Society Meeting Of February 24, 1993 - Some Other Interesting Things You Can Do With Genitalia (Lepidoptera - Hesperiidae) PDF
Preview Society Meeting Of February 24, 1993 - Some Other Interesting Things You Can Do With Genitalia (Lepidoptera - Hesperiidae)
Vol. 104,No.4, September&October, 1993 215 pertinentreferences.Twoappendicesinthebackofthebooklistallthetaxa(generallyto family level) known from Mexican and Domincan amber (lists for Baltic amber have appeared elsewhere). This taxon-based section ofthe book is well illustrated with high quality photographs ofthe organisms; the eight color plates are particularly striking. Poinar's stated goal is to inform researchers of relevant organisms in amber and to encouragethese scientists to incorporate these specimens intotheirsystematic andbio- geographic studies,and thisbookis successful inpresentingtheinformation. Thelastsection(about30pages)concerns amberinclusions indiscussionsofpaleo- symbiosis,extinction,biogeographyandprospectsformolecularstudies.Ofsomedisap- pointmenttomeisthesectionentitled"ReconstructingAncientLandscapes,"ameretwo pages ofverygeneral information. This again may reflect upon the lackofinformation publishedonthesubject,andthedifficultiesofutilizinganyparticulardepositofamberas a meaningful sampleoftheecologyofthattimeperiod. ThebookLesfantomesdeiambredelvesdeeplyintothelargestdepositsofamber,those oftheBalticregion,andwasproducedasacompanionvolumetotheexhibitofthesame namepresentlyondisplayatthe Museed'histoire naturelle in Neufchatel, Switzerland. Although thetextisin French,whichwill,unfortunately,reduceitsaudienceherein the States, this book is visually beautiful, profusely illustrated with magnificent colored photographsinterspersedwithattractivelineillustrationswhichtranscendanylanguage. The firstchapter, by Haenni and Dufour, details the history ofBaltic amberand man (whichonefindsoutextendsatleastbacktoNeolithictimes),andalsodiscussedthecon- tinuinguseofamberinart,industry,andmedicine.Awellillustratedsectionshowshow theamberisfoundandmined.Theremainderofthebook,bytheKrzeminskis,detailsthe formationoftheBalticdeposits,characteristicsofamber,anditsinclusions;thetaxaare discussedingeneralecologicalgroupssuchaspredators,parasitesandaquaticinsects.As adipteristmyself,onefactjumpedoutatme:oftheBalticamberinclusions,about90%are insects,and70%oftheseareDipteral Concludingthebookisa smallsectiondiscussing preparationofamberforscientific studyandonconservation. Foranyoneinterestedinamber,orinsectfossilsingeneral,Ihighlyrecommendbothof thesevery attractive, informativebooks. Jon FCGelhaus,Dept.of Entomology,AcademyofNatural Sciences SOCIETY MEETING OF FEBRUARY 24, 1993 SOME OTHERINTERESTINGTHINGS YOU CAN DO WITH GENITALIA (LEPIDOPTERA: HESPERJIDAE) John M. Burns Smithsonian Institution,Washington, D.C. The February meetingmarked the openingofthe 134th year ofthe Society, and the night'spresentationreflectedtheSociety'slonghistoryandconcentrationinevolutionary and systematic research punctuated with witty and entertaining poems on biological themes. Dr.John M. Burns,well known forhismanypublicationson thesystematicsof skipperbutterflies,isalsoapublishedpoet.Hisworkshaveappearedinsuchjournalsas Nature,PerspectivesinBiologyandMedicine, andTheBulletinoftheEntomologicalSocietyof AmericaandhavebeencollectedinabookcalledBioGraffiti:ANaturalSelection(published byW.W. Norton). ENTOMOLOGICALNEWS 216 Althoughthemalegenitaliaofskippershadbeenstudiedandillustratedbysomeearly lepidopterists(mostnotablySkinnerandWilliamsin the 1920'swhileattheAcademyof Natural Sciences),neitherthey northierimmediate successors fullygrasped the signifi- canceofthesecomplexstructures forunderstandingskipperevolution. Dr. Burns'stalk centeredonNorthAmericanskippersandshowedwithnumerousexampleshowacareful studyofthegenitaliainbothsexescanpromotea finescaleunderstandingofgeographic variation, speciation mechanisms, and higher level groupings, as well as overall better taxonomy. Workinginitially with American speciesofthegenusErynnis (dusky-wingskippers), which are individually narrowin theirchoice oflarval foodbutcollectivelydiverse. Dr. Burnssetouttofindevidenceofsympatricspeciation.However,usingvariousbiologicand morphologic characters (especially ones drawn from the remarkably asymmetric male and femalegenitalia), hearrangedtheseskippersingroup aftergroupofcloselyrelated, geographicallycomplementaryformsreflectingallopattricspeciation.Inaddition Burns foundthatastrikingwhitefringeonthehindwingevolvedeighttimesindependentlywith thegenus,alwaysinthosedifferentiates(speciesorsubspecies)occurringintheAmerican Southwestand/orMexico. A 1936 monograph on Autochton cellus (the gold-banded skipper) pronounced it "unusuallyuniforminitscharacters...throughoutitsrange."Becausethisisawidespread skipper(Pennsylvania to El Salvador)with a largegapin the middleofits range. Burns predicted and then used male and female genitalic characters to demonstrate allo- patricdifferentiation,nearlytothepointofspeciation.Detailedgeographicandgenitalic analysesofpairsofso-called subspeciesshowed,inAlrylonopsis, thatoviniaandedwardsi are actually separate sister species, closely allopatric and therefore best grouped in a superspecies;and,in Wallengrenia, thatotho andegeremetarereallyverydistinctspecies, differingconsiderablyin rangebutbroadlysympatric inthesoutheasternUnited States, where theyare alsosynchronic. Whencriticallystudiedandcompared,genitaliaareeverybitasvaluableforgrouping related species in higher categories like genera and generic groups as they are for dis- tinguishingspecies. In recentyears Burns hasbeengenitalicallyreviewingNearctic hes- periineskippers,awell-studied faunawhoselong-stablegeneraaregainingwhathecalls "authority through repetition" in a flood ofstate, seminational, and national butterfly books and checklists. As it turns out, many of these genera are polyphyletic. Burns explained howand whyhe haschangedgenericlimitsinhesperia,Atalopeds, Poanes, and Paratrytone, and notedcertain biogeographic resultsofthesechanges. A Consistentwiththetimeofyear,therewerefewnotesofentomologicalinterest. dis- cussion centered on the insects living on the pitcher-plant, Sarracenia purpurea. and HowardBoydobservedthatatleast16speciesoccurregularlyinandaroundtheseplants. Therewere33 members andguests in attendance. Jon K. Gelhaus.CorrespondingSecretary
The list of books you might like
