Excerpt: Contemporary entomological writing usually falls into one of two categories: general  picture-books  designed. for youngsters, and learned monographs and specialized publications that are generally unavailable and incomprehensible to the layman. Insects fills this gap, and interprets modern findings for the advanced amateur, the adult lay public, and even offers insights into aspects of entomology that a professional entomologist, devoted as he is to a specialized field, will find to be new and interesting

Donahue, Julian P

English

ValpoScholar

The Great Lakes Entomologist 
Volume 1 
Number 7 -- December 1967 Number 7 -- 
December 1967 
Article 9 
December 1967 
Insects. Ross E. Hutchins. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: 
Prentice- Hall, Inc., 1966. xii, 324 pp. $6.95. 
Julian P. Donahue 
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle 
 Part of the Entomology Commons 
Recommended Citation 
Donahue, Julian P. 1967. "Insects. Ross E. Hutchins. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice- Hall, Inc., 
1966. xii, 324 pp. $6.95.," The Great Lakes Entomologist, vol 1 (7) 
Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol1/iss7/9 
This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Biology at ValpoScholar. It has 
been accepted for inclusion in The Great Lakes Entomologist by an authorized administrator of ValpoScholar. For 
more information, please contact a ValpoScholar staff member at scholar@valpo.edu. 
1967 THE MICHIGAN ENTOMOLOGIST 261 
in  No. 3,pp.  57-60. Other misspelled words and an occasional  incomplete 
sentence may be found. No. 4 i s  labeled a s  Vol. 1, no. 3 above the table 
of contents. Despite these 'birthing pains, '  the A.M.E. Newslettev has  
had a favorable s t a r t  with some  good mater ia l ,  and we wish i t  luck in 
the future.  
R.S. W. 
INSECTS. Ross E. Hutchins. Englewood Cliffs, New Je r sey :  Prent ice-  
Hall,  Inc., 1966. xi i ,  324 pp. $6.95. 
Contemporary entomological writing usually fal ls  into one of two 
categories:  genera l  "picture-books" designed. for  youngsters ,  and 
learned  monographs and specialized publications that a r e  general ly 
unavailable and incomprehensible to the layman. Insects f i l ls  th is  gap, 
and in terpre ts  modern findings for  the advanced ama teu r ,  the adult lay 
public, and even offers  insights into aspects  of entomology that a pro- 
fessional  entomologist,  devoted a s  he  i s  to a special ized field, will find 
to be new and interest ing.  
In s imple ,  everyday language Dr .  Hutchins sp ins  his  accounts of in- 
s ec t s  and their  ways, with emphasis  on behavior,  f o r m ,  and function 
in  such chapters  a s  The Aer ia l i s t s ,  Insect  Migration, The Water 
Realm,  The Hunters,  The F a r m e r s ,  The Bui lders ,  The Paper  and Tent 
Makers ,  The Nectar Ga the re r s ,  The Poll inators,  Chemical  Warfare,  
and o thers .  
In these chapters  we a r e  told how to calculate the tempera ture ,  
based on the r a t e  of chirping of various cr icke ts  and katydids; we l ea rn  
that  the paper nes ts  of Polistes wasps have been used a s  wadding in 
muzzle-loading f i r ea rms ;  and we delight in h is  accounts of air-condi- 
tioned t e rmi t e  mounds, of ants  that  dwell in the thorns of acacia t r e e s ,  
of beetles,  roaches ,  and c r i cke t s  that  l ive in  ant nes t s ,  the s e c r e t  of 
Mexican jumping beans ,  of ants that use their  heads  to plug the ent rances  
to the i r  homes in twigs. Many more  vignettes of the l ives of a wide 
variety of insec ts  a r e  included. 
The book i s  more  meaningful to us  because i t  deals  la rge ly  with the 
North Amer ican  faunrl, and each topic i s  i l lustrated with carefully 
chosen examples.  Dr. Hutchins a lmost  always identifies the insec t  
under discussion with a common name,  scientific name,  and, a very  
welcome fea ture  indeed, the family and o rde r  name. The author does 
not L 'wr i t e  down" to h is  audience, but explains each facet  lucidly and 
introduces such t e r m s  a s  pheromone,  t ropism,  hemolymph,  chit in,  
s tr idulat ion,  diapause,  polyembryony, bromat ia ,  t rophallaxis ,  and c i r -  
cadian rhythm,  in a way that  makes the account more  challenging and 
stimulating. 
Numerous photographs by the author i l lus t ra te  the text. All a r e  of 
excellent quality, but the use  of dead specimens in unnatural  poses  
(such a s  the painted lady butterfly on page 82) i s  regret table.  Many of 
the photos were taken indoors,  with plain backgrounds, when a more  
na tura l  outdoor photo would have been m o r e  appealing. The photographs 
1
Donahue: Insects
Published by ValpoScholar, 1967
262 THE MICHIGAN ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 1, No. 7 
of s o m e  i n s e c t s ,  p r e s u m a b l y  in  f l ight ,  a r e  not  v e r y  convincing. 
T h e  book h a s  been well edi ted and conta ins  few e r r o r s ,  but  s o m e  of the  
m o r e  obvious m i s t a k e s  should b e  mentioned h e r e .  On page 277, the  
photograph of a l a r v a  o'f the  sp icebush  swallowtai l ,  Papilio tvoilus, i s  
actual ly of the b lack  swallowtai l ,  P. polyxenes astevias: the  introduc-  
to ry  drawing  to c h a p t e r  1 2 ,  on page  224, is upside-down; the e a s t e r n  
ten t  c a t e r p i l l a r s  in  the photo on p a g e  200 w e r e  given the  c o r r e c t  sc ien-  
t i f ic  n a m e ,  but  the  capt ion i n c o r r e c t l y  iden t i f i es  them a s  f o r e s t  t en t  
c a t e r p i l l a r s .  A few o t h e r  m i n o r  e r r o r s  of fac t  and spel l ing o c c u r ,  
bu t  these  a r e  to b e  expected i n  a g e n e r a l  work of t h i s  na ture .  
The p r e f a c e  is m o s t  unfortunate .  After  s tumbl ing  through half of i t ,  
and just b e f o r e  giving up hope f o r  the  e n t i r e  book,  I d i scovered  t h a t  
D r .  Hutchins did not  wr i te  it .  Ins tead ,  i t  was penned by Joseph  Wood 
K r u t c h ,  the consul t ing e d i t o r  and a n a t u r e  w r i t e r  of wide exper ience .  
The  f i r s t  sen tence  will  i l l u s t r a t e  m y  r e a s o n  f o r  d i smay:  "God m u s t  
have  loved the i n s e c t s  h e  made  s o  many  of them--just  how many no- 
body knows b e c a u s e  new ones  a r e  being found and n a m e d  e v e r y  y e a r ;  
p e r h a p s  even e v e r y  day." For tuna te ly ,  the  book i s  wr i t t en  much  b e t t e r  
than that.  Indeed,  Insects is a valuable contr ibut ion to l ay  entomological  
l i t e r a t u r e ,  and is highly recommended .  J.P.D. 
B R I E F  NOTICES 
COMPLETENESS IN SCIENCE. Richard Schlegel.  New York: Appleton- 
Century-Crof t s ,  1967. xv i ,  280 pp. $7.50. 
"To what extent  c a n  sc ience  d e s c r i b e  and explain the n a t u r a l  world- 
including o u r s e l v e s ?  A r e  t h e r e  i n t r i n s i c  l i m i t s  to the  methods  of s c i e n c e  
tha t  m a k e  an adequate scient i f ic  descr ip t ion  i m p o s s i b l e ,  o r  c a n  we ex- 
p e c t  tha t  s c i e n c e  will  eventual ly g ive  u s  a comple te  account  of the uni- 
v e r s e ? "  T h e s e  a r e  the p r o b l e m s  d i s c u s s e d  by  Schlege l in  th i s  p rovoca-  
t ive work. S c i e n t i s t s ,  a s  well a s  h i s t o r i a n s  andphi losophers  of s c i e n c e ,  
have  long debated the  topic of l imitat ions.  Schlegel ,  who i s  a p r o f e s s o r  
of p h y s i c s  a t  Michigan State  Univers i ty ,  h a s  s t a t e d  old p r o b l e m s  i n  a 
f r e s h  and i n t e r e s t i n g  m a n n e r .  E v e r y  sc ien t i s twho thinks a t  a l l  about h i s  
p rofess ion  m u s t ,  o r  should ,  be  concerned  about the quest ions Schlegel  
a s k s  and the  conclusions h e  r e a c h e s .  
THE WAY O F  THE SCIENTIST: INTERVIEWS FROM THE WORLD O F  
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY. Selected and annotated by the  e d i t o r s  of 
Intevnational Science and Technology. New York: Simon and S c h u s t e r ,  
1966. 382 pp. $8.95. 
T h i s  volume is a col lect ion of p e r s o n a l  in te rv iews  with leading 
s c i e n t i s t s  and technic ians  in  v a r i o u s  f ie lds .  All  have  appeared  a s  a r t i c l e s  
i n  t h e  journal  Intemtional Science and Technology. Such f i g u r e s  a s  L e o  
S z i l a r d ,  C. P.  Snow and Glenn S e a b o r g  ta lk  about what s c i e n t i s t s  think 
of s c i e n c e ,  the  p lace  of s c i e n c e  in  today 's  wor ld ,  p r o b l e m s  of e t h i c s ,  
scient i f ic  educat ion and a h o s t  of o t h e r  topics .  
2
The Great Lakes Entomologist, Vol. 1, No. 7 [1967], Art. 9
https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol1/iss7/9


Insects. Ross E. Hutchins. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice- Hall, Inc., 1966. xii, 324 pp. $6.95.

Valparaiso University

The Great Lakes Entomologist Volume 1 Number 7 -- December 1967 Number 7 -- December 1967 Article 9 December 1967 Insects. Ross E. Hutchins. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice- Hall, Inc., 1966. xii, 324 pp. $6.95. Julian P. Donahue Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle  Part of the Entomology Commons Recommended Citation Donahue, Julian P. 1967. "Insects. Ross E. Hutchins. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice- Hall, Inc., 1966. xii, 324 pp. $6.95.," The Great Lakes Entomologist, vol 1 (7) Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol1/iss7/9 This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Biology at ValpoScholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Great Lakes Entomologist by an authorized administrator of ValpoScholar. For more information, please contact a ValpoScholar staff member at scholar@valpo.edu. 1967 THE MICHIGAN ENTOMOLOGIST 261 in  No. 3,pp.  57-60. Other misspelled words and an occasional  incomplete sentence may be found. No. 4 i s  labeled a s  Vol. 1, no. 3 above the table of contents. Despite these 'birthing pains, '  the A.M.E. Newslettev has  had a favorable s t a r t  with some  good mater ia l ,  and we wish i t  luck in the future.  R.S. W. INSECTS. Ross E. Hutchins. Englewood Cliffs, New Je r sey :  Prent ice-  Hall,  Inc., 1966. xi i ,  324 pp. $6.95. Contemporary entomological writing usually fal ls  into one of two categories:  genera l  "picture-books" designed. for  youngsters ,  and learned  monographs and specialized publications that a r e  general ly unavailable and incomprehensible to the layman. Insects f i l ls  th is  gap, and in terpre ts  modern findings for  the advanced ama teu r ,  the adult lay public, and even offers  insights into aspects  of entomology that a pro- fessional  entomologist,  devoted a s  he  i s  to a special ized field, will find to be new and interest ing.  In s imple ,  everyday language Dr .  Hutchins sp ins  his  accounts of in- s ec t s  and their  ways, with emphasis  on behavior,  f o r m ,  and function in  such chapters  a s  The Aer ia l i s t s ,  Insect  Migration, The Water Realm,  The Hunters,  The F a r m e r s ,  The Bui lders ,  The Paper  and Tent Makers ,  The Nectar Ga the re r s ,  The Poll inators,  Chemical  Warfare,  and o thers .  In these chapters  we a r e  told how to calculate the tempera ture ,  based on the r a t e  of chirping of various cr icke ts  and katydids; we l ea rn  that  the paper nes ts  of Polistes wasps have been used a s  wadding in muzzle-loading f i r ea rms ;  and we delight in h is  accounts of air-condi- tioned t e rmi t e  mounds, of ants  that  dwell in the thorns of acacia t r e e s ,  of beetles,  roaches ,  and c r i cke t s  that  l ive in  ant nes t s ,  the s e c r e t  of Mexican jumping beans ,  of ants that use their  heads  to plug the ent rances  to the i r  homes in twigs. Many more  vignettes of the l ives of a wide variety of insec ts  a r e  included. The book i s  more  meaningful to us  because i t  deals  la rge ly  with the North Amer ican  faunrl, and each topic i s  i l lustrated with carefully chosen examples.  Dr. Hutchins a lmost  always identifies the insec t  under discussion with a common name,  scientific name,  and, a very  welcome fea ture  indeed, the family and o rde r  name. The author does not L 'wr i t e  down" to h is  audience, but explains each facet  lucidly and introduces such t e r m s  a s  pheromone,  t ropism,  hemolymph,  chit in,  s tr idulat ion,  diapause,  polyembryony, bromat ia ,  t rophallaxis ,  and c i r -  cadian rhythm,  in a way that  makes the account more  challenging and stimulating. Numerous photographs by the author i l lus t ra te  the text. All a r e  of excellent quality, but the use  of dead specimens in unnatural  poses  (such a s  the painted lady butterfly on page 82) i s  regret table.  Many of the photos were taken indoors,  with plain backgrounds, when a more  na tura l  outdoor photo would have been m o r e  appealing. The photographs 1Donahue: InsectsPublished by ValpoScholar, 1967262 THE MICHIGAN ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 1, No. 7 of s o m e  i n s e c t s ,  p r e s u m a b l y  in  f l ight ,  a r e  not  v e r y  convincing. T h e  book h a s  been well edi ted and conta ins  few e r r o r s ,  but  s o m e  of the  m o r e  obvious m i s t a k e s  should b e  mentioned h e r e .  On page 277, the  photograph of a l a r v a  o'f the  sp icebush  swallowtai l ,  Papilio tvoilus, i s  actual ly of the b lack  swallowtai l ,  P. polyxenes astevias: the  introduc-  to ry  drawing  to c h a p t e r  1 2 ,  on page  224, is upside-down; the e a s t e r n  ten t  c a t e r p i l l a r s  in  the photo on p a g e  200 w e r e  given the  c o r r e c t  sc ien-  t i f ic  n a m e ,  but  the  capt ion i n c o r r e c t l y  iden t i f i es  them a s  f o r e s t  t en t  c a t e r p i l l a r s .  A few o t h e r  m i n o r  e r r o r s  of fac t  and spel l ing o c c u r ,  bu t  these  a r e  to b e  expected i n  a g e n e r a l  work of t h i s  na ture .  The p r e f a c e  is m o s t  unfortunate .  After  s tumbl ing  through half of i t ,  and just b e f o r e  giving up hope f o r  the  e n t i r e  book,  I d i scovered  t h a t  D r .  Hutchins did not  wr i te  it .  Ins tead ,  i t  was penned by Joseph  Wood K r u t c h ,  the consul t ing e d i t o r  and a n a t u r e  w r i t e r  of wide exper ience .  The  f i r s t  sen tence  will  i l l u s t r a t e  m y  r e a s o n  f o r  d i smay:  "God m u s t  have  loved the i n s e c t s  h e  made  s o  many  of them--just  how many no- body knows b e c a u s e  new ones  a r e  being found and n a m e d  e v e r y  y e a r ;  p e r h a p s  even e v e r y  day." For tuna te ly ,  the  book i s  wr i t t en  much  b e t t e r  than that.  Indeed,  Insects is a valuable contr ibut ion to l ay  entomological  l i t e r a t u r e ,  and is highly recommended .  J.P.D. B R I E F  NOTICES COMPLETENESS IN SCIENCE. Richard Schlegel.  New York: Appleton- Century-Crof t s ,  1967. xv i ,  280 pp. $7.50. "To what extent  c a n  sc ience  d e s c r i b e  and explain the n a t u r a l  world- including o u r s e l v e s ?  A r e  t h e r e  i n t r i n s i c  l i m i t s  to the  methods  of s c i e n c e  tha t  m a k e  an adequate scient i f ic  descr ip t ion  i m p o s s i b l e ,  o r  c a n  we ex- p e c t  tha t  s c i e n c e  will  eventual ly g ive  u s  a comple te  account  of the uni- v e r s e ? "  T h e s e  a r e  the p r o b l e m s  d i s c u s s e d  by  Schlege l in  th i s  p rovoca-  t ive work. S c i e n t i s t s ,  a s  well a s  h i s t o r i a n s  andphi losophers  of s c i e n c e ,  have  long debated the  topic of l imitat ions.  Schlegel ,  who i s  a p r o f e s s o r  of p h y s i c s  a t  Michigan State  Univers i ty ,  h a s  s t a t e d  old p r o b l e m s  i n  a f r e s h  and i n t e r e s t i n g  m a n n e r .  E v e r y  sc ien t i s twho thinks a t  a l l  about h i s  p rofess ion  m u s t ,  o r  should ,  be  concerned  about the quest ions Schlegel  a s k s  and the  conclusions h e  r e a c h e s .  THE WAY O F  THE SCIENTIST: INTERVIEWS FROM THE WORLD O F  SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY. Selected and annotated by the  e d i t o r s  of Intevnational Science and Technology. New York: Simon and S c h u s t e r ,  1966. 382 pp. $8.95. T h i s  volume is a col lect ion of p e r s o n a l  in te rv iews  with leading s c i e n t i s t s  and technic ians  in  v a r i o u s  f ie lds .  All  have  appeared  a s  a r t i c l e s  i n  t h e  journal  Intemtional Science and Technology. Such f i g u r e s  a s  L e o  S z i l a r d ,  C. P.  Snow and Glenn S e a b o r g  ta lk  about what s c i e n t i s t s  think of s c i e n c e ,  the  p lace  of s c i e n c e  in  today 's  wor ld ,  p r o b l e m s  of e t h i c s ,  scient i f ic  educat ion and a h o s t  of o t h e r  topics .  2The Great Lakes Entomologist, Vol. 1, No. 7 [1967], Art. 9https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol1/iss7/9

Julian P Donahue

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https://scholar.valpo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1067&amp;context=tgle

Insects. Ross E. Hutchins. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice- Hall, Inc., 1966. xii, 324 pp. $6.95.

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