192 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 
carried far beyond their original territory, exceptionally good 
opportunities arise for comparing the insects frequenting them 
in their native lands with those in places where they are aliens, 
without their normal insect enemies and allies. Work of this 
kind requires observers in different countries, as it rarely 
happens that a single individual can travel sufficiently to make 
the necessary observations. The writer in the course of his 
work on Helianthus is collecting all available data regarding the 
insects visiting or attacking sunflowers, and the object of the 
present discussion is to arouse interest and (it is hoped) secure 
some co-operation. 
As an illustration of the work which may be done even by 
one who is no entomologist, I will describe the collection made 
by Mrs. Maybanke Anderson at Pittwater, New South Wales, 
during the winter (Australian summer) of 1918-14. Mrs. 
Anderson grew some of the new “red” annual sunflowers, 
derived from a cross between the red variety of the wild 
Helianthus lenticularis and the garden H. annuus. Her material 
was heterozygous, and of eight plants raised two were red and 
six had yellow rays. When they came into flower, ‘‘ bees began 
to visit the flowers at once, some from our own hive [Apis 
mellifera; two sent, neither had collected pollen], and imany of 
what we call the native bee (T'rigona carbonaria, Smith; four 
sent]. Ants [Iridomyrmex itinerans, Lowne, var. depilis, Forel, 
det. Wheeler| from a nest of small black ants are always on 
the plants, but seldom, if ever, on the flowers. They are always 
busy in the edge (hairy) of the young green leaves or in the 
joints. John [assistant in the garden] tells me he has seen 
one carrying pollen. I have never seen one on a flower. There 
is a small fly [Psilopus sp.] with iridescent wings, who seems to 
stand high on his legs, who is seen there often, many of him. 
He is hard to catch. There is a green flying creature [a Ful- 
gorid, Siphanta acuta, Walker], a pretty thing, who squeezes 
himself in between the swelling seeds. He also is very clever 
at getting away.” Several other miscellaneous insects were 
captured and sent, including another Fulgorid, Oliarus, probably 
O. asaica, Kirk., but perhaps new; two other flies, one appa- 
rently a Phormia, but species new to me; the other a minute 
thing close to Sepsis; two beetles, a Chrysomelid, and a small 
hairy Coccinellid ; also two spiders, one of them an Attid. 
Thus we see that even in Australia, where no Helianthus is 
native, the plant attracts a considerable series of insects, which 
on the whole (especially the bees and ants) behave exactly as do 
their representatives in America. The J’rigona workers had 
collected pollen, and were apparently making full use of the 
flowers, although no T’rigona exists within the natural range of 
the H. annuus group. At Boulder, Colorado, we find Homoptera 
(Publilia modesta, Uhler, and Ceresa bubalus, Fabr.) on our 
