8 WASP STUDIES AFIELD 



work. He is, indeed, so preeminent in the wealth and pre- 

 cision of his observations, in the ingenuity of his experi- 

 mentation and in literary expression, that his "Souvenirs" 

 will always endure. 



The variations which to Fabre were more or less negli- 

 gible necessarily at once assumed great importance when 

 biologists became evolutionists. In fact, the variations in 

 behavior, because they were considered to be the essential 

 materials of evolution, became, if anything, even more in- 

 teresting than the routine, mechanized activities. The first 

 among entomologists to recognize the evolutionary impor- 

 tance of behavioristic variations was Paul Marchal in 1887 

 in his study of a solitary wasp, Cerceris ornata, and since 

 that time all students of insect behavior have focussed their 

 attention on the variations. This is as apparent in the pres- 

 ent volume as in the works of Marchal, the Peckhams, 

 Adlerz, Ferton, Iseley and others, and could not well be 

 otherwise, for all biologists are now thoroughgoing evolu- 

 tionists. 



In one other respect, also, the Raus have followed a com- 

 mendable tradition in the presentation of their observations. 

 Reaumur in his "Memoirs," published in 1734 to 1742, was 

 one of the first entomologists to write on the behavior of 

 insects in such a manner as to attract and instruct the gen- 

 eral reader. Fabre adopted a similar method of presentation 

 but greatly excelled his eighteenth century predecessor in 

 literary power. That the American is as appreciative as 

 the European public of this form of writing is shown by 

 the success of the Peckhams' work on the solitary wasps. 

 I feel sure that "Wasp Studies Afield" will meet with a 

 like reception/ 



W. M. WHEELER. 

 Harvard University, 

 June 10, 1918. 



