Excerpt: Plant galls or cecidia have always fascinated and bewildered the biologist and the layman, and only recently has there been much attention paid to the biology of gall makers and the physiology of gall development. There are several \u27early\u27 definitive books on galls by British, German, and American authors, but most are out of print or are replete with errors. Few are useful for quick identification of galls in the field

Wilson, Louis F.

English

ValpoScholar

The Great Lakes Entomologist 
Volume 2 
Numbers 1/2 -- Spring/Summer 1969 Numbers 
1/2 -- Spring/Summer 1969 
Article 11 
June 2017 
The Pocket Encyclopedia of Plant Galls. Arnold Darlington. New 
York: Philosophical Library, 1968.191 pp. $7.50. 
Louis F. Wilson 
Michigan State University 
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle 
 Part of the Entomology Commons 
Recommended Citation 
Wilson, Louis F. 2017. "The Pocket Encyclopedia of Plant Galls. Arnold Darlington. New York: 
Philosophical Library, 1968.191 pp. $7.50.," The Great Lakes Entomologist, vol 2 (1) 
Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol2/iss1/11 
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. 
42 THE MICHIGAN ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 2. Nos. 1-2 
DISCUSSION 
Speqeria aphrodite appears to be the most capable pollen carrier of the milk- 
weed visitors in the a rea  of this study. It  was not ascertained if Speyeria was 
the best milkweed pollinator there, but the numerous individuals collected 
with naked clips suggest i t  was a t  least a very good pollinator. Pieris rapae 
was a fair pollen carrier,  while Colias interior and C. ecrrytheme were very poor 
carriers.  These last three species a r e  similar in size and structure and they ap- 
pear to visit milkweed with almost equal regularity, so the variability was 
probably due mostly to behavioral differences. Perhaps Colias manages to grasp 
the flower better and thus prevent slipping on the stamens, or if i t  slips perhaps 
i t  does not recover i ts  foothold in a way that is  conducive to pollen collecting. 
It  is  not surprising that some of the butterflies had pollinia attached to their 
proboscises. All of the species studied probe across a-flower to reach the nec- 
taries located behind the anther sacs. This probing sometimes places the curved 
proboscis in the groove or slit near  the clip, so that a sudden movement upward 
would cause the clip to catch hold. Judd (1955) found calliphorid flies with polli- 
nia clasped to the labellum of the labium indicating they too were searching for 
nectar. 
LITERATURE CITED 
Judd, W. W. 1955. Mites (Anoetidae), fungi (Empusn spp.)  and pollinia of milk- 
weed (Asclepias syrirtcn) transported by calyptrate flies. Canad.En~omo1. 
87: 366-369. 
Matheson, R .  1951. Entomology for introductory courses. Second edition. 
Ithaca, N.Y. 
Miiller. H. 1883. The fertilization of flowers. London. 
REVIEWS OF RECENT LITERATURE 
THE POCKET ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PLANT GALLS. Arnold Darlington. New 
Yor-k: Philosophical Library, 1968.191 pp. $7.50. 
Plant galls or cecidia have always fascinated and bewildered the biologist 
and the layman, and only recently has there been much attention paid to the 
biology of gall makers  and the physiology of gall development. There a r e  sev- 
eral  'early' definitive books on galls by British, German, and American au- 
thors, but most a r e  out of print or a r e  replete with errors. Few a r e  useful for 
quick identification of galls in the field. 
This pocket encyclopedia definitely fills a vacancy not occupied by other 
works on galls. I t  is one of the "Blandford Colour Series" of books on natural 
history subjects, and is  thus similar to the American Field Guide Series in style 
and method of usage. Though published in the United States i t  is  based entire- 
ly upon representative galls of Great  Britain. 
The book is divided into several brief introductory chapters, a section com- 
posed of colored plates, and a long annotated list of British galls. In the 
introductory chapters the author introduces the reader to fundamentals of 
1
Wilson: The Pocket Encyclopedia of Plant Galls
Published by ValpoScholar, 2017
1969 THE MICHIGAN ENTOMOLOGIST 43 
galls and their makers and discusses the basic life histories, alternation 
of generations, and effects of the agent on the host. He concludes with a 
short chapter on collecting and preserving galls. 
The book is  generous with. its illustrations--some 293 photos and drawings in 
full color and nearly two dozen in black and white showing representative 
galls, gall occupants, and a few 'non-galls'. The annotated list, which occupies 
one-half of the book, is arranged systemically by order of host plant accord- 
ing to Warburg's Flora of the British Isles (1962), and covers galls of ferns, 
coniferous and deciduous trees, shurbs, flowers, and grasses. Each annotation 
lists the host, location and description of the gall, type and name of the agent, 
biology of the agent, and other interesting addenda. 
The author's objectives a r e  three-fold: to provide a means of gall identifica- 
tion from easily found field characters; to outline the mode of life of the prin- 
cipal gall-causing agents; and to suggest means of investigating galls in the 
field and in the home. He has certainly fulfilled these objectives. At the 
same time he has attempted to attain a measure of simplicity in order to 
appeal to a wide audience, but still maintain precision and accuracy. 
This book has limited use for gall identification in America. Gall-makers 
a re  often highly host specific, so  only a few of the galls represented a r e  com- 
mon to both sides of the Atlantic, and then mainly because the same hosts 
areinbothplaces.  Yet The Pocket Encyclopedia of Plant Galls will be of 
great interest to the American entomologist because of the excellent treatment 
of i ts  non-taxonomic aspects. I t  should be useful to the amateur  who has a 
casual interest in galls, and to the more seasoned gall-oriented veteran. 
Louis F .  Wilson 
North Central Forest Experiment Station 
Michigan State University 
East  Lansing 
INTRODUCTION TO ZOOLOGY. T. H. Savory. New York: Philosophical Li- 
brary, 1968. viii, 239 pp. $6.00. 
This book would delight the traditional zoologist a s  its emphasis is  on syste- 
matics and evolution. primarily based on morphology. By the author's own 
admission he neglects a reas  concerning histology, embryology, physiology and 
genetics, while giving little time to a reas  he terms animal biology--symbiosis, 
parthenogenesis, behavior and parasitism. Dr. Savory feels the aforementioned 
areas warrant volumes of their own. Yet this book i s  titled Introdrrction to 
Zoology. Perhaps a better title would be Introrlrrction to Zoology, Part I. Sys- 
ternatirs and Ec0111tion. 
The book i s  divided into four parts. P a r t  One, Introductory Zoology, is  con- 
cerned with the approach pursued in the succeeding pages. Pa r t  Two, Sys- 
tematic Zoology, includes fundamental concepts related to the classificatory 
system, i ts  basis, aims and limitations. Included within this section are actual 
classificatory schemes with emphasis on variability in different schemes due 
to ignorance, uncertainty and personal opinion. Pa r t  Two is  culminated by a 
brief treatise on nomenclature. With this systematic basis i t  is unfortunate 
that the book was published without italicizing or o.therwise denoting generic 
and species names. 
2
The Great Lakes Entomologist, Vol. 2, No. 1 [2017], Art. 11
https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol2/iss1/11


The Pocket Encyclopedia of Plant Galls. Arnold Darlington. New York: Philosophical Library, 1968.191 pp. $7.50.

Louis F. Wilson

Crossref

Valparaiso University

The Great Lakes Entomologist Volume 2 Numbers 1/2 -- Spring/Summer 1969 Numbers 1/2 -- Spring/Summer 1969 Article 11 June 2017 The Pocket Encyclopedia of Plant Galls. Arnold Darlington. New York: Philosophical Library, 1968.191 pp. $7.50. Louis F. Wilson Michigan State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle  Part of the Entomology Commons Recommended Citation Wilson, Louis F. 2017. "The Pocket Encyclopedia of Plant Galls. Arnold Darlington. New York: Philosophical Library, 1968.191 pp. $7.50.," The Great Lakes Entomologist, vol 2 (1) Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol2/iss1/11 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. 42 THE MICHIGAN ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 2. Nos. 1-2 DISCUSSION Speqeria aphrodite appears to be the most capable pollen carrier of the milk- weed visitors in the a rea  of this study. It  was not ascertained if Speyeria was the best milkweed pollinator there, but the numerous individuals collected with naked clips suggest i t  was a t  least a very good pollinator. Pieris rapae was a fair pollen carrier,  while Colias interior and C. ecrrytheme were very poor carriers.  These last three species a r e  similar in size and structure and they ap- pear to visit milkweed with almost equal regularity, so the variability was probably due mostly to behavioral differences. Perhaps Colias manages to grasp the flower better and thus prevent slipping on the stamens, or if i t  slips perhaps i t  does not recover i ts  foothold in a way that is  conducive to pollen collecting. It  is  not surprising that some of the butterflies had pollinia attached to their proboscises. All of the species studied probe across a-flower to reach the nec- taries located behind the anther sacs. This probing sometimes places the curved proboscis in the groove or slit near  the clip, so that a sudden movement upward would cause the clip to catch hold. Judd (1955) found calliphorid flies with polli- nia clasped to the labellum of the labium indicating they too were searching for nectar. LITERATURE CITED Judd, W. W. 1955. Mites (Anoetidae), fungi (Empusn spp.)  and pollinia of milk- weed (Asclepias syrirtcn) transported by calyptrate flies. Canad.En~omo1. 87: 366-369. Matheson, R .  1951. Entomology for introductory courses. Second edition. Ithaca, N.Y. Miiller. H. 1883. The fertilization of flowers. London. REVIEWS OF RECENT LITERATURE THE POCKET ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PLANT GALLS. Arnold Darlington. New Yor-k: Philosophical Library, 1968.191 pp. $7.50. Plant galls or cecidia have always fascinated and bewildered the biologist and the layman, and only recently has there been much attention paid to the biology of gall makers  and the physiology of gall development. There a r e  sev- eral  'early' definitive books on galls by British, German, and American au- thors, but most a r e  out of print or a r e  replete with errors. Few a r e  useful for quick identification of galls in the field. This pocket encyclopedia definitely fills a vacancy not occupied by other works on galls. I t  is one of the "Blandford Colour Series" of books on natural history subjects, and is  thus similar to the American Field Guide Series in style and method of usage. Though published in the United States i t  is  based entire- ly upon representative galls of Great  Britain. The book is divided into several brief introductory chapters, a section com- posed of colored plates, and a long annotated list of British galls. In the introductory chapters the author introduces the reader to fundamentals of 1Wilson: The Pocket Encyclopedia of Plant GallsPublished by ValpoScholar, 20171969 THE MICHIGAN ENTOMOLOGIST 43 galls and their makers and discusses the basic life histories, alternation of generations, and effects of the agent on the host. He concludes with a short chapter on collecting and preserving galls. The book is  generous with. its illustrations--some 293 photos and drawings in full color and nearly two dozen in black and white showing representative galls, gall occupants, and a few 'non-galls'. The annotated list, which occupies one-half of the book, is arranged systemically by order of host plant accord- ing to Warburg's Flora of the British Isles (1962), and covers galls of ferns, coniferous and deciduous trees, shurbs, flowers, and grasses. Each annotation lists the host, location and description of the gall, type and name of the agent, biology of the agent, and other interesting addenda. The author's objectives a r e  three-fold: to provide a means of gall identifica- tion from easily found field characters; to outline the mode of life of the prin- cipal gall-causing agents; and to suggest means of investigating galls in the field and in the home. He has certainly fulfilled these objectives. At the same time he has attempted to attain a measure of simplicity in order to appeal to a wide audience, but still maintain precision and accuracy. This book has limited use for gall identification in America. Gall-makers a re  often highly host specific, so  only a few of the galls represented a r e  com- mon to both sides of the Atlantic, and then mainly because the same hosts areinbothplaces.  Yet The Pocket Encyclopedia of Plant Galls will be of great interest to the American entomologist because of the excellent treatment of i ts  non-taxonomic aspects. I t  should be useful to the amateur  who has a casual interest in galls, and to the more seasoned gall-oriented veteran. Louis F .  Wilson North Central Forest Experiment Station Michigan State University East  Lansing INTRODUCTION TO ZOOLOGY. T. H. Savory. New York: Philosophical Li- brary, 1968. viii, 239 pp. $6.00. This book would delight the traditional zoologist a s  its emphasis is  on syste- matics and evolution. primarily based on morphology. By the author's own admission he neglects a reas  concerning histology, embryology, physiology and genetics, while giving little time to a reas  he terms animal biology--symbiosis, parthenogenesis, behavior and parasitism. Dr. Savory feels the aforementioned areas warrant volumes of their own. Yet this book i s  titled Introdrrction to Zoology. Perhaps a better title would be Introrlrrction to Zoology, Part I. Sys- ternatirs and Ec0111tion. The book i s  divided into four parts. P a r t  One, Introductory Zoology, is  con- cerned with the approach pursued in the succeeding pages. Pa r t  Two, Sys- tematic Zoology, includes fundamental concepts related to the classificatory system, i ts  basis, aims and limitations. Included within this section are actual classificatory schemes with emphasis on variability in different schemes due to ignorance, uncertainty and personal opinion. Pa r t  Two is  culminated by a brief treatise on nomenclature. With this systematic basis i t  is unfortunate that the book was published without italicizing or o.therwise denoting generic and species names. 2The Great Lakes Entomologist, Vol. 2, No. 1 [2017], Art. 11https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol2/iss1/11

https://scholar.valpo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1097&context=tgle

The Pocket Encyclopedia of Plant Galls. Arnold Darlington. New York: Philosophical Library, 1968.191 pp. $7.50.

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