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1952
The Lepidopterists' News
79
BOOK REVIEWS
AN ANNOTATED CHECK LIST OF THE MACROLEPIDOPTERA OF BRITISH COLUMBIA. By J.R.J. Llewellyn Jones. The Entomological Society Of B.C. Occasional Paper No. 1: 148 pp. Issued June 14, 1951. Price: $1.00 (address of Society Secretary: P.O. Box 210, Kamloops, B.C. Canada).
Intended primarily as a revision of BLACKMORE'S List (1927) the list now includes approximate season of flight of each species and host plants where data on these was available. All recent changes in nomenclature have been incorporated, also the check list numbers from McDuNNOUGH'S "Check List of the Lepidoptera of Canada and the U. S. A". Distribution of each species within B. C. is given.
No great amount of collecting has been done in B. C. since the issuance of the original list, and most of the new records are from the author's collection, consisting entirely of southern Vancouver Island material, and from the collection of Dr. W. R. BUCKELL made at Shushwap Lake.
» "Popular" names have been assigned to nearly every species, subspecies, and form. It cannot be said that this has added anything to the value of the work. There is at present among North American entomologists a general lack of interest in vernacular names, and this trend can hardly be considered undesirable. Such names, when of less than specific value, are particularly cumbersome.
It should be noted that the food plant records must be used with caution. Such information, in order to attain reasonable accuracy, must be based on a great mass of data gathered from every locality in the area covered. It has proved nearly impossible for Mr. JONES to obtain such data, so of necessity many of the host plant records are based on the author's own observations of material collected in a restricted area. However, if only as a guide to what plants are worth trying, this innovation is bound to prove useful to those interested in rearing Lepidoptera.
The number of species, broken down into superfamilies, included in JONES' new list of B.C. Macrolepidoptera is approximately as follows: Papilionoidea 130; Hes-perioidea 24; Sphingoidea 17; Saturnioidea 5; Noctuoidea 530; Bombycoidea 6; Dre-panoidea 10; Geometroidea 308; total — 1030. Bowman's List of Alberta Lepidoptera gives about 1500 species. About 130 are butterflies, approximately 40% Microlepi-doptera. This, as far as it goes, indicates an almost exact parallel with the B. C. List.
The typesetting has been very carelessly done, so the errata and addenda pages should be carefully studied.
In spite of minor shortcomings, this list is certain to prove popular with collectors. It must be remembered that the author undertook an extremely onerous assignment in preparing an annotated catalogue, in place of the usual straight list. As a result, the book will always be useful as a guide to where and when to go for any species desired. Similiar books covering every section of the continent would not come amiss.
Richard Guppy, R. R. 1, Marine Drive, Wellington, V. I., B. C, Canada
DIE SCHMETTERLINGE MITTELEUROPAS. By Walter Forster & Theodor A. Wohlfahrt. [In German.] [First instalments], vol. 1, viii + 32 pp., 18 figs.; vol. 2, 32 pp., 4 pis., 13 figs. Stuttgart, 1952. Publisher: Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, W. Keller & Co., Stuttgart, Germany. Subscription price of the first instalments of vols. 1 and 2 is DM. 10. There will be 5 more instalments of vol. 1 totaling 256 pp., and vol. 2, totaling 128 pp., 27 pis., bringing the total presubscription price to DM. 60. After subscription period closes the price for vols. 1 and 2 complete, bound, will be DM. 76.
This excellent work, well-illustrated with colored figures, on the butterflies and moths of central Europe, will be a "must" to all European collectors, and to many Americans who are interested in the world-wide relationship of these insects. To one