THE ENTOMOLOGY OF HELIANTHUS. 1938 
sunflower plants. We also find Coccinellids (especially Hippo- 
damia convergens, Quér.) and Chrysomelids (Chrysomela excla- 
mationis, Fabr.). 
Are we then to conclude that the American insect fauna, 
which seems to be specially adapted to Helianthus, is in reality 
not so at all? That all these insects are in a general way 
adapted to plants of this type, or even to plants in general, and 
special, precise adaptations do not exist? By no means; there 
are in America numerous special sunflower insects, whose place 
cannot be truly occupied by alien species; but, nevertheless, it 
is evident that the majority of the species which may be collected 
from Helianthus are only loosely adapted to it, and could get 
along very well were this particular genus to become extinct. 
It will be noted that Mrs. Anderson mentions no buttertlies. 
Until I came to investigate the subject, I supposed that sun- 
flowers were freely visited by butterflies, to the needs of which 
the long tubular corollas seem specially fitted. Observations on 
the red sunflowers in my garden at Boulder did not confirm this 
idea. On July 30th I saw one Basilarchia weidemeyeru, Edw., 
on the flowers. It was especially noticeable that the introduced 
species, Pieris rape, L., which abounded in the garden would 
fly among and over the sunflowers, never visiting them, although 
it would visit Gaillardia. On September 10th, in Boulder, I saw 
a Colias eurytheme, Bdv., visit a wild H. lenticularis for an 
instant, and then go to a Grindelia. 
Dr. Max Ellis informs me that at Vincennes, Indiana, he 
took Junonia cenia, Hb., at flowers of garden H. annuus. 
Dr. H. Skinner, of Philadelphia, who has had so much 
experience with butterflies, writes me that he cannot recall a 
single instance of butterflies visiting sunflowers. Mr. Geo. 
Wheeler writes me that H. annuus in English gardens is 
frequently visited by Pyrameis atalanta, L., but he has never 
seen any other butterfly on it, and it is useless in his experience 
as an attraction for moths. (It does attract some moths at 
Boulder; e.g. Stibadium spumosum, Grote.) M. Buysman 
writes that he has not seen any insects visiting Heltanthus at 
the Botanical Garden, Lawang, Java, but ‘‘ perhaps the almost 
incessant rain is the cause.” Knuth cites seventeen species of 
Lepidoptera, all but three being butterflies, from flowers of 
Helianthus in America; but these are all from the perennial 
sunflowers, H. tuberosus, grosseserratus, divaricatus, mollis and 
strumosus. Graenicher adds, from Wisconsin, twelve Lepi- 
doptera (nine butterflies) at flowers of H. strwmosus, and three 
butterflies at H. giganteus. Thus it appears that, while the 
perennial species are quite freely visited, the annual ones are so 
rarely, in America or Kurope; though no doubt careful observa- 
tions will bring to light a long list of instances. 
When we come to Lepidoptera feeding on the plant as larve, 
