Dec, '07] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. * 429 



world. Particularly needed in this field is experimental work 

 such as that so admirably exemplified by Marshall in South 

 Africa. 



In the fascinating field of the parasitic, commensal and com- 

 munal relations of animals it is again familiar to us all how 

 dominant are the results derived from the studies of insect life. 

 The splendid work of Wheeler alone is revelation and inspira- 

 tion enough to make every entomologist an ardent student of 

 this phase of animal bionomics. 



Nor do the insects fail to offer themselves as inviting ma- 

 terial for such phases of study as regeneration, regulation, etc., 

 more familiarly associated with animals less completely organ- 

 ized. Oudemans, Verson, Brindley and others have contributed 

 valuable data to the knowledge of regenerative and regulatory 

 processes from their work on Bombyx, Porthetria, Blattidse, 

 etc. 



In studies of the generative phases of life, insects have con- 

 tributed profitable data, and can be made to give much more. 

 The classic observations of Siebold on natural parthenogenesis 

 in the aphids and the pioneer work of Tichomiroff on the arti- 

 ficial parthenogenesis of silkworm eggs are examples. 



In the now immensely worked realm of animal behavior and 

 psychology the insects can be sought to great value. Highly 

 organized and specialized as they are, clever work can still 

 manage to analyze much of the complexness of their behavior 

 into simple terms. Loeb's epoch-making paper on heliotropism 

 among animals was based largely on experiments with cater- 

 pillars. 



I might go on, only to become tiresome, and refer to other 

 achievements and opportunities of special students of insects. 

 The whole point is this: The insects are unusually available 

 and valuable material for evolution studies ; they are not being 

 used nearly as much as they ought for such studies, although 

 when so used they have presented most valuable data. There- 

 fore, it should be our duty as entomologists both to encourage 

 general biologists to give more attention to insects, and to give 

 ourselves more attention to the general biology phase of insect 

 study. 



