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1960
Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society
201
Michener, C. D., 1943. Some systematic notes on the Libytheidae (Lepidoptera). Amer. mus. novitates 1231: 2 pp., 6 figs.
Munroe, E. G., 1951. The genus Junonia in the West Indies (Lepidoptera, Nympha-lidae). Amer. mus. novitates 1498: 16 pp.
dos Passos, C. F., & L. P. Grey, 1945. A genitalic survey of Argynninse (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae). Amer. mus. novitates 1296: 29 pp., 54 figs.
Shirozu, T., 1960. Butterflies of Formosa in colour. 481 pp., 76 pis., 479 figs. Hoikusha, Osaka.
Stevens, N. M., 1906. Studies in spermatogenesis. Part II. A comparative study of the heterochromosomes in certain species of Coleoptera, Hemiptera, and Lepidoptera, with especial reference to sex determination. Carnegie inst. Washington publ. 36: 33-74, pis. 8-15.
Warren, B. C. S., 1955. A review of the classification of the subfamily Argynninse (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Part 2. Definition of the Asiatic genera. Trans. roy. ent. soc. London 107: 381-392, 4 pis.
Department of Zoology, Yale University, New Haven, Conn., U. S. A.
HOW TO KNOW THE BUTTERFLIES. By Paul R. and Anne H. Ehrlich. 1961. 262 pp., 525 figs. Publisher: Wm. C. Brown Co., 135 South Locust St., Dubuque, Iowa, U. S. A.; price $2.75 (paper cover, spiral-bound) and $3.25 (cloth-bound).
This, like the fine Guide by A. B. Klots, is much more than a field manual; it is a good introduction to "knowing" the North American butterflies. The main text is in the form of an identification key, accompanied by excellent drawings by Mrs. Ehrlich of most of the species and by summary statements of the geographic distribution, flight periods, and larval foodplants for each. It is intended only for determination down to species. The Skippers are arbitrarily separated from the "Butterflies" (= Papilionoidea only) and omitted from the volume. A major merit of the book is the 30-page introduction to the practice of lepidopterology. The ingredients of this palatable first course are: techniques of collecting and preparing specimens; making genitalic and other dissections and recognizing the principal structures; and comments on problems of variation, classification, and amateur research.
Butterfly taxonomy has moved so rapidly in recent years and has become so sophisticated in some groups that no one person is qualified to deal authoritatively with all groups, even for North America. Dr. Ehrlich has solved this problem by inducing several of the most active specialists to prepare the sections on their groups. These are: D. L. Bauer, H. K. Clench, C. F. dos Passos, J. C. Downey, L. P. Grey, A. B. Klots, W. S. McAlpine, and K. H. Wilson. As always with an array of
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BOOK REVIEW
Vol.14: no.3
contributors, there is some unevenness in the treatment and quality. But for me the sections by Dr. Klots are superb summaries at the species level for those two complicated genera, Colios and Boloria. Bauer's treatment of the Melitaeines is a valuable progress report on the emerging classification of the group. Clench for the whole Hairstreak group (and to a lesser degree Bauer for his section) presents a smashing new classification for North America, with wide impact for the Neotropic region as well.
My principal criticism of the new book is on a policy level: - it is a mistake to allow major taxonomic revisions to appear first in a collectors' guide. A collectors' guide and a taxonomic revision have almost opposite missions, and the drawbacks to combining them in so limited a space are all too obvious in this book.
A few minor errors and omissions should be noted. The name "Frecis orithya" is used on figure 300, but "lavinia" in the text, for the species E. G. Munroe calls Junonia ccenia in his 1951 revision. The geography of Calinaginae and Morphinae is not mentioned on page 83, although for other exotic groups it is clearly given. The Table for distinguishing Butterflies, Skippers, and Moths omits some of the best characters and includes without enough caution some commonly unreliable ones. The instructions for distinguishing males from females need drawings. The terms sphragis and osmeterium are misspelled throughout. Numerous listed foodplants are probably wrong and if given at all should be phrased more equivocally or there should be a prominent general statement of caution in the preface. The dark forms of Papilio glaucus and P. rudkini will not run in the key, and the Papilio key is inadequate in general.
Some outstanding features of the book include: separate statements of flight season when a species has very different flight periods at different latitudes or altitudes; the precise locality of each figured specimen if known; and the mention of familiar synonymous or misapplied names if their omission would be confusing to collectors. There is an illustrated glossary of terms in the back (however, its interlarding with the index is a nuisance for using both glossary and index).
This book is the only source to which a lepidopterist can go at present for distinguishing the species of the Papilionoidea of all North America, learning the current names, and placing them in the best arrangement. For this region it is by far the most basic reference in existence today, and its low price should cause many collectors to keep a spiral-bound copy in their field kits and a cloth-bound copy on the reference shelves.
C. L. Remington, Dept. of Zoology, Yale University, New Haven, Conn., U. S. A.