APRIL 30, 1914| 
NATURE 
215 
expenditure of much time and patience. They 
form an important feature of the work, and are in 
most cases excellent examples of their kind; some 
of them, however, are too much reduced in size 
for perfect clearness. One of the best jillustra- 
tions shows the extraordinarily indented outline 
of the “Comma” butterfly (Vanessa C-album) 
The 
in its attitude of rest with closed wings. 
5. Larva of the lace-wing fly attacking an aphis. 6. Head of the larva. 
by the larva. 8. Lace-wing fly depositing eggs ona lilac leaf. 
Jace-wing fly and eggs. 5 and 6 are enlarged, and 
“Insect Biogaphies with Pen and Camera.” 
eggs and larve of the common lace-wing fly 
(Chrysopa), valuable for its destructive activity 
among the aphides, form the material of a 
series of figures some of which are here repro- 
duced, while the life-history of another foe 
to the aphid pest, the wasp-like hover-fly or 
syrphid, is also well illustrated on Mr. Ward’s 
NGet 222, VOL, .93} 
7. Cocoons formed 
g. Another view of the 
7, 8, 9, are actual size. 
photographic plates. One of the best chapters in 
the book is that devoted to the subject of the 
tree- and ground-wasps; the construction of the 
nests is clearly explained and_ well figured. 
Another interesting section is that which deals 
with the hornet-like clear-wing moth (Aegeria 
crabroniformis), remarkable in its larval stage for 
its powers of burrowing in the trunks and 
branches of various species of willow. 
Much stress is laid throughout the 
book on the protective value cf the 
forms and colours adopted by many 
of the subjects of illustration, and the 
author has ingenious explanations to 
offer of the meaning of several 
curious instincts, such as the whole- 
sale destruction of wasp larve by the 
workers towards the end of the sea- 
son. Mr. Ward’s bionomic  con- 
clusions are for the most part well 
grounded, but he seems in some 
passages somewhat too ready to ad- 
mit without question the interpreta- 
tion of instinct as inherited habit. 
(2) The name and reputation of 
the late Dr. Odo Reuter were a suf- 
ficient ground for the anticipation 
that his work on the habits and in- 
stincts of insects would be a contri- 
bution to entomological science of 
high value. Such expectations are 
fully borne out by the work before us, 
which has been translated into Ger- 
man by A. and M. Buch from the 
original Swedish. The various heads 
of the subject are treated with great 
care and thoroughness, and the im- 
portance of the book as a work of 
reference is enhanced by the useful 
list of recent literature which con- 
cludes the volume. Among the topics 
dealt with are the various manifes- 
tations of activity and rest, including 
sleep and hibernation, the instincts 
concerned in feeding, in parasitism, 
commensalism, and mutualism. A 
chapter is devoted to the subject of 
migration; and the various methods 
of protection, active and _ passive, 
against unfavourable natural con- 
ditions, and the attacks of insecti- 
vorous foes, receive extended treat- 
ment. Instincts associated with meta- 
morphosis, with pairing, with ovi- 
position, and provision for the future 
needs of the offspring, are also fully 
discussed; and much space is given 
to the nesting and feeding habits of 
the solitary bees and wasps. ‘The treatise con- 
cludes with a consideration of the transition from 
the solitary to the social habit in insects. 
Dr. Reuter brought together for this work a 
great quantity of information gathered from the 
recorded observations of many naturalists in 
different countries. The treatment can scarcely 
From 
