976 



KEVIEW. 

 THE RHOPALOCERA OF JAVA (PIERID^). 



BY 



M. C. PiEPERS AND P. C. T. Snellen, 



This volume is the first of a projected series; it is based on the work of the 

 first author, an official in Java, who collected there for many years. 



The authors have apparently used English as their medium, without having 

 a sufficient acquaintance with it ; sentences framed in German or Dutch and 

 rendered imperfectly into English, make text which is not clear and the proof- 

 correcting has been very imperfectly done. The introduction deals with certain 

 biological subjects; the author states clearly that he is a determined opponent of 

 the mimicry theory, that the phenomenon of evolutionary atrophy in Lepidoptera 

 is neglected, that what he calls colour evolution proves the last statement, 

 that the usual conception of dry and wet season forms is erroneous and finally 

 that the hindwings of butterflies are disappearing in the process of evolutionary 

 atrophy. He refers to the varying development of the anal horn of Sphingidce ; 

 stating his belief that it is in process of disappearance by evolutionary atrophy, 

 equally he believes the prothoracic wings of some insects have existed and 

 disappeared, that in Ehopalocera the fore-legs are going, that the hindwings are 

 getting smaller, *' while, probably by correlative influence", the size of the fore- 

 wings and the " whole corporal size of the Rhopalocera is strongly diminishing." 

 Finally the pigments of the wings of Rhopalocera are paling and there is a 

 tendency to the production of more black scales and so a darkening of the whole 

 wings. The author expresses strong opinions in regard to the late de Niceville's 

 views on wet and dry season forms and mentions " the wild exaggeration of 

 now-a-days in this respect". To most Entomologists, the author's opinions, 

 backed by no definite observations or research, will carry little weight and the 

 value of the work is not increased by the discursive introduction in which such 

 novel views are put forth, an expression apparently of the author's peculiar 

 point of view. 



A total of 33 Pierids are listed as from Java and the author brings together 

 the recorded facts as to life-histories. It is perhaps typical of modern ento- 

 mology that the authors cannot accept the usual generic or specific designa- 

 tions and that to use the volume one must first look up the synonymy 

 and ascertain what species, as generally known, they are discussing. The 

 genus Leptosia becomes Xiphia, Pieris includes species from Huphina, 

 Aj^pias and Saletara of the Fauna of India; the genus Delias becomes 

 Thyca; the last is due to Snellen, with whom Piepers is apparently not 

 in sympathy as he states " This genus is generally called Delias. But Mr. 

 Snellen is of opinion that the systematist need not count with the names given 

 by Hiibner '' * ." If entomologists who publish such works would 



agree, all could use them with ease, but at present one has first to correlate the 



