Jan. 2^, 1884J 



NATURE 



289 



heaths of Scotland and Northumberland, whilst others 

 will live almost in the reach of the spray on the sea- 

 shore ; terrestrial and aquatic plants are alike subject to 

 their attacks. Some feed on succulent herbs, others on 

 hard timber trees ; others again on the roots of flowering 

 plants. Sometimes the white water lily (iVi'/«///a'(7 a/^^^) 

 is almost destroyed by the myriads of Rhohilosiphum 

 rivmph(j:ce -.vhich crowd on its leaves and ilo\sers. Wii'Ie 

 certain trees and shrubs appear to be attacked exclusively 

 by their own peculiar Aphis, other trees give nourish- 

 ment indiscriminately to numerous species. Thus the 

 oak is attacked by at least six, the willow and birch by 

 eight, and the conifers by the same number. Some 

 families of plants are free or almost free from them, such 

 as the Gentian and Irid families. But one species of 

 the large group of the ferns is as yet known to be 

 attacked by them ; indeed the cryptogams are as a 

 general rule very free from Aphides ; but we have known 

 a species of Marsilea to swarm with them. 



The migration of the Aphides is still involved in some 

 mystery, and we seem to have as yet no certain know- 

 ledge of the winter habitats of numerous species which 

 seem to occur only during a few weeks of midsummer, 

 such as Siplionopliora milhfolii, which may be found 

 from July to September, and then entirely eludes our 

 notice for the rest of the year. 



The peculiar habits of the species opens an im- 

 mensely interesting subject : some are almost sedentary, 

 others are fairly active ; some form receptacles which 

 strangely mimic fruits ; some if disturbed drop to the ground, 

 others run to the opposite side of a leaf or twig; some 

 throw up their hind legs when alarmed, which action 

 gives a signal to the rest of the colony, which responds 

 by going through the same performance ; some assimilate 

 their colours to their food plants, so as to be difficult to 

 perceive. An interesting phenomenon in connection with 

 these insects is their dimorphism. Thus the early spring 

 form of Chi-rines laricis is different from that of all her 

 progeny till the last, and the same is the case with Aphis 

 inali. These variations often relate to size and colour, 

 but often also to considerable change in form and modifi- 

 cation of parts. The most extraordinary instance occurs 

 in Chaiiophorus aceris, "the early spring forms of which 

 occasionally are so diverse that they have been described 

 as belonging to not only different genera but even to dis- 

 tinct families. Thus Mr. Thornton, the original disco- 

 verer of this strange insect, gives it the name of Phyl- 

 lopJiorus testiidinatus ; afterwards Mr. L. Clark called it 

 Chelymorpha testudo, placing it between the Aphididte 

 and the Coccidie.' But a nearly equally striking example 

 occurs in the dreaded Phylloxera vilis, which has two 

 entirely different habits of life and form. In one it is 

 active and winged ; in the other it is apterous and sub- 

 terranean. 



We would have liked more ample information as to 

 the geographical distribution of the group. We read that 

 "it is confined to the more temperate regions of the 

 globe," and "that as we approach the tropics it appears 

 to give way to such forms as Coccus.'' Over the whole 

 continent of Europe they are spread, and across Europe 

 into the Amur district of China. They abound in North 

 America ; seem not to be indigenous in New Zealand, 

 though in this country, according to Prof. Hutton, im- 

 ported species were often very destructive to the crops ; 

 and nothing is said as to their occurrence in Australia or 

 the Cape of Good Hope district. 



Mr. Buckton divides the family into four sub-families : 

 Aphidinae, Schizoneurinas, Pemphaginas, and Chermesins. 

 . Volume i. is taken up with an account of the first half- 

 dozen genera of the first sub-family, and is illustrated 

 with three plates of anatomical details, and forty-two 

 coloured plates of species. Among the more famihar 

 species whose life-histories are given are the Rose Aphis 

 {Siphonophora roscE), the Wheat Aphis {S. i;rathiria), 



the destructive Hop Fly {Phorodon humiili), the Cherry 

 Aphis [Mysus cerasi), and the Peach Aphis {M. persicce), 

 this last one of the most beautifully coloured of our native 

 species. 



yolume ii., with forty-eight plates, concludes the de- 

 scriptive details of the genera and species of the sub- 

 family Aphidiua: with seven-jointer" antennce, including 

 the ^-pe-;,;. ., . :Jiis. Full L^ails are given of that 

 troublcbOiii.. ,,isect Rhopalosiphuin dianthc, the Aphis 

 'iiastaior of Smee, which feeds on almost every cultivated 

 plant, often swarming on the potato, turnips, pinks, not 

 to mention hyacinths, tulips, and oleanders, but which the 

 author agrees has nothing to do with the production of 

 either the potato disease or clubbing in crucifers. Forty- 

 five species of the genus Aphis are enumerated, and a very 

 useful analytical table of these is appended. No less than 

 seven synonyms are quoted to A. riimicis, Lin., which 

 commits such destruction often on the bean and turnip 

 crop, and which is not very particular as to its food plants. 

 Seven species of the genus Chaitophorus are described', 

 and a full account is given of the very extraordinary 

 dimorphism existing in C. aceris. In this volume we 

 have accounts of the aphidivorous HemerobiidiE and 

 Hymenoptera. 



Volume lii., with twenty-seven plates, contains the 

 description of the forms of the sub-family Aphidins with 

 six-jointed antennie, of the sub-family Schizoneurinse, and 

 of some of the forms of the sub-family Pemphiginse. 

 Among the more familiar species we have here the Aphis 

 {Pieroeallis tilice) which abounds on the lime tree, and so 

 bedews it with its sweet secretion ; the Beech Aphis 

 (Phyllaphis fagi), so well known as often covering the 

 leaves of the beech tree with its white cottony or rather 

 waxy fluff; the Sallow Aphis {Lachims viminalis), which 

 sometimes swarms on our willows. The "American 

 hX\'^\\\.'' {Schizoneura laiiigera) on our apple trees is an 

 introduced species, apparently from America. It appears 

 that they descend into the soil in winter and attack the 

 roots of the apple trees. 5". lanuginosa is the aphis which 

 produces the wonderful fig-like galls on the elm tree. 

 The^e galls are about the size of small green figs, with a 

 small opening at their summits ; they contain thousands 

 of the plant lice. In 1866 Mr. McLachlan, travelling in 

 the south of France, gathered a number of these galls, 

 which were in extreme profusion— elm trees twenty feet 

 high being one mass of galls— with the intention of bring- 

 ing them home ; but they made such an awful mess from 

 the viscid liquid in the galls, that he was compelled at 

 last to throw them away. Pemphigus lactucarius is the 

 species found living in little earth cavities in the vicinity 

 of the roots of various plants. If a stump of lettuce be 

 pulled up in spring, these "downy flocks" will be very 

 often detected. 



The last volume, with twenty-four plates, concludes 

 the account of the species of Pemphigina?, and gives de- 

 scriptions of those of the sub-families Chermesinje and 

 Rhizobiinas. Mr. Buckton agrees with Passerini, and 

 retains Chermes among the Aphidids. The Greek verse 

 on the title page of this volume having caught our eye we 

 are reminded how little the families treated of in it are 'the 

 subjects of parasitism; the reason why seems obscure : with 

 these forms the big and little fleas seem to lie down to- 

 gether, not causing each the other any alarm. The Fir Aphis 

 (Chermes abietis) is the maker of the curious cone-like 

 galls of the spruce, and a closely related species is often 

 very destructive to larch plantation'^. Of the genus Phyl- 

 loxera two native species are described, and a full account 

 of the Vine Aphis {P. vitis) now introduced into our 

 hothouses is also given. In this account we have a very in- 

 teresting and important communication from that eminent 

 entomologist, Jules Lichtenstein, in which he gives a 

 summary of his views on the metamorphoses of the plant 

 lice. This volume has appended to it chajters on Aphides 

 in their economical relations to ants; on the reproduc- 



