The Compleat Naturalist: A Life of Linnaeus. Wilfrid Blunt. New York: The Viking Press, 1971. 256 pp. $14.95.

Excerpt: Not all historians agree thoroughly with Julius von Sachs\u27 suggestion in the Geschichte der Botanik (1875) that the work of Carl von Linnd marked the conclusion of an old epoch rather than the beginning of a new one, but it is true that most of Linnaeus\u27 contributions were elaborations of the views of his predecessors. Except to historians of science, his sexual system of the classification of plants is all but forgotten. Yet as the grand nomenclator of the eighteenth century, and the regulator and popularizer (if not the innovator) of binomial nomenclature in biology, his place is secure in our memory

Freezing Lepidoptera for Temporary Storage

Frequently the lepidopterist is faced with the problem of mounting an inordinately larze number of specimens taken on a field trip. Most butterflies and larger moths may of course be pinned or papered and relaxed at leisure for mounting, but this method does not work well with smaller moths, which even if pinned immediately should be mounted quickly before drying occurs. Even a specimen as large as an average-sized Noctuid is not really a satisfactory subject for spreading after drying and relaxing. The recent republication of Tindale\u27s 1962 observations on the ability of chlorocresoI to retard drying (Tindalc, 1973) has again called attention to this very useful method, but all investigators do not have ready access to chlorocresol. Another method of retarding the drying of specimens during storage is that of freezing

Daylight Collecting of Catocala (Lepidoptera: Nocturidae)

Excerpt: Sugaring and attraction to artificial light have long been favorite methods of collecting adults of the genus Catocala, and both have been very successful. Each of the many collectors who uses the English method of applying bait to the trunks of trees has his own preferred mixture. Usually molasses is the base, and fragrance is the measure. Feed molasses is widely used in this country, augmented by various combinations of beer, rum, aromatic oils and decaying fruits. Temperature, humidity, wind and amount of moonlight are all well-known factors affecting the success of bait, whether applied according to the old method or used in the modern variant of bait-traps. The advent of ultra-violet and mercury-vapor light has been a boon to students of this genus. According to the present low level of evidence, certain species would seem to have a preference for either bait or light. Experienced.lepidopterists insist that some species are not attracted to one or the other, but the phenomenon has not at all been carefully studied

John White\u27s Drawings of Papilio Glaucus L. (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae): New Light on the \u27First American Butterfly\u27 and the Problem of Glaucus Versus Antilochus L. Part I: White to Moffet

All American lepidopterists are familiar with the first picture of an American butterfly. William J. Holland\u27s account of one of John White\u27s watercolors of Papilio glaucus L. first appeared as a separate article (Holland, 1929), and was later adapted for the second edition of his immensely popular The Butterfly Book (Holland, 1931). Sub sequent research has added many facts to our knowledge of White\u27s life, and much more can now be said about his paintings and later use of them. A reappraisal of the first identifiable record of a North American butterfly is now possible, and, more important to taxonomists, evidence can be provided to support a decision upon the suggestion of F. Martin Brown (1968) that the name of the yellow form of Papilio glaucus should be antilochus L

Newsletter of the Association of Minnesota Entomologists. Edi ted by John H. Ma s t e r s . Vol. 1, No. 1. [~ctober?1]9 66; No. 2 , not received; No. 3, Feb. 1967; No. 4, Aug. 1967. Free to members of the A.M.E., who pay 2.75ayearforactiveand2.75 a y e a r f o r active and 1.75 for corresponding memberships, which are open to all by contacting John T. Sorensen, 5309 37th Avenue South, Minneapolis, Minn. 55417.

Excerpt: Our brothers in Minnesota have long taken advantage of this good fortune, but only recently has a newsletter appeared to document their activities. It is a folded 24-page silk-screen mimeograph production with heavy stock covers. The inexpensive for math as the usual drawback of muddy type, but a definite improvement can be seen through the course of publication, due to the utilization of better materials. The newsletter accepts contributions on any aspect of entomology in any part of the world, but priority in publication will be given to papers of the North Central Region and to papers by members of the Association

George Starkey, an Early Seventeenth-Century American Entomologist

Between the earliest known North American entomological observations made by John White (Wilkinson, 1973a) and Thomas Hariot, and the beginning of more systematic investigations by John Banister (Ewan and Ewan, 1970) and other collectors in the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, especially those promoted by the London apothecary and naturalist James Petiver (Stearns, 1952; Wilkinson, 1966), a number of persons wrote about insects observed in British America. However, their remarks were usually very brief, and confined to notices of one or two species. Only a few seventeenth-century investigators actually studied North American insects and related forms in situ with any diligence. The earliest of these appears to have been George Starkey (1627 or 1628-1665)

World Guide to Technical Information and Documentation Services. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Paris: UNESCO, 1969. 287 pp. Hardbound, 6.00;paper,6.00; paper, 4.00 (available in U.S.A. from Unipub. Inc., P.O. Box 433, New York City, N.Y. 10016).

Excerpt: This very useful reference volume is a companion to UNESCO\u27s World Guide to Science Information and Documentation Services (1965). It lists and describes the principal centers in each country which provide technical information, either to all investigators or to a restricted clientele. 273 institutions in 73 countries have been included, with an informative yet concise report upon each source. A sampIe entry lists name of repository in the vernacular, English, French and acronym; addresses; brief history; staff; subject coverage; nature of library; nature of abstracting service; whether bibliographies, literature searches or translations are available; information about photoreproduction services; and methods of payment for services. The remarkable proliferation of information sources in science and technology makes such guides not only convenient but necessary

January Collecting in Central Michigan

Excerpt: To the uninitiated reader, searching for adult insects in mid-winter might seem a fruitless task at best. Yet as the List of Michigan Insects and Related Arthropods takes shape, L\u27off-season collecting records are urgently needed by the compilers. Many species of insects thrive when we might wish to stay indoors; the Collembola are good examples, as are the species of Chionea (Diptera: Tipulidae), a genus of wingless crane-flies. We should like to know much more about the distribution of many hardy winter insects, and only increased collecting will enable this

The Genesis of A.R. Grote\u27s Collecting Noctuidae by Lake Erie

Since its serial publication in The Entomologist\u27s Record during 1895, Augustus Radcliffe Grote\u27s Collecting Noctuidae by Lake Erie has become a minor classic of entomological literature. This brief but compelling reminiscence of two and a half months under canvas has long been considered one of the finest of the many accounts which have been written about the pursuit of Lepidoptera, and it is especially treasured by those collectors who, like Grote at Lake Erie, have used the method of \u27sugaring\u27 to capture moths. Surely much of the essay\u27s appeal is due to Grote\u27s facile and unusually colorful literary style; as P. B. M. Allan (1948) has observed, it is given to but few of us to paint like that

Cover Illustration: The Well-Dressed Entomologist

This issue\u27s cover illustration is the frontispiece to a classic work of eighteenth-century entomology, Moses Harris\u27 The Aurelian, which began to appear in parts in 1758 and was published entire in 1766 (Lisney, 1960). Harris, who was the illustrator as well as the author, pictures the contemporary entomologist with part of his array of collecting equipment. (By tradition, the frontispiece is supposed to be a self-portrait.