176 DWIGHT E. MINNICH 



described by Mclndoo are the ones concerned in my own 

 experiments. 



As stated above, the sense of taste in insects has received 

 relatively little attention. Comprehensive reviews of the existent 

 literature may be fomid in Packard ('98), Forel ('07), and Berle'se 

 ('09). It is sufhcient for our purpose to call attention to two 

 facts. First, experiments such as those of Will ('85) and Forel 

 ('07) have shown rather conclusively that in at least some insects 

 there is a well-defined sense corresponding to the sense of taste 

 in man. Second, the organs which have been described as 

 mediating this sense are organs which have been found on or 

 near the mouth parts or within the buccal cavity. As Will 

 ('85, p. 685) and Forel ('07, p. 104) have pointed out, however, 

 it is virtually impossible to demonstrate experimentally that these 

 organs are certainly gustatory in function, since their removal 

 results in an inability to take food. It has been necessary, 

 therefore, to deduce their function from the evidence afforded by 

 their location and structure. 



MATERIAL AND METHODS 



The experiments on Pyrameis were all carried out at Oxford, 

 Ohio. The specimens employed in the first few^ experiments w^ere 

 animals w^hich were taken in the field early in the spring. A 

 few of these animals had undoubtedly passed the winter as 

 adults, but the very fresh appearance of the great majority of 

 specimens showed clearly that they had just emerged from the 

 pupae. In all subsequent work, how^ever, specimens were used 

 which had been reared in captivity. The age and history of 

 each butterfly were thus known, and it was possible to select 

 animals of approximately uniform age and state of inanition 

 for a given experiment. The work on Vanessa w^as done at 

 Berkeley, California. All of these animals were captured speci- 

 mens. They were obtainable in numbers on and about the 

 campus of the University of California from the middle of October 

 until the middle of November. A few individuals were taken 

 by hand while feeding on flowers, but as a rule a net was neces- 

 sary, for this species is easily disturbed and flies rapidly. 



