464 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



Aphides have become more numerous, but are still com- 

 paratively rare and always solitary. That the formation of 

 honey dew is independent of Aphides, and is a function of the 

 plant unstimulated by insect agency, is clear to me; but it 

 remains to be seen whether the Aphides may-not at a later 

 period induce a more copious secretion of honeydew. — J. D. 

 Hooker ; in ' Gardener s Chronicle^ July 19, 1873. 



[" You have, doubtless, observed what is called the honey- 

 dew upon the maple and other trees, concerning which the 

 learned Roman naturalist Pliny gravely hesitates whether he 

 shall call it the sweat of the heavens, the saliva of the stars, 

 or a liquid produced by the purgation of the air. Perhaps 

 you may be aware that it is a secretion of Aphides, whose 

 excrement has the privilege of emulating sugar and honey in 

 sweetness and purity." — Kir by and Spence, ^Introduction to 

 .Entomology,'' i. 210. "This fluid, which is scarcely inferior 

 to honey in sweetness, issues in limpid drops from the abdo- 

 men of these insects, not only by the ordinary passage, but 

 also by two setiform tubes placed — one on each side — just 

 above it. Their sucker, being inserted in the tender bark, is 

 without intermission employed in absorbing the sap, which, 

 after it has passed through the system, they keep continually 

 discharging by these organs. When no ants attend them, by 

 a certain jerk of the body, which takes place at regular 

 intervals, they ejaculate it to a distance; but when the ants 

 are at hand, watching the moment when the Aphides emit 

 their fluid, they seize and suck it down immediately." — 

 Id. vol. ii. p. 88. Having times and often seen the ants 

 engaged in the manner described by Kirby and Spence ; 

 having often seen the liquid emitted by Aphides ; having 

 often tested and tasted it, and found it sweet; and having 

 seen honeydew on the leaves near which these scenes have 

 taken place ; I feel reluctant to give up the long-cherished 

 idea that, from first to last, it is the excrement of Aphides. 

 Nevertheless, I think any suggestion emanating from • a 

 botauist of Dr. Hooker's eminence and experience should be 

 received with respect and candidly considered, though it may 

 be entirely opposed to preconceived opinions. On this 

 question of honeydew and Aphides we have no one more 

 competent to give an opinion than Mr. Walker. Will he 

 oblige me by expressing it? — Edward Newmafi.] 



