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BOOK REVIEWS
Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 43(3), 1989, 250-251
Catalogue of Lycaenidae & Riodinidae (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera), by Charles A. Bridges. 1988. Printed by the author. 816 pp.: vi, ii + 377 pp., ii + 115 pp., ii + 140 pp., ii + 100 pp., ii + 37 pp., ii + 1 p., ii + 10 pp. 21 x 28 cm, hardcover. $95.00 in North America, $97.50 elsewhere.
Bridge's Catalogue of Lycaenidae and Riodinidae is an extremely useful publication for any lepidopterist interested in the systematics of these two families. It provides information on original descriptions and other literature, authors, periodicals, and the current systematic placement of taxa. I have found the catalogue easy to use and a great time-saver for tracking down names and references.
The catalogue is divided into a brief introduction, six parts and two appendices, each with separate pagination. Part I consists of an alphabetic list of species-group names. Each entry includes the author, date of publication, abbreviated literature citation (cross-referenced to Part IV), and the original genus for each species-group name. The status of each name (i.e., available and valid species, subspecies, or synonym; available invalid; or unavailable) is indicated by a letter code. For species subsequently transferred to other genera, the current genus is given along with a reference(s) (cited in full in Part IV) for the transfer. In addition, many entries include information on the type locality, location of type specimen, its sex, and/or references to life history. Part II is an index to genera that includes a list of species-group names under each genus. Part III is the index to the bibliography. Publications are listed by author, date, and journal (cross-referenced to the full citation in Part IV). Under each publication, species group names are listed, along with reference to volume and page number, and to plate and figure numbers if the taxon is illustrated. Part IV, the bibliography, lists complete citations for 4258 publications. Each publication is given a unique number by which it is cross-referenced in other parts. This part also provides information on when and where some authors were born and died, and the disposition of their collections. Part V, the index to journals and serials, lists them by abbreviation and includes their full titles. Under each is a list of included papers (cross-referenced to Part IV) with the author, date, volume and page numbers. Part VI, the index to the bibliography by year, lists the unique numbers of each publication in Part IV under its year of publication. Appendix I is a synonymic list of family-group names. Appendix II is a synonymic list of genus group names arranged according to family, subfamily, tribe, subtribe (if any) or section (if any). Although not explicitly stated, the higher classifications follow Eliot for the Lycaenidae and Stichel for the Riodinidae.
There are some problems with the first 40 copies that will be corrected in later editions. In Part I, a block of 290 names is missing "between" pages 275-276, and a block of names is duplicated on pages 287-293. In addition, some changes in format also will be made: in Part II each genus will have an indication of its place in the higher classification that will facilitate finding it in Appendix II, and Part VI will include the names of authors. A series of annotations is being issued which lists additions and corrections to the catalogue.
The catalogue appears to contain relatively few errors for a work of its size. I found two typographical errors in the Introduction (misspellings of Julian P. Donahue's and Jacqueline Y. Miller's names). The authorships of riodinid taxa described by Le Cerf and by Lathy in a paper by Rebillard are incorrectly attributed to Rebillard in the catalogue. The generic name Balocna Moore is listed as a synonym of Zemeros Boisduval in Appendix II but it is actually a synonym of Dodona Hewitson. Although the author states in the introduction that no new names are introduced in the catalogue, the subtribe Sarotiti is apparently proposed in Appendix I as a replacement name for Charitini Stichel. These problems are minor, and the author is to be commended for providing a mechanism for correcting such errors.
The catalogue holds at least one nomenclatorial surprise. The name Orimba Herrich-Schaeffer (1858), used by Stichel and all subsequent authors for a genus of neotropical riodinids, is actually a synonym of Setabis Westwood (1851).
Volume 43, Number 3
251
The amount of time and effort required to produce this catalogue must have been immense, and such enterprises are often thankless tasks. Bridges has done us a great favor by providing a careful, well-planned and exhaustive work. This catalogue is an indis-pensible reference that belongs in the library of all who work on the systematics of lycaenids and riodinids.
Donald J. Harvey, Department of Entomology, NHB Stop 127, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20560.
Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 43(3), 1989, 251-252
Papillons et Chenilles du Quebec et de L'Est du Canada [Lepidoptera and Larvae of Quebec and of Eastern Canada], by Jean-Paul Laplante, 1985. 280 pp., 65 color plates, with many other color figures in text. Editions France-Amerique, 170 Benjamin Hudon, Montreal, Quebec H4N 1H8, Canada. Hardcover. About $25.00.
This beautiful book makes an important contribution to our knowledge of the butterflies and moths of Quebec and of eastern Canada in general. Covering more than 300 species and subspecies of Lepidoptera with illustrations of the adults, eggs, larvae, pupae, and habitats (over 1000 separate color figures), this book would be of value to anyone with an interest in the Canadian fauna. It is currently available only in a French edition, but Latin insect and plant names, locality names that can be identified on any map, etc., make it readily usable even if one should not know French.
The author has worked for more than 30 years on the lepidopteran fauna of eastern Canada, especially Quebec, and has collaborated with many workers in Canada to assemble the knowledge and photographs displayed in this volume. He begins with a general introduction to the evolution and biogeography of butterflies and moths, their ecology, and life history. Excellent text drawings and scanning electron micrographs, as well as color photographs, illustrate scale structure and other features. Concise but well-done summaries of geographic and genetic variation of butterflies and moths are presented, along with a fascinating discussion of mimicry that includes unusual illustrations not appearing in any other book. Likewise, a short section is devoted to the enemies and diseases of Lepidoptera, and there is a valuable descriptive section on the characteristics of each family of butterflies and some of the major moth groups.
The author then presents a quite usable key to the species of diurnal Lepidoptera in Quebec as well as to species of certain genera in major moth families (Sphingidae, Lasiocampidae, Saturniidae, Arctiidae, Agaristidae, Notodontidae, and Lymantriidae). The last key, interestingly enough, is solely to the larvae of the species in the genus Dasychira in Quebec, because they offer the best distinguishing characters for the genus.
The outstanding and immaculately reproduced color plates, however, carry the major load of identification of specimens. The male, female, and underside of each species is shown, along with seasonal and geographic variation across eastern Canada. The plates are among the very best ever produced for a book on a North American faunal region. After the 34 color plates of adult specimens, photographed crisply on a blue background, the author includes a series of 30 plates of eggs, larvae, and pupae of the illustrated butterflies and moths, as well as a plate of eight habitat photographs. Technically, it would be hard to suggest any improvement that could be made in the beautiful photography that illustrates this book.
The author discusses in detail the vegetation zones of Quebec and northeastern Canada, north to Hudson Bay and west into Ontario as well as east into Labrador and Newfoundland. One of the most interesting features is a complex yet highly readable table presenting a summary of biological notes on 282 species and 11 subspecies of Lepidoptera, including 134 butterflies and 159 moth species. This table neatly shows the distribution, flight period, abundance in habitat, cross-references to illustrations in the text, number of annual generations, the hibernation or aestivation stage, and the larval characteristics, including host plants, period of activity, living habits (solitary, gregarious, etc.), and the average