ON THE INSECT VISITORS TO THE BLOSSOMS 
OF WILD BLACKBERRY AND WILD SPIRZA— 
A STUDY IN SEASONAL DISTRIBUTION. 
By M. W. BLackmAn, Ph. D. 
No one who has collected insects during July and August 
in localities where the wild spirza or meadow sweet (Spirea 
latifolia Borkh.) is abundant can have failed to have 
observed what an excellent bait or trap the flowers of this 
plant furnish for the collector. This attractive quality has 
been taken advantage of for several years by the author both 
in the Catskills and the Western Adirondacks. In both of 
these regions insects are attracted to the flowers in great 
numbers, but this is: much more noticeable in the former 
locality than in the latter. One of the striking characteris- 
tics of the insect fauna of the Catskills is the great relative 
abundance of the several genera of long-horned beetles com- 
monly known as the lepturids (Lepturini). These are 
attracted to the blossoms of wild spirza in surprising num- 
bers — not only as regards individuals but also as regards 
species — and can readily be captured while feeding there. 
These beetles and also other insects have been collected by 
the author from spirzea in the Catskills at various times dur- 
ing the summer of 1913, 1914, 1915 and 1917. During the 
first two seasons the specimens taken from wild spirzea were 
not always kept separate from those taken under other cir- 
cumstances, but definite data was preserved for all specimens 
taken in 1915 and 1917. Im the former year (1915) the 
collections from spirzea were made on only two dates at an 
interval of two weeks (August 1 and August 15). When 
these two collections were pinned and placed side by side, 
the difference in the relative abundance of several species in 
the two lots was so striking as to suggest the desirability of 
a more detailed and systematic study of the insects visiting 
the blossoms of spirea and other plants, with a view to 
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