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Volume 44, Number 2
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well done and suggest that when more such data become available, the preparatory stages could provide independent characters to falsify the existing phylogeny.
Another useful attribute of this book is the documentation for and citation of statements made in it. Opinions of the author are clearly labelled as such, and others' opinions are scrupulously referenced. Such citing of sources should be a requirement for any major work but, sadly, is not always done.
The last few pages are devoted to detailed lists of the species recorded from each African country and the islands off its coast, a synonymic checklist of the African Charaxi-nae, foodplant lists for those species for which the life history is known, an addendum of taxa described too recently for inclusion in the main body of the book, a glossary of terms, an extensive bibliography, and an index.
There are very few, but slightly disturbing, typographical errors in the volume, but they in no way detract from the usefulness of the book. Perhaps the most serious is the identification of Charaxes barnsi Joicey and Talbot (named for the collector, T. A. Barns) on page 156 as Charaxes "barnesi" consistently in the text, though the figure caption and the mention in the checklist (p. 424) are correct. On page 211, the repository of the type-specimen of Charaxes lydiae Holland is given as "Carnegie Museum, Pittsburg, USA," rather than "Pittsburgh." Elsewhere, Henning simply gives the name as "Carnegie Museum, USA." Finally, the subspecific name of Charaxes baumanni tenuis van Someren is given in the heading as "tenius," though it is correct elsewhere.
A much more distressing set of errors surely cannot be laid at Mr. Henning's doorstep. On the interleaf a list of sponsors of the publication is given, and at least this seems to be correct, but below this is given a list of subscribers to the very expensive Collectors' Edition, in which there appear to be several grievous errors. The late A. C. Allyn's name came out "Allen"; the author's father, W. H. (Bill) Henning, is listed as "B. Henning"; and D. M. Kroon's name had the initials reversed as "M. D. Kroon." It would seem to be a vital part of public relations that one cites major benefactors correctly: this seems to have been a rather sloppy job of proof-reading on a third party's part.
None of these complaints, niggling as they are, diminish the satisfaction that the author should feel on having produced a significant book on the African Charaxinae that is destined to be the definitive work on these insects for many years to come. Mr. Henning has succeeded in all of his objectives beyond most lepidopterists' dreams. Although the price may preclude many interested readers from obtaining The Charaxinae Butterflies of Africa, it is a must for all museums and anyone with a sincere interest in these fascinating butterflies. I strongly recommend that such afficionados buy a copy now, before it goes out of print. (The Standard Edition is limited to 1200 numbered copies; the leather-bound, signed Collectors' Edition to 100 copies.)
Lee D. Miller, Allyn Museum of Entomology, Florida Museum of Natural History, 3621 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota, Florida 34234.
Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 44(2), 1990, 101-102
MARIPOSAS Mexicanas, by Roberto de la Maza Ramirez (with technical assistance from Javier de la Maza E.; in Spanish). 1987. Fondo de Cultura Economica, S. A. de C. V. Mexico, D.F. Distributed by Bioquip, Inc., 17803 LaSalle Avenue, Gardena, CA 90248. 9 + 302 pp., 58 text figs., 67 color plates. Hard cover, 21 x 27.5 cm, ISBN-968-16-2316-9, $60.00 (U.S.).
Roberto de la Maza R., assisted by his sons, has written a very fine book on the butterflies of his country. He is to be congratulated for this accomplishment: it is emphatically not just another rather amateurish Mexican butterfly book.
Only 651 of nearly 1500 Mexican butterfly species are included in this volume. As
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might be expected, the coverage is not uniform: most of the species of Papilionidae, Pieridae and Nymphalidae («./.) are illustrated and discussed in some detail, whereas species of Riodinidae, Lycaenidae and Hesperiidae are given much more cursory and incomplete treatment. The species accounts are somewhat reminiscent of the annotations given by Hoffmann in his catalogues 50 years ago, but the data are updated considerably and augmented by new ecological and distributional findings.
The color illustrations are usually of high quality, though disconcerting shadows are found on some plates (e.g., 2, 4, 18, 24, 39, 60, etc.) that could have been avoided by using a light box to illuminate the subjects evenly from several sides. The backgrounds are also uneven, but seldom disconcertingly so. The illustrated butterflies are more or less true to color and readily serve to identify the species.
The nomenclature is mostly up to date, and there are relatively few typographical errors. To cite a few examples: Neophasia is misspelled "Neopasia" on Plate 2, but correctly on page 83; huascama is misspelled as "huascuma" on page 103; Ganyra howarthi (Dixey) is misidentified as G. josephina kuschei (Schaus); the generic name for Pareuptychia ocirrhoe (Fabricius) is misspelled as " Paraeuptychia" and the species is identified as "hesione" (Sulzer), a name rejected as a homonym. The generic treatment of the Theclinae (Lycaenidae) does not always follow the most recent revisionary studies.
The general topics covered at the beginning of the book (pages 13-70) are well presented, especially those sections on the uses of butterflies in ancient art and the discussions of life zones inhabited by Mexican butterflies. Excellent photographs of each life zone are presented, which supplement the text by giving the reader a "feel" for where the various species fly.
The few criticisms that I have in no way diminish the accomplishment by Sr. de la Maza in producing a book that will remain the standard Mexican text for many years. It is vastly better than most books on the Mexican fauna. The entire de la Maza family stands in the forefront of Mexican lepidopterology, and this book only strengthens this assessment. Anyone with an interest in the butterflies of Mexico must have Mariposas Mexicanas; those who simply are interested in beautiful butterflies should have it to enjoy the plates.
Lee D. Miller, Allyn Museum of Entomology, Florida Museum of Natural History, 3621 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota, Florida 34234.
Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 44(2), 1990, 102-103
Las Mariposas entre los Antiguos Mexicanos, by Carlos R. Beutelspacher (prolog by Rafael Martin del Campo). 1988. Fondo de Cultura Economica, Avenida de la Univ-ersidad, 975; 03100 Mexico, D.F., Mexico. 103 pp., 308 color and b&w figures. Hard cover, 22 x 28 cm, ISBN 968-16-3042-4, $27.69. In Spanish.
Cultural entomology, the influence of insects in the humanities, has been recognized in recent years as a singular and provocative field of insect study (Hogue, C. 1987, Cultural Entomology, Ann. Rev. Entomol. 32:181-199). This copiously illustrated book is a significant contribution to the field. It brings together, in an aesthetic way, a collection of images and information, demonstrating and documenting the multifarious and significant ways that butterflies and moths were woven into ancient Mexican cultures. These range from transient and simple uses of the lepidopteran form for adornment of pottery and in featherwork to deeply religious symbolisms hewn in stone.
The deification of at least two species is known with certainty, evidence for which receives major treatment in the book. Xochiquetzal, who was represented by the common papilionid Papilio multicaudatus, was the wide-serving god of beauty, love, and flowers, patron of domestic labor and the courtesans, and symbol of the soul and the dead (Chapter