSYCHE, Cam fh~ st/rffwttlis 7ude is theif mu11 co~~innuicdlom, Works 01: atfbj'eftft nut related to mfomolfig'y will #of be rdmd iff P-VCHE.
for rdes of subscription aftd of adivrlisivf, see ndreri/,?i??# f8Z~~ii.s.
-
REVIEW.
DR. HERMANN M~XLER'S Alpcnbiiimen
[PSYCHE, Rec., no. 21751 is the most recent contribution to our 'knowledge of the mutual relations between flowers and insects, bv sin author whose studies of the fertilization of flower's include the habits of the insects by wliich this is effected.
After the publication of his work on the pollination of flowers, in 1873, Dr. Miller turned his attention to the plants growing at a considerable elevation above the sea-level, a field which his earlier studies had shown him to lie deserving of special attention. The book before us shows that he has been no less thorough in this than in his earlier work. Following the descriptions of the floral con- trivances - if we inn? use this word in the qense accorded it by irioiiern teleology -of over 4.00 species of plants, are systematic lists of the insects found upon each, inclnding the frequency rind object (if their visits, and. in the case of lepidoptera and Iiymenoptei-~i. the length of their probnscides or tongues. About one fourth of the rolume is devoted to a consideration of the more interesting topics suggested by the facts observed, the entorno- logical bearings of the questions receiving iheir full share of attention. The relative frequency of insects belonging to the different orders i$ discussed at length while the writer is considering flowers with wholly accessible, partly concealed, and deep-lying nectar, and the results are tabulated for convenient in- spection. Flowers of the first sort have fi mixed set of visitors. those with littk-elon- sted mouth parts predominating; as the
nectar becomes more and more inaccessible to these. the proportion of long-tongued species increases gradually, till, where it is deep-seated, bees and lepidoptera include by far the greater number of the insects which gather it. and large numbers of flowers of characteristic form and coloration are wholly or in great part dependent upon each of these orders for their pollination. The author finds that under favorable conditions the number of insect-visits to flowers which mrty be ob- served within a given time in alpine regions is even larger than at lower altitudes, this being dependent upon the consolidation of vegetation into dense masses of bloom, and the necessity for improving every favorable moment which the frequent mists and cold winds of high altitudes impose upon flower- frequenting insects. As the distance above the Lea increases, the relative abundance of coleoptera and hymenopterii about {lowers falls off. while the proportion of diptera and lepidoptera largely increases. A valuable feature of the work is a systematic list of the insects observed, the name of each species being followeci by a list of the flowers which it frequents, and the degree of their adapta- tion from gencral to special insect groups. Aithough it is to be considered as a contri- hution to hotany rather than to entomology, Dr. Miiller's "Alpenblumen " should make A welcome addition to the library of the ento- mologist who believes that biological studies have their value as well as those which are purely morphological .- William Trdennc. RECORDS OF NECROLOGY.
Undoubtedly the names of many ento~hol-
ogists who died in the years tS7g and 1880 have still escaped record in our pages, as well as manj notices of the persons whose names are given here. We will welcome
gladly any contribution to the record from our friends or from friends of the deceased, 5': P. M,




================================================================================