192 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



carried far beyond their original territor}'', 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 1913-14. 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. amiuus. 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 many of 

 what we call the native bee [Trigona 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 be has seen 

 one carrying pollen. I have never seen one on a flower. There 

 is a small fly [Psilopiis 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 Trigona workers had 

 collected pollen, and were apparently making full use of the 

 flowers, although no Trigona exists within the natural range of 

 the H. annuus group. At Boulder, Colorado, we find Homoptera 

 {PubliVa modesta, Uhler, and Ceresa bubalus, Fabr.) on our 



