THE YOUNG NATURALIST* ft 



has opened, particularly as there must first be a consensus of opinion 

 among entomologists as to whether such differences would afford a 

 sufficient basis for establishing specific rank. Passing over the ques- 

 tion so much fought out in old days as to whether the male or female 

 should be regarded from the superior point of view in determining 

 species and names, and whether therefore to depend upon the male 

 alone is not radically wrong, the difficulties of Mr. Pierce's method 

 will deter most entomologists. Few have the time and appliances, 

 and still fewer the necessary patience and delicacy of touch to enable 

 them to carry out the experiment on a sufficiently large scale to be of 

 any use. 



With regard to Mr. Pierce's paper, a few points naturally suggest 

 themselves, on which perhaps he will give us some further infor- 

 mation, for most of us I fear are in outer darkness on the matter. 



The first is whether any difference of appearance in these organs* 

 from shrivelling or otherwise, would arise in older and consequently 

 drier specimens. The next is whether any difference Could be caused 

 by pairing ; and the third question, depending on the previous ones, 

 is whether any attempt was made to see that all the specimens ex- 

 perimented On were of the same age, and that all either had or had 

 not paired. 



Will Mr. Pierce further tell us the number of specimens of each 

 species experimented on, and also whether in each species the anal 

 organs of each specimen were identical, or whether they showed any 

 tendency to variation. We might then judge how far the experiment 

 may be considered an exhaustive or even representative one. I con- 

 fess to. a feeling of hope that no large number of ExulaHs have been 

 sacrified to the knife and potash hydroxide. 



As regards the Zygana, I think that the plan is practically useless. 

 In this group our difficulties usually arise in the case of individual 

 specimens, and it would be rather too heroic a method of resolving 

 our doubts if we had to submit our specimens to the dissecting knife 

 — the remedy would indeed be worse than the disease. 



Mr. Pierce, although he had in view the Trifolii and Meliloti con- 

 troversy, and although he states that the anal organs of these show 

 the widest possible difference, unfortunately omits to describe those 

 of Meliloti) but says that it is difficult to describe the difference 

 between those of Trifolii and Lonicevce^ so we seem after all to be much 

 where we were. 



One statement of his should not pass unnoticed. He tells us that 

 very little is known of the earlier stages of the Zyganida. This is a 



