v^ ■/

'9^0 -'^ 3

TRANSACTIONS

OF

THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE
OF ST. LOUIS

Vol. XXIV

TITLE PAGE AND INDEX

MARCH, 1920, TO DECEMBER, 1923

PUBLISHED UNDER DIRECTION
OF THE COUNCIL

ST. LOUIS

VON HOFFMANN PBESS

COKRECTIONS.

Vol. XXIV, No. 1.— Bottom of p. 16: Vol. XXIII, No. 9,
should read — Nipher, Francis E., Studies of Properties of In-
tegral Numbers, 9 pp. ; New Evidence of a Relation Between
Gravitation and Electrical Action, and of Local Changes in the
Electrical Potential of the Earth, 5 pp.

Ill

Academy of Science of St. Louis

LIST OF OFFICERS, 1923

President G. T. Moore

First Vice-President ^-F. E. Nipher

Second Vice-President..
Recording Secretary

Corresponding Secretary.

Treasurer

Librarian

Curators

DmECTORS

Xeo Loeb

A. G. Pohlman

J". I. Shannori

-H. E. Wiedemann

-R. J. Terry

H. C. Irish

Hermann von Schrenk

W. E. Shahan
, H. M. Whelpley

IT

COXTKNTS.

r.KC.K

Taui.e op Contents iv

List of (Officers _ _.. iii

Tai-ucs PiMi.isiiKi). Mart-li, lyiiO, lo December, \9'2'.i:

V

1. Tal)le of Contents and Price List, Volumes pp.

I-XXIII — Issued Au-ust. VJ2\ _ - - 16

2. C. II. TriiNF.R. — Efolofrieal Studies of the Eiilo-

moKtraca of tlie St. Louis District. Part I.
IHaptomus pseitdo-sanguimus sp. nov. and a
Preliminary List of the Copepoda and Cla-
docera of the St. Louis District, I'lates I-IV.
— Issued Novend)er, IM'Jl _ _ 25

3. C. 11. Da.nfortii. — liiifo FoH'Uri Putnam in Mis-

souri.— Issued December. 1921. ..._ „ 8

4. Li;(i L()i;m. — Cancer. Its Course and Its Causes. —

Issued April, 1922„ „..._ _ 10

f). AicrsTUS G. PoiiL.MAN. — Do We Hear Sound!—

Issued April, 1922 _ _ 7

tj. V. \V. Fkkickms. — Development of the Chemiial
Industry in the Last Ilumlred Yeare. — Issued
April. 1922 16

7. Piiii. Rait. — Ecolof^ical and Behavior Noies on

Missouri Insects. — Plates \ -\'l 1 1. — Lssued

.1 une, 1922 _ 71

8. Otto Widmann. — Extracts from the Diary of Otto

Widmann : Xestirifr Habits of the Purple .Mar-
tin; How Voun^: Binls Are Fetl ; Wlure the
Martins Roost; The Crows' Winter lioost at
St. Louis; Our Birds in Winter; Charfura
Pfla(jic<i (Linn.) Chiiiint'v Swift; liirds of
the Ozarks; R^-miniscenccs of a \'isit to Bran-
son and White River, Spriuf? of 1906. — Issuetl
December, 1922 77

9. C. H. TrHNKR. An Appreciation of. by A (t.

Pohlman; The Scientific Work of, "by Phil
Hau ; Postlnunnus Papers: Ti-f)pisnis in Insect
Px'luivior; The llominjrof ihe llymcnoptcra ;
The Psvcholop:}- of "Plavinp 'Possum".
Edited by Phil" Rau.— Plates IX-X.— Issued
December, 1 923.- 54

Transactions of The Academy of Science of St. Louis.

VOI^ XXIV No. 1.

.it X

. YOKK
BO lANlCAL
GARDEN

TABLE OF CONTEXTS AND PRICE LIST

Volnmos I-XXIII

hRued Arignst, 1921

TABLE OF CONTENTS AND PRICE LIST
VOLUMES I-XXIII

pp. Price

VOLUME I (Nos. 2-4 only) 726 $7.50

No. I* 92

Evans, John and il F. Shumard, On some new
species of fossils from the Cretaceous forma-
tion of Nebraska Territory.
Prout, Hiram A., Description of a new species
of Productus, from the Carboniferous limestone
of St. Louis.

ScHiEL, James, Observations on glycerin.
HiLGARD, T. C. Phyllotaxis — its numeric and
divergential law explicable under a simple
organological idea.

Kocii, Albert C, Mastodon remains, in the
state of Missouri, together with evidences of the
existence of man cotemporaneously with the
mastodon.

Seyp^farth, G., Notice of a burnt l)ri('k from the
ruins of Nineveh.

WisLiZENus, A., Indian stone graves in Illinois.
Shumard, B. F., Description of a new fossil
crinoidea from the Palaeozoic rocks of the
western and southern portions of the IJuited
States.
Litton, A., Belcher & Brother's artesian well.

No. II 212 $4.00

Shumard, B. F., Descriptions of new fo.ssils

from the Tertiary formation of Oregon and

Washington Territories and tiie Cretaceous of

Vancouver's Island, collected by Dr. Jno.

Evans, U. S. Geologist, under instructions from

the Department of the Interior.

IIilgard. T. C, Exposition of a natural series

by inunediate catholic affinities in the vegetable

kingdom.

Swallow, G. C, Grape culture in :\Ii.ssouri.

WiSLizENUS, A., Wa.s man cotemporaneous with

the mastodon ?

Hawn, F., The trias of Kansas.

Swallow, G. C, and F. IIawn, The rocks of

Kansas.

*Supply exhnu.stcd.

Vols I-IV incl. can be supplied by number only and not by separate papers.

Trices quoted do not include postane, which will be charged extra. Orders should
be addressed : Acadiniy of Science of St. Louis, 3817 Olvle St.. St. Loula.

2 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

pp. Price

SnuMARD, B. F., AND G. C. Swallow, Descrip-
tions of new fossils from the coal measures of
Missouri aiid Kansas.

Prokt, Hiram A., Description of new species of
Bryozoa from Texas ajul Now ]\Iexioo, collected
by Dr. George C. Sliumard, Geologist of the
U. S. expedition for boring artesian wells along
the 32nd parallel, under the direction of Capt.
John Pope, U. S. Corps Top. Eng.
Pkout, II. A., First of a series of descriptions
of Carboniferous Bryozoa. Fenestralia.
Shumard, B. M., Descriptions of new species of
J^lastoidea from the Palaeozoic rocks of the
Avestcrn states, with some observations on the
structure of the summit of the genus Pentre-
mites.

Seyfpartit, G., a remarkable seal in Dr.
Abbott's museum at New York.
Pkout, II. A., Second series of descriptions of
Bryozoa from the Palaeozoic rocks of the west-
ern stales and territories. Coscinium.
Sr:uMARD, G. G., Observations on the geological
formations of the country between the Rio Pecos
and the Rio Grande, in New Mexico, near the
line of the 32nd parallel ; being an abstract of
a portion of the geological report of the expedi-
tion under Capt. John Pope, Corps Top. Eng.,
U, S. A., in the year 1855.

SiiUMARD, B. F., Notice of new fossils from the
Permian strata of New Mexico and Texas, col-
lected by Dr. George G. Shumard.
Smith, Spencer, An hypotli.esis concerning the
formation of hail.

No. Ill 221 $2.00

Shumard, G. G., Tlie geological structure of the
"Jornada del Muerto'', New Mexico, being an
abstract from the geological report of the ex-
pedition under Capt. John Pope.
Seyfpartii, G., An astronomical inscription con-
cerning the year 1722 B. C. Leeds Mummv-
Coffni.

Shumard, B. F., Notice of fossils from the Per-
mian strata of Texas and New Mexico, obtained
by the U. S. expedition under Capt. John Pope.
Shumard, B. F., Observations on the geology of
the County of Ste. Genevieve, being an extract
from a report made to the Missouri Geological
Survey in 1859.

IIilgard, T. C, Notes on comparative organo-
taxis.

Contents and Price List Vols. I-XXlll

pp. Price

Engelmann, George, Two new dioecious grasses
of the United States.

Proi't, II. A., Tliird series of desei-iptions of
iiryozoa from the Pahieozoic rocks of the west-
ern states and territories. Semicosciniuni.
Engelmann, George, Systematic arrangement
of the species of the genns Cuscuta, with critical
remarks on old species and descriptions of new
ones.

No. IV 200 .$2.00

Seyffartii, G., a remarkable papyrus-scroll,
written in the Hieratic character about 1050
B. C.

Wortiien, a. II., Notice of a new species of
Platycrinus and other fossils, from the mountain
limestone of Illinois and Iowa.
Prout, H. a., Fourtli series of descriptions of
Bryozoa from the Palaeozoic rocks of the •west-
ern states and territories.

Shumard, B. F., Observations upon the Cre-
taceous strata of Texas.

Shumard, B. F., Descriptions of new Creta-
ceous fossils from Texas.

Marcou, Jules, Notes on the geology of Kan-
sas and Nebraska.

Lyon, Sidney S., Remarks on the stratigraphical
arrangement of the rocks of Kentucky from the
Catenipora oscharoides horizon of the Upper
Silurian period, in Jefferson County, to the base
of the productive coal measures in the eastern
edge of Hancock County.

Shumard, B. F., Notice of meteoric iron from
Texas.

Shumard, B. F., Description of five new species
of Gasteropoda from the coal measures, and a
P>i-ae]iipo<l from tlie Potsdam sandstone of
Texas.

Lyon, Sidney S., Descriptions of four new
species of Blastoidea from the Subcarboniferous
rocks of Kentucky.

Swallow, G. C, Descriptions of new fossils
from the Carboniferous and Devonian rocks of
Missouri.

Engelmann, George, Notes on the grape-vines
of ^Missouri.

Engelmann, George, Elevation of St. Louis
above the Gulf of Mexico.

VOLUME II 602 ^Q>m

No. I 19G 2.00

Wislizenus, a., Atmospheric electricity.

4 Tratis. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

pp. Price

WisLizENUS, A., Meteorological observations
made in 1861 in St, Louis.
Engelmann, George, Difference of temperature
and of relative humidity in city and country.
Engelmann, George, Fall of rain (including
melted snow) in St. Louis from 1839 to 1861.
Engelmann, George, Stage of the Mississippi
River at St. Louis in 1861.

/!>'wALL0W, G. C, Descriptions of some new fos-
sils from the Carboniferous and Devonian
rocks of Missouri.

Shumard, B. F., Notice of some new and im-
perfectly known fossils from the Primordial
zone of Wisconsin and Missouri.
Shumard, B. F., Descriptions of new Palae-
ozoic fossils.

Engelmann, Henry, Topaz in Utah.
Wislizenus, a., Additional remarks on atmos-
pheric electricity.

Parry, C. C, Ascent of Pike's Peak, July 1,
1862.

Engelmann, G., Altitude of Pike's Peak and
other points in Colorado Territory.

No. II 75 $2.00

Engelmann, George, Additions to the cactus
flora of the territory of the United States.
Engelmann, G., On Pinus aristata, a new
species of pine discovered by Dr. C. C. Parry in
the alpine regions of Colorado territory, and on
some other pines of the Rocky Mountains.
Engelmann, George, New species of Gentiana,
from the alpine regions of the Rocky Moun-
tains.

No. Ill 331 $2.00

Parry, C. C, Notice of some additional observa-
tions on the physiography of the Rocky Moun-
tains, made during the summer of 1864.
Wislizenus, A., Atmospheric electricity.
Engelmann, G., Meteorological table for 1863,
1864, St. Louis, Mo.

Wislizenus, A., Thoughts on matter and force.
Broadhead, G. C, Coal measures in Missouri.
Shumard, B. F., A catalogue of the Palaeozoic
fossils of North America.

Swallow, G. C, Some new varieties of Spirifer.
Prout, Hiram A., Descriptions of new species
of Bryozoa.

Wislizenus, A., Atmospheric electricity.
Bandelier, Ad. F., Observations of ozone, made
in Highland, Madison County, 111.

Contents and Price List Vols. l-XXIIl 5

pp. Price

Swallow, G. C, Notice of remains of the horse
in the altered drift of Kansas.
Engelmann, George, The variations in the
stage of the Mississippi River at St. Louis.
EngeLxMann, George, A revision of the North
American species of the genus Juucus, with a
description of new or imperfectly known
species.

Parry, C. C, Account of the passage througii
the Great Canon of the Colorado of the west,
etc., 1867.

Harrison, Edwin, Age of the porphyry hills of
southeast Missouri.

SwalivOW, G. C, Mr. Meek's notes on my pre-
liminary report of the geology of Kansas, as
edited by Dr. Hayden.

WiSLizENUK, A., Yearly report of atmospheric
electricity, temperature, and humidity, from ob-
servations made at St. Louis, Mo.
Parry, C. C, On the character of the persistent
snow-accumulations in the Rocky ]\rountains,
Lat. 40''-41'' north, and certain featuivs per-
taining to the alpine flora.

VOLUME III 602 $7.00

No. I 192 2.00

Engelmann, George, Notes on the genus Yucca.
RiLEY, Charles V., On a new genus in the
Lepidopterous family Tineidae, with remarks
on the fertilization of Yucca,
Walsh, Benj. D., Descriptions of North Ameri-
can Hymenoptera.

WisLiZENUs, A., Atmospheric electricity.
Hayes, Richard, Catalogue of earthquakes for
1871.

Riley, Chas. V., Supplementary notes on Pro-
nuba yuccasella.

Gage, Jas. R., On the occurrence of iron ores
in Missouri.

No. II 64 $2.00

Riley, Chas. V., Hackberry butterflies; descrip-
tion of the early stages of Apatura Lycaon,
Fabr. and Apatura Herse, Fabr. ; with remarks
on their synonymy.

Riley, Chas. V., On the oviposition of the yucca
moth.

Engelmann, George, Notes on the genus Yucca.
Riley, Chas. V., Description of two new sub-
terranean mites.

Broadiiead, G. C, On the well at the insane
a.sylum, St. Louis County.

Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

pp. Price

liROADUEAD, G. C, Occurreiice of bitumon in

Missouri.

Gage, Jas. R., Results of investigations of In-
dian mounds.

Riley, Ciias. V., Descriptions and natural his-
tory of two insects which brave the dangei-s

of Sarraceuia Variolaris.

Riley, Chas. V., Descriptions of two new moths.

Hayes, Richard, Catalogue of earthquakes for

the years 1872-73.

Schmidt, Adolf, On the forms and origin of

the lead and zinc deposits of southwest Missouri.

Marcou^ Jules, On the Tcrebratula Mormonii.

Sawyer, Amos, On climatic change in Illinois

— its cause.
No. Ill 140 $2.00

Schmidt, Adolf, Iron manufacture in Missouri ;

a general i-eview of the metallurgical districts

and their resources.

Riley, Chas. V., Remarks on canker-worms

and description of a new genus of Phalaenidae.

Riley, Chas. V., Notes on the natural history

of the grape Phylloxera.

NiPiiER, Francis E., On a new form of lecture

galvanometer.

Engelmann, George, Notes on Agave.

Riley, Chas. V., Notes on the yucca borer,

Megathymus yuecae (Walk.).

Broadhead, G. C, The Rocky Mountain locust

and the season of 1875.

Broadhead, G. C, The meteor of December 27,

1875.

CoNANT, A. J., Archaeology of Missouri.

Broadhead, G. C, Age of our Porphyries.

Engelmann, G., Addition to article on Agave.

Engelmann, G., Addition to article on Yucca.

Engelmann, George, About the oaks of the

United States.
No. IV 202 $2.00

Seyffarth, G., Corrections of the present

theory of the moon's motions, according to the

classic eclipses.

Croswtell, C, Mound explorations in southeast-
ern Missouri.

Engelmann, George, The oaks of the United

States, cont'd.

Riley, Chas. V., On the larval characters and

habits of the blister-beetles belonging to the

genera Macrobasis Lee. and Epicauta Fabr. ;

with remarks on other species of the family

Mcloidae.

Contents and Price List Vols. I-XXIII 7

pp. Price

Riley, Ciias. V,, On a remarkable new genus in

Meloidae infesting mason-bee cells in the United

States.

ItiLEY, Ciias. V., Additional notes on Mega-

tliymus yuccae.

Riley, Chas. V., On the differences between

Anisopteryx pometaria, Harr. and Anisopteryx

aescularia, etc.

Riley, Ciias. V., A new oak-gall on acorn cups.

Engelmann, George, The flowering of Agave

Siiawii.

Engelmann, George, The American junipers of

the section Sabina.

Engelmann, George, Synopsis of the American

firs.

VOLUME IV 680 $7.00

No. I 192 $2.00

HoLME.s, Nathaniel, The geological and geo-
graphical distribution of the human race.
Coruna Y Colludo, Antonio de. The Zoque
language.

Scott, Chas. M,, On the improvement of the
western rivers,

Seyfparth, G., Egyptian theology, according to
a Paris mummy-coffin.

Nipher, Francis E., Report on magnetic obser-
vations in Missouri, Summer of 1878.
Wadswortii, J. L. R., The tornado of April 14,
1879.

Nipher, Francis E.. Report on magnetic deter-
minations in Missouri, Summer of 1879.
Hambacii, G., Contribution to the anatomy
of the genus Pentremites, with description of
new species.

Engelmann, George, Revision of the genus
Pinus and description of Pinus Elliottii.
Engelmann, George, The acorns and their
germination.

No. II 203 $2.00

Seyffarth, G., The hieroglyphic tablet of
Pompeium grammatically translated and com-
mented on.

Riley, Chas. V., Notes of North American
Microgasters, etc.

Riley, Chas. V., Descriptions of some new Tor-
tricidae.

Nipher, Francis E., On certain problems in
refraction.

Nipher, Francis E., Magnetic determinations
in Missouri during the summer of 1880.

8 Tra)if!. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

pp. Price

Todd, Charles A.. "Rovorsion of type" in
di{i:astrie imisele of the human being.
Pkitchett, II. S., EpiuMueris of the sat<.'llite.s of
Mars for the opposition of 1881.
EngkliMann, Ge<jrge, The genus Isoetes in
North America.

Engler, E. a., Auroral phenomena on the
evening of Sept. 12, 1881.

No. Ill 161 $2.00

Seyffautii, G., Planetary coufiguratious on
Cyprian antiquities.

NiPiiER, Francis E,, On a property of the isen-
tropic curve, etc.

Seyffartii, G., The original Egyptian names of
the planets, etc.

Leonhard, Alexander V., Notes on the min-
eralogy of Missouri.

NiPHER, Francis E., Magnetic survey of Mis-
souri. Fourth annual rt^port.
Broadiiead, G. C, Carboniferous rocks of east-
ern Kansas.

Leonhard, Alexander V., On the occurrence of
millerite in St. Louis.

Engelmann, 'George, The mean and extreme
daily temperatures in St. Louis during forty-
seven years.

Nii'her, Francis E., The evolution of the
American trotting horse.

Nipiier, Francis E., Magnetic survey of Mis-
souri. Fiftli annual report.
Nipiier, Francis E., On the expression of elec-
trical resistance in terms of a velocity.
IIambacii, G., Notes about structure and classi-
fication of the Pentremites.

IIambacii, G., Descrii)tion of new Palaeozoic
Echinoderinata.

No. IV 126 $2.00

Sander, Enno, George Engelmann.
Spencer, J. W., Niagara fossils.
Rroadhead, G, 'C, Historical memoir of Mis-
souri geological surveys.

LuEDEKiNG, Charles, Physico-chemical studies
in fatty acid series.

Nipiier, Francis E., Lsodynamic surfaces of the
compouud pendulum.

Reed, C. J., Relation between valence and
atomic weight.

Wheeler, H. A. and C. Luedeking, Iodine in
blowpiping.

Contents and Price List Vols. I-XXIll 9

pp. Price

VOLUME V 629 $7.00

Nos. I AND II (Round tof?otlier) 336 4.00

KiNE.VLY, J. 11., A s])iral on a torus.
Tkelease, Wlliam, a revision of North Ameri-
can Linaceae.

Wheeler, 0. B., The secondary base in geodetic
surveys.

Luedeking, Ciias., The post-mortem detection
of chloroform.

Gatschet, Albert S., Tehikilli's Ka.si'hta Leg-
end in the Creek and Hitcliiti languages.
Trelease, Willl\.m, Description of Lycoperdon
Missouriense.

Pammel, L. II., On the pollination of Phlomis
tuberosa. L., and the perforation of flowers.
Eliot, W. G. Jr., Measurements of the trimor-
phic flowers of Oxalis Suksdorfii.
Trelease, Willlvm, Observations suggested by
the preceding paper.

Luedeking, C, Anomalous densities of fused
bismuth.

Brendel, Emil, Synopsis of the family of
Pselaphidae.

Nipher, Francis E., On the scale value of the
Dellman electrometer used by Dr. A. Wis-
lizenus.

McGee, W. J., Notes on the geology of Macon
County, Missouri.

Nos. Ill and IV (Bound together) 293 $4.00

Kinealy, J. H., The pressure of wind on roofs
and inclined surfaces.

Trelease, William, Revision of North Ameri-
can Uicineae and Celastraceae.
Trelease, William, North American Rham-
naceae.

Luedeking, C, Contribution to the chemistry
of combustion.

Luedeking, C, The hydration of colloids.
NiPiiER, Francis E., Report on Missouri rain-
fall, 1877- '87.

NiPHER, Francis E., On the output of non-
condensing steam engine, etc.
Luedeking, C, Action of electric discharge on
iodine.

Robdrtson, Charles, Flowers and insects —
Umbelliferae.

NiPiiER, P^'rancis E., Winter temperatures.
EngelmanxV, G. J., Frederick Adolphus Wisliz-
enus, obituary.

10 Trans. Acad Sci. of St. Louis

pp. Price

NiPHER, Francis E., Surface integrals in me-
teorology.

LuEDEKiNG, C, On the analysis of the barium
group.

Hitchcock, A. S., Catalogue of the Anthophyta
and Pteridophyta of Ames, Iowa.
DuFFEY, J. C, Transformations of a Cara-
bid, etc.

Pammel, L. II., On the seed-coats of the genus
Euphorbia.

Robertson, Charles, Flowers and insects,
Asclepiadaceae to Scrophulariaceae.
Pritchett, H. S., a formula for predicting the
population of the United States.
Pritchett, II. S., Observations of the transit
of Mercury, May 9, 1891.

Vodges, a. W., On some new Sedalia trilobites.
NiPHER, Francis E., On certain properties of a
field of force due to a single mass.

VOLUME VI 547 $7.00

No. 1. Webber, II. J., Appendix to catalogue of

flora of Nebr 48 .25

2. Engler, Edmund A., A geometrical con-
struction for finding the foci o£ the sections

of a cone of revolution 9 .25

3. WiNSLOw, Arthur, The mapping of Missouri 45 .75

4. Robertson, Charles, Flowers and insects —
Labiatae 33 .50

5. Hitchcock, A. S., The opening of the buds

of some woody plants 19 .50

6. Bay, J. Christian, Materials for a mono-
graph on inuline 12 .25

7. Porter, W. Tow^nsend, The physical basis of
precocity and dullness 22 .50

8. Engler, Edmund A., Geometrical construc-
tion for cutting from a cone of revolution

plane sections 9 .25

9. Pammel, L. H., Sclerotinia Libertiama,
Fuckel, with a bibliography of fungus root

diseases 43 .75

10. Porter, Wm. Townsend, The relation be-
tween the growth of children and their devia-
tion from physical type of their sex and age 19 .25

11. HuRTER, Julius, Catalogue of reptiles and
batrachians found in vicinity of St. Louis,

Mo \ 13 .25

12. Porter, Wm. Townsend, The growth of St.

Louis children 165 1.00

13. Glatfelter, N. M., Study of Salix nigra and

S. amygdaloides with hybrids 9 .50

Contents and Price List Vols. I-XXJJJ 11

pp. Price

14. Robertson, Citarlep, Flowers and insects.
Rosaeeae and (.'onipositae 47 .50

15. Updegraff, Milto.n, Longitude, latitude, and
height of Laws Observatory, University of
Missouri 38 .50

16. RuNGE, Edward C, Merycisni regarded in
the light of atavie tendency. Report of m-w

case 10 .25

17. Cusiiman, Allerton S., The past-mortem de-
tection and estimation of strychnine 8. .25

VOLUME VII 518 $7.00

No. 1. Call, R. Ellsworth, Study of Unionidae of

Arkansas ..108 1.00

2. NiPiiER, Francls E., On electrical capacity

of bodies, and energy of an electrical charge 13 .25

3. Wheeler, H. A., Glacial drift in St. Louis. . 3

Occurrence of blende in

lignite 4 1 .25

Additions to mineralogy of
Missouri 8

4. NiPHER, Francls E., Law of minimum de-
viation of light by prism 5 .25

5. Glatfelter, N. M., Relations of Salix Mis-
souriensis, Bebb, to S. cordata, Muhl 15 .50

6. Robertson, Cpiarles, Flowers and insects.
Account ecological relations flora and fauna

of Carlinville, 111 31. .25

7. Nipher, Francis E., On rotational motion of

cathode disc in Crookes tube 5 .25

8. Woodward, C. M., At what age do pupils
withdraw from public schools? 17 .25

9. Roever, W. H., Geometrical construction of

lines of force 29 .50

10. Norton, J. B. S., Study of the Kansas Usti-
lagineae 15 .50

11. Updegraff, Milton, Flexure of telescopes. . 31 .50

12. Roever, W. II., Geometrical properties of

lines of force, etc 27 .50

13. Pritciiett, Henry S., Results of double star
observations, etc 17 .25

14. Robertson, Charles. North American bei^s. 43 .50

15. Keys, Charles R., R<>lations of the D(n-n-
nian and Carboniferous in upper Miss. Val-
ley 15 .25

16. Baker, Frank Collin.s, Critical notes on the
Murieidae 23 .25

17. Combs, Robert, Plants collected in district of
Cienfuegos, Cuba 101 .75

18. Trelease, William, An unusual phyto-
bezoar 7 .25

12 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

pp. Price

19. HuRTER, Julius, Contribution to herpetology

of Mo 7 .25

VOLUME VIII 224 $3.50

No. 1, NiPiiER, Francis E., Method of measuring

pressure on structure due to wind 24 .25

2. Von Sciirenk, Hermann, Trees of St. Louis

a.s influenced by tornado of 1896 19 .50

3. Robertson, Charles, New or little known

North American bees 13 .25

4. Hitchcock, A. S., Ecological plant geogra-
phy of Kas 17 .25

5. liAKER, Frank Collins, The moUuscan fauna

of western New York 25 .25

6. Woodward, Calvin M., Efficiency of gearing

under friction 13 ,25

7. Kinsley, Carl, Dynamo-electric machines. . 31 .50

8. Engler, Edmund A., The normal to the conic

section 25 .25

9. Kirchner, Walter C. G., Contribution to

fossil flora of Florissant, Colo 29 .50

10. Von Schrenk, Hermann, On mode of dis-
semination of Usnea barbata 11 .25

11. Pammel, L. H., Histology of caryopsis and
endosperm of some grasses 23 .50

VOLUME IX 319 $3.50

No. 1. Hitchcock, A. S., Studies of subterranean
organs. I. Compositae of vicinity of Manhat-
tan, Kas 9 .25

2. Weller, Stuart, Kinderhook faunal studies.

I. Fauna of vermicular sandstone at North-
view, Mo 45 .50

3. Woodward, Calvin M., Relations of internal
pressure, etc 9 .25

4. NiPHER, Francis E., On gravitation in gas-
eous nebulae 9 .25

5. Ball, Carleton R., Notes on western willows 23 .50

6. Pammel, L. H., Anatomical characters of

seeds of Leguminosae, etc 175 1.25

7. NiFHER, Francis E., Temperatures in gas-
eous nebulae 11 -25

8. Thom, Charles, The process of fertilzation

in Aspidium and Adiantum 31 .50

VOLUME X 235 $3.50

No. 1. See, T. J. J., On temperature of sun and rela-
tive ages of stars and nebulae 47 .40

2. Robertson, Charles, Some Illinois bees.... 11 .25

3. Weller, Stuart, Kinderhook faunal .studies.

II. Fauna of Chonopectus sandstone at Bur-
lington, la 75 .50

Contents and Price List Vols. I-XXIII 13

pp. Price

4. Hitchcock, A. S., Studies of subterranean
organs. II. Dicotyledonous herbaceous

plants of Manhattan, Kas 13 .25

5. Von Sciiuenk, Hermann, A severe sleet

storm 9 .25

6. NiPiiER, Francis E., Certain properties of
Ijwht-struck photographic plates 17 .50

7. Klem, Mary, The development of Agarico-

crinus 19 .50

8. Alt, Adolf, Glandular structures appertain-
to human eye 25 .50

9. Nii'iiER, Francis E., Positive photography,

with special reference to eclipse work 7 .10

10. Nipher, Francis E., Frictional effect of rail-
way trains upon the air 15 .25

VOLUME XI 225 $3.50

No. 1. Baker, Frank Collins, Revision of Lim-

naeas of northern Illinois 25 .45

2. Rolfs, P. H., Florida lichens 17 .15

3. PoATS, T. G., Lsogonic transformation 11 .15

4. NiPHER, Francis E., Relation of direct to re-
versed photographic pictui'cs 21 .75

5. Nipher, Francis E., Specific heat of gaseous

nebulae in gravitational contraction 8 .25

6. Lefevre, George, Advance of zooology in

19th century ' 35 .25

7. Nippier, Francis E., Physics during the last

century 21 .25

8. Trelease, William, Progress in botany dur-
ing 19th century 19 .25

9. Baker, Frank Collins, Interesting mollus-

can monstrofiities 5 .25

10. Weller, Stuart, Kinderhook fauiuil studies.

III. P'aunas of beds 3-7 at Burlington, la.. 69 1.00

11. Harris, J. Arthur, Normal and teratological

thorns of Glcditschia triacanthos 9 .25

VOLUME XII 111 $3.50

No. 1. CiiEssiN, Alexander S., True potential of

force of gravity 11 .25

2. Mackenzie, K. K., and B. F. Bush, Lespe-

dezas of JMissouri 11 .50

3. Chessin, Alexander S., Motion of gyro-
scopes 15 .45

4. Norton, J. B. S., Notes on plants of S. W.

I United States 9 .50

5. Baker, C. F., Revision of Elephantopeae. I. 15 .35

6. Bush, B. F., N. American species of Chaero-
phyllum and of Triodia 23 .50

7. ]\lACKENzn;, K. K., a.nd 1>. F. lUsu, New

plants from Mi&souri 13 .50

14 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

pp. Price

8. Norton, J. B. S., Sclerolinia fructigena, ... 9 .45

9. Chesrin, Alexander S., Relation between

Bessel functions 11 .25

VOLUME XIII 214 $3.50

No. 1. II.vMBACii, G., Revision of Blastoideae, etc.. . 69 1.50

2. NiPiiER, Francis E., On predetermination of

speed of trotting horse 9 .25

3. HuRTER, Julius, Second contribution to
herpetology of Missouri 11 .25

4. Sheldon, Walter L., Literature of ethical

science since DarAvin 57 .75

5. NiPiiER, Francis E., Law of contraction of

gaseous nebulae 23 .25

6. Keiser, Edward, and S. W. Forder, New

method for determination of free lime 11 .25

7. Bush, B. F., New genus of grasses 11 .25

8. Harris, J. Arthur, Polygamy and certain \

floral abnormalities in Solanum L 27 .25

The germination of Pachira, etc J

VOLUME XIV 197 $3.50

No. 1. Klem, Mary J., Revision of Palaeozoic

Palaeechinoidea 99 1.00

2. Baker, Frank Collins, Molluscan fauna of

dells of Wis 9 .25

3. Baker, Frank Collins, Notes on Planorbis
truncatus Miles 5 .25

4. Nipiier, Francis E., Primitive conditions in

, solar nebula 13 .50

5. Casey, Thos. L., Notes on Pleurotomidae,

with description of new genera and species. . 49 .75

6. Bush, B. F., The genus Othake Raf 11 .75

7. Bush, B, F., The Texas Tradescautias 15 .25

VOLUME XV 302 $3.25

No. 1. WiTTMACK, L., Our present knowledge of

ancient plants 17 .25

2. Casey, Thos. L., Revision of American
Paederimi 233 1.50

3. Baker, Frank Collins, Molluscan fauna of
McGregor, la 11 .25

4. Weller, Stuart, Paraphorhynchus, new

genus of Kinderhook Brachiopoda 7 .50

5. Kirchner, Walter C. G., Bacteriological
examination of river water 35 .50

VOLUME XVI 495 $3.50

No. 1. Celebration of fiftieth anniversary .50

2. Baker, Frank Collins, Notes on mollusks,

Alpena, Mich 17 .25

Contents and Price List Vols. I-XXIII 15

pp. Price

3. NiPHER, Francis E., Pressure measure-
ments in a fluid stream 17 .25

4. Olatfelter, N. M., Preliminary list of higher

fungi, etc 63 .50

5. Terry, Robert J., Na.sal skeleton on Ambiys-

toma punetatum 31 .25

6. Casey, Tiios. L., Stapliylinid groups Aleo-
charinae and Xantiiolinini 211 1.50

7. Weller, Stuart, Kinderhook faunal studies.

IV. Fauna of Glen Park limestone 39 .25

8. DuGGAR, B. M., The relation of certain ma-
rine algae to various salt solutions 10 .25

VOLUME XVII 292 $3.50

No. 1. WiDMANN, Otto, Preliminary catalogue of

birds of Mo 289 3.00

VOLUME XVIII 82 $3.50

No. 1. Woodward, Calvin M., Air-ship propeller

problems 11 .25

2. Hurter, Julius, and John K. Strecker, Jr.,

The amphibians and reptiles of Arkansas. . 19 .25

3. Trelease, William, Mexican agaves known

as zapupe 11 .50

4. Branson, E. B., Fauna of residuary auburn

chert of Lincoln County, Missouri 15 .50

5. Ewing, II. E., New North American Acarina 27 .50

VOLUME XIX 180 $3.50

No. 1. Nipher, Francis E., Nature of electric dis-
charge 21 .50

2. Hav, Philip, Observations on Samia cecropia

Linn 29 .25

3. Phillips, Frank J., Hail injury on forest

trees .' 9 .50

4. Nipher, Francis E., Nature of electric di;^-

charge 17 .50

5. Strecker, John K., Jr., Studies in N.

Amer. batrachology 11 .25

6. Alt, Adolph, Histology of eye of Typhlotri-

ton spelacns from i\Iarble Cave, Mo 15 .50

7. Palmer, Ernest J., Flora of the Grand

Falls chert barren.s 17 .25

8. EwixG, II. E., New Acarina from Iiulia. .. 11 .25

9. Keyes, Ch.vrles R., The Guadalupan '

series, etc 1 ^^^ ^_

Abundance of meteorites on Painted Des- \ "

ert

10. Turner, Ciiari>es 11., Ecological notos on

Cladocera and Copepoda, etc 27 .25

16 Trans. Acad. Sci of St. Louis

pp. Price

VOLUME XX 327 $3.50

No. 1. NiPHER, Francis E., Nature of the electric

discharge 17 .25

2. Thompson, Charles Henry, Four new

plants from Mexico 11 .25

3. Drushel, J. Andrew, Studies in glacial

geology, St. Louis and vicinity 11 .25

4. Engler, Edmund A., Figurate numbers.... 23 .25

5. HuRTER, Julius, Sr., Herpetology of Mis-
souri " 2ie 2.00

6. Rau, Phil, Sexual selection experiments

in cecropia moth

Further observations on samia cecropia
Linn

y 47 .25

VOLUME XXI 97 $3.50

No. 1. EwiNG, H. E., Origin and significance of

parasitism in Acarina 70 2.45

2. Lindsay, George A., Annual rainfall and
temperature of U. S 8 .30

3. NiPHER, Francis E., Nature of electrical dis-
charge 10 .35

VOLUME XXII 141 $3.50

No. 1. Rau, Phil, and Nellie Rau, Biology of

Stagmomantis Carolina 59 1.50

2. Nipjier, Francis E., Local magnetic storms. 9 .25

3. Sampson, F. A., Preliminary list of mollusca

of Missouri 43 1.10

4. NiPHER, Francis E., Variations in the earth's
magnetic field 17 .40

5. Hume, H. Harold, The flowers of Diospyros

Kaki L 13 .35

VOLUME XXIII 372 $4.00

No. 1. Rau, Phil, and Nellie Rau, Longevity in

Saturniid moths 79 1.00

2. Klem, Mary J., The history of science in St.

Louis 51 .40

3. Trelease, William, The agaveae of Guate-
mala 25 .25

4. NiPHER, Francis E., Disturbances on earth's
magnetic field 25 .25

5. NiPHER, Francis E., Gravitational repulsion 17 .20

6. NiPHER, Francis E., Graphical algebra, etc. 13 .20

7. NiPHER, Francis E., Graphical algebra.... 9 .20

8. Harris, Harry, Birds of the Kansas City

region* 160 1.00

9. NiPHER, Francis E., Study of properties of
integral numbers 16 .30

-to'

•Supply exhausted.

Transactions of the Academy of Science of St. Louis

Vol. XXIV No. 2.

ECOLOGICAL STUDIES OF THE ENTOMOSTRACA

OF THE ST. LOUIS DISTRICT. PART I. DIAPTO-

MUS PSEUDOSANGUINEUS SP. NOV. AND

A PRELIMINARY LIST OF THE COPEP-

ODA AND CLADOCERA OF THE

ST. LOUIS DISTRICT

C. H. TURNER

Issued November, 1921

V ■• '■* •» L

ECOLOGICAL STUDIES OF THE ENTOMOS-

TRACA OF THE ST. LOUIS DISTRICT. PART I.

DIAPTOMUS PSEUDOSANGUINEUS SP.

NOV. AND A PRELIMINARY LIST OF

THE COPEPODA AND CLADOCERA

OF THE ST. LOUIS DISTRICT

0. H. Turner

DiAPTOMUS PSEUDOSANGUINEUS Sp. NoV.

The form is closely related to Diaptomiis sanguineus
Forbes and Diaptomus conipedatus Marsh, both of
which it resembles in having a very rudimentary endop-
odite on the fifth foot of the male. If we ignore color,
it is almost impossible to differentiate the females of
this species from those of Diaptomus sanguineus Forbes.
The males, however, are quite distinct. The fifth foot is
quite different, as is also the armature of the male an-
tenna. The fifth foot of the male of this species is sim-
ilar to that of Diaptomus conipedatus Marsh but the
antipenultimate joint of the right male antenna, in ad-
dition to a hook, similar to but somewhat longer than
that of Diaptomus conipedatus Marsh, also bears a hya-
line flange similar to that of Diaptomus sanguineus
Forbes.

Description of the female, {pi. 1, fig. 1; pi. 2, fig. 1). —
The female is about 2.00 mm. long and the widest portion
of the thorax is about 0.54 mm. wide. The reflexed an-
tennae extend to the distal extremity of the furcal setae.
Viewed from the dorsal aspect, the cephalothorax widens
gradually from the tip of the head to about the third
thoracic somite, from which point it gradually tapers
to the tip of the abdomen. Viewed from the lateral as-
pect the body slopes continuously upwards and back-

2 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

wards from the tip of the head to the third thoracic
somite. Thence it extends almost horizontally to about
the middle of the last thoracic somite, from there sloping
abruptly to the abdomen. The cervical suture is distinct.
Each latero-caudal margin of the thorax is produced out-
ward and armed with two nipple-like tubercles (pi. 1, fig.
Ic; pi. 3, fig. 4b). About the middle of the ventral surf-
ace of the first abdominal somite, and located nearer the
sides than the middle line, there is a pair of long curved
spines, somewhat larger than the tubercles (pi. 2, fig.
2f). The outed ramus of the fifth foot is two-jointed (pi.
3, fig. 5). The subrectangular first joint is twice as long
as wide; for two-thirds its length the second joint is al-
most straight on its outer edge, the inner margin taper-
ing gradually from its base to that point ; there the foot
abruptly turns inward at an angle of more than 45°,
terminating in a blunt point. On its lower third it bears
three spines. The inner one, which extends to the angle
in the segment, is the longest; the next about half this
long; and the outer one somewhat shorter than the in-
termediate one. The inner ramus of the fifth foot is
straight and about five times as long as wide ; at its tip
are two setae which are about half as long as the ramus.
The outer margin, on its distal third, is distinctly hairy.
The specimens so far found are of a dirty white color.

Description of the male. {pi. 1, fig. 2). — The male is
about four-fifths the size of the female ; the tubercles on
the laterocaudal margin of the thorax are absent or in-
conspicuous ; there is no armature on the first abdominal
somite. The first basal joint of the right fifth foot is
short, about as long as broad (pi. 3, fig. 1) ; the second
basal joint is about twice as long as wide and fully twice
as long as the preceding joint. The inner ramus (endop-
odite) is missing; the outer (expodite) is composed of
two joints of about equal length. The first of these joints
is about the same length as the second basal segment but

Diaptomus Pseudosa/nguineus Sp. Nov. 3

much more slender and bears at its outer distal mar^n
a broad tooth-like expanse. The second joint is slightly-
curved inwards, its distal extremity somewhat wider
than its proximal. Near the tip of its outer margin it
bears a straight spine which is about two-thirds as long
as the somite. At its tip is a stout curved claw which
is about the same length as the segment. The first seg-
ment of the left fifth foot is about as long as the second
and the whole appendage extends to a little beyond the
tip of the first segment of the expodite of the right foot.
The two segments of the outer ramus (exopodite) are of
about the same length; the second bears at its tip one
long and one short claw-like spine. The inner ramus
(endopodite) is slender and about as long as the outer
ramus; is unsegmented; its distal third pronouncedly
hairy; and the inner margin of its intermediate third
coarsely crenate. The antipenultimate segment of the
right male antenna (pi. 1, fig. 2; pi. 2, fig. 3) bears a
stout almost opaque curved process composed of the
same material as the body of the antenna. This process
is a little shorter than the next segment of the antenna.
Intimately connected with this process and extending
along the whole margin of the antipenultimate segment,
is a hyaline flange similar to that of Diaptomus san-
guineus Forbes.

Like the female, the male is of a dirty white or gray
color. In the prime of life Diaptomus sanguineus
Forbes, so far as my experience goes, is red in color, or
marked with red or blue. However, it is not claimed
that this color difference is of taxonomic value. In other
localities the color scheme may be different for it is well
known that color in Entomostraca sometimes varies with
environment. Nevertheless, the color described is that
of individuals in the prime of life, for numerous speci-
mens were found in copulo (pi. 3, fig. 3) and many more
with spermataphores attached (pi. 1, fig. 3j ; pi. 2, fig. 2g).

Habitat. — The specimens were found in a spring-fed

4 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Loins

marsh where about two inches of water rested upon
more than two feet of water-soaked silt. Originally this
marsh was a reservoir which had })een constructed on a
shelf-like depression between two hills. In addition to
receiving the wash from the surrounding hills, this pond
was fed by a spring which furnished sufficient water to
cause a continuous overflow through the spillway of the
dam. The fine materials washed from the surrounding
hills have gradually transformed this reservoir into a
marsh Imt the water continues to flow out through the
spilhvay. It was near this spillway that the specimens
were found. A group of cattails, which has been gradual-
ly increasing in size since the day when it was sur-
rounded by water many inches deep, still flourishes, and
patches of duckweed are scattered over the surface of
the marsh. At the time the specimens were found the
temperature of the water was 25°C., the temperature of
the surrounding atmosphere being over 32°C. The PH
of the water was 7.6.

Associates. — The following Entomostracans w^ere
found associated with it: Bosmina longirostris (0. F.
Mueller), Ceriodaphnia rigaudi Richards, Cyclops
lenckarti Glaus. In May Cyclops alhid}<s Jurine var.
tenidcornis was found in the same place; also Cyclops
viridis Jurine. A species of Vorticellidae was found as
a commensal, attached to the abdomen, among the eggs
(pi. 2, fig. le).

Preliminary List of Copepoda and Cladocera of

St. Louis District

In this communication no attempt is made to give a
complete list of synonyms ; such lists will be found in the
references mentioned. For easy reference, the genera
and species are arranged in alphabetical order under
each familv.

Diaptomus Pseudosanguineus Sp. Nov. 5

COPEPODA
FAMILY CENTROPAGIDAE
GENUS DIAPTOMUS WESTWOOU

1. DIAPTOMUS ASHLANDI Marsh 1893.

Diaptomus anhlundi. Marsh, '93. p. 198. pi. 3, f\g. 11-13.
Diaptomus aahlandi, Herrick & Turner, '95. p. 60. pi. 6, fig. 4-6.
Diaptomus ashlandi, Schacht, '97. pp. 167-169. pi. 32, fig. 1-4.
Common. Kound in lakes, no-outlet ponds and marshes, through a
temperature range of 15-35°C. Usually abundant.

2. DIAPTOMUS OREGONENSIS, Lllljeborg 1889.

Diaptomus oregonensis, Herrick & Turner, '95. pp. 72, 73. pi. 4,

fig. 7-12 ; pi. 9, fig. 3.
Diaptornus oregonensis. Schacht, '97. pp. 151-154, pi. 29, fig. 1, 2.
Found three times in this district in no-outlet ponds ; in one case col-
lected from the midst of vegetation ; in the other two cases the ponds con-
tained no higher plants. The temperature of the water ranged from 15-
20°C. The F'H value ranged from 7.6 to 8.2. Abundant in each case.

3. DIAPTOMUS PAL.L.IDUS Herrick 1879.

Diaptomus pallidxts, Herrick & Turner, '95. pp. 73, 74. pi. 4, flg.

1-6 ; pi. 5, fig. 10 ; pi. 13, fig. 17.
Diaptoynus pallidus, Schacht, '97. pp. 144-146. pi. 27, fig. 3.
Encountered in this region but once, in June, 1920, when it waa abund-
ant in a no-outlet pasture pond.

4. DIAPTOMUS PSEUDOSANGUINEUS, sp. nov. (pi. 1-3).
For description consult the first section of this paper.

5. DIAPTOMUS SANGUINEUS Forbes 1876.

Diaptomus sanguineus, Forbes, '76. pp. 15, 16, 23. fig. 24, 28-30.
Diaptoynus sanguineus, Herrick & Turner, '95. p. 71. pi. 13, fig. 12.
Diaptomus sanguineus, Schacht, '97. pp. 133-137. pi. 23-25.
Collected but once in this district, in a no-outlet pond in 1909.

6. DIAPTOMUS SICILIS Forbes 1882.

Diaptomus sicilis, Herrick & Turner, '95. pp. 60, 61. pi. 5, flg. 1-7 ;

pi. 13, fig. 18.
Diaptomus sicilis, Schacht, '97. pp. 122-124. pi. 21, fig. 1-3.
Found in April, 1909, in large numbers in the open waters of a large
lake, the temperature of which was 11°C. The water was free from vege-
tation and there were practically no algae. The altitude of the lake is 440
feet. Not found since although frequent collections have been made In the
same part of the lake.
7. DIAPTOMUS STAGNAL/IS Forbes 1882.

Diaptomus stagnalis, Forbes. '82. pp. 15, 16, 23. fig. 24, 28-30.
Diaptomus stagnalis, Herrick & Turner, "95. pp. 71, 72. pi. 13, tig.

8-10.
Diaptomus stagnalis. Schacht, '97. pp. 138-141. pi. 28. fig. 2.
Found in this district only once, in June, 1920, in a shallow, no-outlet
pond free from vegetation.

FAMILY CYCLOPIDAE
GENUS CYCLOPS O. F. MUELLER
8. CYCLOPS ALBIDUS Jurine 1820, var. tenuicornis Sars 1863.

Cyclops aignatus, var. tenuicornis, Herrick & Turner, '95. pp. 106,

107. pi. 15, fig. 5-7; pi. 20, fig. 1-7; pi. 33, fig. 1, 2.

Cyclops albidus. E. B. Forbes, '97. pp. 47-49. pi. 13.

A species widely distributed in this district, in marshes, small temporary

pond.s, small no-outlet ponds, and lakes. It is found where vegetation does

and does not exist, occurring in water ranging from 10''-25''C. and having

PH values ranging from 7.2 to 8.0. In some specimens the hyaline plate

6 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

on the antenna is smooth, in others finely serrated. Found in both fetid
water and in water having no perceptible odor. April, May and July.
». CYCLOPS ALBIDUS Jurlne 1820, var. CORONATUS.

Cyclops aignatus, var. coronatua, Herrick & Turner, '95. p. 106. pi.
15, fig. 1-4.
Found only once in this district, among cattails in a shallow pond, the
temperature of which was 21''C.

10. CYCLOPS BICUSPIDATUS Claus 1857.

Cyclopa forbeai, Herrick & Turner, '95. p. 104.

Cyclops bicuapidatua, E. B. Forbes, '97. pp. 44-47. pi. 12, fig. 1-4.
Found in this district in four different no-outlet ponds free from vege-
tation, but once only in each place. In one pond the temperature waa
17''C. ; in another 19° ; temperature of the others not recorded. The hydro-
gen ion content of one pond only was measured, the PH value being 7.2.
April and October.

11. CYCLOPS FIMBRIATUS Fischer 1853.

Cyclopa fimbriatua, Herrick & Turner, '95. pp. 121, 122. pi. 17, flg.
8. 9; pi. 21, fig. 11; pi. 25. fig. 9-14.
This form is rare here, it having been collected but once, June 1, 1921,
when I obtained a few from a shallow temporary pond with a PH value
of 8.2.

12. CYCLOPS FUSCA Jurlne 1820.

Cyclopa aignatus, var. coronatua, Herrick & Turner, '95. p. 106. pi.
U.
I have always considered this a variety of C. albidua and have discussed
it under that head.
18. CYCLOPS PHALERATUS Koch 1863.

Cyclops phaleratua, Herrick & Turner, '95. pp. 120, 121. pi. 17, fl^.

1-7 ; pi. 18, fig. 2, 2d ; pi. 19, fig. 1 ; pi. 21, fig. 6-10.
Cyclops phaleratua, E. B. Forbes, '97. pp. 59-63. pi. 20, fig. 8.
A few found on one occasion in a no-outlet pond, the temperature of
which was 32 *C. Also found in a weedy marsh with PH value of 8.2.

14. CYCLOPS LEUCKARTI, Claus 18i57.

Cyclops leuckarti, Herrick & Turner, '96. pp. 96-98. pi. 16; pi. 18,

fig. 1 a-J; pi. 24, fig. 2-6.
Cyclops edax, Forbes, '97. pp. 33-36. pi. 9, fig. 1-8.
Collected from three different localities in this district. Two were
vegetationless no-outlet ponds, the other a weedy marsh. The temperature
of the water and the hydrogen ion content were determined for only one
locality, the temperature being 2'5''C. and the PH value 7.8. May, June and
August

15. CYCLOPS, SERRULATUS Fischer 1860

Cyclops aerrulatus, Herrick & Turner, '95. pp. Ill, 112. pi. li. fl».

8-11.
Cyclops aerrulatua, E. B. Forbes. '97. pp. 64-57.pl. 17 ; pi. 11.
fig. 1-3.
One of the most widely distributed copepods in this district. Found
throughout the season in all types of habitat, at all temperatures and In
waters with hydrogen ion content varying from PH 7.00 to PH 8.2.

16. CYCLOPS VIRIDIS Jurlne 1820, var. INSECTUS Forbes 1882.

Cyclopa inaectus, Forbes, '82. p. 649. pi. 9, fig. 6.

Cyclops viridis, var. americanus, Herrick & Turner, '9i5. pp. 91.

92. pi. 14. fig. 1-9.
Cyclops viridia var. insectus, E. B. Forbes, '97. pp. 41-44. pi. 11.

flg. S-6.

Perhaps the most common copepod in this district, occurring in all type*
of habitat, at all seasons and temperatures, and in waters with the hydro-
gen ion content ranging from PH 7.0 to PH 8.2. This and certain speeles
of Vorticellldae and of one-celled green algae are often commensals.

Diaptomus Pseudoscmguineus Sp. Nov. 7

Cladocera
family bosminidae

GENUS BOSMINA BAIRD 1845

1. BOSMINA L.ONGIROSTRIS (O. F. Mueller) 1785.

Bosmina longirostris, Birge, '18. p. 706. fig. 1096.
Common in this district, being abundant in many of the no-outlet pond*
during the warm season. It has been found where vegetation does and doea
not exist The hydrogen Ion content of the water was determined for only
three ponds, varying from PH 7.8 to 8.2.

FAMILY CHYDORIDAE
GENUS ALONA BAIRD 1850

2. ALONA COSTATA Sars 1862.

Alona costata, Herrick & Turner, '95. pp. 245, 246. pi. 60, fig. I.
Collected in November, 1909, among pond lilies in a small no-outlet pond
having a temperature of IS'C, the only time encountered in this district.

3. ALONA RECTANGULAR Sars 1861.

Alona pulchra, Herrick & Turner. '95. p. 245.
In May, 1921, this species was found in a marsh and in a large no-outlet
pond. The hydrogen ion content in each case was PH 8.2. The tempera-
ture of the water was 27°C.

GENUS CHYDORUS LEACH 1843

4. CHYDORUS SPHAERICUS (O. F. Mueller) 1783.

Chydorus sphaericus, Birge, '78. pp. 23, 24.

Chydorus aphaericua, Herrick & Turner, '95. p. 261. pi. 64, fig. 4,
7. 8, 10.
This species is common in marshes and among the vegetation in certain
no-outlet ponds of this district. The temperature of the water in which
It was found varied from 18-31°C. The hydrogen ion content of the water
was determined in only one instance, being 8.2. May to October.
GENUS KURZIA DYBOWSKI AND GROCHOWSKI 1894

6. KURZIA LATISSIMA (Kurz) 1874.

Kurzia latissima Birge, '18. p. 718. fig. 1120.

Alonopais latiaaima, Herrick and Turner, '95. pp. 232, 233. pi. 81.
fig. 8 ; pi. 68. fig. 1, 9.
Collected on two occasions in July, 1920, in large numbers among water
plantain in a shallow lake.

GENUS LEYDIGIA KURZ 1874

6. LEYDIGIA QUA DRANG ULARIS (Leydig) 1860

Leydigia quadrangularis, Herrick & Turner, '95. p. 234. pi. 59,

fig. 8; pi. «0, fig. 4.

Collected twice in this neighborhood, in April, 1910, among water lilies.

In a shallow no-outlet pond, the temperature of which was 20°C. ; and In

August. 1921, in a shallow no-outlet pond, the temperature of which was

32"'C. and the hydrogen ion content PH 7.4.

7. LEYDIGIA ACANTHROCERCOIDES (Fischer) 1854.

Leydigia acanthocercoidcs, Herrick & Turner, '95. p. 234.
A few specimens of this collected on June 25, 1910, in a no-outlet pond,
the only time it has been encountered.

GENUS OXYURELLA DYBOWSKI AND GROCHOWSKI 1894.

8. OXYURELLA TENUICAUDIS (Sars) 1862.

-IJono tenutcaudia, Herrick & Turner, '95. pp. 242, 243, pi. 62.
fig. 11.
A few collected in June, 1921. in a shallow transitional pond having a
temperature of 24 °C.

8 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

GENUS PLEUROXUS BAIRD 1843.
9. PLEUROXUS DENTICULATUS. Birge, 1877.

Pleuroxiis denticulatus, Birge, '76. pp. 20, 21. pi. 1, fig. 21.
Pleuroxus denticulatus, Herrick & Turner, '95. p. 256. pi. 45, fig.
8 ; pi. 63, fig. 10a, 12, 13.
Common in marshes and among vegetation, in no-outlet ponds and lakes
of this district. Collected from water with temperature ranging from
18-31°C. The hydrogen ion content of the water was calculated only once,
when it was found to be PH 8.2.

10. PLEUROXUS HAMULATUS Birge 1910.

Pleuroxus humatus, Birge, '76. pp. 22, 23. pi. 2, fig. 13, 14.

Pleuroxus hamatus, Herrick & Turner, '95. p. 257. pi. 60, fig. 1.
This species which heretofore has not been found outside of New England
and the Southern States, has been collected from three different no-outlet
ponds of this district. In one case the pond was weedy and this species
seemed to be dominant ; in the other cases the water was free from any
vegetation higher than algae. In two cases the water was comparatively
fresh ; in the third it had a disagreeable stench. The temperature and
hydrogen ion content of the water were determined in only one case, the
temperature being 32°C, the PH 7.4.

FAMILY DAPHNIDAE
GENUS CERIODAPHNIA DANA 1853

11. CERIODAPHNIA LACUSTRIS Birge 1893.

Ceriodaphnia lacustris, Birge, '18. p. 701. fig. 1083.
Found in this district in a large reservoir furnishing water for the
Wabash railroad. The temperature of the water was 27 ^C, the hydrogen
ion content PH 8.2.

12. CERIODAPHNIA DATICAUDATA P. E. Mueller 1867.

Ceriodaphnia laticaudata, Herrick & Turner, '95. p. 171. pi. 41,

fig. 22.
Ceriodaphnia consors, Herrick & Turner, '95. pp 171, 172. pi. 42.
fig. 4 ; pi. 44, fig. 5, 6.
Collected twice in this district, each time from a temporary pond, once
in June, 1910, when it was abundant, and again in June, 1920, when it was
rare.

13. CERIODAPHNIA PULCHELLA Sars 1862.

Ceriodaphnia pulchella, Herrick & Turner, '95. p. 169. pi. 41, fig.

14, 19.

Collected in this district among water plantain in a lake.

14. CERIODAPHNIA RECTICULATA (Jurine) 1820.

Ceriodaphnia reticulata, Herrick & Turner, '95. p. 170. pi. 41, fig.

15, 21 ; pi. 42, fig. 3 ; pi. 43, fig. 3 ; pi. 44. fig. 3. 4.

This species was found in a no-outlet pond in March and in November,
1909.

15. CERIODAPHNIA RIGAUDI Richard 1894.

Ceriodaphnia ripuadi, Birge, '18. p. 700, fig. 1078.
Collected July 21, 1921, from a no-outlet pond the temperature of which
was 29°C. and the PH value 7.8. August 1, 1921, it was collected from a
marsh having a temperature of 25 °C. and a PH value of 7.8. On each oc-
casion some of the females were carrying winter eggs. To the best of my
knowledge this is the first time this species has been reported from this part
of the country.

GENUS DAPHNIA O. F. MUELLER 1785

16. DAPHNIA LONGISPINA (O. F. Mueller) 1785.

Daphnia longispina, Herrick & Turner, '95. p. 199.
A form which seems to be the typical form of this species, found in a
large reservoir having a temperature of 27°C. and a PH value of 8.2.
Although it was May, some of the females were carrying winter eggs.

Diaptomus Pseudosanguineus Sp. Nov. 9

17. DAPHNIA LONGISPINA var. HYALINA Leydig, 1860.

Daphnia hyalina, Herrick & Turner, '95. pp. 105, 196. pi. 22, fig.

7. 8; pi. 27, fig. 6; pi. 35. fig. 16; pi. 49, fig. 3-5; pi. 53, fig. 1-4.

Found in spring and early summer in certain of the no-outlet ponda in

this vicinity. Of the form mendolatae. In the latter part of May some of

the females were carrying winter eggs.

18. DAPHNIA LONGISPINA var. LONGIREMIS Sars 1861.

Daphnia longireinis, Herrick & Turner, '95. p. 202.
Found In April, 1909, in great numbers in an ox-bow lake with a tem-
perature of 15°C. Collected in May, 1920, from a small temporary pond the
temperature of which was 18°C.

19. DAPHNIA PULEX (de Geer) 1778.

Daphnia pidcx, Herrick & Turner, '95. pp. 193, 194.
The most common daphnid of this district. Frequently encountered in
summer, even in water so fetid as to have a disagreeable stench. Occurs
at temperature ranging from 19-35°C. and in water having a hydrogen ion
content varying from PH 7.2 to 7.6. Winter eggs found in June and July.

20. DAPHNIA RETROCURVA Forbes 1882.

Daphnia kalbergenesis, Herrick & Turner, '95. pp. 203, 204. pi. 27,

fig. 1-3 ; pi. 53, fig. 5-8.

Collected in spring and early summer from one of our lakes. The

helmet on the head is small and rounded, probably enough so to warrant

calling it var. hreviceps Birge. The temperature of the water varied from

24-31 °C. and the hydrogen ion content of the water was PH 8.0.

GENUS MOINA BAIRD 1850

21. MOINA BRACHIATA (Jurine) 1820.

Moina brachiata, Herrick & Turner, '95. pp. 162, 163. pi. 39, fig.
5-8 ; pi. 43, fig. 1, 2.
At times during the summer this species is abundant in some of the
muddy ponds and marshes of this district. Found in water having a hydro-
gen ion content of PH 7.6-8.0. It frequently bears commensal Vortlcellidae.

22. MOINA RECTIROSTRIS (Leydig) 1860.

Moina rectirostris, Herrick & Turner, '95. pp. 163, 164. pi. 39, fig
1-4 ; pi. 41, fig. 2, 5, 8, 10, 11.
Found in certain muddy temporary ponds of this district in May and
June. The temperature of the water varied from 20-35 'C, the hydrogen ion
content from PH 7.0 to PH 7.6.

GENUS SCAPHOLEBERIS SCHOEDLER 1858

23. SCAPHOLEBERIS MUCRONATA (O. F. Mueller) 1785.

Scalpholeberis mucronata, Birge '78. pp. 6-9. pi. 2, fig. 8, 9.
Scapholeberis mucronata, Herrick & Turner, '95. pp. 174, 175. pi.
43, fig. 4-7 ; pi. 45, fig. 5.
Abundant in weedy marshes and certain ponds in this neighborhood.
Collected in water ranging in temperature front 27-32°C. and having a hy-
drogen ion content between 7.6 and 8.2. The marshes dry up in summer and
the ponds are temporary. April, May, June, and October.

GENUS SIMOCEPHALUS (O. F. MUELLER) 1776

24. SIMOCEPHALUS SBRRULATUS (Koch) 1841.

Simocephalus americanus, Birge, '78. pp. 6-8. pi. 1, fig. 6.
Simocephahis serrulatiis, Herrick & Turner, '95. pp. 179.
Simocephalus americanus, Herrick & Turner, '95. p. 179. pi. 45.
fig. 9.
In this district frequently found in marshes and among vegetation in
ponds and lakes from March to November, in water varying in tempera-
ture from 14-32°C. Sometimes so numerous in a certain pond as to be the
dominant form and the following year failing to appear in that pond.

10 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

FAMILY MACROTHRICIDAE
GENUS ACANTHOLEBERIS LLLLJEBORG 1853

25. ACANTHOLEBERIS CURVIROSTRIS (O. F. Mueller) 17761

Acantholeberia curviroatris, Herrick & Turner, '95. p. 218. pi. 4*.
fig. 1-4.
Rare or accidental in this district, a few having been found in a weedy
pond on one occasion.

GENUS MACROTHRIX BAIRD 1843

26. MACROTHRIX LATICORNIS (Jurine) 1820

Macrothrix laticomis, Herrick & Turner, '95. p. 212. pi. 54, tig.
9-12 ; pi. 56, fig. 8, 9.
Found in four different localities in this district; in a marsh, among
the water plants in a lake, in a no-outlet permanent pond, and in a transi-
tional pond, the bottom of each being mud. The temperature range of the
water was li-Sl^C. The hydrogen ion content was determined for only-
three of the localities; for two it was PH 8.2 and for the third PR 7.2.
In the marsh and lake only a few specimens were found ; In the transitional
pond it was abundant. April, May, June, and August.

FAMILY SIDIDAE

GENUS DIAPHANOSOMA FISCHER 1850

27. DIAPHANOSOMA BRACHYURUS (Lievin) 1848

Daphnella brachyura, Herrick & Turner, '95. pp. 148, 149. pi. 26.
fig. 11-16.
In July, 1920, this was common in a transitional pond with muddy
bottom, in a St. Louis park. The temperature of the water was 30 'C.

28. DIAPHANOSOMA LEUCHTENBERGIANUM FISCHER 1850

Daphnella brandtiana, Herrick & Turner, '95. p. 149. pi. 37, fig. 3-6.
In June, 1920, this species was abundant in a temporary pond near
Koch, Mo. The water was muddy and free from vegetation, with a tem-
perature of 30°C.

GENUS LATONOPSIS SARS 1888

29. LATONOPSIS OCCIDENTALIS Birge 1891.

Latonopsis occidentalis, Birge, '91. pp. 383-388.

Latom>psis occidentalis, Herrick & Turner, '95. pp. 150-151. pi. 3g
Collected in June, 1920, from a small permanent pond near Jefferson
Barracks, Mo. The bottom was muddy and the pond held no vegetation,
the water itself being clear.

GENUS PSEUDOSIDA HERRICK 1884

30. PSEUDOSIDA BIDENTATA Herrick 1884.

Paeudosida tridentata, Herrick & Turner, '95. pp. 147. 148. pi. 36
fig. 2-6 ; pi. 50, fig. 9.
In June, 1910. a few specimens were collected from a swamp near Union
Avenue and Natural Bridge Road, St. Louis.

Succession of Life in a Teansitional Pond
A transitional pond is one which is dry during part of
the year, but which, during periods of high water, is con-
nected to a permanent pond or lake.

It is not the purpose of this section to give an exhaus-
tive treatment of the succession of entomostracan life in
ponds and lakes but, by discussing the succession of clad-
oceran and copepodan life in one transitional pond for

Diaptomus Pseudoscmguineus Sp. Nov. 11

two successive years, it is hoped to demonstrate the futil-
ity of drawing conclusions as to the nature of and the
reasons for the succession of life in inland waters with-
out spending years in accumulating accurate data.

In one of the parks of St. Louis there is a lagoon-like
pond that is several hundred yards long. About three-
fourths of its length from one end is a strait-like con-
striction, the portion of the pond beyond this constric-
tion being at times of high water much shallower than
the remainder. During dry weather this portion gradu-
ally dries up. This shallow arm is the transitional pond
that is to be discussed. During the high waters of early
spring large areas of grass are submerged which die
after a certain length of time. From that time until the
pond dries up there is no vegetation higher than algae in
the water. The depth of the water varies from a few
inches to two feet, with mud bottom. The pond is ex-
posed to the sun during most of the day, the temperature
of the water ranging as high as 35°C and the hydro-
gen ion content varying from PH 7.2 to PH 8.2. The
record presented is for the spring and summer of 1920
and the spring and summer of 1921.

Spring and summer 1920. — April 4. Water high; much grass sub-
merged; temperature 15 °C.; Simocephalus serrulatus Koch and Cy-
clops viridis (Jurine) var. insectus Forbes present in moderate num-
bers.

May 5. Water high; grass growing in water; temperature 16°C.;
Simocephalus serrulatus Koch the dominant form; Cyclops viridis
(Jurine) var. insectus Forbes present in large numbers.

May 20. Water high; grass abundant; temperature 22°C.;
Simocephalus serrulatus Koch the dominant form; Cyclops viridis
(Jurine) var. insectus Forbes and Bosmina longirostris (0. F. Mueller)
present in large numbers.

May 22. Water high; grass dying; temperature 29°C.; Simoce-
phalus serrulatus Kock the dominant form, Bosmina longirostris (0.
F. Mueller) abundant, Cyclops viridis (Jurine) var. insectus Forbes
and Daphnia pulex (de Geer) present in small numbers.

June 20. Water becoming shallow; no grass in pond; pond teem-
ing with animal life; Daphnia pulcx (de Geer) now the dominant form,
Cyclops viridis (Jurine) var. insectus Forbes, Bosmina longirostris
(0. F. Mueller) and Ceriodaphnia laticoiudata P. E. Mueller abund-

12 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

ant, Simocephalus serrulatus Koch and Oxyurella tenuicaudis (Sars)
present in small numbers.

July 20. Pond drying up rapidly; no vegetation in the water;
temperature 35°C.; animal life very scare, a few specimens of Cy-
clops viridis (Jurine) var. Inscctiis Forbes and of Diaphanosoma
brachyurum (Lievin) found.

August 17. Pond nearly dry and entomostracan life has almost
disappeared, a few specimens of Cyclops serrulatus Fischer found.

Spring and summer 1921. — April 2. Pond moderately high; no
vegetation in water; temperature 19°C.; hydrogen ion content PH
7.9; Cyclops albidu^ Jurine the dominant form; Cyclops viridis
Jurine var. insectus Forbes abundant.

April 16. Pond moderately high; temperature 19°C.; hydrogen ion
content PH 7.0 (a heavy rain having fallen the previous night) ; Cy-
clops viridis (Jurine) var. insectus Forbes and Cyclops serrulatus
Fischer abundant, neither dominant, Cyclops albidus Jurine has al-
most entirely disappeared.

April 23. Water high owing to heavy rains; temperature 17°C.;
hydorgen ion content Ph 7.4; Cyclops viridis (Jurine) var. insectus
Forbes dominant, Cyclops serrulatus Fischer abundant.

April 30. Conditions about the same as on April 23; Cyclops
viridis (Jurine) var. insectus Forbes the dominant form, Cyclops ser-
rulatus Fischer abundant, Bosmina longirostris (O. F. Mueller) pres-
ent in small numbers.

May 11. Water at greatest height; grass growing in water; tem-
perature 22°C. ; hydrogen ion content PH 7.4; distribution of life
about the same as on April 30, although BosmAna longirostris (O. F.
Mueller) Sars may be more abundant.

May 20. Physical features about as on May 11; Cyclops viridis
(Jurine) var. insectus Forbes dominant, Bosmina longirostris (O. F.
Mueller) abundant, Cyclops serrulatus Fischer has disappeared.

June 1. Water falling; hydrogen ion content PH 8.2; Cyclops
viridis (Jurine) var. insectus Forbes dominant, Bosmina longirostris
(O. F. Mueller abundant, Cyclops fimbriatus Fischer, Macrothrix lati-
cornis (Jurine) and Scapholeberis mucronata O. F. Mueller present
in small numbers.

July 5. Water lower, otherwise physical conditions same as on
June 1; Cyclops viridis (Jurine) var. insectus Forbes dominant and
present in enormous numbers, Moina brachiata (Jurine) abundant; no
other cladocerans nor copepodans.

July 19. Water quite low, otherwise physical conditions same as
on July 5; no perceptable change in life conditions.

July 27. Pond quite shallow; hydrogen ion content PH 7.2;
literally thick with entomostracan life confined to the two species
Cyclops viridis (Jurine) var. insectus Forbes and Moina brachiata
(Jurine), the former dominant, all other cladocerans and copepodans
absent or so scarce as to escape detection among the myriads of the
two species mentioned; the Moinas bearing summer eggs but the

Diaptomus Pseudosanguineus Sp. Nov. 13

Cyclops not active sexually; of the countless millions of females
practically none bearing eggs. "When one remembers how prolific these
creatures usually are this pronounced sexual impotence furnishes food
for thought.

August 12. Pond almost dry, communicating with the permanent
pond by a very shallow neck of water; the hydrogen ion content PH
8.0; water almost void of cladoceran and copepodan life; repeated
hauls of the dredge discover a few specimens of each of Cyclopa ser.
Tulatus Fischer, Cyclops viridis (Jurine) var. insectus Forbes, Moina
brachiata (Jurine), all bearing eggs or young.

Two weeks ago this pond was literally teeming with
life, today it is almost void of life. The explanation is as
f ollow^s : A succession of life appears in the pond. Cy-
clops viridis (Jurine) var. insectus Forbes gradually be-
comes the dominant form. One by one the species asso-
ciated with it die out until only Moina brachiata (Jurine)
survives. Cyclops viridus (Jurine) continues to multiply
until it is present in numbers unbelievably large, but
they are sexually impotent. In a few more days that
immense population disappears almost entirely. What
is the cause? The deaths during the early and inter-
mediate stages of the season may have been due to the
elimination of the vegetation, or to the rise in tempera-
ture, or to the fluctuations in the hydrogen ion content
of the water, but none of these factors accounts for the
catastrophic destruction of this Cyclops in the early part
of August. True the pond contained living grass at the
beginning of the history and no vegetation at the close,
tut Cyclops viridis (Jurine) is as much at home in water
free from vegetation as it is in the midst of water plants.
The pond was quite shallow at the time of the climax but
this copepod flourishes in the shallowest ponds as well
as in the deeper lakes. The temperature of the water
varied from 19°C to 17° and up to 35° but this species
of Cyclops thrives throughout that entire range. The
hydrogen ion content of the water descends from PH
7.9 to PH 7.0 and then ascends to PH 8.2 but this ento-
mostracan has been found breeding throughout tliat
entire range. When the pond contained multitudes of

14 Trans. Acad, Sci. of St. Louis

these minute crustaceans it must have been highly
charged with the products of organic decay but this
water did not have a disagreeable odor and this creature
has been found flourishing in fetid water. Has not the
marvelous prolificacy of this species, co-operating with
the rapid evaporation of the water, caused the popula-
tion to outgrow its food supply and thus to induce a
famine which caused universal sexual impotency fol-
lowed by death? The few individuals of Cyclops ser-
rulatus Fischer which were found in the pond soon after
the catastrophe were dwarfs of their kind. This is in
harmony with the above conclusion, for excessive reduc-
tion of the food supply means underfed naupli, and
underfed naupli develop into undersize adults.

As stated above, these seasonal life histories are re-
corded for the purpose of showing that a study of the
succession of life in ponds and marshes, for only one or
two seasons, does not furnish sufficient data to warrant
the formation of scientific conclusions concerning the
succession of life in inland waters. These two records
have certain things in common. When winter gives place
to spring there is very little life in the pond. Species
after species appears, each to remain for a longer or
shorter period of time. Some cladoceran or copepod
becomes the dominant form. The living individuals con-
tiuously become more and more numerous until the his-
tory culminates in a catastrophic elimination of almost
the entire population. This is about all the two years
have in common. In April, 1920, the first forms to be-
come conspicuous are Simocephalus serrulatus (Koch)
and Cyclops viridis (Jurine), neither of which is domi-
nant; in April, 1921, the first to appear are Cyclops al-
bidiis (Jurine) and Cyclops viridis (Jurine), the former
of which is dominant. In 1920 Simocephalus serrulatus
(Koch) becomes dominant in the early part of May and
retains the dominancy until the latter part of June, when

Diaptomus Pseudoscmguineits Sp. Nov. 15

it is succeeded by Daphnia pulex (de Greer) ; in 1921 Cy-
clops viridis (Jurine) achieves the dominancy about the
middle of April and retains it until the elimination, and
neither Simocephalus serrulatus (Koch) nor Daphnia
pnlex (de Geer) appears in that pond during the season,
altho they do exist in other ponds of the district. Simo-
cephalus serrulatus (Koch), Daphnia pulex (de Geer),
Ceriodaphnia lacticaudata P. E. Mueller, Oxyurella
tenuicaudis (Sars) and Diaphanosoma brachyurum
(Lievin) are present during a part of 1920 but none of
these appear in 1921. Cyclops albidus (Jurine), Cyclops
fimbriatus Fischer, Scapholeberis mucronata Birge and
Moina brachiata (Jurine) are in evidence during a part
of 1921 but were not encountered at all during 1920.*
Surely such contradictory data do not warrant reliable
generalizations.

Commensalism and Symbiosis. — In the small ponds
and marshes, Cyclops viridis (Jurine) almost invariably
forms a symbiotic union with certain one-celled green
algae.

This same species often bears certain Vorticellidae
(Pyxedium sp.? and Vorticella sp.?) as commensals.

On several occasions Daphnia pulex (de Geer) has
been noticed bearing a certain species of Brachionidae
as a commensal. The union was not permanent. The
rotifer attached itself by its toes and was free to leave
when it became necessary. Whenever I have attempted
to secure photographs, the attached commensal has al-
ways escaped.

Moina brachiata (Jurine) occasionally bears certain
Vorticellidae as commensals (PI. 4, Fif. 3).

A certain species of Vorticellidae has been seen as a
commensal on Diaptimus pseudosanguineus, sp. n. (PI.
2, Fig. le.)

•These forms may not have been entirely absent from the pond but if
they were present, they were so rare as to escape detection.

16

Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

Commensal Vorticellidae {Pyxedium sp., etc.) have
been discovered on Scapholeberis mucronata Birge.
Explanations of Tables.

The following tables epitomize the results of field ob-
servations. In the tables on seasonal distribution cer-
tain months are omitted, those being months in which
no field work was done.

The tables on seasonal distribution, those on distribu-
tion according to temperature, and those on distribution
according to habitat epitomize the work of four collect-
ing seasons; the table giving the distribution according
to the hydrogen ion content of the water is the result of
only one year's work.

The centigrade scale is used for temperature; the
hydrogen ion content is expressed in PH values.

The tables record the results of field observations, and
contain neither inductions nor deductions.

Distribution of St. Louis Copepoda From April 1909

To June 1910

1909

1910

p.
P

P
P
P

c

1-5

P

P

P

<
p

q;
P

o
p

p

>

o

1^

p.
<

P

a

P
P

a

1 CvcloTJS albidus

9 C^vflons hipiisnidatus

3 dvrlnns fiisna.

A flvplnns nTinlpTnt.iis

S C!vr1nns sprriila.t.us .

P
P

P

fi C!vplons viridis inseota

7 DiaDtomus nallidus

8 r)iflr)t,nmiis saneruinfius.

9 r)iar)t,omiiR sifilis.

P

^^^

Diaptomus P send o sanguineus Sp. Nov.

17

Distribution of st. Louis Cladocera From March 1909

To June 1910

1909

1910

1 Alonaceostata

a

>.

o

5

3
<

u

y
C

i;

O
>

o

p

p

<

IS

c

3
»-s

2 Bosmina loneirostris. .

3 CeriodaDhnia laticaudata

P

4. CeriodaDhnia reticulata

P

p

p

p
p

5. Chydorus sphaericus

6. Daohnia loneiremus

P
P

7 Daohnia pulex

8 Levdieia acanthocercoides

P

9 Levdieia auadraneularis

P

10. Moina brachiata

P
P

p

11. Moina rectirostris

12 Pleuroxus denticulatus

P
P

p
p

13. Pleuroxus hamulatus

14. Pseudosida bidentata

n

15. Scapholeberis mucronata

P

P

p
p

P

p

p

p

P

p
p

16. SimoccDhalus serrulatus

P

p

18

Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

DiSTEiBUTiON OF St. Louis Cladocera From April 1920

To August 1921

1920

1921

1 Alona rectaneularis

P.
<

1-5

1-5

CO

3
bC
3

P
P
P

a

3

P

1-5
P

P
P

CO

3
bO

3
<

2. Bosmina loneirostris

P

P

P

p

3 CeriodaDhnia lacustris

4. CeriodaDhnia laticaudata

p

P

5. CeriodaDhnia ricaudi

P

6. Chvdorus sDhaericus

P

P

P

P
P
P

P
P

7. DaDhnia loneiremis hvaUna

P

8. Daohnia loneiremis loncisoina . .

9. Daphnia pulex

P
P

p
p

P
P

P

10. DaDhnia retrocurva

11. DiaDhanosoma brachvurum

12. Diaphanosoma leuchtenbergianum

p

13. Kurzia latissinoa

14. Levdieia auadraneularis

P

15. LatonoDsis occidentalis

p

P

P

P
P
P
P

P

P

16. Macrothrix laticornis

17. Moina brachiata

P
P
P

p

18. Moina rectirostris

19. Oxvurella tenuicaudis

p
p
p
p
p
p

20. Pleuroxus denticulatus

21. Pleuroxus hamulatus

p

22 Scaoholeberis mucronata

P
P

23. Simoceohalus seirulatus

P

Diaptomus Pseudoscmguineus Sp. Nov.

19

Distribution of St. Louis Copepoda From April 1920

To August 1921

1920

1921

1. Cyclops albidus

2. CvcloDS bicusoidatus

a
<

P

IS
P

a

3
P

en

3

<

• •

P
p

p

p

p
p
p

3
P

P
P

n
3
M>

3

<

3. CvcloDS f imbriatus

6. CvcloDS fusca. . ...

P

7. CvcloDS le^ickarti

P

8. Cvnlons nhalpratiis

P
P
P
P
P

9. Cyclops serrulatus

10. Cyclops viridis insectus

P
P

P
P
P

P
P
P
P
P

P
P

P
P

p
p

P
P

11. Diaptomus ashlandi

12. DiaDtomus oreeonensis

13. Diaptomus pallidus

14. Diaptomus pseudosanguineus

n

15. Diaptomus stagnalis

P

20

Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

Temperature Distribution of St. Louis Cladocera

1. Alona costata

2. Alona rectangularis ,

3. Bosmina longirostris

4. Ceriodaphnia lacuustris

5. Ceriodaphnia laticaudata

6. Ceriodaphnia reticulata

7. Ceriodaphnia rigaudi

8. Chydorus sphaericus

9. Daphnia longiremis hyalina ,

10. Daphnia longiremis longispina

11. Daphnia pulex

12. Daphnia rctrocurva

13. Diaphanosoma brachyurum

14. Diaphanosoma leuchtenbergianum.

15. Kurzia latissima

16. Leydigia acanthoceroides

17. Leydigia quadrangularis

18. Macrothrix laticornis

19. Moina brachiata

20. Moina rectirostris

21. Oxyurella tenuicaudis

22. Pleuroxus denticulatus

23. Pleuroxus hamulatus

24. Pseudosida bidentata

25. Scapholeberis mucronata

26. Simocephalus serrulatus

Oi

P
P

P

P

ia>

P
P

■^
c^

o

P
P
P

P
P

P
P
P

P

<J5

U5

P
P

P
P

Diaptomus Pseudosanguineus Sp. Nov.

21

Temperature Distribution of St. Louis Copepoda

1. Cyclops albidus

2. Cyclops bicuspidatus

3. Cyclops fusca

4. Cyclops leuckarti

5. Cyclops phaleratus

6. Cyclops serrulatus

7. Cyclops viridis insectus

8. Diaptomus ashlandi

9. Diaptomus oregonensis

10. Diaptomus pallidus

11. Diaptomus pseudosanguineus.

12. Diaptomus sanguineus

13. Diaptomus sicilis

14. Diaptomus stagnalis

Oi

P
P

OJ

lO

p
p

p
p
p
p

p

O

P
P

P
P
P
P
P

P
P
P
P

o

CO

P
P
P
P
P
P

22

Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

Distribution of St. Louis Copepoda and Cladoera Ac-
cording TO THE Hydrogen ion Content of the Water

CLADOCERA

o

CM

CD

00

o
00

00

1. Alona rectancularis

p

2 Bosmina loneirostris

p

n

3. Ceriodaphnia lacustris

p

4. Ceriodaphnia rigaudi

p

5. Chydorus sphaericus

p

6. Daphnia longiremis hyalina

p

7. Daphnia longiremis longispina

p

8. Daohnia Dulex

P

P

9. Daphnia retrocurva

P

10. Levdicia auadraneularis

p

11. Macrothrix laticornis

P

p

12. Moina brachiata

p

P

13. Moina rectirostris

P

14. Pleuroxus denticulatus

n

15. Pleuroxus hamulatus

p

p

16. Scaoholeberis mucronata

P
P

p

COPEPODA
1. CvcloDS albidus.

P
P

2. Cyclops bicuspidatus

3. Cyclops fimbriatus

p

4. CvcloDS leuckarti

p

5. Cyclops serrulatus

P
P

P
P

p
p

P
P
P

p

6. Cyclops viridis insectus

7. Diaotomus ashlandi . ...

P

p

p

8. Diantomus orpsronensis

P

9. Diantomus oseudosaneuineus

p

Diaptomus Pseudoscmgui/neiis Sp. Nov.
Habitat Distribution of St. Louis Cladocera

90

TTTT

Pond

1. Alona costata

2. Alona rectangularis

3. Bosmina longirostris

4. Ceriodaphnia lacustris

6. Ceriodaphnia laticaudata

6. Ceriodaphnia pulchella

7. Ceriodaphnia reticulata

8. Ceriodaphnia rigaudi

9. Chydorus sphaericus

10. Daphnia longiremis hyaUna

11. Daphnia longiremis longispina. . .

12. Daphnia pxillex

13. Daphnia retrocurva

14. Diaphanosoma brachuyrum

15. Diaphanosoma leuchtenbergianum

16. Kurzia latissima

17. Latonopsis occidentalis

18. Leydigia acanthoceroides

19. Leydigia quadrangularis

20. Macrothrix laticornis

21. Moina brachiata

22. Moina rectirostris

23. Oxyurella tenuicaudis

24. Pleuroxiis denticulatus

25. Pleuroxus hamulatus

26. Pseudosida bidentata

27. Scapholeberis mucronata

28. Simocephalus serrulatus

Pond

Lake

a

c
O

P
P

P
P

24

Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

Habitat Distribution of St. Louis Copepoda

1. Cyclops albidxis

2. Cyclops bicuspidatus .

3. Cyclops f imbriatus

4. Cyclops f usca

5. Cyclops f imbriatus

6. Cyclops phaleratus

7. Cyclops leuckarti

8. Cyclops serrulatus

9. Cyclops viridis insectus

10. Diaptomus ashlandi

11. Diaptomus oregonensis

12. Diaptomus pallidus

13. Diaptomus pseudosanguineus.

14. Diaptomus sanguineus

15. Diaptomus sicilis

16. Diaptomus stagnalis

N. O
Pond

P

P

O.
Pond

Lake

a
a>
a,
O

LITERATURE

Birge. E. A. ('78). Notes on Cladocera. 1878.

— ('19). List of Crustacea Cladocera from Madison, Wisconsin. Trans.
Wis. Acad. Sci. 8:379-398. pi. 13. 1891.

— ('18). Key to North American fresh-water Cladocera. Fresh-water

Biology, by Henry B. Ward and George C. Whipple, pp. 689-

740. 1918.
Forbes, E. B. ('97). A contribution to our knowledge of the North

American Fresh-Water Cyclopidae. Bull. 111. State Lab. of Nat.

Hist. 5:27-82. pi. 8-20. 1897.
Forbes, S. A. ('76). List of Illinois Crustacea, with descriptions of

new species. Bull. 111. State Lab. of Nat. Hist. 1:3-25. 1876.

— ('82). On some Entomostraca of Lake Michigan and Adjacent

Waters. Am. Nat. 16:537-543, 640-650. pi. 8. 9. 1882.
Herrick, C. L. and Turner, C. H. ('95). Synopsis of the Entomostraca
of Minnesota. Geol. Nat. Hist. Surv. Minnesota, Zool. Series 2.
pp. 1-524. pi. 1-81. 1895.

Diaptomus Pseudosanguineus Sp. Nov. 25

Marsh, C. Dwight, ('18). Copepoda. Fresh-water Biology, by Henry

B. Ward and George C. Whipple, pp. 741-789. 1918.
Schacht, F. W. ('97). The North American species of Diaptomus.

Bull. 111. State Lab. of Nat. Hist. 5:97-207. pi. 21-35. 1897.
Turner, C. H. ('10). Ecological notes on the Copepoda and Cladocera

of Augusta, Ga., with descriptions of new species. Trans. Acad.

Sci. St. Louis 19:151-176. pi. 36-38. 1910.

Explanation of Plates

PLATE I.

Pig. 1. Diaptomus pscudosanguincous, sp. nov., ventral view of
female; c, tubercles on the distal margin of the thorax; d, strong
curved spine on the lateroventral portion of the first segment of the
abdomen.

Fig. 2. Diaptomus pscudosanguincous, sp. nov., lateral view of
male.

Fig. 3 Lateral view of the female; j, spermatophore.

Fig. 4. Antenna of the female.

PLATE II.

Fig. 1. Lateral view of female illustrating a case of commensal-
ism between this form and certain Vorticellidae; e, one of the com-
mensal Vorticellidae. By examining that portion of the illustration
labeled e with a magnifying glass the protozoan will be distinct. The
use of the glass will also reveal retracted Vorticellidae among the
eggs.

Fig. 2. Caudal extremity of the thorax and the first abdominal
somite of a female (lateral view); f, stout curved spine; g, sperma-
tophore.

Fig. 3. Antipenultimate segment of the male right antenna; h,
terminal claw; i, hyaline flange.

PLATE III.

Fig. 1. Fifth foot of the male; a, endopodite of the left fifth foot.

Fig. 2. Antennae of the male.

Fig. 3. Pair in copulo.

Fig. 4. Enlarged view showing the tubercles on the caudal mar-
gin of the thorax; b, the tubercles.

Fig. 5. Fifth foot of the female. The terminal setae moved re-
flexly, while the photo was being taken, thus causing the appendage
to appear to have several terminal setae. There are only two long
setae at that place.

PLATE IV.

Fig. 1. Ccriodaphnia rigaudi, shell markings.

Fig. 2. Ccriodaphnia rigaudi. Female, b, antennae c, beak-like
projection from head.

Fig. 3. Moina brachiata, female, showing commensalism; a, Voitl-
cellidae.

Fig. 4. Pleuroxus ham-ulatus.

Fig. 5. Ccriod/iphnia laticaudata.

Fig. 6. Ccriodaphnia rigaudi, female, showing the escape of a
young specimen from the brood sac. By turning the page sidewise
the details of this photo become more distinct.

'J'i;a\s. .\( ad. S( r. ni Si. Ldi i.s. X'oi.. .\XI\'

Pl.ATK I

>i

*>.3>ia.v>^-

VfA. 1

Ki^'.

0-3>Mt

Kij;. ;>

Kij;. 4

Tk.ws. A( All. S( r. oi Si. Loi IS. Vin.. XXJV

Pi All: II

E^F

> V"' >

"^IBtto^

I

Ki^'. 2

Kis.

Tka.ns. A( Alt. S( r. oi St. Lmis, Vol.. XXIV

Plate III

1

^^5«

^r z^'^-

■

I /^

■

\^!

W--- * ' .

I

fof, , yf

1 iri

jT

W

1

/

SjR^

m

V ■"*

O.IWI.TVI,

tjf'yw'i

r,-. 1

f

^!^^9^^Hh^

O.HV'^-'*^'

FiK. :{

I'i;:

Fig. 4

Tkans. A( ad. S( r. <ii- Si. I.diis. Vni,. XXIV

Pl.ATE IV

©.jTri^,

1 -

^

k »

Kin. :;

o» "S

li;;. 1

Fi;;. li

Transactions of the Academy of Science of St. Louis

Vol. XXIV No. 3

BUFO FOWLERI PUTNAM IN MISSOURI
C. H. DANFORTH

Issued December, 1921

I '■

Hi/ A . .t

BUFO FOWLERI PUTNAM IN MISSOURI
C. H. Danforth

At a meeting of the Boston Society of Natural His-
tory on August 2, 1843, Dr. Andrew Nichols exhibited a
toad which had been captured by S. P. Fowler, Esq., of
Danvers, Massachusetts, immediately after it had ut-
tered its strange call. In a letter accompanying the
specimen Dr. Nichols stated that he had long been fa-
miliar with the call of this toad, and from his account,
which is summarized in the report of the meeting, there
can be little doubt that the specimen was a representa-
tive of the form which has subsequently come to be
known as Bufo fowleri. The short paragraph in which
the incident is recorded^ is probably the earliest refer-
ence to an individual of the species to be found any^vhere
in the literature. However, Dr. D. H. Storer, who was
present at the meeting pronounced the specimen to be
''the Bufo lentiginosus- of Shaw" and the species seems
to have received no further notice from the Society for
nearly forty years.

But Mr. Fowler apparently was not satisfied with
the identification and continued his observations through
many seasons, finally sending a collection of specimens
and field notes to Professor F. W. Putnam who described
the species, in manuscript, conferring upon it the name
fowleri in honor of its first collector. Putnam apparently
never published his description, but in 1875 Cope^ listed
"Bufo lentiginosus fowleri" and in 1882, Mary H. Hink-
ley* described the tadpoles of Bufo americanus Le Conte

1. Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., vol. 1. p. 136, 1844.

2. It may be recalled that the northern form, B. americanus Le

Conte, was not recognized as different from the southern
B. lentiginosus Shaw until some years later than this.

3. Checklist of North American Batrachians and Reptiles. Bull.

U. S. Nat. Museum, No. 1, 1875. (Page 29)

4. Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., vol. 21.

2 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

and Bufo fowleri Putnam. In his "Batrachia of North
America," published in 1889, Cope' gave considerable
space to Bufo lentiginosus foivleri. In this publication
he stated (page 279) that it "is so far known only as a
native of a few ponds in northeastern Massachusetts
near the town of Danvers," and further commented that
''such a limited distribution of a land vertebrate is re-
markable, as is also the fact of its having so long re-
mained without an introduction to science. ' '

Since the publication of Cope's checklist the range,
or better the recognition, of Bufo fowleri has been con-
siderably extended. Up to 1906 we find ''Bufo fowleri
reported only from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and
New York near the coast. ' '®

About 1907 Miss Dickerson identified it as the most
common form about Washington, D. C.,^ and a year later
Allard recorded it as abundant in northern Geo^gia^ In
1910 Miller and Chapin^ reported it to be the only toad in
southern and eastern New Jersey and on Staten Island,
and also recorded its presence in the mountainous part
of New York. Finally, in the summer of 1916, Dunn'"
found the species common in the mountains of North
Carolina but not ascending to an elevation of more than
2700 feet.

It will be apparent from this brief review that by
]917 abundant evidence had accumulated to show that
the range of Bufo fowleri includes a region reaching
from southern New Hampshire to northern Georgia and
extending westward at least as far as the Appalachian
Mountains. It is interesting to find now that the range

5. Bull. U. S. Nat. Museum, No. 34.

6. Mary C. Dickerson: The Frog Book, 1906.

7. According to H. A. Allard: Science N, S, vol. XXVI, pp. 383-384

1907.

8. H. A. Allard: Bufo Foioleri (Putnam) in Northern Georgia

Science, N. S. XXVIII, pp. 655-656, 1908.

9. W. De W. Miller and James Chapin: The Toads of the North

eastern United States. Science, N. S. vol. XXXII, pp. 315-316
1910.
10. Emmett R. Dunn: Bull. Amer. Museum of Natural History, Octo
ber 13, 1917.

Bufo fowleri Putnmn in Missouri 3

is not limited by the mountains but continues far beyond
them, reaching, in at least this one locality, the west side
of the Mississippi.

The writer first found Bufo fowleri in St. Louis
during May, 1920, when large numbers of these toads
were heard singing in Forest Park. He had earlier had
abundant opportunity in Maine and Massachusetts to
become familiar with the habits and calls of typical
Bufo americanus and Bufo fowleri but had not previously
been aware of the latter species in Missouri. This is
probably because no collection of toads had been made
and also because of the din of automobiles in the St.
Louis parks on warm evenings, the only time when Bufo
fowleri calls. As soon as the notes were recognized a
number of specimens were captured and found to be typi-
cal examples of Bufo fowleri. One of them was sent to
the Agassiz Museum where it was submitted to Mr.
Eramett Dunn, who verified the identification.

Since Hurter" mentions only Bufo americanus, the
question arises as to whether he had never collected
Bufo fowleri or had failed to differentiate it. Conse-
quently a letter of inquiry was addressed to the National
Museum, where the Hurter collection is deposited. In
reply Dr. Stejneger stated that he had had the Missouri
specimens examined and found that out of a total of
thirty-five, thirty-three were Bufo americanus, but that
one, #15871, had most of the characters of a typical Bufo
fowleri while another, #57495, was intermediate. The
latter specimens were both collected by Mr. Hurter at
St. Louis. These data would seem to indicate that the
species is confined in Missouri to the region of St. Louis,
but since they also show that Mr. Hurter was not on the
lookout for Bufo foivleri, the possibility remains that it
may be more or less widely distributed in the state.

Since the literature relating to Bufo fowleri is

11. Julius Hurler, Sr.: Herpetology of Missouri. Transactions of
the Academy of Science of St. Louis, vol. 10, No. 5, 1911.

4 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

rather scattered it may be worth while to review some
of the outstanding characteristics of the species, con-
trasting it with Bufo americanus. It should be borne in
mind that both species are quite variable and that almost
any morphological characteristic of the one may occa-
sionally be met in the other. There seems to be no defi-
nite evidence, however, that the two species hybridize or
intergrade in the strictest sense.

Size. Bufo fowleri is of medium size, Tvdth very little
difference between the sexes. A typical mated pair, from
Forest Park, St. Louis, which produced a large number
of fertile eggs when placed in an aquarium were meas-
ured from the tip of the snout to the tip of the urostyle.
The length of the male was found to be 65 mm., that of
the female 68 mm. Bufo americanus on the other hand
is larger and shows a very marked difference in the size
of the two sexes. A male selected as typical of a con-
siderable collection of specimens from Norway, Maine
(which appears to be beyond the northern limit of Bufo
fowleri), had a length of ^Q mm., while a female from
the same source and selected in the same way measured
90 mm. in length. The weight of the female was more
than twice that of the male. The contrast in size be-
tween the adult females of the two species is indicated
in the accompany sketches which are drawn to scale.

Surface Anatomy. Shape of the head. — Viewed
from above, the head of B. fowleri (fig. 3) appears rather
narrow and pointed in front. The eyes generally form
part of the outline. In B. americanus (fig 1) the head is
very broad and slightly more rounded in front. The eyes,
especially in adult females, do not enter into the outline
of the head when seen in this position (Dunn). In pro-
file (as pointed out by Deckert) the appearance of the
two species is very different (figs. 2 and 4). The head of
B. fowleri is short and thick with a very blunt snout, that
of B. americanus is longer, not so thick, and with a taper-
ing snout. This difference is quite as marked in males
as in females.

Bnfo fowleri Putnam in Missouri

Fig. 1. Outline sketch of the head of an adult female Bufo ameri-

canus from Norway, Maine.
Fig. 2. Side view of the same specimen.
Figs. 3 and 4. Similar views of an adult female Bufo fowleri from

St. Louis, Missouri.
These figures are all drawn to the same scale (approximately

XV2).
The specimens from which the sketches were made, together with
living specimens of both species, collected in the immediate vicinity,
were exhibited at a meeting of the Academy on May 7, 1921.

Bony crests. — In B. fowleri the frontal crests are
rather small and cither slightly divergent behind or,
more often, parallel, and even fused in the mid-line
(Dickerson, Deckert^-). In B. americanus the crests are
more robust and often parallel, but not fused. In both
species there is almost always a short medially or pos-
teriorly directed prolongation of this crest beyond its
union with the post ocular ridge which runs in a trans-

12. Deckert, Richard: Do the Fowler's Toad and the American Toad
Interbreed? Science. N. S. vol. XLV. pp. 113-114, 1917.

6 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

verse direction (Figs. 1 and 3). In B. americanus the
well developed postocular ridge ends laterally in a bifur-
cation, one branch running forward and downward be-
tween the eye and the tympanic membrane, the other,
short but distinct, extending back to the parotid body.
In B. foivleri the postocular ridge is less pronounced and
the posterior prolongation is lacking.

Parotid bodies. — In B. foivleri the parotid bodies
^fig. 3) are rather narrow elongated ovals adnate in
front, at least laterally, to the postocular ridges. In
B. americanus (fig. 1) they are short, generally more or
less reniform in outline, and free from the postocular
ridge proper, being united only to a prolongation from it.

Warts. — The warts of B. fowleri are relatively small
and with only feeble spines or none at all, those of B.
americanus are much larger and often tipped with strong
spines. When comparing the males which are of about
the same size in the two species the difference in the
warts is very noticeable, but in the absence of represen-
tatives of both species it would often be difficult to iden-
tify a specimen on the basis of warts alone. In B. fow-
leri the under parts are finely granular, in B. ameri-
canus they are coarsely granular or even spiny.

Other structural characters. — B. foivleri is in gen-
eral appearance more frog-like with a closer fitting skin
and smaller, more slender feet than B. americanus. It
is a ''much more trim, dapper, active little fellow than its
relative." (Allard.)

Color. Most specimens of B. fowleri show a grayish
background with some greenish tints ; only rarely is there
a reddish brown cast. In B. americanus the background
is most often more or less reddish. In B. fowleri the
ground color may change from a light greenish gray to
almost black in the course of a few hours. The dark
dorsal spots are said (Dickerson) to be more constant in
B. fowleri than in B. americanus, there usually being six
pairs in the former. A mid dorsal longitudinal gray
stripe is more distinct and more constant in B. fowleri

Bufo fowleri Putnam, in Missouri 7

than in B. americanus. The under parts of tlie former
are generally unspotted, those of the latter usually are
spotted.

Breeding Habits. B. americanus breeds relatively
early, B. fowleri relatively late, the breeding season of
the former having passed as a rule some time before that
of the latter begins. The data for St. Louis are inade-
quate, but apparently during the past two years B.
americanus has left the breeding sites before the middle
of April, while in 1921 a careful watch for B. fowleri did
not result in finding any specimens till April 23 and no
active breeding until May. At. St. Louis the breeding
season extends into June. The Q^g strings of B. fowleri
have the eggs arranged in several rows while those of B.
americanus are in a single row.

The Call. The call, or song, of the two species is
very different and when both have been heard they are
not likely ever to be confused. The song of B. foivleri is
a harsh unmusical call with a peculiar initial inflection
— an ''unmistakable, w^eird, wailing, scream" (Allard).
** There is no sound in bog, pond, fen, forest or air, at all
like it" (Nichols). The average duration of the call
both at St. Louis and in Massachusetts is slightly over
two seconds, rarely three seconds. The song of B. ameri-
canus on the other hand is a prolonged, uninflected trill
of a rather pleasant droning quality. Its duration may
be for as much as 30 seconds. It is heard only early in the
season and may be uttered in relatively cold water. B.
fowleri calls only when the temperature is comparatively
high.

It is of interest to note that between these two
species, which in some respects are very similar, charac-
ters that might be called fundamentally psychological —
e.g. habits, notes, — are among the most distinctively dif-
ferential. The writer has been impressed with a some-
what similar phenomenon among birds, where local dif-
erences in song or call notes are far more apparent than

8 Trans. Acad. Set. of St. Louis

any physical differences. Perhaps the systematic value
of these characters, and their evolutionary importance
has been underestimated.

The range of Bufo fowerli is very likely more ex-
tended than recorded data would indicate. Since it has
been found in the Carolinas and Georgia, and now in
Missouri, it is probable that it occurs in the intermediate
territory. In his ''Notes on Illinois Reptiles and Am-
phibia" Garman^^ stated that Bufo americanus is the
common form in Illinois, but described a call which he
suggested might be that of B. lentiginosus. His descrip-
tion, however, fits the call of B. foivleri, and it would
seem not improbable that this was the species which he
really heard. Cope^* remarked in 1889 that ' ' a specimen
of the var. Americanus from Nebraska approximates
sufficiently close to the last specimen {Fowleri) to indi-
cate that the Fowleri can not be regarded as under all
circumstances separate, or be accorded full specific
rank." When it is recalled that at the time this was
written Cope believed B. fowleri to be confined to north-
eastern Massachusetts, it seems not improbable that he
was misled in his diagnosis, and that his Nebraska speci-
men really was B. fowleri. In any event it is clear that
much remains to be done before the exact range of this
species can be stated with any certainty.

13. Garman, H.: Bull. 111. State Lab. of Nat. Hist., 1891, pp. 185-190.

14. Loc. Cit., p. 279.

Transactions of the Academy of Science of St. Louis

VOLUME XXIV No. 4

CANCER, ITS COURSE AND ITS CAUSES

LEO LOEB

Issued April, 1922

CANCER, ITS COURSE AND ITS CAUSES

By

Leo Loeb

Cancer is a disease wliicli differs very markedly in its
character from all other diseases. It is common to man
and to higher animals and in a few cases something analo-
gous to it has been found also in invertebrates. In gener-
al, the character of the disease and its course are the
same, wherever it appears, and in order to bring out this
distinct character we are led to compare it with certain
infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and diphtheria.

In tuberculosis a microscopic organism, the tubercle
bacillus, enters the body usually through the respira-
tory tract or through the intestines. Wherever a few
tubercle bacilli settle, they set up a certain reaction on
the part of the host tissue. The cells nearest to the
invaders undergo peculiar changes and a certain kind of
leucocytes surround them with a wall. Sometimes a con-
nective tissue capsule forms around it all and then the
bacilli may become secluded, incarcerated so to speak,
and innocuous temporarily or forever. Frequently, how-
ever, the tubercle bacilli multiply and produce poisons
which kill the tissue around them; they spread in the
neighboring tissue; they soften the tissue locally through
killing it and may thus break into lymph and blood ves-
sels and are carried to distant parts where they set up
similar processes. They produce substances which are
toxic and which disturb the general condition of the in-
vaded organism, and the latter usually responds with the
production of antagonistic substances which counteract
to a certain extent the toxic substances of the bacteria
and thus may cause either a certain degree of immunity
against the bacillus and its products, or, on the contrary,
hypersusceptibility. Such immunity reactions on the
part of the host are quite common in bacterial infectious

2 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louut

diseases. Tliey may load to the neutralization of the
toxin produced as, for instance, in dii)htlieria, or they may
be directed mainly against the invading or^'anism as such,
as for instance, in vaccinia, which is a ven.' much miti-
pited, quite innocuous variety of small[)OX.

If we compare with this process the chanpes which take
place in cancer, we find a notable difference. In cancer
certain constituents of the body and its component tis-
sues, namely, the microscopic cells, multiply abnormally
and invade the surrounding tissue; they penetrate far-
ther and farther. They not only multiply, but very often
actually move, migrate and push into the lymph chan-
nels and blood vessels. Once this is accomplished they are
carried away by the blood or lymph stream to various
parts of the body and there set up similar now growths
by again multiplying and migrating into the neighboring
tissue. These secondary growths are called metastases.
They are composed of the same kind of cells which orig-
inally began to grow.

Usually cancer begins as a sharply localized growth
and the multii>lication and migration of cells is limited to
one kind of cells. Any kind of tissue may thus become
overactive, cancerous. It may be certain ])arts of the
skin, mammary gland, stomach, tongue, chock, intestine,
liver, uterus. If it starts in the skin, skin-liko forma-
tions are produced in excess, and in the most varied parts
of the bodv where thev do not occur normallv. When
the cancer starts in tho mammary gland, breast tissue
grows in excess and is found in internal organs as metas-
tases. So it is with the stomach. In cancer of the stom-
ach irregular stomach tissue may be found in the stom-
ach itself, but a few cells may be carried to the liver and
elsewhere and start the growth of stomach tissue there.
In the ovary and tesies, and occasionally elsewhere, not
only single tissue may be found to grow, but through the
simultaneous growth of various tissues very complex

Cancer Its Course and Its Causes 3

structures can develop which resemble disorganized em-
bryos. And parts of this abnormal formation may again
become invasive and set up secondary growths in other
parts of the body.

We see then that in cancer parts of our body become
overactive and grow and move in a somewhat hasty, dis-
organized way. This excessive growth of parts of our
body is the essential disease, not, as in tuberculosis, the
destruction and cell death caused by the toxins of bac-
teria.

In cancer no immunity is produced in the diseased or-
ganism such as is found in varying degrees in infectious
diseases, because the essential invader and product of
the disease is part of ourselves, our own body. Now, an
organism defends itself only against something strange,
which carries a chemical element into its economy quite
different from that to which it is accustomed. A de-
fense can therefore be set up against the strange bacteria
and thus immunity develops; but no such chemical reac-
tion occurs against the own cells of the body which are
very familiar to all the surrounding cells and do not
carry anything essentially new into the host. They pro-
duce nevertheless certain alterations in the metabolism
of the body and may thus cause a certain loss of weight
and other changes. But these are inconstant and of rela-
tively minor importance. The injurious effect of cancer
is essentially of a mechanical and locally destructive
character. The cancer cells destroy important and nec-
essary organs, or they interfere with their function; they
may open the blood vessels and cause bleeding; they may
break through the surface of the body and may give rise
to putrefaction. However, there are great differences in
the activity of different cancers. Some are relatively
inert and may exist for many years without doing seri-
ous harm; but the majority of cancers are quite active and
desti-uctive in a relatively short time.

4 Traits. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

It is possible to rcmovo cancer cells Avliich develop in
an animal from the original host and transplant them in-
to other individuals of the same species. AVc may re-
peat reinociilation indefinitely, carrying the cells from
animal to animal. This lias been done in mice and rats.
A swelling develops, which ordinarily is not painful, but
merely weakens the animals. Now such transplanted
cells, which grow in an individual, different from that in
which they originated, are strange to the new organism,
and thus defense })rocesses may be set up and a certain
immunity be jjroduced against these grafted cancers.
But this is an immunity against body cells of a strange
individual and not an immunity against a microorganism,
such as we find it in infectious diseases.

Cancer is then an abnormal growth process. It re-
peats in an exaggerated and irregular and endless way
what may take place normally in a regular and self -lim-
ited manner during the embryonic develoj)ment or in the
repair of wounds in various organs, or after the grafting
of tissues to dilTerent ])laces. Under all those conditions
we find an increased cell multi})lication and we may even
find an invasive growth. But under normal conditions
all this is limited and comes to an end as soon as a certain
stage in the process has been reached. It may, however,
occur that processes of a tyj)ical embryonic development,
or wound healing, which is kept up over a long i)eriod of
time, change into the endless, continuous excess growth
of cancer. AVe shall refer to that again later.

AVhat are the causes of this excessive multii)lication
and invasiveness of a limited number of well defined
cells of our body which in the end succeed in destroying
themselves? As late as ten years ago the majority of
physicians would jirobably have answered this question
by stating that the causes of cancer are unknown to us;
that the causes of tuberculosis and other infectious dis-
eases, on the other hand, have been fully determined.

Cancer Its Course and Its Causes 5

To-day it would come nearer the truth if we would ac-
knowledge that while the external cause of tuberculosis is
known, much has still to be learned about the cause of
tuberculosis. That the external factor does not consti-
tute the only cause of tuberculosis; that many individuals
are equally exposed to or perhaps even invaded by the
tubercle bacillus, but that the result differs very much
in different cases. What part does the character and
constitution of the exposed or invaded organism play in
this infection? Does heredity play any part? Is the shape
of the thorax, the condition of the lymphatic apparatus,
of the circulatory organs of importance in determining
the character of this disease? Does it assume an espe-
cially virulent course in certain populations, because
they lack an acquired or perhaps inherited immunity?
How does the toxin of the tubercle bacillus produce its
specific effect on the organism? There are, then, multi-
ple causes of tuberculosis and the analysis of the inner
causes of tuberculosis still remains a large field for fur-
ther investigation. In the case of cancer, conditions are
somewhat analogous. We can speak very definitely
about some of the principal causes of cancer, but as in the
case of tuberculosis certain aspects of the problem need
still further investigation.

In general, the causes of cancer in animals and man
are the same. In many respects, however, animal can-
cer lends itself much more readily to an analysis than
human cancer. One of the most completely analysed
kinds of cancer is that of mice. The common variety in
mice is cancer of the breast in female individuals. Mam-
mary cancer in mice is essentially caused by two factors :
1) a disposition to cancer which is inherited in certain
families and strains, and 2) a chemical stimulus which
emanates from the ovary and causes the disposition in-
herent in the mammary gland in certain families to as-
sert itself; thus cancer develops. The hereditary dis-
position to mammary cancer varies very greatly in dif-

6 Trnna. Acad. Sci. of tit. Louu^

feroat straius; in souio families almost 100% of all fe-
males become cancerous; in other families almost none
become diseased. This constitutional characteristic is
transmitted by heredity from generation to generation,
with only slight modifications. Even the age at which
the cancer a|)[)ears in mice is determined by heredity.
In other kinds of animal cancer, heredity plays a similar
role. And there is much evidence that the same holds
good in the case of man. But in man conditions arc
much more complicated through continued interbreed-
ing. This prevents the hereditarily transmitted consti-
tutional factor from being as clearly recognizable as in
the case of animal cancer where it can be followe<l in
isolated families. But even in man indications are not
lacking that heredity i)lays the same part as in animal
cancer. This is especially clear whenever interbreed ini,'
has been less prominent; and the recent studies of C. C.
Little, of the Eugenics Record Office of the Carnegie
Institution for the Study of Evolution, show that an
hereditary factor can be shown to exist in human cancer
generally.

As we stated above, the heredity factor is usually ac-
com])anied by internal or external stimuli; and these
stinnili must cooperate with the hereditary disposition
which in certain cases seems to imply a tendency to a
special kind of cancer, rather than a general tendency to
cancer. These stinmli transform the j)otential heredi-
tary disposition into an actual cancer. These stinmli
may be chemical or mechanical. The effect exerted by
the ovary, to which we referred above, is an example of
a chemical stinmlus. Certain parasitic worms in the
body of the host may likewise stimulate some tissues to
cancerous i)roliferation. This is i^robably also due to
a chemical stimulus emanating from the parasite. Loul'
continued irritation functions as a mechanical stinmlus.
Roentgen rays acting on unprotected skin through a lomr
peri(^d of time may also cause a mechanical irritation.

Cancer Its Course and Its Causes 7

Experimentally it has been possible to produce at will
cancer in rats, niice and rabbits through the application
of Roentgen rays, by infecting thera with certain para-
sitic worms, or through the application of irritating sub-
stances like tar to their skin. In all of these cases the
stimulus has to act over a relatively long period of time,
and generally the appearance of fully developed cancer
is preceded by increased growth activity of the stimu-
lated areas which leads to the production of what is often
called a precancerous condition. Such a stage often pre-
cedes cancer in man. Through the long continued stim-
ulation the cells are kept in a continuous state of in-
creased multiplication, such as we find in a wound heal-
ing during a short period of time; if this excessive mul-
tiplication continues sufficiently long, the cells change
their character, they keep on multiplying in excess and
invade neighboring tissues even after the direct stim-
ulus has been removed. This effect of stimulation is
very much promoted through the hereditary predisposi-
tion to a certain kind of cancer, but it seems that if the
external stimulus is very strong and long continued, a
deficiency in hereditary predisposition becomes less im-
portant; but an analysis of the quantitative relation be-
tween the strength of the predisposing hereditary fac-
tors and the external or internal stimulating factors has
so far been attempted in only a few cases.

There are some cancers where at present we have no
knowledge of stimulating factors, where, apparently
merely on the basis of some error during the development
of the embryo, cancer develops, or where ova undergo
parthenogenetic development and lead to embryo-like
tumors in the ovary or perhaps elsewhere. From these
abnormal embryo-like structures cancer may develop.
These kinds of cancer frequently appear relatively early
in life, while usually cancer is more frequent in older in-
dividuals.

8 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

It seems also that in certain cases a cancer itself may
stimulate neighboring' tissues which had been normal
to assume cancerous growth. In this case we have prob-
ably to deal with a chemical stimulus exerted bv cancer-
ous cells.

There still remains one kind of cancer to be considered
which differs in some respects very markedly from all
other kinds which have been so far investigated. There
occurs in fowl a cancer of the connective tissue and car-
tilage which behaves in its course not unlike the typical
cancer; it makes metastases, leads to the death of the
animal and can be transplanted into other individuals of
the same kind. It differs, however, very markedly from
other kinds of cancer in three respects: 1) while in other
kinds of cancers, notwithstanding many ex})eriments in
this direction, some of them carried out as early as twen-
ty years ago, it has not been found possible to separate
from the cells an agent which would cause the cancer
when injected into suitable individuals, tliis attempt
was successful in this particular cancer of fowl. By
filtration through filters so fine that tumor cells cannot
pass, the agent was separated from the cells. The same
result was obtained through drying the tumor and simi-
lar devices which killed the tumor cells without caus-
ing a marked injury to the agent. As stated, the same
means previously used in other kinds of tumors had led
to the result that the inoculability of the tuinor had
been lost.

Here tii<'n exists an agent distinct from the tumor
cells, which is presumably an ultramicroscopic microor-
ganism. l2) It is possible to produce in birds an immune
serum which ])rotects fowl against the agent, as distinct
from the tumor cells. This has never been possible in
the case of the typical mammalian cancer. Here im-
munization is always directed against the cancer cells
themselves and only succeeds in transplanted, not in

Cancer Its Course and Its Causes 9

spontaneous cancer. 3) Injection of the agent leads ap-
parently not only to the production of the same kind of
tumor, but also to other kinds of tumors; this is due to
the fact that the agents can affect certain other kinds of
cells.

In these respects then this particular kind of tumor
differs from the typical mammalian cancer. We must
assume that in this case the stimulus which calls forth
the transformation of ordinary cells into cancer cells con-
sists in the presence and continuous action of a microor-
ganism which presumably acts through the medium of a
chemical substance which it gives off.

To summarize then briefly what we know about the
causes of cancer, we found an inherited predisposition,
combined with the action of external or inner chemical
or mechanical stimuli, to be responsible for the typical
mammalian cancer. These factors have been analysed
experimentally to such an extent that in certain cancers
it is possible not only to predict, how many cases of can-
cer of a certain kind will originate in a given family or
strain, but also to prevent the appearance of the cancer
or to reduce its frequency at will. It has furthermore
been possible to produce experimentally through the ap-
plication of these stimuli various types of cancer. Con-
ditions which favor cell growth in general favor the or-
igin of cancer. Certain mechanical and chemical stimuli,
an embrvonic condition of tissues act in this wav and
the inherited factor in cancer acts presumably in a similar
way. In a certain type of avian cancer a filterable virus
causes the cancerous growth of cells. The same may ap-
ply to certain other kinds of atypical cancer. It is, how-
ever, not probable that microorganisms play a part in the
typical mammalian cancer. But even if later it should
be found that here, too, microorganisms are involved, the
latter would have access equally to all individuals of a
certain species; they would therefore not explain, why on-

10 Trans. Acdd. Sci. of iSt. Louis

ly certain individuals are affectiMl by cancer. This
would l)e explained through the difference in hereditary
predisposition and the action of stimuli, and these will
remain the important causes of the typical mammalian
cancer independent of the possible, but not jirohable,
action of microorganisms.

Transactions of the Academy of Science of St. Louis

VOLUME XXIV No. 5

DO WE HEAR SOUND?

AUGUSTUS G. POHLMAN

Issued April, 1922

DO WE f[EAT7 SOUND?

Alkjustus G. Pohlman

Almost every individual will admit without ariz;um('nt
that we hear sound. He may also be inclined to arrive at
the off-hand conclusion that the question properly be-
loni^s to the large category of scientific near-queries.
The theoretically balanced ass between two equally at-
tractive bales of hay and the hypothetical thunder storm
on the theoretical desert island might be listed as repre-
sentatives of this type; near-queries which make for
much discussion but relatively little information. The
question asked however does not belong to this group.
While as has been said almost any individual will admit
that we hear sound, no modern scientific theory of sound
analysis grants this possibility. If the scientific concep-
tion of hearing is correct, then people in general are en-
titled to some explanation of the error in the popular
notion of the problem. If, however, we are to make our
answer an affirmative one, then some explanation must
be made of how an error has crept into the theoretical
considerations. Practically all of the information con-
cerning things which lie outside of self are derived
tlirougli the eye and ear. It should therefore be a mat-
ter of some little importance to know what it is w^e see
and what it is we hear.

Lest someone may infer that our explanation may lead
us farther than it really does, it may be well to bear in
mind certain facts about the operation of the nervous
system. We do not know^ how a nerve conveys an im-
pulse neither do we know^ how the code message trans-
mitted to our brain is resolved into terms of conscious-
ness. We have not as yet discovered how a stimulus
affects a nerve ending. This much, however, is fairly well

2 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Ltniis

iHidorstood. Tho activating atxcrit wliicli is to Itc traiis-
forrod to tli<' ncrv(» endiii.LC in tt-rnis of inijnilsc,
must ))(' applied directly t<> flic nerve ending
or to the cells which overlie the nerve ending.
This stat(>nient holds for the sensations of touch, of
pressure, of smell and of taste. We also recognize
that heat is transmitted llirou^h various substances
which may intervene between iho source of the
energy and the part which j)erceives the sensation.
Therefore when tlie end or^an is affected by the energy
which arises from the object rather than by the object
itself, we are dealinf2: with distance rather than contact
organs. The end or^an resolves the energy, not the ob-
ject, in terms of code messaji^e. We do not see heat; we
feel it. We do not feel lii^ht rays; we see them. It
would therefore follow as a matter of fi^ood loi^nc, that
we do not see or feel energy in the form of sound; we
hear it.

Sound, next to heat, is the most dillieiiH form of eniM'-
gy to deal with satisfactorily. From an experimental
point of view it is the most dillicult form of ejierjjjy to
analyze. The reason for this is easily <^rasped. In so far
as sense organs are concerned, they are crude physical
instruments when compared with the scales for measur-
ing: pressur(\ the thermometer for measuring tempera-
ture, or the photographic plate for measurin;^: li^''ht.
However when it comes to sound the reverse is true.
All physical instruments for registering sound are ex-
tremely crude when compared with the Innnan ear. In
fact no instrumiMit for measuring sound has yet been
devised which does not have a human ear on one end of
it. The ])honodeik of Miller i>resents an instrument of
great di^licacy but with a limited range of registration.

We are likely to visualize tlie w<irking of an ear much
in the same nuinner as we visualize the operation of an
eye by comparing it with some well-known i)hysical ap-
paratus. Bearing in mind the reservations in the pre-

Do We Hear Sound f 3

vious paragraph, may the ear be compared with the fa-
miliar recording plioiiograph?

The general i)icture of the ear apparatus is well known.
The drum membrane lies in the depth of the external
auditory canal. The small ear ossicles, malleus, incus
and stapes, are familiar to every high school student of
physiology. Further we probably remember that the end
organ of hearing, the organ of Corti, lies immersed in the
liquid of the inner ear contained within a cavity of the
temporal bone. Tiie bony container has two openings in
it which are related to the middle ear cavity. The foot-
plate of the stapes occupies the oval window while the
smaller round window is provided with a membranous
diaphragm. The malleus is attached to the drum mem-
brane and is brought into relation with the stapes
through the intermediate incus. The drum membrane in
this manner comes to have a definite connection to the
liquid of the inner ear.

May the mechanics of hearing be likened to the fa-
miliar lateral-type recording phonograph f The dia-
phragm of the phonograph corresponds to the drum mem-
brane; the hinged stylus may be likened to the hinged
ossicles; the groove on the recording plate may be com-
pared to the liquid of the inner ear. The sound pulses
strike the plionograph membrane and cause it to swing
in-and-out. The stylus membrane acts like a lever — the
long arm from the center of the diaphragm to the ful-
crum; the short arm resting a pointed tip in the wax.
The excursion of the shorter arm is necessarily less than
that of the longer arm and its power is thereby in-
creased. We know that this record when placed on a
reproducing i)honograph will yield in a general way the
cause — the voice or the instrument. Just so all modern
tlieories of hearing assume that the sound pulses cause
an in-and-out swing of the drum membrane. The lateral
motions are transferred to the hinged ossicles; the long

4 Trans. Acad. Si i. of St. Louis

arm (malleus) attacliL'd to the drum membrane. Tlu' last
of this ehain of bones, the sIkuI arni of (he lever system,
the stapes, is not pointed like a phi)no.t;rapii lu'cdlr but is
])road and is ai)i)licd to the liciuid of the inner ear. The
rnpiid niafcrial Iiowcnci- obviously cannot rcsjjond after
tile nuinner of the wax and tlici'cforc i( shivers as a mass.
Tiiis mass shiver is not sound any more than is the lat-
eral Lrroove in the phoiidni-aph I'eeord, sound.

If we concede that the end or^^an embedded in the li(piid
is far more sensitive than any phonoi^raphie reeordinii:
method, thi'U the exi)lanation why we do not hem- sound
is beautifully lucid. The answer to our (pu'stion is cor-
resi)ondinii:ly simple and let us reju-at — accordin,!^ to
all modein theories of hearinu; and their name is lei^^ion —
" We do not hear sound". We lieai- a nuiss shiver in the
liquid of the innei- ear. It is also the writer's contention
that this accepted description is not a true statement.
The theory thus far i)resented, 7uay be called the indirect
activation theory. Briefly, w hat are the objections to it .'

It is not a (piestion whether the ear is built after the
pattern of a i)lionoi;-raph. Some lu^atini,^ dexiees have
been invented which also resemble the i)hono,nraph pat-
tern of construction closely. The (pU'stion is does the
ear really record sound like a plionom-aiili .' Without
Koin.i,^ into unnecessary details it can he derinilcly shown
that the drum membrane of the eai- does not ^o iii-and out
in response to sound \iltiat ions of ininiinuin oi- e\-en o|>ti-
mum intensity. It can be detinitely stat<(i tli.it a liini^e op-
eration of the ossicles is impossible under the nuM-hanic
conditions imjiosed. It e;in be shown that the anu)uut of
enert^y ajtplietl to the diuni nieinbr;iiie nndei- usual op-
timum conditions is insullicient tit ino\e the mass, dis-
rei^ardiiii; all friction and attaciinu'uls. It has heen
demonstrated that niea>uiable variations of the drnni
membrane position ha\"e no elTeet on the KKpiid contents
of the iniiei- e;ir in the li\in<i: animal. It is known as a

Du We Hear Sound? 5

subjective physiological fact that the ear i>icks up a
droi)ped vibration in high frequencies up to 1 /250th of a
second. This eliminates any feature which includes the
element of inertia. The phonograph and ear mechanism
therefore become very dissimilar. K we are to agree
that an ear cannot operate under the requirements of
an indirect activation it is not unlikely that all theories
based on this premise are also erroneous. This not only
accounts for the variations in interpretation of the end-
organ function but it also makes their discussion unnec-
essarJ^

The assumption that we do hear sound is much more
satisfactory from a biological view point. It falls in
line with the activating factors which operate other
sense organs. One does not assume that the retinal cells
are indirectly activated by a radiant heat reflected from
the choroid merely because the choroid is black. One
does not construct thermo-sensitive organs out of rods
and cones to explain why they face what a])pears to be
the wrong way and why they touch the pigment layer.
One regards the eye-ball as a reasonably light-proof
space exce})t to the energies entering the pupil. One
searches, as Parker has done, for an explanation of the
inverted retina and finds it in the comparative anatomy.
We may therefore assume that the inner ear occupies a
reasonably sound-proof si)ace except for the energies nor-
mally entering through the footplate. We may also
search for the explanation of the refined histology of the
end-organ in the pattern u])on which it is developed
rather than in terms of functional requirements.

Over a hundred years ago before the histology of the
end-organ had been reported by Corti, men thought seri-
ously on this problem. Carlisle in 1805 made far reach-
ing deductions on the basis of comparative aiuitomy.
Later in the forties the great anatomist and ])hysiologist
Johannes Mueller }»erformed experiments which formu-

li Trans. Acad. »Vtt. uf St. Louis

lated the so-called inoh'cular theory. The conooptioii
that tlu' sound pulse itself activates tlie end-or^^an fell in-
to disrepute as a result of the work of \(>ii lichnlioltz
amonj? the physicists and the modern sciiool of otoloLi^ists
headed hy Politzer.

The mechanics of the direct activation theory has been
gone into in no little detail hy the writer. The physics
is that of the string telephone and the recognition that
sound pulses like light rays behave differently in vari-
ous physical media. The drum membrane according to
this theory affords a sort of catchment area for minute
energies in the air. These energies within the mem-
brane flow for the most part to the most tense area, the
attachment of the ossicles. The ossicles behave like a
solid rod transmitting the energies with longer wave
length to the footplate area. This is widened to fa-
cilitate the discharge of the energy into the li(|uid of the
inner ear and is insulated from transmitting the energy
into the surrounding bone by an elastic annular ligament.
In this manner a small amount of the energy from the
drum membrane reaches the liquid of the inner ear as a
sound pulse. The sound pulse in tiie inner ear licjuid,
apart from wave length, is identical with the sound pulse
of the air of the external auditory canal. The shiver in
the liijuid is therefore dei)endent on the physical character
of the liquid and not dependent on the elasticity of the
bony container or the membrane of the round window.
In other words no nuiss shifting of licjuid occurs. The
scheme does not involve the element of inertia and a|>-
pears to fit the facts of the comj)arative anatomy.

The entire histological picture of the end-organ may
be reinter])reted on the basis of the direct activation the-
ory. The basilar membrane insulates the end-organ from
sound j)ulses which might gain the sensitive epithelium
through the bony container. The vestibular membrane
limits the energy entering the cochlear duct through

Do We Hear Sound? 7

the Scala vostibuli. The membranes are, in other words,
damping in effect — just as the iris and choroid are part
of the li^ht-proofinpj arrangement of the eyeball.
We are at once in a position to argue according
to this theory why individuals with ossicles gone may
hear. We are also able to state why greater energies
are requifed to hear low pitches than high pitches. We
may explain the failure of the sound-proofing of the end-
organ when sufficient energies of high pitch are applied
to the surface of the individual.

It may be well therefore in our investigation of sound
sources and of subjective sound registration to bear in
mind that we do hear sound itself. We may come to re-
gard the apparently crude apparatus of sound transmis-
sion as one of highly refined function. We may not be so
likely to accept explanations, like the piano-tuners named
in Dr. Wead's recent article in Science, merely because
these explanations appear clear. If we do hear sound
perhaps something may be done in time for certain
conditions of deafness. One reason why fifty years of
research has contributed nothing to treatment of the un-
fortunate who cannot hear, may be due to an erroneous
conception of the mechanics involved. The writer de-
sires to place himself on record on the side of the popular
rather than the scientific explanation. We do hear
sound!

I

i

Transactions of ttie Academy of Science of St. Louis

Volume XXIV No. 6

DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY
IN THE LAST HUNDRED YEARS

F. W. FRERICHS

Issued April, 1923

M«

DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY

IN THE LAST IirNDHED YEARS

F. W. Frerichs

It was indeed a pleasure to me when I received from
the Academy of Science an invitation to take part in a
cycle of lectures which had been arranged for the
purpose of discussing before its members the achieve-
ments of scientific research and the development of the
condition of life, which we are witnessing in our period
of time. It is only natural that chemistry should have a
place in this discussion since this branch of knowledge
has come forward in modern times to enter more than
any other science into our daily life.

Chemistry was in its infancy at the beginning of the
.19th century. It is true that at an early time men began
to inquire the why and how of things about them, and to
take them apart. It is true that from such analysis,
particularly of inorganic things like rocks and ores, men
began to learn the characteristics of the simple elements
which go to make up our world and how they behave
when brought together in compounds not occurring in
nature. But the scope of chemical work done at that
time was so small and the amount of chemicals pro-
duced was so insignificant that it hardly deserved men-
tion among manufacturing industries.

Berzelius (1779 to 1848) did his experimenting in his
kitchen, his cook his only assistant, and yet in this most
primitive laboratory he discovered a number of elements
and determined their atomic weights. He lived, as
Woehler put it, in those happy days, when every rock
he picked up contained a new element.

E.Mitscherlich (1794-1863), Heinrieh Rose (1795-1804),
Leo])old Gmelin (1788-1853) and Robert v. Bunsen
(1811-1899), worked steadily on the establishment of
facts about the interaction of elements and tried to co-

2 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

ordinate thoni into a system, while Gay Lussac (1778-
1850), Borthollct (1748-1822), Araj^adro (177G-1856),
Proust (1754-182G), Stas (1813-1891) and many others
were workin«j: on intoriiiolecular relations between the
elements.

While men like these were tirelessly experimenting to
establish facts, there ji^rew up a set of men who were
destined to lead chemistry to its hif]^liest development.
Woehler (1800-1882), Liebi;-,- (1803-1873) and Ilofmann
(1818-1892) were three men whose names for all time
will be indelibly connected witli the development of
chemical science and chemical industry, I had the great
privilege of being introduced into chemistry by Frieder-
ich Woehler, to be a student under him for three years,
and to be assistant in his laboratory for a term of five
and a half years, during all of which time I enjoyed
daily intercourse with this illustrious man. When I
entered the University of Gottingen in 1870 the course in
chemistry was carried on quite differently from wliat it
is now. During the time I was a student I heard one
lecture course on inorganic chemistry by Woehler. The
course, comprising one hundred and twenty hours, was
spread over twenty weeks. I heard a lecture course of
forty hours on organic chemistry by Huebner, and one
course on physics by William AVeber (who was one of
the inventors of the telegraph) the course also compris-
ing forty hours, spread over twenty weeks. These two
hundred hours of lectures were all I heard during three
years up to my graduation. But we worked in the lab-
oratory daily from eight to twelve and from two to six,
and work we did. During all these days our teachers
were with us, going from student to student inspecting,
exhorting and criticising our work. It was on these oc-
casions that our teachers would speak to us individually
and collectively, and so we heard by word of mouth many
interesting facts about the early development of chemis-
try.

Development of the Chemical Industry 3

When Woehler was young, chemical research centered
about inorganic bodies and Woehler occupied himself
with the study of minerals and mineral substances. His
first great discovery he made in the field of inorganic
chemistry, when he in 1827 isolated aluminium by fusing
aluminium chloride with sodium, obtaining a metal of
silvery lustre but unusually light. His investigations of
cyanogen compounds in 1828 led him to the greatest dis-
covery of his life. In investigating the properties of
cyanate of ammonium (CNONH4) he studied its insta-
bility in aqueous solutions, effected its transformation
into urea (CO.NH2 NHo) and recognized this body by its
reactions and its properities. I well remember the
cluster of urea-crystals, crystals several inches long, and
of the thickness of a pencil, which were made at an early
time, securelv enclosed in a liter flask to serve as an
exhibit in lecture courses for many years to come. In
order to understand the importance of this discovery we
must remember that at that time chemists were con-
fining their efforts to the study of inorganic chemical
compounds. They were also interested in organic things,
meaning those resulting from growth of vegetation, or
from living things, all of which contained carbon, but
these bodies were found to be exceedingly complex and
almost without number.

Methods of analysis had been developed by which the
qualitative and quantitative composition of organic com-
pounds could be ascertained, and it was known that in
such compounds carbon was combined with other ele-
ments like nitrogen, oxygen and hydrogen in many pro-
portions, but all chemists had failed to build up from
the elements a single one of the many carbon compounds
which occurred in nature. These com]>ounds seemed to
be exceedingly complex, and since all efforts had proven
futile to produce any of them from the elements in the
laboratory, it was generally believed that organic com-
pounds could be produced only through the agency of
"vital force".

4 Tran<t. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

Friedoric'li WOdilcr, tln'ii a t<'af'lu'r at tli<' Oewerbo-
sclmlo ill PxtHii, hroko down this harrier; the first time
ill the world's iiistory a ciiemist had siiccooded in niakiiiu;
an organic material iianuM] Uroa from inorcranic sub-
stances, aii<l rccof/uizcd tltr fact. Since tiiat time an
almost inconceivahh' iinmlier of earbon compounds iiave
been construed and manufactured, y)art of wiiich were
produced by nature in })hints and organisms, and many
more of equal importance, wliicli are not found in nature
])ut arc made in chemical laboratories by men. From
the i)reparation of artificial Urea the manufacture of
orc:anic chemical com])ounds has jijrown to enormous
dimensions, culminating: in tlie development of our pres-
ent dyestulT industry and the manufacture of medicinal
chemicals, of ])erfumes, flavors and scents.

But the study of orii:anic compounds was taken up by
other and younaer men, among whom A. W. v. ilofmann
(1818-1892) became famous as leader in the dyestulT in-
dustry. After splendid discoveries in the field of organic
chemistry, "Woehler drifted back to research in the in-
organic field, where he had already been successful by
discovering a way of making metallic alumininni in 1S"J7,
and in 1856 lie discovered "Adamantine Boron" in co-
operation with St. Claire Deville. Woehler's life work
was in the field of inorganic chemistry, where he, through
his many followers, exerted great influence up to the end
of his life. Justus v. Liebig (1803-1873) was three years
younger than Woeliler, but they met in 18!2r) and became
friends for life. The continuous interchange of ex-
])erience was most fruitful, and is well known from thcur
]>iiblished correspondence. But about 1838 Liebig began
to drift into chemistry of ])laiit and animal life, and so
we find about the middle of the 19th century Woehler,
Ilofmann, and Liebig as the great leaders in three fields;
inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, and agricultural
chemistry. lender the guidance of these illustrious men
and many of their colleagues, the three fields of chemis-
try have been developed by their many followers into

Development of the Chemical Industry 5

chemical industry as we have it today. It is character-
istic that none of the leaders ever actively engaged in the
industries. They worked in their laboratories for the
love of science, leaving the fruits of their work to be
reaped by their followers. But owing to their methods
of teaching, their students became their friends, remain-
ing in contact with them in later life, and it seems this
inter-relation between university and industry has been
largely instrumental in the phenomenal development of
our chemical inorganic and organic industries.

The first branch of chemical manufacture established
on a large scale was an outgrowth of the French revolu-
tion and the Napoleonic wars, when the English block-
aded the continent of Europe, and when the French could
not obtain potash for making soap and glass. It was
known that soda in many cases could be substituted for
potash, and there was an abundance of salt. So the
French Government offered a large reward for a chem-
ical process to make soda from salt, and the LeBlanc soda
process was the outcome of it. The LeBlanc soda process
involved the manufacture of sulphuric acid and the
chamber process was highly developed. As a by-product
large quantities of hydrochloric acid were obtained, for
which there was no immediate outlet, and the wasting of
which poisoned the rivers, until it was learned that
chlorine and bleaching powder could be made from it.
Chlorine was made by the aid of manganese peroxide
which was wasted, and the Weldon process was invented
which regenerated this waste. Later hydrochloric acid
was decomposed by the Deacon process, in which a eat-
alyser was used for the first time on a large scale. The
sulphur used in the process was lost and many efforts
were made for its recovery, when the ammonia soda
process superseded the LeBlanc process, putting an end
to a beautiful combination of chemical processes. This
most marvelously developed chemical structure, built up
at the beginning of the 19th century, was superseded by
a cheaper process at the end of tlu* same century. The

6 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

LoBlanc soda proooss had become obsolete whoii the
chemical industry be,ii:an to develop in this country and
therefore it has novor reached this continent. Instead
we make in this country soda ash by the ammonia soda
process on the largest scale and the details of manufac-
ture are worked out in the best research laboratories
established by the soda factories themselves.

The process was particularly adajjtcd to the rtM^uire-
ments in the northern part of the United States, where
enormous deposits of salt are underlying the surface near
the Great Lakes. On account of the permeability of the
soil to water these deposits could not be reached by
mining operations, but we have learned to get hold of the
salt by boring wells, letting water into the salt deposits,
and jjuniping the brine. So abundant is the sujiply of
salt, and so cheap its recovery, that it has become
profitable to waste half of it in the process and to waste
all of the chloride in order to save cost in the manufac-
ture of soda ash. This is one of the few cases where it
has been found that waste is economy.

The soda industry in the United States is most flour-
ishing and repeatedly I have been asked to helj) in estab-
lishing the industry in China and Japan. Only recently
an agent called to induce me to come to Bombay, India,
for the ])urpose of establishing the art. In all instances
I liad to decline, knowing that in these countries there is
no rock salt and that salt must be made from the ocean
water by evaporation, the product containing much mag-
nesium chloride and being expensive, costing eight dol-
lars per ton for 85% pure salt, while here we pump the
pure article for fifty cents. From recent reports, how-
ever, I have it that rock salt is found in ^lancliuria,
which would make it possible to transi)lant the industry
into that country for the ])urpose of covering their own
requirements.

But even the ammonia soda ]irocess may be limited to
the consumption of local industries. AVhen our own
civilization progresses westward and reaches the great

Development of the Chemical Industry 7

natural deposits in the soda lakes in western States, then
we may have soda for the digging of it.

With the replacement of the LeBlanc process by the
ammonia soda process we lost the by-products of the
former, which in time had become valuable and neces-
sary for the purpose of making chlorine. But the elec-
tro-chemical decomposition of brine into sodium, chlo-
rine, and hydrogen has met the emergency, and today
we have large electro-chemical plants near Niagara Falls
which make caustic soda and chlorine in quantities to
satisfy our wants. And I have also heard of a process
for making synthetic hydrochloric acid from chlorine
and hydrogen, this reversing the former mode of manu-
facture. The chamber process for making sulphuric
acid, which first was developed on a large scale in con-
nection with the LeBlanc soda process, has experienced
a similar transformation. The chamber process makes
cheap sulphuric acid of moderate strength. If greater
strength than 60° Be. or 75% acid was required, it was
formerly necessary to concentrate the weak acid in plati-
num vessels at great expense, and fuming sulphuric acid
was obtained by the distillation of sulphate of iron at
great cost. Today we make sulphuric acid by the con-
tact process and the mode of working is reversed. We
make sulphuric acid anhydride first and dilute it with
water to make the weaker grades. To make sulphuric
acid we need sulphur as raw material. This we had to
buy from Sicily, or we used pyrytes, a combination of
sulphur with iron, which we imported from Spain. In
most recent times Hermann Frasch showed us a way to
recover sulphur which we knew to exist in Louisiana
deep down in the earth. He built large steam plants,
blew superheated steam through a double pipe down to
the sulphur deposits, melted the sulphur, and forced the
molten sulphur out through the other pipe to the sur-
face of the earth. Tlie supply seems to be inexhaustible,
and we command the supply of the world. The sul-
phuric acid industry has often been referred to as a

8 Trans. Acud. Sti. uf St. Louis

iiicasiirc for tlio i)ros|)ority of tlic ontiro chcmifal indus-
try, since siiljdmric acid is used for many chonrK-al jn'o-
cessos. The followintc tabic i;ives the production of aul-
pliuric acid in the I'nited States in the hist ten years.

SULPHURIC ACID 50' Be.*

Date

1912
1913
1914
1915
1916
1917
1918
1019
1920

Produrtion in the U.

&.

Value

Tons 50° B.

Dollars

2.700.000

17.369.872

2.950.000

18.338.019

3.575.000

22.684.526

3.800.000

24.479.927

4.120.000

32.657.151

6.300.000

73.514.126

7.200.000

87.541.181

7.450.000

Not determined

5.500,000 estl

mated

5.000.000 estimated

•The Mineral Industry, 1920. G. A. Rouah, Editor, McGraw-Hill N. Y.. 1921.

For many centuries fine porcelain ware was made in
China and Persia. Art collectors search eagerly for
specimens of old manufacture, and ))raise them as ])rod-
ucts of a lost art which they represent as flourishiiiLC cen-
turies aj?o, and small vessels and vases are sold for
thousands of dollars. The fact is that kaolin of a cer-
tain composition was used in tiiese j^oods. Kaolin comes
in pockets and in isolated mines, and if the mine was
exluiusted, the nit was lost. The chemist of today has
analyzed kaolin and ascertained its composition. By
])ro])erly mixing materials he has learned to rei)roduce
the finest quality of porcelain at will.

We mine in Arkansas bauxite ( Al.O. 2II..0), a mineral
containini^ almost pure alumina. Wf sliiji it to St. Louis,
where by th(> aid of cheap limestone and coal the impur-
ities are removed in one of the lar.i^est manufacturing:
])lants of the country, and juire alumina is made from it.
This we carry to Niagara Falls to produce aluminium
by an electrical ])rocess. The ij^reat discovery of ])roduc-
iuix aluminium, made by Woehler in 1827, has been
improved by Hall, an American chemist. He isolates
the metal by an electrical process, and a large i)art of the

Development of the Chemical Industry 9

world's requirements takes its way through St. Louis
and becomes a product of the United States.

We turn now to organic industry, particularly to dye-
stuffs, the development of which to a great extent is the
work of A. W. V. Ilofmann and his followers. Ilofmann
first studied law in Gottingen, but turned to chemistry,
becoming a student and co-worker of Liebig. When
in 1845 the School of Practical Chemistry was started in
London, Hofmann, upon recommendation of Liebig and
largely through the influence of the Prince Consort,
became its director. For about twenty years he
remained in this jiosition, doing much work on coal-tar
products, including aniline, and in 1856 Perkin, one of his
assistants, discovered mauveine, the first aniline dye-
stuff. But the public support extended to the College of
Chemistry was dwindling and Ilofmann returned to Ger-
many, first to Bonn in 1864, from where he was called
to Berlin in 1865, to succeed E. Mitscherlich. There he
spent the rest of his life working tirelessly and with
great success on the development of coal-tar chemistry,
on which he spent twenty of his best years in England,
scoring little success for lack of support from the Eng-
lish government.

Fuchsin had been discovered in 1859 by Professor Ver-
guin of Lyons, France, who made the dye but did not
clear up its chemical compositions, which, many years
later, was disclosed by Ilofmann and his followers. And
from the fundamental work of his school sprang suc-
cess upon success. The most brilliant colors were found
among the derivatives of aniline, but they generally lacked
permanence under the influence of light. For many cen-
turies beautifully colored rugs and tapestries had been
made in the Orient. The colors were known to be per-
manent and almost indelible. They were derived from
the madder and indigo plants, which were cultivated on
a large scale. It was natural that attempts should be
made to produce these dyestuffs in the laboratory, but
thev seemed to be com])licated and their composition was

10 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

(liffionlt to ostalilish. After many efTorts Graobe and
Lioborniann in 18G8 recoKnizod that alizarine, which was
tlien known to be a constituent of Turkey red, the mad-
der dyestufT, was a derivative of anthracene and antlira-
cene was found in coal-tar. In the same year Graebe and
Tiiebormann succeeded in makin<^' artificial alizarine from
anthracene, which was identical with Turkey red. The
invention was (juickl}' taken nj) by manufacturers and ar-
tificial alizarine superseded Turkey red, thus makiiii^
unprofitable the cultivation of the madder ])lant. In
1875 I had the privilege of meeting Liebennann and also
Hofmann on the occasion of the seventv-fifth anniversarv
of Woehler's birth. On that occasion Prof. Liebermann
related to us how thev had worked on the svnthesis of
alizarine. When success was assured they repeated the
entire process in a single ni,i::ht, to make sure of results
before publication. At that time there was no ])atent
law in the North German Federation, and patents had to
be secured in three dozen ])rinci])alities. Tliis made
them of little value, and the inventors gave their work
to the ]mblic, securing for themselves only the immor-
tality of their names.

The process of making artificial indigo is largely cred-
ited to Adolph V. Bayer, who recognized its constitution.
But many years of tedious work were required before
the Biidische Aniline & Soda Fabrik succeeded in ])re-
paring artificial indigo at a ])rice caj)able of competing
with the natural article. Since 1897, however, artificial
indigo has been sold and soon afterwards a process was
worked out which made use of na])hthalene as a raw
material. Xa])lithalene was always available in great
quantities and at a low ])rice, and the na]>hthalene pro-
cess made it ])ossible to drive natural indigo out of the
market. An interesting story is connected with the inven-
tion of the nai)hthalene process, the first step of which
was to transform naphthalene into ])htliali(' acid. For-
merly })htliali(' acid was pre])ared by oxidation of Naph-
thalene with nitric acid or chromic acid at great cost. The

Development of the Chemical Industry 11

yield by attempted oxidation of naphthalene by means of
sulphuric acid was too small. It so hai)pened that in one
experiment the mercury thermometer broke, where-
upon it was found that the reaction of the material
became very animated, and the yield of phthalic acid by
heating naphthalene with sulphuric acid in presence of
mercury was almost theoretical. The accidental break-
ing of a mercury thermometer led to a very important
discovery which became the basis of a cheap way of
making indigo. These are only a few instances in which
new chemical manufacturing plants have been established
on a large scale on the basis of laboratory research.
Many other industries followed, among which the manu-
facture of medicinal chemicals has become most impor-
tant.

For the preservation and possible development of many
industries which have sprung up during the war, when
importations of chemicals were impossible, a liberal tar-
iff and a wise patent law are most desirable and almost
imperative. Particularly the dyestuff industry will have
a hard fight for its existence. At a recent meeting of
manufacturers in New York, a petition was formulated
and sent to Congress asking for an embargo on the
importation of dyestuffs, since manufacturers realized
that nothing short of an embargo could save the indus-
try, until a complete and liberal revision of our tariff
law has been enacted. Of equal importance would seem
to be a wise revision of our patent law. Many chemicals,
particularly of the medicinal variety, are now manu-
factured abroad at a much lower price than in the United
States.

The third branch of chemical research and manufac-
ture, agricultural and biological chemistry, is repre-
sented by Justus V. Liebig and his school. Being a part
of organic chemistry, it differs from it in that it does not
attempt to make its products in the chemical laboratory,
but is endeavoring to ascertain the conditions and
requirements under which plants and animals will grow,

1- Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

tlieii to provide those conditions and let nature do the
rest. In this manner tlie ;j;reatest chemical industry was
created, an industry wiiich secures food for men for times
to come, by re^uhitin*^: tiie cultivation of tlie soil. W'licn
as early as 18.*W Liehiir directed attention to the fact
that all plants for their j^rowth rcMjuire carbon, nitro-
gen, and the elements of water, he also proved tliat cer-
tain mineral substances were necessary for plant life,
amon*i: them potash and j)hosphorus. Carbon and nitro-
gen could come from the air; phosphorus and potash
could come only from the soil, and when these were
exhausted, veji:etation necessarily would starve. This
led Liebi<>: to the statement that it was the decrease of
soil fertility, and neither ]ieace nor war, which was fun-
damental in brin,ii:ini2: about the decay of nations. In Lie-
biiif's opinion old civilizations in Africa, Asia, and Euroi)e
were extinquished by sterilization of the soil, and
undoubtedly the same will occur in America if no fer-
tilizer is sujiplied to our fields. It is recognized that
phosphates and other mineral fertilizers in some form
must be added to the soil if its fertility is to Ix- main-
tained. Nitroi^en may be derived from the air by cidti-
vation of clover in a rotation of cro]is. The early
Roman writers on agriculture knew the value of legumi-
nous crops as restoratives of soil fertility. Hut the fact
that legumes assimilate nitrogen from the air by a bio-
logical process has only ])ecome known within the last
fifty years. If an uninterrupted succession of large
crops is desired, it ])ecomes imj)erative to supjily nitro-
geneous fertilizer in a more concentrated form, sucb as
Chilean nitre of anunonium salts. Dr. lji))man. Director
of the New Jersey Agricultural Kx))eriment Station, was
quoted in the hearings before the Senate Connnittee on
Agricultuie and Forestry (Senate Document 'XVM)) as
having estimated that the total annual loss of nitrogen
from all land under cultivation in the United States,
after allowance for all returns to the soil, was between
three and four million tons. Considering only the lower

Development of the Chemical Industry 13

figure of three million tons, manure, ammonium salts
from eoke ovens, and Cliilean nitrate will replace less
than ten per cent. The remaining ninety per cent — two
million, seven hundred thousand tons — would have to
come from nitrogen fixation ])lants, similar to the one
our government attempted to put up at Muscle Shoals
during the war, where one million horse power could be
developed, as J. W. Worthington of the Tennessee River
Improvement Association has testified.

It has been stated that one half of one pound of fixed
nitrogen can be made per horsepower hour by the Haber
process. One million horsepower would make over two
million tons fixed nitrogen per year, which is a large
part of the amount which the United States may require.
The cyanamid process is said to require eight times as
much power, and one million horsepower would only
make two hundred and fifty thousand tons. The Claude
process, which is similar to the Haber process, but is
w^orking under high pressure, requires less power and
makes more fixed nitrogen per horsepower than the Haber
process.

Only the cyanamid plant was in operation at Muscle
Shoals at the time of the armistice, and was reported as
running at the rate of forty thousand tons per year, —
sixty to seventy such plants would be necessary to sup-
l)ly the nitrogen which is necessary to keep up the fertil-
ity of the soil in the United States. A large part of this
can be made in Muscle Shoals, provided the water power
is developed as Henry Ford proposes to do if he can
lease the plant. His proposition is before Congress and
it would seem desirable for the good of the country that
the plant be utilized for making fertilizing material.
The ])eople of the United States have invested over
one liundred million dollars as a war measure in this
enterprise and it is expected that additional thirty
million to fifty million dollars be spent on the second
and third dam across the river to develop the water
power. The first expenditure was nuide so that we

14 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

mijj^ht bo indopondcnt of Chiloan nitre in case we
should bo cut ofl" from Sontli AnuTioa. Nitrates are
necessary for making explosives and ar(^ therefore
necessary for our national defense. \-\>v tliis reason
it would seem desirable that tlio plant he (-(Hnpleted.
But it is only fair, that in tinn^ of ]K»aoe the lar^e invest-
ment should b(^ utilized. Mr. Ford is j::uaranteein<j:,
according to the first proposition, to j)ay the United
States government about one million, five hundred thou-
sand dollars a year for a long lease. He also agrees to
keep the Muscle Shoals i)lant in o])eration as a fertilizer
plant and ready for the Government in time of war. His
investment in the plant is expected to be relatively small,
which cuts his overhead expenses down to almost nothing
on a plant which cost over one hundred million dollars.
Therefore ho could put out fertilizer at low cost. If in
this way the American farmer could obtain materials
which are necessary to uphold the fertility of our soil,
the entire enterprise in time might become a profitable
investment and the entire American people would be
benefited by it. Mr. Ford is recognized as a great organ-
izer and a daring business man. He is no doubt also a fine
engineer, jind the work before him is a great engineering
problem. But the best engineer cannot design a ])lant
if he is not told how the plant is to accomplish its i)ur-
pose. To design the process in detail is the work of a
chemist, and Mr. Ford must succeed in associating with
himself chemists who are fitted for this S])ecial work.

The Haber plant at jMuscle Shoals has never worked.
It was erect<'d undcn* the dinu'tion of holders of Ameri-
can ])atcnts, and these peojile were naturally desirous
of using their ])atonted i>rocess. However, processes on
similar lines have been tritMJ in Germany and abandoned
for cheaper ones. Had tlie war lasted longer, the Haber
plant at Muscle Shoals might have ]iroven ,iust as groat
a failure as the manufactun' of airi)lanos.

In the Treaty of Versailles the Allies stii)ulatod that
a commission of allied engineers be admitt<'d to the Ger-

Development of the Chemical Industry 15

man nitrate plants for the purpose of learning the pro-
cess. Tlie commission went there, was shown the plants
at Oppau and Merseburg, were given every information
tlioy asked for, were given large quantities of the cata-
Ivser used bv the Germans, and returning to Muscle
Shoals, failed in setting the plant to work. Under these
conditions the War Department acceded to the request
of The American Institute of Chemical Engineers that a
paper be submitted describing the German and United
States synthetic ammonia process, hoping that the Mus-
cle Shoals plant could be put into operation by outside
assistance. The paper was presented and read at the
Detroit meeting in June, and was authorized for publi-
cation by the War Department. Shortly after, the per-
mission to publish was withdrawn upon demand of the
American patentees, and the paper was never published.
Meanwhile the Muscle Shoals plant is at rest, waiting for
the man who is to blow life into it and make it run. If
Mr. Ford obtains the lease it is sincerely to be hoped that
he will associate himself with chemists who will show
him the way. The farming population of our country
is most fortunate in having in the Department of Agri-
culture of the United States a splendid research labora-
tory to guide its work.

It is a well-known fact that the unprecedented develop-
ment of chemical industry in Germany was largely due
to its research laboratories and to their relation to the
universities. At German universities the leading pro-
fessors are not overburdened with work and can devote
a large part of their time to solving questions of general
interest. In the United States the conditions are differ-
ent. Professors of universities are overworked and the
men who are best prepared for research are overbur-
dened with routine work. The consequence is that a
great many manufacturers are operating in the dark,
wasting money and time in their operations.

Professor W. D. Bancroft in a recent article calls par-
ticular attention to the fact that, as far as can be learned,

16 Traits. Acad Sci. of St. Louis

in the ccrainic's, rii1)l)<'r, i^aint, vaniisli, loatlior, dyoinj];
and printiTiiT, ccllnlost', ci'llulosc iiitrat«'S and acftatos,
pliototrrapliic and otlicr industries, tlio o]iorat()rs of
plants have a vast amount ot" ciiipirical iiit'ornuition as to
\vlial happens and know |)riict ically notliin.i; about wliy it
hapiu'us. Tlic silicate imlust rifs are avowcilly empirical
and so is the dyein.LT industry. The rnhher industry
knows practically nothing" about the theory of vulcaniza-
tion. People in the cellulose industries do not seem to
know how many cellulose nitrates there are. The photo-
uraphic industry has only empirical knowled.ire in reirard
to emulsions and has no adequate theory in reuaril to
photoirraphic develoj)ment Nearly all the tanneries in
the countrv run on an emiiirical basis. All th("S(»
industries will eventually be put on a sound and
scientific basis, and this work will have to be done
by chemists. Conditions as they are described by
Professor Bancroft were recognized many years aifo
by The American Institute of Chemical En,i?ineers.
This body of men devotes not a small jiai't of its
activities to developiui? courses for students in Chem-
istry at our universities wliich ensure etKcient prep-
aration for industrial work. Its Coimuitt(>e on
Education, Dr. A. D. Little of lioston, Chairman, has
recently secured with much labor and at ^reat exjuMise
very complete information from many Ainerican univers-
ities, and a comprehensive report will be circulated
shortly amoni; the interested institutions. Columbia
rni\-ersity of New York, The Institute of Technolo.iry in
Boston, The Polvtechnic Institute in lirooklvn, N. Y.,
and Cornell Ctiiversity, are co-o])eratin.u'. A iiumbtM* of
universities have already remodeled tlieir courses in
chemical enuineerinir, and it is hoped that others will
follow, for the benefit of our chemists and of our chemi-
cal industrv.

1

Transactions of the Academy of Science or SI Louis

Volume XXIV No. 7

ECOLOGICAJ. AND BEHAVIOR NOTES
ON MISSOURI INSECTS

PHIL RAU

Issued June, 1922

ECOLOGICAL AND BEHAVIOR NOTES
ON MISSOURI INSECTS.

Phil Rau.

The notes on the ecology and behavior of Missouri
insects, spiders and myriapods here presented were made
in the vicinity of St. Louis during the past few years.
The region comprises an area of about forty miles west
and thirty miles south of St. Louis. There are two ex-
ceptions, however; some dozen notes bear the locality of
Wesco, Mo., which is one hundred miles south-west of
St. Louis, and a few are from Lake View, Kansas. Wher-
ever no location is mentioned, the observation was made
at St. Louis or its immediate environs.

The order in which the species are generally arranged
is as follows : Hymenoptera, according to Hymenoptera
of Conneticut.* Coleoptera, according to Blatchley,
Colooptera of Indiana, 1910. In the orders of Diptera,
Orthoptera, Lepidoptera, etc., the species observed are
so few that no taxonomic arrangement is followed.

All of the material has been indentified by expert ento-
mologists whose names appear in brackets along with the
specific name of the insect. I wish here to extend to
these gentlemen my thanks for their kindness in naming
the material.

Wasps

Scolia bicincta Fab. [S. A. Rohwer]. This wasp was
seen at Wickes, Mo., feeding on the flowers of smartweed
and buck-brush in late August, and on goldenrod on
September 15.

Scolia duhia Say. We record in Wasp Studies Afield
having found Scolia dubia for two successive seasons,
flying about the manure heaps near a barn, and really
conspicuous by their absence elsewhere in the large field

•state Geol. and Nat. Hist. Surv. Bull. 22, 1916.

2 Trans. Acad, of St. Louis

surroiindinfi: this barn. On Soptonibcr 1 of tlio third year
they appoarod witliont the sli<j:litost chans^o in habit or
hal)itat. Tlio vegetation siirroundinp^ tlie manure-heaps
had meanwhile Ix'en supj)lanted l>y cinders and tlie
wasps liad no folia,u:e uj)on which to rest; hence many
paused to rest on the mannre-i)ih's. T.onir and careful
watching, however, revealed none of these enterine: the
manure for prey or hosts. A few smartweeds in blossom
nearby afTorded them food. By seven o'clock, all had dis-
appeared, and efforts to locate their sleepinj? abode were
futile. In this the tliird year also their dissemination
over the field was nil. A visit to the area on October G
showed that they were not to be found so late in the
season.

Scoiia nohilitata Fabr. [S. A. Rohwer]. Taken on tlie
flowers of buck-brush at Wesco, Auj^fust 1, 1920.

Elis atriventris Galian. [S. A. Rohwer]. A dead speci-
men of this wasp was lyini:^ on the hot sand at Tiake View,
Kansas, July 29.

Elis quinq^iecincta Fal>r. [S. A. Roliwer]. WhiK' i
have made observations on the .i;re,2:arious sleepinu:
hal/its of the males,* I have found notliin.c; on the habits
of the females cxceptiniif on one occasion in a dirt road,
where one made three attempts to ^et under some clods
of dirt, and under the last one she remained hidden for
some time. Since this species is supposed to stini? and
oviposit in the larva of may-beetles, this may indicate
that she was searchin.i,' for prey. This species was seen
feedin.u: upon the flowers of ^felilotus alba. ( )n another
occasion, on July 2(), a ji:rou]) of a dozen males and one
female was found sippin.i!: the nectar of these flowers.

Elis interrupia Say. | S. A. Ixoliwer]. This species was
also on tlie buck-brush llowers at Wesco, Aui^ust 1, 1920.
Tipliia vulgaris Rob. fS. A. liohwer]. This medium-
sized wasp was taken from the mouth of a roliber-fly,
Proctacanthus milhcrti Macq. [F. Knab] on Au^ist 18.

•.\nn. Enl. Soc. Amor. 9:227-274, 1916.

Ecological and Behavior Notes 3

Tiphia inornata Say. [S. A. Rolnvor]. Taken on the
sidewalk in the city on September 12.

Brnesia sparsiformis Ckll. and Roll. [S. A. Rohwer]. A
pair was discovered just at the conclusion of copulation
on a clay bank at Jerseydale, Mo., July 31.

Bruesia hexar Blake [S. A. Rohwer].
Dasymutilla zella Rohwer [S. A. Rohwer].
Basymutilla mutata Blake [S. A. Rohwer].

Can it be that wasps, like the rest of us, may sometimes
be gravely misjudged because of the company they keep?
The part of a stubble field bordering the woodlands con-
tained a large number of burrows occupied by Cicin-
dela larvae, and about this particular area an abundance
of the three above-named species of velvet-ants lurked.
The abundance of both larvae and wasps seemed to indi-
cate that there might be some relation between the two,
especially since it is known that certain species of Mutil-
lids are parasitic upon Cicindela larvae. We spent a
good many hours in the field on many days watching the
parasites move about in the vicinity of the beetle burrows,
in the hope of catching them redhanded at something or
other, but all that they did was to slowly walk about
doing nothing that we wanted or expected them to do.

Thinking that in confinement some results would be
obtained, several jelly-glasses were filled with soil and a
Cicindela larva and a Mutillid introduced into each.
The larvae immediately made their burrows, and the
Mutillids dug deep into the soil. The way those jMutillids
bury themselves is quite interesting, and since they are
often seen in the open fields with particles of earth cling-
ing to their velvety bodies one is led to believe that this
behavior is for some reason necessary. The head is the
simple implement which these insects use in digging their
way sometimes for several inches into the soil. They
thrust the head under the earth and pry it up, by manip-

4 Trnns. Acad, of St. Louis

iilatin<j: the licad and tliorax in a lover like fasliioii. Witli
this exertion they make a ^reat deal of stridulatini^ noise,
similar to the shar]) scpieak which they emit when they
are held uj) scinirminii: in the forceps. These Mntillids in
the jelly-fj:lasses seldom came to the top. After fonr days
had clasped an examination was made; both wasps and
larvae seemed healthv, but there was no evidence of anv
parasitism. The beetle larvae were fed on insects, but
nothinir was placed in the ca^^es for the Mntillids, yet at
this time they looked none the worse for lack of food.
Since propinquity did not affect them, the experiments
were abandoned.

A dozen or so other Mntillids were kept for later study
in a tish-^lobe. There was no soil in this ^lass jar, but
a few ^rape-leaves were strewen on the bottom for the
comfort of the insects, and in one corner was a cloth kept
moist with sweetened water, Durinp^ the first two days
they were out and active, and at ni^ht they would creep
in between the folds of the leaves for sleep, but later
when they were in a w^eakened condition they seldom
came from their hiding places. They lived only a week;
just why they were so short-livtHl I do not understand,
since without food the others lived nearly as lon^. It
may be that they were more comfortable in the damp cool
earth of the jelly-classes, or perhaps they found some-
thing of a nutritive nature in the soil. I have spoken
only of the females so far, because in several visits to this
area in early July, no males had been discovered.

Some twelve days later, July i!4-l2r), a thorough search
was made in this same area and tiien only males were
abundant and only the species Brursin hcrar Blake [S.
A. Kohwer]. They were constantly on the winu: in a zi^-
zap: flight from two to four inches above tlie ground.
Their stops were few and far between, and they paused
only for toilet-makin,u:. I suppose they were seekini^
the females. The priority of the emergence of one
sex seems here to be reversed, at least in so far as

Ecological and Behavior Notes 5

this one species is concerned. Wishing? not to jud^o hast-
ily, I made a thorough search for three hours in tliis
area; several hundreds of males were found, all in the
same behavior, but the only female discovered was one
Dasymntilla zella. It is possible that the females of B.
bexar taken early may have been unfertilized, — hence
the lack of any positive results in the experiments with
the Cicindela larvae.

The female D. zella and about a dozen males of B.
bexar were placed in a large glass jar with earth in the
bottom. As soon as the thirteen were thrown together,
many of the males showed great eagerness to mate with
this female, even though she was of a different species.
She eventually escaped by climbing a tall stalk of grass
placed in the jar, and later burrowed in the soil.

The males, like the females, often had bits of earth ad-
hering to the thorax and abdomen when they were cap-
tured, which indicates that they had recently been in the
ground. The above insects were placed in the jar w^ith
earth at twilight, and before it was fully dark, three had
dug themselves in for the night, and before nine o'clock
all had disappeared under the earth, which was moder-
ately hard-packed. One is suprised that the winged
males can do this without injury to their delicate wings,
which are not heavily chitinized like those of other
earth inhabiting insects. The next morning at six o'clock
one was already up, and within a half hour all were out.
This is in all probability their sleeping behavior in na-
ture; the performance was repeated exactly night after
night.

Honey was placed on small pieces of paper, and on
an aster flower with a six-inch stem. They often ate
ravenously, climbing up to the flower to feed, or eating
from the edge of the drop of honey on the papers; only
one male was so awkward as to walk into it.

On August 11 the same region was searched; a half-
dozen females of Dasymiitilla zella were taken there, and

6 Trans. Acad, of St. Louis

an enormous nnmlior of malos of that species \vere out
at that time, Tlie hirvae of Cicnulela were again ahun-
dant, ])ut I eould see D. zclhi do iiau,i,Hit hut walk or fly
ahout the low stul)l)h\

Pscudomcthoca canadinsrs Bike, f R, A. TJolnver.] Tliis
])air of juutillids was found in copulo on .June 28. They
were walkin^]^ slowly along the clayey margin of a clover
field, the male riding llic female lit", hcing nnieh
smaller, covered onlv the rear half of her hotlv. The hodv
of the female, at a ])oint where the ahdomen joins the
thorax, is narrowly contracted. At this point the male
grasped her firmly with his jaws in order to hold his
position. The real union lasted foi* only a very few
seconds. This momentary mating was repeated so many
times that I concluded that this was the nonnal metliod.
Many of thcjn were to be seen among the new wlieat
stubble in a tield skirting the woods, where also Cicin-
dela holes were abundant.

Dasi/mutilla acrubinata. [S. A. Rohwer]. Ono female
was taken July 3, on a path in the forest.

DasymutiUa allardi Koh. [S. A. Rohwer]. This cow-
killer was seen on August 29, on a hard-packed baseball
diamond in a city lot. It was prowling about in the im-
mediate vicinity of several burrows of aculeate TTymen-
optera.

Dasymutdla blauana Roll. [S. A. Rowlier]. At Lake
View, Kansas, two females were found walking ahout in
a sandy area by the roadside, and lurking about a hole.
When we inserted a pro])e into this hole, one of these
wasps jumped out, but upon opening the burrow we
found nothing but a colony of reil ants. At Creve Coeur
Lake, Mo., one s])ecimen was taken on a sandy area where
bees and some Pomi)ilid wasps were at work and where
Ciritidrla beetles abounded.

DasymutiUa ferrugata Fabr. | S. A. Rohwer]. Some
half-dozen of these cow-killers were observed on the
sandv beach of the Kaw River at Lake View, Kansas,

Ecological and Behavior Notes 7

on Aupfiist 16. One female was feasting upon the remains
of a watermelon left on the river bank by some picnicers.
One specimen was taken on the bald field of the baseball
diamond in a city lot on September 17.

Dasymutilla occidcntalis Linn. [S. A. Rohwer]. These
Mutillids were becoming quite abundant on the stubble
field at Wickes by September 4. They occupied the same
area as Bruesia hexar and D. zella, and spent their time
in walking slowly about and entering holes and crevices
indiscriminately. At Wesco, Mo., about the first of
August, I saw on two separate mornings, a dozen or so
males flying about one certain hawthorn shrub which
was less than two feet high. These shrubs were plentiful
thereabouts, but no others attracted these insects. I sus-
pected at once that this was a courtship flight, and that
the wingless females were lurking somewhere unseen, but
careful and continued watching led me to conclude that
this was only play. Or we might borrow a suggestion
from the ways of some other species of wasps, and sus-
pect that these males had emerged prior to the females,
and that they were here around the burrow of a female,
w^hich they could by some sense incomprehensible to us
detect, awaiting her emergence.

Timulla hexagona Say. [S. A. Rohwer]. This velvet
ant was found walking about on the short grass sur-
rounding the baseball diamond in the city in early
August.

Sphaerophthalma pennsylvanica Lep. [S. A. Rohwer].
On June 15 a female was taken, after having been ob-
served for some time poking its head under loose lumps
of earth and tufts of grass on a broken area.

Sphaerophthalma scaeva Blake. [S. A. Rohwer]. We
have never caught S. scaeva in the field busy with any
significant occupation. We have seen them only in the
autumn; on September 12 a male was walking about on
the top of a high bluff at Falling Springs, 111., and on
September 23 and October 7 they were flying slowly about

^ Trans. Acad, of St. Louis

over tlio vo.irotation near Crcvo rocur Lake aiul near the
Meramec Hivcr at Moselle. One male specimen of S.
scarva emer/jfetl from a cocoon of SccUphroyi carvicnta-
r'utm on June If). It was i)lace(l in a vial where, in a few
(lays, it broke uj) with its jaws much of the cork stopper.
It was then placed in a ca«^e with su^Mr-water and fruit,
where it lived for twenty-five days.

Priocnvmis ncbulosus Dahl. ( S. A. Holiwer]. In a road
sparsely covered with ^rass, this Pomi)ilid was actively
chasin/i: a spider, but the wasp in her chase encountered
a spider's web in the ^rass; she paused in her (piest and
spent several seconds searchin-j^ it, and thus lost her
quarry.

Priocnemis nothus Ores. [S. A. Koliwer]. One specimen
was taken on the sunny baseball field on September 17.

Priocnemis nigripes Ores. [S. A. Kohwer]. We have
twice found this wasp out walkiujuf about on the ground,
once in an open field in St. Louis and a.ii^ain on the sandy
ground near the river front in Kansas. They moved
nervously, and were poking their heads enquiringly into
every crevice and under sticks and leaves. From this
conduct we judged they were foraging.

Priocnemis pompilus Cress. fS. A. Rohwer]. Two in-
dividuals were seen foraging on a clay bank in St. Louis
on June 20, 19LS. They were eagerly scrambling under
clods and nervously tumbling into crevices. After many
such adventures, one brought a small si)ider out of a
crevice. She carried it a short distance, exjjlored about
the region for a few iniiiutes, then returned to the spider.
This performance she repeated three times, then she
carried the spider into one of the crevices. Three quar-
ters of an iiour elapsed and she did not reap])ear.

Cryptocheilus unifasciatus Say. L^- -^- Hohwer]. On
August 31, at Wickes, iMo., this wasj) was seen dragging
a large spider by the mandibles across a rough road and
over a grassy area, traveling with ease and rajjidity.
The spider was limp and apparently dead.

Ecological and Behavior Notes 9

Cryptoclieiliis magnus Cress. [ S. A. Roliwer]. -One
male taken in sweeping- an oats field July 9, 1917.

Crypt ocheilus fulvicornis Cress. [S. A. Rohwer]. This
wasp made its appearance on the baseball field after the
rain on July 23, 1918.

Episyron higuttatus Fab. [S. A. Rohwer]. The wasp
with her prey clasped under her body was seen to enter
her hole in the sand; when she emerged, she was cap-
tured for identification. The burrow was three inches
deep, one quarter inch in diameter, and went down at an
angle of 45°. There was no pocket, but at the terminus
lay a spider with an egg fastened to it laterally. On this
occasion the mother remained in the burrow for five
minutes, presumably adjusting the spider and depositing
the egg. The spider was not entirely lifeless, but the
legs could not move. After seven days it still showed
slight traces of life.

A second member of this species was seen the next day,
digging. It would enter its hole head first, and throw the
sand out of the burrow literally in a spurting stream.
With rapid movements of her forefeet she would brush
the sand under the body and out of the hole. Sometimes
she cleaned out in the same manner the sand that accu-
mulated in her doorway, and every so often she would
come out and work in the same way cleaning the sand
from the area surrounding the hole. At 5:15 p. m. she
left, evidently in quest of prey; up to 6:15 she had not
returned. The next day at 10 o'clock I found the hole
closed, but the friable condition of the sand rendered
futile all attempts to explore the completed nest.

In the sunshine in the dooryard another of these wasps
was spied covering her nest. I could not then watch her,
but after the nest had been filled and she once more re-
turned to the spot, I took her. For more than fifteen
minutes of this time, a parasitic fly was hovering per-
sistently about this spot. The nest was dug up, but the
tunnel could not be traced. The pocket with the spider.

T^ Trans. Acad, of St. Louis

Eprira prompt a [J. If. Einorton] was only tliroc-fourtlis
incli iiiidcr tlie siirlaco ol* tlio ^roinul. The wasp's e^p:
was on its l)ack, ])ut evidently tlu^ Hipteron had also been
successful in its (piest. for lliree nuiir^^ots were around
the e^ii^. Tlie spider was not dead, and for four days
thereafter responded freely to stimuli.

This wasp was also seen feedin<jf on the flowers of buck-
brush at Wesco on Auc^nst 1.

Episyron quinqucnotatus Say. [S. A. Kohwer]. Sev-
eral were seen on the sandy beach at Creve Coeur T.ake
when it ^rew warm between one and three o'clock on
October 13.

Episyron maneei Bks. [S. A. Kohwer]. This wasp
walked across the road and into the dense woods, walk-
ini,^ backwards and dragging a spider, Cylosa conica
[Emerton] at about 6 p. m. on July 7. The spider, when
taken away, seemed dead, but three days later it showed
signs of life, reacting abundantly to stimulus, and by
July 18 it had wholly recovered. May it b(> that with
certain Pompilids the process is reversed — that instead
of the sting causing slight injury and slow death, the
sting here causes immediate total paralysis and slow re-
covery?

PompHoidcs anicricanus Beauv. [S. A. Koliwer]. Sev-
eral of these were seen in the wheat stubble in early
September, and on October 3 one was carrying away a
spider, Pardosa nicjripalpis Emerton [N. Banks].

I also saw this red-banded Pompilid walking about the
sand at Wickes, ^lo., on October 3, 1917. Without ])re-
liminary warning it j)lung(Hl into a crevice anil soon came
up again with a medium-sized spider, later identified as
Pardosa niyripalpis [Emerton]. This is one of the vag-
abond hunting spiders, some of which, according to War-
burton*, burrow in the loose sand. The wasp, with its
jaws inserted in the ventral portion of the spider's ab-

•CambrldRC Nat. Illat. 4. p. 417.

Ecological and Behavior Notes 11

domcn, walked backwards for twenty feet and deposited
its prey under a loose piece of clay. After walking about
for five minutes, probably looking for a desirable hole,
she returned to the spider, grabbed it in the same way,
dropped it for a few seconds while again she looked
about, then returned, picked it up and removed it to a
spot under another clod. There she left it again while
she investigated an opening under another lump of clay
only an inch distant. This at last seemed satisfactory,
for the wasp then fetched the spider, dragged it under
this lump of earth and remained there for fifteen minutes.
Losing patience at last, I lifted the clod and found the
spider in a very neat depression, but I could not tell if
the hole was natural or a wasp-made one. Both spider
and wasp were then taken.

This wasp also seems to abound until late in the season.
At Herculaneum, Mo., on October 18, on the shore of the
Mississippi river, about a dozen were seen in the half-
hour from 10 to 10 :30 a. m. One in particular was atop
a spider, Philodromus sp. [J. H. Emerton]. Approach-
ing too near we frightened her away, and she never re-
turned for her prey. The spider was probably more
frightened than injured, for after a few minutes it
seemed to recover its faculties and walked away.

Pompiloides marginatus Say. This wasp was carrying
off a spider, an immature Xysticus sp. [J. H. Emerton],
on October 19 at Hematite, Mo.

Pompiloides subviolaceiis Cress. [S. A. Rohwer]. This
beautiful wasp was taken while she was foraging about
a lot of piled logs at Creve Coeur Lake on August 30,
1916. She was also seen carrying away an immature
Xgsticus [J. H. Emerton] at Hematite on October 19.

Psammocliares {Lophopompilus) aethiops Cress. [S.
A. liohwer]. Several individuals of this species were
seen flying about the bluffs at Clifton Terrace, 111., on
October 28, 1916. The days w^ere then warm, but the
nights were so cold that I marveled that they could sur-

12 Trans. Acad, of St. Louis

vivo. Tlicy were also socn on a iiiitl-Soptomhor day at
Iloniatito, Mo. Tlio day was dull and gloomy; despite
the fact that wasps of tliis ,«>:enus are supposed to he sun-
lovinu^ creatures, more than a dozen of these were seen
on tlie sandy patches alon.ir Joachim creek, apparently
forairiiiff, walkincf nervously ahout and explorin*:: all
small holes anil crevices. They were also out here on
Octoher 19.

Arachnophociotnis frrnn/incKs Say. [S. A. Kohwcr].
Two specinuMis of this Pomjiilid wasp were taken at
A\'i(.'ks, Mo., on .Inly 17, and one at Moselle, Mo., on Sep-
temher L'."}. On .July o, IDl'l, Mr. F]rnst Schwarz and I
watched one of these wasps carry an enormous Lycosid
spider, Dolmcdes idonciis [.) . 11, Hmerton] crossin<2: the
road amid many passinij^ automohiles. The wasp
grasped the spider's paljn in its mandihles and was walk-
ing hackwards, dragging the spider thus; this was no
easy task, and she was obliged frequently to tug and
strain when the spider became lodged against some ob-
struction. She was compelled rej)eatedly to leavi- her
property by the ])assing machines, but each time she left
it she took an elaborate flight of orientation, just as we
have seen other individuals of this species do when leav-
ing their prey when homeward bound to examine the nest.
Each time she returned to it readily, excepting oue
time when for its safety we moved it two feet to place it
out of the track of the passing automobiles; as we ex-
pected, she returned to the exact spot where she had left
it, and after a prolonged search stumbled upon it as if by
accident.

■ Anoplius hyacinthiuKs I S. A. Kohwer] was found feed-
ing on the flowers of a wild i)ea, August 17.

AnopUus luctnosus Cress. | S. A. Kohwer] Hew in at
the laboratory window oii July !».

Pcpsis eleganshv]). [ S. A. Kohwer] was observed feed-
ing on the flowers of a composite on July 17, and on the
blossoms of the Madeira vine on August 11. On August

Ecological and Behavior Notes 13

4, 1917, they were rather abundant in open spaces, road-
sides, etc., bordering on the forest.

Planiceps niger Cress. [S. A. Rohwer]. At Meramec
Highlands, Mo., this wasp was walking about on a clay
bank, probably foraging. In the course of its travels it
walked over a heavy spider-web; when in the center, it
bit a hole through the web with its mandibles, and drop-
ped through it to the ground below.

Notiochares philadelphicus Lep. [S. A. Rohwer]. This
wasp was taken at Cedar Bluff, Mo., on July 9, 1916, and
on a mud embankment at Jerseydale, Mo., on October 19.
On August 13, one was seen in the dusty road carrying
a spider, Lycosa scutulata [Emerton]. This prey, when
taken from the wasp, was limp and made only slight re-
sponse to stimulus. Sixteen days later the response was
still slight, and shortly after that date the spider seemed
dead.

Our first real acquaintance with this wasp was when
we discovered four holes in a bald and hard-packed area
near the old log smoke-house, and three of these black
wasps (beautiful blue in the sunshine) were loitering
about the area. They walked slowly about, or flew
languidly to near-by plants; they casually nosed about
any holes or irregularities in the surface. The four holes
mentioned had been recently dug, for the fresh earth still
lay in front of each. For about two hours these wasps
lingered about these holes (PI. VI, fig. 5), but did nothing
constructive that we could see. In their slow walks over
the area, their antennae and wings moved nervously, but
they paid each other no heed. One hole was dug out ; it
was seven-sixteenths inch diameter at the mouth, very
crooked, and went down at an irregular slope for two
and one-half inches. It was empty. A second one was
found to be of about the same size and irregular direc-
tion, but it contained a large spider, Lycosa scutulata
[Emerton], with its abdomen almost eaten away by a
large larva.

14 Trans. Acad, of St. Loui.'^

My opinion of the wasp's listlossnoss was at once
cliani^od wlu-n one discovered a sjtider. This s])ider was
on her hiri>:o, sj)roadin.u: weh at the hase of the smoke-
lionso wall. I was attracted by tlie aniazinjr ra])idity
with which the wasp traveled over this web without ])e-
coniin^ ensnarcil. l)y a line trick, like a hare before the
hounds, the spider suddenly ceased tiie race and stood
stock still in the center of the web, while the wasp in full
pursuit daslied ri^ht past her and did not discover the
error, it seemed, until she had reached the ed^e of the
web. Then she betrayed her agitation, by (piiverinii:
wiuiTs and antennae, but for some time appeared either
rather stupid or near-si<i:hted in ap:ain locating? her
(piarry. The spider, meanwhile, remained motionless
until it was a^ain discovered, whereupon it dodji:ed for
a time, then leaped to the wall and escaped. Two days
later the burrows had not been closed; they were duir up,
and all were like the first.

A little later in the season, in early Septembei-. tliis
species was frequently seen alonij: the roadside on the
hills near Wickcs; they were evidently fora.?in,ur or feed-
ing. One was even seen so late as October 19, feeding on
the last smart-weed blossoms.

On August 14, at Manchester, Mo., we were attracted
by a commotion at the foot of a sunny clay bank. A wasp
was in a hole, with her face flush with the surface, and
four others were in a fussy wrangle over it. Our first
thoughts were that the ones on top were hel])ing anotluM*
in distress, since their manner did not denote anger or
enmily. After five minutes more of this turmoil, the one
below emerged; and then did the excitement break into
l)erfect furore among them. The new one emerging was
a large, handsome female; the other four were males.
One of these took possession of her at once, while two
others clung to her and struggled to crowd him away.
The fourth, outwitted, walked away and was captured in
a vial. The mating lasted for about a minute, when the

Ecological and Behavior Notes 15

female also was placed in the same vial, where the mating
was repeated.

Agenoideus hiimidis Cress. [S. A. Rohwer]. This was
found at Creve Coeiir Lake, September 30, in possession
of a spider, Epeira glohosa Keys [N. Banks]. The
spider was so helpless that only with a magnifying glass
could its pulsations be detected, and five days later it was
quite dead.

A?icistrocerus capra Sauss. [S. A. Rohwer]. This was
feeding on goldenrod down by the river at Wicks, Sep-
tember 16, 1919, and one specimen was captured at Hem-
atite, ]\lo., on October 19.

Ancistrocerus campestris Sauss. [S. A. Rohwer]. A
specimen of this species was taken on October 27, 1916,
at Clifton Terrace, 111., feeding on the nectar of the few
remaining flowers of white aster. This wasp has been
found nidificating in discarded mud nests of Sceliphron
caementarium.

Eumenes fraternns Say. [S. A. Rohwer]. We have no
records of the building of the nest of this wasp, but this
note will give one phase of the work. On August 13,
at 4 p. m. we found a nest at the edge of the field, attached
to the stem of an aster plant, about four feet from the
ground. The nest when we found it was complete, but
uncovered, and the tail of the last caterpillar protruded.
This was taken and identified by Mr. S. B. Fracker as
Omphalocera dentosa. The completion of the provision-
ing took some time, for on the next morning and also the
day following, nothing more was done to it, but on the
third day at 5 p. m. we found the little pot had been
filled and sealed. (See Plate V fig. 1.)

A five-potted nest was found in St. Louis in 1917; four
pots were on the upper side of a petiole of a leaf and one
on the under side. The occupants had already emerged.
I believe that these delicate little clay receptacles of the
potter wasps cannot withstand the rigors of the winter,
but that they disintegrate under the severe weather.

16 Trails. Aca^. of St. Louis

Their thin walls would certainly ofTer little protection
from the elements. The live mentioned a])ove all fell
^vhen 1 tried ever so irently to move the twij? to photo-
graph them. This cluster also suir^^ests that one mother
may ho capahle of liuildinLC that number, althouirh of
course we have not absolute i)roof that they are the work
of one parent. These facts, as well as the fact that those
Avasjjs have been seen late in the autumn, lead mo to
suspect that those wasps hibernate as adults.

Monobia quadridois. This wasp was brinirini^ in cater-
j)illars at intervals of thirty minutes, at G a. ni. on dune
"28. Five days later the nest was examined; the cater-
pillars were still alive, althouirh much shrunken. They
were very dissimilar, and represented probably two
species of the Gelechidae. This wasp uses the old gal-
leries of carpenter bees and one such nest witli mud par-
titions is shown in PI. Vll, fi^ 10; all three younjj: were
parasitized by cuckoo bees. The first of these to emerge
was the lowermost one, the first viXii; deposited. This
made a hole in its cocoon and a neat hole in the mud phi,*,'
above, entered the cell above, crept past its younj^or
brother and bit a neat round hole in the second ])lug also.
It was in the antechamber when I discovered and re-
moved it.

Ancistrocenis near tigris Sauss. [S. A. Roliwor]. This
was seen to enter and leave an old beetle burrow in a
fence-post. The hole contained no nest; the purpose of
the visit w^as not ascertained. In earlier studies we have
learned that this species inhal)its the old nests of niud-
daubors, Sceliphron cacmcutariinn. Five of these wasps
emer^'-ed from sumac stems taken in St. Louis, between
April -A and 7, H)19.

Stenoch/nrnis qumhisccfus Say. [ S. A. Rohwor]. This
was captured on tlie window of a loi,^ chicken-house, Sep-
tember r_\ 11)17.

Sloiodifurnis zcndaloidcs Kobt. fS. A. Kohwer]. This
wasp hatched early in May, 1!)1S from a sumac twig

Ecological and Behavior Notes 17

brought from Wickes, Mo.

Zethus spinipes Say. [S. A. Roliwer]. Found feeding
on the flowers of Melilotus alha July 15.

Nortonia symmorpliy Sauss. [S. A. Rohwer]. Swept
from the low grass at twilight, July 30, 1917.

Odynerus geminus Cress. A turret built by this species
and many fresh pellets of mud were found on the baseball
diamond October 9, 1919. This is two weeks later than
the latest date heretofore recorded.

Odynerus dorsalis Fab. The empty compartment
which regularly occurs in the top of the burrow of 0.
dorsalis (see Wasp Studies Afield, pages 312-331) has
been puzzling in so far as utility is concerned. I called
it the air-chamber, because the only use that I could think
of for its presence was to prevent the extremes of tem-
perature from affecting the immature organism which
spends the winter in a shallow burrow. Another logical
hypothesis for explaining this must be accredited to the
sincere interest of a small boy. Since the parent wasp
is not equipped with jaws sufficiently powerful to dig
out the hard earth, but must carry water to first change
it into soft mud, we cannot expect the young emerging
insect to cut its way out through a solid plug of hard
earth when it can get no water; in fact, under a heavy
plug they would practically be hopelessly entombed.
Iseley records two species of caterpillars used for prey
by this wasp in Kansas. We have recorded, from three
distinct times and localities, only the caterpillars of
Pholisora cattulus used by the St. Louis 0. dorsalis. We
here add another record of twelve cells taken September
2, 1918, containing an aggregate of 51 caterpillars, all of
which were of the one species.

Odynerus foraminatus Sauss. [S. A Rohwer]. An
elder twig, taken at Hematite, Mo., on October 18, 1918,
gave forth this adult Eumenid on April 30, 1919. This
twig was hollow, and the lower four inches were filled up
with finely bitten up pith. This indicates that the twig

18 Trans. Acad, of f^f. Louis

liad prol)al)Iy boon used proviously l)y a Crahro wasp.
Four inches below the iop of the n'liiaiiiiiip: cavity, tliis
P]uiiioni(l motlior had hiid a mud floor and inscrtiMl a mud
ceilin*]^ one-half inch al)()ve tliis, tlius makin<^ only one
lar^e coll in the \\\\<j:. In lieu of makin.LC a cocoon, the
larva had varnished Uie walls of the room with some
substance which had hardened into a verv thin, onion-
skin-like, white tissue. Nothin.i^ remained to indicate
what the food supply had been. Another individual
made its nest in the interstices of a corrupfated cardboard
box in the laboratory. Others were seen on the flowers
of buck-brush on August 1, 1920.

Odynerus (Ancistrocerus) tigris Sauss. [S.A.Rohwer].
Found on the screen door, carryinii; a cateri)illar, at
Wickes, May 29, 1920.

Odynerus (Ancistrocerus) caprn Sauss. var. [S. A.
Rohwer]. Taken from blackberry blossoms, May 29,
1920.

Odynerus {Stcnodynerus) anormis Say. [S. A. Roli-
wer.] On flowers of buck-brush, August 1, 1920.

Odynerus (Stenodynerus) pedestris Sauss. [S. A. Roh-
wer]. On buck-brush blossoms, "Wesco, Aup^ust 1, 1920.

Alyson melleus Say. [S. A. Rohwer]. This was seen
on June 13, 1918, cnterin<i^ a hole in a l)ank. It was one
amon<j: many bee holes, so it mijt^ht have been the wasp's
own burrow or that of a bee.

Nysson {II yponysson) raui [S. A. Rohwer].* One was
seen on August 5 to enter the bee burrow of Calliopsis
nebrascensis Cfd. [J. C. Crawford].

Nysso7i sp. [S. A. Rohwer]. The freshly-cut stems of
roadside weeds and bushes, includinii^ sumac, afTorded at-
tractive ])laces for the buildin,2: of stem-dwellers. In less
than two hours after the weeds were cut, two wasps of
this species had already dupf deep tunnels in the soft
pith.

•Dwicrlbcd by S. A. Hohwcr. Troc. II. 8. Nat. Mus. r.3;i;6, 191^

Ecological and Behavior Notes 19

Nysson {Zanysson) texanns Cress. [S. A. Rohwer].
Taken at Lake View, Kansas, July 29, 1916. This is
described in Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 59:406, 1921 and
tliron^h an error the locality ^iven as St. Louis, Mo.

Paramellinus bipynctatus Say. [S. A. Rohwer]. One
spicemen of this wasp was found dead in a shallow hole
in the sand at Creve Coeur Lake, Mo., October 13, 1916.
It had probably sought shelter here and had been over-
come by the cold.

Hoplisoides costalis Cress. [S. A. Rohwer]. This wasp
had its hole in the ground under a small piece of loose
bark. This was evidently her nest, as she entered it
carrying something green. There Avas much loose earth
about the hole. In pushing her way in, she left the bur-
row open, and when she left the hole she kicked over
enough dirt to cover it. The burrow and its contents
could not be traced out on account of the looseness of the
soil. Another individual of this species was captured ou
a windowpane in a chicken-house. This was an old log
house, and the logs and the mortar in the crevices con-
tained many burrows of insects; hence we were always
curious regarding the business of any insects captured
there.

Mimesa cressoni Pack. [S. A. Rohwer] was found on
the baseball field in St. Louis, October 13, 1918.

Oxyhelus sp. near striatus [S. A. Rohwer]. A hole, one-
eighth inch in diameter, was found in the sand at Moselle,
Mo., July 2, with a neat pile of loose sand about it. This
wasp entered the hole and soon emerged, when it was
taken. The burrow was lost in digging.

Solenius interniptes Say. [S. A. Rohwer]. Found
dead on window at St. Louis, June 30, 1920.

Solenius hellus Cress. [S. A. Rohwer]. Several of
these were found snugly secure in burrows in the up-
right posts of a pagoda at Creve Coeur Lake, June 13,
1918. They sat with their heads in their doorways,
calmly looking into the sunshiny world outside, but would

20 Trans. Acad of St. Louis

drop l)ack into tlioir liolcs most tantalizinirly upon our
approacli. Tlit'so holes provcil to bo tlio old burrows of
beetles, ti<i:litly ])acked with sawdust. The wasps wore
evidently ('nlarii:in,i^ their (piarters l)y rciuoxini,^ tliis
]Vdckiuix.

H fipocrahro tcranus Cress. [S. A. TJohwer]. Tliis wasp
was found in a hollow stem, toirother with some larvae
and three pellets of bee-bread. It is probable that this
was really the bee's home, and the wasj) liad merely
soup^bt shelter here for the ni2:ht.

Jlypocrahro stirpicolus Pack. [S. A. Roliwer], The

live wasp was found in a tunnel in au ailanthus twi^
taken in the ^fissouri Botanical Garden. It had evident-
ly only taken temporary refuge there, since there was no
evidence of its nest; the cells below it were filled with
caterj)illars, while this species rears its young on flies.
Another stem with soft pith, taken at Wicks, ^fo., con-
tained a tunnel which ocillated from side to side of the
pith area. One cell in this burrow was full of flies and
a wasp larva; another cell contained only the debris of
flies, and a partition of pith one-half inch thick sep-
arated the two. Early in May this young wasp <'merged
a full-grown //. stirpicolus. Their prey in one nest was
Viviania calosomac Burgess [J. M. Aldrich]. A third
nest was found in a cottonwood sprout, which liad been
chopped off exposing the pith. The tunnel was newly
completed, nine inches long and tiiree-sixteenths inch
wide, and the first cell was being stocked when I inter-
rupted the worker. The mother was caught in the bunow
with three flies, all dead: Oxi/ccra waculata <Ui\-. | ('. T.
Gvoone], Phorbia fusciprs Zett. [C.T.Greene] and RivcUia
pallida Lve. | C. T. Greene]. In still another nest we took
flies of two other species: Chiromcifia sp. [J. F. Aldricli]
and Afiromyza parvicornis Locw. [J. F. Aldrich]. All
this prey is an addition to the list already published in
Wasp Studies Alield. Anoth(>r cocoon of this wasp,

Ecological and Behavior Notes 21

taken from a sumac twig, was found to contain not the
rightful owner hut the parasite, Diamorus zabriskiei
Cress. [R. A. Cushman], which was fully developed and
occupied the entire space.

Cerceris clypeata Dahll). [S. A. Rohwer]. Taken at
Kimmswick, Mo., by sweeping the low grass at 5 p. m. on
July 17.

Cerceris rani Roh. [S. A, Rohwer]. A male was found
feeding on ])uck-brush blossoms at Wesco, about a hun-
dred miles from the point from which it was described.

Philauthus politus Say. [S. A. Rohwer]. Taken on
July 2, in an area of white sand at Silica, Mo., in com-
pany with several other Hymenoptera.

Philantlms punctatus Say. [S. A. Rohwer]. Taken at
Hematite, Mo., as late in autumn as October 19, 1918.

Crossocerus scutellatus Say. [S. A. Rohwer]. One in-
dividual of this species was seen to enter three holes in
a clay bank at Lake View, Kansas, July 27, 1916; then
it returned to the first one where it was captured. Another
was tw^ice seen doing ''the Higland fling" before its hole
in the bank; it would poise before the hole in humming-
bird fashion for many seconds and sometimes move from
side to side, and eventually dart away. I did not ascer-
tain if it w^as foraging in these holes or actually nesting
there.

Crossocerus incavns Fox. [S. A. Rohwer]. This wasp
was found in the same clay bank as the above species.
One entered a hole in the bank, and despite the fact that
the tunnel went in for several inches it remained near
the entrance kicking out loose dirt, until it was captured.

Xylocelia ater Mickel. [S. A. Rohwer]. At Lake View,
Kansas, on July 27 and 30, two were seen to enter crev-
ices in the dirt bank.

Xylocelia spiniferus Mickel. [S. A. Rohwer]. Taken
at Creve Coeur Lake, Mo., October 7, 1916.

Diodontus corusanigrens Roh. [S. A. Rohwer].* On

*Thi.s is a new species described from this material in rroc. U. S. Nat. Mua. 37 :270,
l'J20.

oo

Trans. Acad, of St. Louis

July fi, 191S, an ckler stem was taken witli tliis adult
wasp within; in IfMJ) five wasps omcri^od Ix'twccn March
31 and April 14. This indicates but ono generation a
year.

Didincis tr.ra)ii(s Cress. fS. A. Rohwcr]. On October
<1, 1 !»](!, about a dozen of these were seen walkinir about
on the loose soil at the base of a clay bank, apparently
killinu: time.

Triipoxfilon nihrocinctum Pack. fS. A. Rohwer]. An
elder twig contained a gallery three inches long and one-
eighth inch in diameter. The lowermost cell of this was
one-half inch long and contained the black cocoon from
which this wasp emerged during the middle of July. A
very thin partition of mud separated this from the next
cell, which was one and three-fourths inches in length.
Next was another partition of mud, and beyond this was
the old case of a cuckoo-bee, Chrysis {trichri/sis) parvula
Fab. I S. A. Rohwer]. No explanation has been found
for the enormous size of the second cell.

Trifpoxylon johnsoni Yo\. [S. A. Rohwer]. This nnl-
bodied Trypoxylon was this time found occupying a hole
in a mass of soil which was clinging to the roots of an
ui)turned tree. The burrow was onl\* an inch deep and
wide enough to accommodate only the wasp's body. We
have previously found it in twigs.

Trypoxijlon friyidum Sm. [S. A. l^ohwer]. A di'ad
male found in the stem of a sumac.

Trypoxylon clavatum Sm. IS. A. Rohwer]. This
emerged in June 1920 from a Polistcs paper nest with
mud plugs taken at Meramec Highlands October (5, l!ni>.

Chlor'wn ichncumoneum Linn. Feeding upon flowers of
Aster muUiflorn, Octoltcr (i, 191!), and on buck-brush
blossoms at Wesco, July 30, 1920.

Chlor'iou cyaneum Dahl. Found on August 14, 1919,
carrying a cricket, Gryllus assimilis Fab. [A. N. Cau-
dell]. The cricket, at first quite helpless, slowly regained

Ecological and Behavior Notes 23

the ability, after several hours, to respond slightly to
stimulus, but died the next day.

Priononyx hifoveolatum Tachenberg. [S. A. Rohwer],
We arrived upon the scene, a mud bank with sparse
vegetation, just in time to see the wasp riding her hopper,
Melanoplus scudderi Uhler [A. N. Caudell] to her door.
She trundled it along in the regulation manner, riding
atop and grasping the hopper's antennae in her jaws.
She left it, as her sisters P. atratnAn and P. thomae
usually do, beside the mouth of the burrow while she
went in for a final inspection of the interior, poked her
head out the door and dragged it in, and half a minute
later she emerged and began packing in the soil. The
burrow was only a small, sloping pocket in the earth,
similar to that of P. atratum but somewhat smaller. The
hopper gave only a slight response to stimulus, and died
the next day. The wasp's e^g was attached exactly in
the place where P. atratum and P. thomae habitually
fasten theirs, on the right side of the body at the base
of the hind leg.

Priononyx atratum Lep. [S. A. Rohwer]. A grass-
hopper, Melanoplus femoratus, which was taken from
this wasp lived for four days, August 1 to 5, 1920. Other
wasps of this species were taken on flowers of buck-brush
at Wesco, July 30, and on Aster midtiflora as late as
October 19, 1918.

Ammohia pennsylvanica Linn. [S. A. Rohwer]. Cap-
tured in the kitchen at Wickes, Mo., September 4, 1917.

Sphex (Ammophila) pictipennis Walsh. At St. Louis,
in 1918, several of these wasps were seen out on October
12 ; one was even earnestly trundling a caterpillar home.
This was not the latest date of their appearance, how-
ever, for one was taken at Hematite, Mo. on October 19.
Others were taken in summer from the flowers of sweet
clover and buck-brush. We took possession of a cater-
pillar, Leucania unipuncta [S. B. Fracker] which one
was taking home at Wesco, August 1 ; it lived six days.

24 Tra)is. A ((id. of St. Lauis

Sphcx [Ammophila) uhhrcviata l-'ali. [ S. A. Ivoliwor].
Two of tlu'si' woro socii in copulo at Wickes, Mo., on Sep-
tombor 4, 1917. Tlicy aliirlitod on a leaf nearby, reniainod
for porliaps tlirec minutes and resumed tbeir fliijlit liii^li
in tlie air witiiout separatin<j^. Anotlier ])air was seen
likewise, tlie male atop liis mate, on Auiifust l.'I. Tliey
liitted about with ease and rested frequently on the vege-
tation. On July 17, a female was seen carryini? a green
caterpillar belonging to the Ilesperiidae [S. B. Fracker].
It was not dead.

Sphex {Ammophila) procrra. These were seen at
AVickes at the end of June, and on July 2, one was starting
to dig her well at Silica. She seemed liard to satisfy,
and abandoned her first two attempts after making a
good beginning, ller method of digging was to stand,
head downward, with her body straight up in the air, bite
out a chunk of earth and fly with it a short distance be-
fore drop])ing it.

Sphex {Ammophila )arqe}itatus Ilort. [S. A. Hohwer],
When first I saw this wasj) at work, I thought it was
Sphcx pictipennis , on account of the similarity of its
coloring and .size, but upon seeing it at work, 1 at once
saw that its method of proceeding was slightly dilTerent
from the fixed habits of S. pictipennis. The <lilTerence
in the behavior of the two species lies chiefly in the
method of carrving out the soil when excavating the nest.
S. pictipennis always walks from the burrow and carries
the dirt to a pile at a point about four iiiclu's distant. The
two individuals of S. at\qentata obsci'vcd at work on a
sandy area in St. Louis on September 1, 111 IS, wouM al-
ways, when leaving the burrow with a load of dirt, lly
into the air and drop the sand while they were on the
wing.

At first it appeared, as just stated, that these two fe-
males were at work in a sandy area, but upon excavat-
ing the burrows I found tlial the sand was only a
thin layer which had been dumped on toj) of tlir hard

Ecological and Behavior Notes 25

yellow clay. The nest of S. pictipennis is clearly and in-
variably 'Tj" shaped, but in these two cases the nests
looked more like those of P riononyx atratum. The bot-
tom cham])er was three-quarters of an inch below the
surface of the ground; the length was li/^ inches, and
the diameter was 3/16 inch. I could not ascertain
whether S. argentatus always makes this type of nest, or
whether these two mothers, when they dug into the sand
and struck the hard clay, sidled along horizontally and
made the nest such as we describe, instead of abandon-
ing the attempt or working through the tough clay to
make an ''L" shaped burrow. Besides S. pictipennis,
we know that S. procera make nests of that conventional
form. Both of these nests contained a caterpillar each
of the same species of Geometridae [Fracker], and each
caterpillar had a wasp egg on the left side of the body
a little below the center. Both caterpillars were dead,
but these were dug up four days after the nests had been
sealed.

These wasps were out late in the season. On October
18, 1918, about half a dozen of them were seen at Her-
culaneum. Mo., and the next day three more were ob-
served along the roadside to Hematite, one of which was
trundling her caterpillar home at that unusual date. The
method of carrying the caterpillar is of some interest,
since in Wasp Studies Afield we have stated that the
method of certain Sphex (Ammophila) in carrying the
caterpillar with the dorsal surface toward the ground
was no mere accident, but was a very effectual improved
method. In this specimen of S. argentatus it was clearly
demonstrated to be a fact.

On three separate occasions, when the wasp left her
caterpillar because of my too close proximity, and the
caterpillar in curling up its body rolled on its side, in
each instance she mounted it, marched on with it for a
time with its side to the ground. After pulling it along
in this difficult position for a foot or so, she each time

26 Trans. 'Acad, of St. Louis

stopped and deliberately turned it on her back with her
feet and resumed her march witli it with more ease and
speed. The facts that the stops were deliberate, and that
the caterpillar was riiifhted with lier feet on all three oc-
casions before she traveled on, show that this is not
merely instinctive or tropismic behavior, but actual use
of judgment or experience to gain her own convenience;
she tried to move it in the position in which she found it,
but after a short pull she found a bettor way and stopped
to put it into practice. Of course it is clear to anyone
how much more smoothly the rounded dorsal surface will
slide over the ground than any other part of the prey's
anatomy.

The caterpillar was injured only slightly, wriggled
actively when I took it up, and responded to stimulus for
live days thereafter. Since this wasp was found nidifying
so late in the autumn, one wonders if it does not hiber-
nate as an adult.

Notogonidea argentata Bve. This wasp was seen to fly
into a hole in a clay bank, with its prey under the
abdomen; she was captured as she emerged, and the bur-
row opened. This proved to be only a spider's hole, one-
half inch across and six inches deep, but at the bottom
was a cricket, Nemohiits fasciatus De Geer [A. N. Cau-
dell]. The cricket w^as very much alive but its powers
of locomotion were dead; however it could cling tightly
to my hand by its tarsi. Anothr wasp was caught in a
trap set for burying-beetles as early as June 12, 1917,
while others were out as late as October 20.

Tachytes peptictus Say. [S. A. Rohwer]. In July,
1918, I noticed a species of green-eyed wasp performing
a sun-dance. These were astonishingly fleet of wing, and
could not be captured without a net; so, for lack of iden-
tification, no record was made of this occurrence. The
earth at that place was somewhat sandy and almost bare
of vegetation for an area about six feet square under the
spreading branches of an old cotton-wood tree.

Ecological and Behavior Notes 27

Two years later, July 2, 1920, I revisited the same spot
and was gratified to find the same performance goinfjc on
in precisely the same way. The wasps had evidently
emerged from the ground at that place and were in high
spirits in the dance. They were a riotously noisy lot,
emitting almost constantly a bee-like buzz when in flight,
and the greater part of them were in flight all tlie time.
They danced and cavorted to and fro, in and out, up and
down, over this sparsely-covered spot. Occasionally a
few would rest for a time on the grey earth or on a green
leaf, or on the trunk of the tree. Most of the flight
occurred within six inches of the ground; occasionally
one would dash off for a moment to a higher altitude, but
the swarm in general kept pretty steadily to about that
level, and they never ventured more than a few inches
above that. When in flight, small groups of from two to
four were seen waltzing about one another in circles ;
often one chased another for a short distance with great
swiftness. Sometimes a pair would tumble to the ground,
struggle and separate, but I have so far failed to see if
this was actual copulation. There were about fifty wasps
present in this area, and all were participating in the
dance. It appeared that they had recently emerged here;
no evidence of their digging could then be detected. The
dance was observed for about an hour, which was as long
as I could remain at high noon. This species was later
seen on the buck-brush flowers at Wesco, Mo., on August
1.

Tachytes obscurus Cress. [S. A. Rohwer]. Several
were seen on the sandbar at Wickes, Mo., sometimes
entering crevices.

Tachytes mergus Fox. [S. A. Rohwer]. These wasps
were on the river sandbar on September (3, 1919, actively
running about and often entering holes which appeared
to be those of Microbembix monodonta.

Tachytes obdnctus Fox. [S. A. Rohwer]. Seen enter-
ing holes in the sand at Wesco, August 1.

28 Trans. Acad, of St. Louis

Bicyrtes fodiens Ildl. [S. A. Rohwer]. Three were
seen to enter holes in the sandy clay by the roadside at
Lake View, Kansas. The burrows were evidently in
course of construction, and went down diagonally for
about four inches. A fourth one entered an abandoned
burrow of Bemhix sp., from which it kicked out some dirt.
Bicyrtes cjuadrifasciata Say. [S. A. Rohwer]. One
was seen to dig in the soil of Chestley Island on Septem-
ber 16, 1919. It commenced burrows in a dozen places,
and often entered ready-made burrows in the sand, which
probably belonged to its kin, Microbevibix monodonta.
The latter species, as well as Bemhix spinolae, was plen-
tiful at this spot, as were likewise the diptera, Chaeto-
plagia atripennis Coq. [J. M. Aldrich], which probably
were parasitic on all three species of wasps.

Miscophus americanus Fox [S. A. Rohwer]. A num-
ber of wasp cocoons were dug out of the soft sand in the
bluff at Silica, Mo., on July 2, 1920. Some of them later
brought forth this wasp.

Specius speciosus Say. On two mornings I saw per-
haps a half dozen of these formidable wasps flying about
a small clump of hawthorn bushes. Some white faces
showed that a part of the number were males. The
wasps in their llight to and fro often met in collisions
in a manner and frequency that certainly made it appear
far from accidental; hence we concluded that the whole
j)erformance was a flight of courtship of some sort. How-
ever, several hours' vigil discovered no cases of actual
mating.

On another occasion a day or so later a big cicada-killer
flew wildly in circles near where I was busy. Suddenly
she flew high in a willow tree fifty feet away and I gave
her no further thought. Fifteen minutes later, down she
tlew swiftly in a straight, diagonal line and without stop-
ping flew directly into a rodent's burrow at my feet.
Hence it seems that her circling flight was to make sure
of her burrow, perhaps so there would be no search for

Ecological and Behavior Notes 29

it when she had her prey. I had known that they often
climb trees with their prey in order to be able better to
launch on win<^ with their heavy burden, but I had not
suspected that they first select a burrow, or that they
may use burrows made by others. She did not reappear,
and an attempt to dig up the rodent's burrow proved un-
successful.

Microbembix moyiodonta Say. [S. A. Rohwer]. On a
large, bald area of white sand on a hilltop at Silica, many
of these little wasps were active. They were neither
digging nor dancing; but they flew aimlessly about, drop-
ped to the ground and rested, whereupon a second would
often bump against the first. Although I watched for
about two hours, I could see no actual mating or nest
digging; hence I suspected that these w^ere probably the
males just emerging. They flew near to the ground, and
it was with difficulty that the net could be manipulated to
effect their capture. This was on July 2, 1920.

Beynhix spinolae. While on September 1 B. nuhili-
pennis had entirely disappeared, we saw a female of B.
spinolae on September 16 just commencing her burrow.
In consideration of the fact that it would take her several
weeks to feed her young to maturity, this seemed sur-
prisingly poor physical economy. The site was a small
sandy area on a vacant city lot. On this spot the wasp
scratched some sand out at about eight different places
before she found one satisfactory. She scratched and
kicked the sand under her in much the same manner as
B. nubilipennis. She would go down and push the loose
soil up from below until the channel was full, then push
her way out through it, turn about with her head just
inside the channel and rapidly kick out the sand as she
retreated, (Plate VI fig. 8) repeat this several times, and
then go in again and work up more soil from the bottom.

Benihix nubilipennis. From June 15 we watched daily
for the 1919 population of this species, but they did not
come out until June 29; on the 30, they were there in

30 Trans. Acad, of St. Louis

goodly numbers, and by July 1 they were at the hei<^ht
of their abundance. From that date on, their numbers
did not increase, but with the disappearance of the males
a decrease was soon apparent. The appearance of the
same colony has been previously recorded for June 16 in
1914 and July 4 in 1915 and June 27 in 1918. In 1920
they emerged on July 2, in even greater numbers than
in previous years, and the increased numbers made the
dance seem even more riotous than usual. This cele-
bration was confined strictly to the morning hours, 9 to
11. We were long in doubt \vhether the young wasps
emerged from their cells deep underground by following
the old channels made by the mother and refilled, or by
cutting new ones straight to the surface above them.
More recent investigation has shown that some follow
one route, some the other, and w'e have so far been unable
to find any factors wdiich would determine their choice
in this matter.

While these Bemhix generally choose their own site
for a new burrow when the time arrives for them to give
serious attention to nidification, yet we have seen several
instances of the newly-emerged insect turning around
and utilizing the old slanting channel of its emergence,
which in turn was the channel dug by its mother and
filled in the previous season.

While this species feed Dipterous insects to her young,
the mothers have been seen a number of times feeding on
the nectar of the iron-weed flowers.

Cerceris fumipennis. Wickes, Mo., July 17, 1918. Roam-
ing at twilight down a little frequented road I chanced
to find in the middle of the path a pretty mound of soil
with an entrance in the center. The burrow w^as un-
covered. The nest \vas excavated; a wasp of the above
species was found half way down the burrow, and another
at the very bottom. No prey nor pocket was found;
hence we concluded that the burrow was evidently in
course of construction. Likewise it seemed improbable

Ecological and Behavior Notes 31

that two females were nidificating in the same hole;
rather it would seem more likely that a second one had
merely come in to spend the night. The discovery at this
late hour of the day proves conclusively that these wasps
do not go elsewhere to spend the night.

The burrrow was about eight inches in depth and of
the contour illustrated. (Plate VIII fig. 12, half natural
size). The width varied from about three-eights to one-
half inch. The form of this nest differed considerably
from that of the one described in Wasp Studies Afield,
p. 127.

Cerceris flavofasciata H. S. Sm. [S. A. Rohwer].
Taken on buck-brush flowers at Wesco, August 1, 1920.

Oniahis iridesceiis 'Morton. [S. A. Rohwer]. A sumac
twig was taken at Meramec Highlands on July 6, 1918.
Early in August a cuckoo-bee emerged. The following
April a second individual of this species emerged, show-
ing an astonishingly wide difference in the time of matur-
ity, or at least of emerging. The remains of chewed-up
pith in this twig pointed to Ceratina calcarata as the
host.

Chrysis [Tetrachrysis) vemista Cress. [S. A. Rohwer].
A dead specimen was found in an elder stem, October
15, 1918.

BEES

lialicfus lerouxii Lep. [J. C. Crawford]. A male was
found feeding on the flowers of sweet clover on July 19,
1918, and on buck-brush on August 1, 1920.

Halictus lignatus Say. [J. C. Crawford]. For half an
hour I watched one individual which was sitting motion-
less within its burrow looking out, with its face flush with
the surface of the ground, and fitting the hole like a plug.
When finally it was routed and the burrow explored, a
second one was found within. This was on Julv 25, 1915.

Halictus parallcliis Say. [S. A. Rohwer]. A number
of these bees were seen on the flowers of wild aster near
the river at Wickes as late as October 13, 1920. Others

32 Trans. Acad, of St. Louis

were on buck-brush blossoms and sweet-clover in July
and August.

Ilalictus tepularis Robt. [J. C. Crawford], A female
was seen going into its burrow in the sand at Lake View,
Kansas, July 26, 1916. '

Ilalictus zephyrus Sm. [J. C. Crawford]. A colony of
these bees was seen at Creve Coeur Lake on June 13,
1918. The entrance of each burrow was blocked by the
head of the male occupant. This great number of bright
eyes peering out their dark doorways was quaintly sug-
gestive of a neighborhood of curious gossips. The
females were coming in from time to time laden with
pollen. The orifices of the tunnels were small enough to
admit no intruder when the head of the male closed the
opening, but beyond that point the tunnels were much
wider. They went into the bank horizontally for several
inches.

Augoclilora similis Robt. [J. C. Crawford]. A. cluster
of seven cells (See Plate VI, fig. 6) was taken from under
the bark of a log at Wickes on August 10, 1917. These
were made of coarsely chewed bits of wood, and held
together by some unknown substance. Adults of this
species emerged from these later. This species also
nests earlier, for on May 10, 1915 at Meramec Highlands,
a similar collection of cells was taken from a like situa-
tion; the occupants were in the larval stage and were
feeding on the pellets of bee-bread provided for them.

Augoclilora confusa Robt. [J. C. Crawford]. A female
heavily laden with pollen had fallen prey to a spider,
Phidippus aiidax Htz. [J. H. Emerton]. The pair was
found on the window-sill at AVickes, July 18, 1917.

Augoclilora pura Say. [S. A. Rohwer]. This bee, a
male, was feeding on the wild flowers at Cliff Cave, April
21, 1920.

xiugoclilora primus Say. [S. A. Rohwer]. Dozens of
these bees were seen during the day, April 23, 1920, when
the old bark was peeled from fallen trees. They evi-

Ecological and Behavior Notes 33

dently declined to como out into the drear cold weather;
perhaps they even nidificated under the sheltering' bark.

Aiigochlora persimilis Vier. [S. A. Rohwer]. This
golden bee was very beantifnl on the black-berry blos-
soms at Wickes, May 29, 1920.

Paralictus cephalicus Robt. [J. C. Crawford]. These
bees and their burrows were seen in a clay embankment
along the roadside at Falling Springs, 111., September 11,
1916. The tunnels went in horizontally at first and then
became tortuous; they could be followed only a few
inches. The width of the tunnel was quite ample, but the
opening was just small enough to be snugly closed by the
head of the watcher. The males sat quietly for long
hours at their doorways. That intruders were effectually
kept out was evidenced by the fact that a persistent
Halictus made six attempts in the course of half an hour
to enter one of the burrows, and was always repelled by
the guard.

Calliopsis nehraskensis Cfd. [J. C. Crawford]. For
several summers, a number of large colonies were seen
on a baseball diamond on a city lot. The openings of the
burrows were completely covered by mounds of fine dust.
One nest which was dug up had two entrances covered
by separate mounds of dust about two inches apart.
These nests were abundantly visited by parasitic beCvS
Sphecodes sp. [S. A. Rohwer], which spent much of their
time nosing about the hills, poking their heads into the
loose dirt and entering the tunnels below, often scuttling
out again head first a moment later.

Calliopsis andreniformis Sm. [J. C. Crawford]. One
specimen taken from the same area as C. nehraskensis,
July 15, 1915.

Sphecodes ronunculi Robt. [J. C. Crawford]. One
specimen was taken on a window sill in a log house, where
it was evidently parasitic on some of the inhabitants of
the burrows in the logs.

Andrena crataegi Robt. [J. C. Crawford]. This bee

34 Trans. Acad, of St. Louis

was dup: out of its burrow at Cliff Cave, Mo., on April 7,
1915. The aperture of the burrow was open and sur-
rounded by a very pretty hill of pellets resomblinf^ an ant
hill. It went down three inches; it was evidently in
course of construction.

Andrcna claytoniae Robt. [J. C. Crawford]. This bee
was found in its tunnel a few inches below the surface of
the ground at Castlewood, Mo., on April 28, 1915.

Nomada luteoloides Roh. [S. A. Rohwer]. One feed-
ing on sunflower, August 30, 1914.

Melissodes confusa Cres. [S. A. Rohwer]. Many of
these bees were gathering pollen from iron-weed at
Wesco, August 1, 1920.

Melissodes agilis Cr. [J. C. Crawford]. A hill of loose
soil with the opening in the center was found on the
baseball diamond July 24, 1915. The burrow was in
course of construction, and the female bee was at the
bottom. The hole was five inches deep, and went down-
ward quite precipitously. A second bee was taken near
to the above on August 22, 1915. This mother had made
a horizontal burrow in the face of a clay bank.

Melissodes himaculata Lep. [J. C. Crawford]. One
female taken from a head of red clover July 30, 1917.

Melissodes obliqua Say. [J. C. Crawford]. One speci-
men taken from the flowers of white snakeroot at Lake
View, Kansas on August 30, 1914, and at St. Louis on
August 22, 1919. A female was seen to begin digging
her burrow in the moist clayey soil. On another occasion
a specimen of M. obliqua was taken from the grasp of a
spider, Runcinia aleatoria Iltz. [C. R. Shoemaker], to
which it had fallen a victim.

Xenoglossa pruinosa Say. [J. C. Crawford]. A male
specimen was taken from the flower heads of white snake-
root on August 1, 1917, at Wickes, Mo., and on September
4, at the same place, a second male was removed from
the grasp of the spider, Runcinia aleatoria Htz. [C. R.
Shoemaker] . This yellow flower-spider was hidden in the

Ecological and Behavior Notes 35

yellow corolla of a pumpkin l)lossoiii where its high de-
gree of protective coloration made it invisible to me; I
captured the bee with the forceps, and was surprised to
pull out the spider clinging to it.

Anllwphora abrupta Say. [J. C. Crawford]. A num-
ber of mud cells containing larvae of this species were
unearthed at the base of a tree at Creve Coeur Lake on
Jan. 15, 1910. A number of these were parasitized by the
Chalcid wasp, Monodontomerus montivagus [J. C. Craw-
ford] which emerged between the 10th and 15th of the
following May. The great preponderance of female
parasites that emerged led me to tabulate the count of
ten cells. The figures showed a large predominance of
females in evei*y cell; out of the 218 insects in the ten
cells, the males numbered 31 and the females 187. The
number of these parasites supported by a single bee
varied from 13 to 29. Some of these lived up to 22 days
in confinement, probably feeding on the sugar water
in their cage. In another lot of cells, taken from ClilT
Cave during the winter of 1915-16, the adult bees
emerged between May 8th and 12th. None of these were
parasitized by the Chalcids, but by about a dozen speci-
mens of a Dipterous insect, Mycophaga sp. (identified by
C. H. T. Townsend, who writes that ''this genus has not
been recorded for America.")

These burrowing, turret-building bees were at work
in the disintegrating mortar of an old stone chimney at
!^^anchester, Mo. None of the turrets of the last year's
group had survived the winter Aveather, but I kept close
and frequent watch on the chimney because of other in-
sects which I was studying there. The chimney was ex-
amined on June 3, 1919, and no A. abrupt a were there.
The next visit, June 7, revealed an abundance of these
bees, and since their numbers never increased I concluded
that the entire population emerged simultaneously. By
July 5 they had so decreased in numbers that only about

36 Trans. Acad, of St. Louis

a half dozen were at work, and Ijv July !."> all had disap-
poarod. This is a wator-carryin": boc. They came to a
l)ud(llo in a wairon-rnt about a hundrcil foot away for
water; when tliis dried np thoy readily lilK'(l their crops
from a dish of water placed on the <rronnd with floating
sticks in it for thorn to alight on.

On the first of May 1921 a lot of cells containiniz; niatur-
in|i;' Anthophora ahrupta bees were brons^ht into the labor-
atory, and the sex and date of omero^once noted. The
males emerged over a period of sixteen days. May 10 to
May 25, and the females over a period of only three days.
May 23 to 25, or the time coincident with the last three
days of male emerp^once. With one male emerging: on
May 10, the number on each day followine: was 1, 2, 4,
1 ,2, 4, 5, 9, 84, 54, 30, 64, 8, 3 and 1, totalins: 273 males.
The females first appeared thirteen days later than the
first males, but 28 strong; 53 emerged on the next day,
and 20 on the last, or 101 in all. Hence the priority of
male emergence is here quite unmistakable. This fact is
frequently met in the insect world; it seems to be an
ingenious device of nature to eliminate a waste of the
time of the busy females when every summer day is
precious.

In Saturniids a similar condition exists. In recording
the sex of nearly 3600 giant silk-worm moths as they
emerged from their cocoons, we found the ratio of the
sexes to be 111 males to 100 females, and the mean date
of emergence of the males was from one to five days
earlier than that of the females.

Prosopis pyganeus Cress. [8. A. Kohwer]. Found in
a sumac twig in the park, in winter of 1919.

Prosopis sayi Robt. [J. C. Crawford]. Two males
taken from a tunnel in a sumac stem at 7:30 \). n\. on
July 4, 1918. The burrow was only one-half inch deep,
and the insect had evidently crept in there to sleep.

Prosopis cressoni [d. C. Crawford]. An elde]*^twig
taken at Wickcs, Mo., on June 28, gave forth three adults

Ecological and Behavior Notes 37

of this species about the middle of July. Tlie interior
of this twig gave every evidence of being, or at one time
having been, the property of a Ceratina bee, but I could
not discover whether or not P. cressoni was a parasite
on Ceratina, or merely an occupant of her abandoned
dwelling.

Colletes compactus Cress. [J. C. Crawford]. We have
described the courtship and mating habits of this species*
on a bright September afternoon. I was so fortunate as
again to meet this species, on September 17 and October
3, 1917, on a sandbar in the Mississippi River at Wickes.
They were abundant on both of these occasions. Identi-
fication by Mr. J. C. Crawford showed that the first lot
collected contained some males of Colletes willistonii.
Associated with the bees in great numbers was the beetle,
Cicindela rapanda De Jean [E. A. Schwarz]. The court-
ship behavior witnessed on October 3 was just as exciting
as the sun-dance observed a few years ago, despite the
fact that the weather was dark and gloomy. Hence it
seems that the courtship is not influenced by the sun-
light, since a more sunless and dreary day could hardly
be imagined than the last. Furthermore, the sandy area
upon which their activities occurred was thoroughly
moist. Hundreds came from their mysterious hiding-
places to dance over an area about three feet in diameter.
All were in a great state of excitement, weaving in and
out in the air, in the limited space and never higher than
two or three inches from the ground. When one of them
stopped to rest, others were soon on top of it. All ap-
peared from their size to be males, and there was no sign
of mating. Once a drowsy Polistes annularis happened
to alight in their midst; at once several male Colletes
alighted on her back, and one actually attempted to mate.
The Cicindela beetles which were watchers on the out-
skirts of the dance area often slowly crept into the ring

•Journ. Animal Behavior 6:367-370, 1916.

38 Trans. Acad, of St. Louis

and very often appropriatod a hov for a moal, l)iit more
often tlio male bees would aliirht ajjon their iiacks with
antics whicli were verj' su^ij^estive of attempts at mating.
Strange, tliat tliey sliould fall upon every larger intruder
or stranger whicli came among them, and even crowded
about one of their own number, when it stopped to rest.
The excitement ran liigh, but all of the foregoing activity
was as naught when a female CoUetes, heavily laden witli
pollen, alighted in their midst. (When I saw this
creature, I was sure that all the others were males). A
half dozen males alighted on her ])ack at one time, and
after much tumbling and rolling about one male accom-
plished the mating which lasted for fully two minutes,
while the others showered her with attentions. So many
attempted mating after the successful suitor had left that
she was soon so weakened that she could not fly, and even
as she slowly walked out of the crowd her very appear-
ance so excited the others that they made life so miser-
able for her that I interfered. These bees had undoubt-
edly come from a distance to this area, for all summer up
to a short time previously, the sandbar had been com-
pletely under water.

CoUetes inaequalis [J. C. Crawford]. A female of
this species was taken out of her burrow at ClitY Cave
on April 7, 1915. The hole went straight down into the
ground for seven inches; its diameter was about one-
fourth inch, and it had a neat mound of earth around its
entrance. The mother was found alone at tlie bottom of
the burrow.

Megachile generosa Cress. [J. C Crawford]. A
female was seen at Moselle on June 30, 1910, carrying
bits of green leaves under a loose clod of earth in a
recently cultivated field. After she had been watched
for several trips, she was captured and the clod removed.
A neatly formed cup, made of bits of leaves cut with her
madibles, (PI. V, fig. i2) was disclosed. Since the leaf-
cutter bees are known to build in hollow twigs, an occur-

Ecological and Behavior Notes 39

rence of this sort shows that their behavior is not bound
by iron-dad instincts. On Au,i?nst 21, 1916, I found a
number of these bees ^oin^ through a sort of courtsliip
dance on a sandbar in Fox Creek, near Allenton, Mo. All
of the specimens taken were males.

Megachile mendica Cress. [J. C. Crawford]. A nest
of ten cups made of bits of green leaves was dug out of a
rotten log at Creve Coeur Lake. Eight adults emerged
between July 1 and 5, 1916. An adult was taken on a
black-eyed susan flower at Cliff Cave, October 19, 1920.

Megachile sp. In an old stem was found the dainty
two-celled nest of an unknown species of Megachile. The
cells were made of discs cut from the leaves and yellow
petals of wild mimosa. On April 10, 1919, the parasite
Coelioxys near sayi and octerentati [T. D. A. Cockerell]
emerged.

Megachile hrevis Say. [S. A. Rohwer]. In a sumac
stem taken at Cliff Cave on April 21, 1920, a beautiful
nest of this little bee was found. The tunnel was about
two inches deep, and this was completely filled with the
nest made of yellow petals. During the last week of May,
five perfect adults emerged. PI. V fig. 4, shows the nests
or cells made from portions of leaves in hollow stems by
Megachile bees.

Osmia near pumila Cress. [T. D. A. Cockerell]. Sev-
eral bees were found dead in their cocoons which were cut
out of a sumac tw^ig on November 11, 1919.

Ileriades carinatus Cress. [J. C. Crawford]. Three
individuals of this species emerged from sumac twigs on
August 4 and 5, 1916. These twigs had been taken at
Eureka, Mo., on July 12. Two emerged on August 11
and 25 from twigs taken at Meramec Highlands, and a
dead specimen was taken from a hollow twig on July 6,
1918. The tunnel in that case was three-sixteenths inch
in diameter and four inches long, and in the bottom was
a half-pellet of bee-bread. It would be interesting to
know whether or not the nest and provisions were her

40 Trans. Acad, of St. Louis

own haiuliwork.

Ceratina dupla Ray. [S. A. l^iliwcr]. Two of those
bees wore on tlic wild flowors at Cliff Cave on A])ril 21,
19J0. Tlicy carried no pollen.

Bomhus Impaticns Harris. |.J. C. Crawford]. Those
bees are frecjuently met in the fields. In niidsumnior
several of thoni were visitinji: the potato-blossoms, and in
September they were abundant on the ^^ohlenrod. In
July they were on the flowers of the buck-brush, even
early in the morninij: on dark, clon<ly days, and on the
Aster mulii flora in October.

Bomhus americanorum Fab. (Frank.) [S. A. Ivohwer]
A robl)or-fly, Proctacanihus milbcrti Marq. was seen at
rest on a plant inbibing the juices of this bumblebee on
August 14, 1919. These bees have often been seen on the
goldenrod flowers.

Bombus auricomus Robt. [S. A. Kohwer]. On Septem-
ber 1, 1920, two pairs of these bees wore seen in mating
down by the river; one pair was on a leaf, the other on
the wet ground. '^Fhe great difference in the size of the
sexes made the feat rather diflicult for the little male.
After two minutes he flew swiftly away and paid her no
more heed. The day was dark, with occasional showers,
but this did not hinder their activity.

Bomhus pennsylvanicus De Goer (Franklin). [,I. C.
Crawford]. While bumble-bees normally make nests in
the ground, occasionally they leave the beaten ])aths of
habit and build in novel situations. ()ne such novelty
was discovered at Eureka, Mo., on July 12, 191(j. An old
j)aint bueket was hanging, seven feet from the floor, on
a barn wall. Tliis bucket, after llic p.iint liail dried \\\),
had been used by wrens foi" a nesling-i)laco the previous
summer, and this year the bucket I'til of stieks and straws
was occujjied by a thriving swai'ni of bees. The second
odd nest was discovered in a sack filli'd with straw, lying
on the floor of an abandoned clul)-house at W'ickes on
August 31, 1918. Bees heavily laden with pollen flew in

Ecological and Behavior Notes 41

by the doorway and entered their nest through a rent in
the sack. The colony was very strong — at least in the
estimation of the small son who complacently sat down
upon the sack. Bees of this species were seen visiting
the few remaining flower heads of sweet clover on August
24, 1916.

Apis mellifera Jjinii. A white flower spider, Mesumena
vatea Clerck. [C. R. Shoemaker] was inconspicuously at
rest among the flower-heads where it was sucking the
life-blood of a honey-bee. I could not see the spider at
first, but was attracted to the motionless honeybee among
hundreds of active ones, and soon discovered the reason
for the condition.

ANTS

Crematogaster lineolata Say. [W. M. Wheeler]. In
the fall, solitary queens of this species are found in tun-
nels made by the Ceratina bee and Hypocrahro wasp in
sumac and crimson rambler stems. Often the queen
makes for herself a little crypt, and uses bits of pith from
the sides to plug up the opening. A dead queen was
found in such a stem on March 9, 1919 ; it had probably
died of the cold despite the fact that she had made for
herself a cozy little room by building a partition or plug
of tightly packed pith. During the summer the colonies
become quite large. One such colony was taken in the
stem of a crimson rambler rose on August 14, 1917.

Camponotus herculeanus L. subsp. pennsylv aniens
De G. [M. W. Wheeler]. Several females of this species
were flying about the lights in the house in the evening
of June 18, 1918. Some were smaller than others, and were
probably males. One female flew under the lampshade
containing a sixty-watt lamp, came out fluttering the
wings and fell dead. On June 28, 1918, a worker of this
species was taken from the jaws of a cincindcla beetle.

Eciton schmitti Emery. [W. M.. Wheeler]. A long file
of workers of these driver ants was seen at Wickes on

42 Trans. Acad, of St. Louis

September 10, 1918. They were first seen at t\vili<rht, and
they continued their travels after dark. Of this species
Dr. "Wheeler writes: "The northermost point at which
this species has been taken in the west is Doniphan, Mo.
In the eastern states I have not seen the genus Eciton,
which is nearly neotropical and runs to Ar^jfentine, fur-
ther north than North Carolina." This shows that the
species is gradually working its way northward.

PARASITIC AND OTHER IIY^IENOPTERA

Pteronidea quercus Marl. [S. A. Roliwer]. Found
alive and mature inside a hollow sumac stem at Wickes,
April 23, 1920

Tromatohia rufopectus Cr. [R. A. Cushman]. One
egg-sac of the common green orb-weaving garden spider
gave forth during the summer of 1920 fifteen adults of
this parasite. Of the fifteen specimens, thirteen were
females. None of the spider's eggs hatched. The para-
sites each had a separate cocoon, and these were closely
massed together within the spider's sac but surrounding
her eggs, but whether the parasites themselves spun the
material for their cocoons or merely wrapped themselves
snugly in the fluffy spider's silk already at hand, I could
not tell.

Epistenia osmiae Ash. [J. C. Crawford]. This Chalcid
parasite emerged from an elder twig on May, 21, 1918.
The twig had been taken at Mcramec Highlands just the
week before. The tunnel had probably been originally
dug by Ceratina or Ilijpocrahro.

Grotea anguina Cress. [S. A. Rohwer]. This parasite
was in a number of sumac twigs gathered for Ceratina
and Ilijpocrahro specimens, and is probably parasitic
upon one of these two species. The twigs w^ere gathered
at Wickes in October, 1917. The silky white, transparent
cocoons of this parasite measured twenty mm. in length,
and were at the bottom of burrows, about four inches
deep, in the twigs. The adults emerged early in the fol-

Ecological and Behavior Notes 43

lowin*? May. Another cocoon, which was identical witli
the above, was found in a snmac stem talcen at Meramec
Highhands on October 4, 1919. This specimen gave evi-
dence of having been parasitic upon Ceratina calcarata;
pellets of bee-bread, identical with those made by this
bee, were found in the chamber. Hyper-parasites which
could not be identified emerged from the cocoon, and the
only evidence that the original parasite was G. anguina
was the striking similarity of the cocoon. One other
specimen, identified as G. anguina by Mr. R. A. Cushman,
gave conclusive proof that the host is Ceratina calcarata.
A sumac stem containing a nest of C. calcarata was
brought home from Meramec Highlands on July 6, 1918.
The bottom cell contained the cocoon of this parasite,
and above this were eight cells with pellets of bee-bread
and larvae of various sizes. It w^as not until the first day
of May of the following year that the adult of Grotea
anguina emerged, making a period in the immature
stages of at least ten months.

Gasteruption tarsatornis Say. [S. A. Rohwer]. One
specimen was obtained from an elder twig taken at Mera-
mec Highlands on May 20, 1918. The date of emergence
was not ascertained. The other twigs in the same lot
contained liypocrahro stirpicolus; probably this wasp
was its host. These parasites, in an immature condition,
were found in a broken twig on the ground at Cliff Cave
on April 21, 1920. During the last week of May, three
adults emerged.

Ophion hilineatus Say. [S. A. Rohwer]. Several adult
specimens were entrapped at the light on May 19, 1915.

Psilomastox vulpinns Grovenhorst. [R. A. Cushman].
On the vegetation at Wickes, May 28, 1920.

Amblyteles malacus Say. [S. A. Rohwer]. One speci-
men taken in the city on July 25, 1918.

Amblyteles sp. [S. A. Rohwer]. One adult emerged
from a lepidoptcrous pupa clinging to a horse-weed stem.

Ftinobius magnificus Ash. [S. A. Rohwer]. A twig con-

44 Trans. Acad, of St. Louis

taihiiii^ a channel throe and one-half inches deep was taken
at AVesco, An,2:iist 2, 1920. The lower portion contained
four cells. The pins: and partitions were made of chewed
np ves^etation, which indicates an Alcidaema bee as host
The host larvae all died, but the parasite emerged as an
adult May 18, 1921.

Parasicrola sp. [S. A. Kohwer]. A sumac twig taken
at Wickes, ]\Io. on June 30, 1918 gave forth this adult
parasite on the same day. Upon opening the stem, I
found a second and empty cocoon of the same species ; the
pith partitions, some pellets of bee-bread and a dried
larvae indicated that the host of this parasite was Cera-
lina calcarata.

Parisierola cellularis Say. [S. A. Eohwer]. One was
found alive inside a hollow sumac stem at Wickes, April
23, 1920, and during the last week in ]\Iay, a half-dozen
emerged from stems collected on that same day.

Axima zahrishei How. [J. C. Crawford]. The host of
this parasite is unknown to me. Three larvae were
found in a hollow blackberry stem on August 14, and on
May 1, two adults emerged.

AUocota thyridopterygis Riley. [S. A. Rohwer]. These
parasites emerged from cocoons of the bag-wonn, Thy-
ridopteryx ephemeraeformis between September 11 and
23, 1911. These were kept in confinement, fed on molasses
and water, and their length of life noted. Four males
lived three days, twelve females lived three days, and the
remaining fourteen varied in longevity from four to
twenty-four days.

Beetles

CicmdeJa punctuJata Oliv. \Vj. A. Schwarz] was seen
on June 28, feeding upon a large black ant.

Panagacus fasciatus Say. [E. A. Schwarz]. These
beetles were often found walking in the barren road at
Wickes, Mo., during the first half of July, 1917. Their
coloration and behavior were so similar to those of the

Ecological and Behavior Notes . 45

Mutillids as to lead one at a casual glance to mistake the
beetles for wasps.

Pterostichus luciihlandus Say. [E. A. Schwarz] was
abundant in the roads in the lowlands near the river dur-
ing the middle of August. Two of them were feeding upon
a dead moth, Estigmene acraea Dru. [H. G. Dyer].

Brachynus intermedius (?) [E. A. Schwarz]. A
specimen of this ** bombardier beetle" was observed in
Ma}', 1914, when it was a party to a little drama enacted
with a hop-toad. At about eight o'clock one evening the
toad was at the lights getting his dinner. I observed him
snap at an insect and just as quickly spit it out, where-
upon the prey rapidly ran away. I picked it up to
ascertain what this distasteful one might be. It ex-
ploded three times in rapid succession while in my
fingers. This caused a slight burning sensation of the
skin of the parts touched.

Brachynus minutus Harr. [E. A. Schwarz] and
Braychynus cyanipennis. Several of these were taken
under stones by the roadside near Falling Springs, 111.,
April 1, 1916.

Selenophorus pedicidarius Dej. [H. S. Barber]. In
a vacant lot in St. Louis, July 14, 1915, this beetle had
its burrow. The hole was just wide enough that the
occupant's head blocked the entrance neatly. The resi-
dent beetle was kept busy keeping out a little beetle,
Saprinus posthumus Mars. [E. A. Schwarz] which was
making a very persistent effort to get into the hole.
Whenever the large beetle would retire to the bottom of
the hole, the little one would enter. The former had no
trouble in routing it out, since the hole was too narrow
for two, and the owner at the bottom of the hole had
the advantage of being able to push out the intruder.
During the half hour when I watched them, the little one
made about twenty attempts to enter. Then with the
forceps I pulled the larger beetle out and permitted the
little one to enter, then released the larger one and let

4G 'J'ra)is. Acad, of St. Louis

it rocntor. It roinaiiiiMl in only a little while, however,
came out; went in once more and soon came out, an<l then
seemed to ^ive up, as if disai)pointe<l at beinij: nna])le
til rout the smaller one. I du^ out the hole, and found
it six inclies deep, without nest or ])rovisions.

Gcopimis incrassatus Dejean. [H. A. Schwarz]. In a
stretcli of gravelly l)ottom alonic Joachim creek at Hem-
atite, Mo., were a number of small sandy areas. On
three of these places the sand was heajjed up, apprising
us of the burrows beneatli. The sand liad been pusiied
out in i)lu,i]:s, as is usual with beetles. The holes were
about eight inches deep, and sheltered this beetle at the
bottom.

liar pal us calicii}wsus Fab. [E. A. Schwarz]. This
beetle was found on a sunflower head which was almost
completely withered. The beetle had extracte<l a seed
and was diligently cliewing it. It was placed in a vial
with an Epcolus bee; later it was discovered that the
beetle had completely chewed away the abdomen of the
bee. Another individual was found in llie toj) of a small
rag-weed, munching at the seeds. Thus this ground
beetle, essentially carnivorous, sometimes takes the
trouble to climb plants for seeds.

Ilarpalus crraticus Say. [E. A. Schwarz]. The pres-
ence of th<> burrow of this beetle was indicated on the
surface of the ground by several piles of loose earth
which still retained slightly the ])lug-shaped or sausage-
like form in wliieli it had becMi ])ushed out. I followed
this burrow, about one-fourth inch in diameter, to a
depth of about thirty-six inches, and was rewarded by
iH)thing more than to find this beetle sitting complacent-
ly at tlic bottom. This was on Se])tember 1l!, 11)17.

Ilarpalus penvsylvauicus Dej. | H .A. Schwarz]. Hun-
dreds of these beetles were seen about the roads and
stubble fields, and about a dozen pairs in mating on
S(>ptember 17, li)17.

Dineutcs a^similis Aube. [H. S. Barber]. This

Ecolofjical and Behavior Notes 47

records the fact that this large whirligig ])eetle was seen
in company with large numbers of the small variety,
Gyrinus aeneoliis Lee. [E. A. Schwarz]. In the Mera-
mec river near Moselle, Mo., on September 23, 1916, an
oval area about 12 by 36 inches was so closely studded
with Gyrinus that a pencil could not be inserted between
them without disturbing them. This congregation was
in the water by the side of a fallen log, and looked like
an artifically made piece of bead-work, the whole set
off as with studied carelessness with about a dozen of
the large ones, D. assimilis. A disturbance of the water
would cause them to whirligig away, but one by one
they would glide back, and so the group would become
again intact, and all would be quiet again. The next day
they were in the same place and at 6 p. m., when it was
nearly dark, they were likewise there. I suspect that it
is their habit quietly to spend the night in the water,
for I returned early the next morning and found no
change in their position or behavior. The mass re-
mained intact until noon that day, when I had to leave.
This is the only time I have seen the intimate association
of the two species, and I wonder if it is an accidental or
occasional occurrence, or if there is any mutual benefit
to be derived from the association.

Silpha interrupta Fab. [E. A. Schwarz].

Aleochara lata Groh. [E. A. Schwarz]. These two
species w^ere shaken out of the head of a dead robin at
Cliff Cave, Mo., in May 1916.

Creophihts villosns [E. A. Schwarz]. About twenty
of these beetles, together with other species, were dis-
covered under the body of a dead and decaying chicken.
They all buried themselves immediately in the loose
earth under the hen, the moment the body was lifted up.
In digging them up with the trowel I found them always
in pairs, although not in actual copulo; it appeared as
though they might have just separated. A few minutes
after placing them in a glass jar, I found three pairs in

48 Trans. Acad, of St. Luuis

lllatin^^ Tlu-y in tlic maU'd condition would walk ahont,
back to hack sometimes accom|)lishin<!: surprisinjj: feats
of climl)in^^ The others were hiirrowinu: in lln- <,^round
and i)erhai)S matin*!: underground, for in two instances
I saw insects that were above ^^round atti'mptin^ to
mate with others which were fast disappearini^^ under-
ground and had the tijjs of the abdomens barely pro-
truding^. Food was later let down to them on a piece of
twine and the twine tied about the li^l. The beetles
would often climb this twine and sometimes, witli difTi-
culty, accomijlish matinii^ even there, but soon both
would fall.

They were kept for some time in a deep glass jar half
filled with earth, and were fed on cooked and raw
meat. Often they would crawl on top of the provender
but seemed very wary; a slight lifting of the lid would
cause them to scamper under cover. When a tiny pool
of juice had accumulate<l on the side of the dead mouse
which we had served to them, the beetles were seen to
actually drink this up. A small dead garter snake was
at another time inserted. At a bruised spot on the side,
five of these beetles soon gnawed out a hole three-
fourths of an inch in length, and anothei"' j)lace twice as
large in the middle of the snake. Cooked beef was only
sparingly nibbled at, but when no raw food was given
they ate enough of the cooked meat to sustain life. They
lived thus from April 24 to about May 18. Whether
their death then was natural, or due to their artificial
enviroiunent, I know not.

The beetles themselves had no distinctive odor, but
always when ])icked up with the forceps (and 1 suppose
always when defence is needed), a drop of thick brown-
ish-gray lluid was emitte<l from the anus. This had a
sharp and olTensive odor. 1 made experiments su/licient
to prove to my own mind that it was the drop and not
the insect which exhaled the smell; both insect and con-
tainer remained odorless until the animal was teased.

Ecological and Behavior Notes 49

However they could not constantly or continually per-
form this act, and if tlie teasing occurred at short inter-
vals they were incapable of ^ivin^ off this fluid, but in-
stead they w^ould j,^o through abdominal contortions and
squeeze out a drop of clear, odorless liquid. They
seemed to try to aim directly to strike their persecutor
with the substance ; when one attempted to pick up a C.
villosys, it would grasp the forceps with the mandibles
and curve the abdomen around ventrally until it touched
the forceps, and spread the offensive material on that
enemy. If at that moment they w^ere suddenly released,
or if they merely missed their aim, they would spread
it on their own faces. They required several hours of
rest to regenerate this substance in its full strength.
While this feat appeared to be a mode of defence, it is
possible that it w^as only a function to facilitate mating.

Staphylinus maculosus [E. A. Schwarz]. This large
beetle was discovered accidentally while I was digging
out a burrow of a small beetle, Aphodius fimetarius
Linn. [E. A. Schwarz]. I suspected that this Staphilid
feeds on these dung-beetles, and this theory was con-
finued five days later, May 3, when it fed on one in my
presence. It grabbed the victim in its mandibles, at-
tacked the ventral part of the abdomen and ate head-
wards.

Hippodmniu convergens Guer. [E. A. Schwarz].
Many were to be seen on a vacant lot in St. Louis dur-
ing July and by the latter part of the month a number
were seen in copulo on the grass and milk-weeds.

Tritoma plaincollis Lacordaire. [E. A. Schwarz].
Several of these beetles were feeding on a fungus on the
sunny side of a tree and six or eight feet above the
ground at Wickes, Mo., on June 11, 1917.

Antherophagus hecate Panz. [E. A. Schwarz].
Shaken out of the head of a dead bird. May 1916.

Hester abbreviatus Fab. [E. A. Schwarz]. Taken
from cow dung April 15, 1915.

no Trans. Acad, of Sf. T.onis

Saprhius Iunfjcn.9 Krickson. \K. A. Scliwarz].
Sapriuus assimilis Payk. [K. A. Scliwarz.] Shaken
out of hoad of (load rohiii, in coiTi})any with several other
beetles, in May 11)16.

Ch(ilcolcpidiu.<^ viridipilis Say. [K. A. Sehwarz].
Alans oculatus Loin, j l^i. A. Scliwarz]. These two
chick-beetles were taken at St. Louis the first of July,
1015.

Limonius aqonns Say. [E. A. Schwarz]. Found on top
of a plant, nestling among the leaves as though asleep,
on June 6, 1015.

Vhotinus pryalis. [H. S. Barber]. This lightning bug
was being devoured at night by a spider, Li/rosa rahida
Wick. [N. Banks], and all the while she was lighting up
the gruesome spectacle.

Clems lunntKs Spinola. [E. A. Schwarz]. In the after-
noon of July 2"J 11)17, I saw this bootlo walking about on
a leaf of an oak shrub. Its ai)pearanco and movements
were so Mutillid-liko that I at first really thought tliat it
was a female Mutillid which had wandered from its
usual place.

ThaHasimus duhius Fabr. [E. A. Schwarz]. Larva was
found in stem of a sumac; the adult beetle emerged May
21.

Lucamis dama Thunb. This stag-beetle was taken at
Moselle, Mo., the female under rotten bark, on July 1,
and the male on the wing at the lights on July '_'. Tiater,
in confinement, they ate of grape loaves and strawberr}'.
Passalus roDiutus Fab. Thi-co of tlics.'. ko])t in con-
finement and fed on <lisintogratiiiir wiiito oak wood, lived
from March 1 to .liino 4. "^riiroo otluTs taken on April
7 died tlio middle of August.

Canthon rhalcitcs llahl. [E. A. Schwarz]. Thou-
sands of these dung-rollers were seen about Wesco about
August 1, busying themselves in every available variety
of dung, crowding each other for choice bits and trun-
dling their balls down the rocky roads. There were surely

Ecological and Behavior Notes 51

more than three hundred of these and their sister species,
CantJion laevis, in one eager group in the road. These
bearing the purplish tint predominated in number.

Choeridium histeroides Web. [E. A. Schwartz]. Taken
near St. Louis, in human dung, May 10, 1915.

Copris minuta Drury. [H. S. Barber]. This homed
dung-beetle was found in horse manure at Clifton, III,
October 27, 1916.

Copris anagli/pticus Say. [E. A. Schwarz]. This beetle
was taken at St. Louis in cow-dung. May 15, 1915. Later,
at Wickes, on June 6, 1917, I dug up in a garden three
balls and a beetle of this species from a depth of twelve
inches. The balls were at first spherical, with only a
small prominence on one side making them slightly pear-
shaped. Later, by June 11, I found that on one of the
balls the bump had been much enlarged, having been
pushed out from the inside, leaving cracks in the crust
at that point. I refrained from opening the balls, in the
hope that the occupants would in time emerge, but in
that I was disappointed, for they slowly dried up. The
beetle lived an uneventful life in a can of earth with a
little manure until August 18.

Onthopliagns hecate Panzer. [E. A. Schwarz]. This
dung-beetle was found in St. Louis, burrowing under both
human and cow manure.

Ataenius abditus Hald. [E. A. Schwarz]. Taken in
cow dung at St. Louis, April 15, 1915.

Aphodius fimetarius\Arm. [E. A. Schvrarz]. Literally
thousands of these dung-beetles were to be seen burrow-
ing in the sand immediately beneath human excrement at
a camp at Castlewood, near St. Louis, on April 28, 1915.

Aphodius granarius Linn. [E. A. Schwarz]. Taken in
cow manure at St. Louis, April 15, 1915.

Aphodius inquinatus Herbst. [H. S. Barber]. Very
abundant in and under horse manure October 27, 1916.

Bolboceros farctus Fabr. [E. A. Schwarz]. At Mer-
araec Highlands, Mo., in a space sheltered by a half dozen

52 T ran ft. Acad, of St. Louis

pine troos ^rowiiiic closo toi(othor were about a dozen
holos in the earth. 'IMiey were about the size of a lead-
pencil, and eacli had a neat mound of earth around it.
Thinking- perliaps they were bee ])urr()\vs, I attempted to
di.u: them out, hut faiU^d on account of tiie entanj^lcment
of roots. One, liowever, went straiirht <Io\vn\vard for six
inches, and at the terminus was this little yellow and
black Ix'etle. Whether his presence there was rightful or
accidental r«'mains to be determined.

Geotrupcs blachburnii Fab. [K. A. Schwarz]. These
were taken a number of times in tlie vicinity of St. Louis,
both on the wing at the lights at niglit, and in the dung-
piles or in their burrows beneath. These holes were
vertical, and usually had a depth of three or four inches
when found. They were found several times in March
and April, and were again found to be plentiful on
October 27, 1916.

Trox snberosus Fab. [E. A. Schwarz]. At ClilT Cave,
Mo., on May 20, 191G, I opened up a short burrow, only
one inch deep, in the side of a clay bank, and found this
grey beetle within. I do not know whether this was its
temporary or permanent abode.

Cotalpa lavifjcra Linn. [E. A. Schwarz]. AVliile <lig-
ging into a sandy soil at Wickes, Mo., September 11, 1917,
I came upon this insect thirty-six inches below the sur-
face, fully developed but still encased in a liglit cocoon.

Euphoria inda Linn. [E. A. Schwarz]. On a westward
slope at CliiT Cave, in early April, hundreds of these
beetles were seen Hying low over the ground, often sud-
denly dropping into the dry leaves beneath. Presently
we learned that a number were mating in this seclusion.
When disturbe<l or picked up, they feigned death.

Chion cinctus Drury. [E. A. Seliwarz]. This long-
horned beetle was taken in the city near a lumber pile.
It ate of rotten wood which was offered it, but lived only
ten days in confinement.

liomalcum simplicicallc llandl. [J. F. Abbott]. A

Ecological and Behavior Notes 53

specimen of this larp:e lon«^icorn was taken at the lights
on August 11, 1910. It was kept in confinement for some
time, and fed on soft peach and apple, often being found
with its head buried in these fruits. It lived for 20 days.

Elaphidion villosimi Fabr. [H. S. Barber]. While
opening up some sumac stems in quest of wasps on Feb-
ruary 12, 1919, I found an adult beetle in the stem, still
moist and soft, and a fresh shedding-skin near by; this
condition indicated that emergence had just taken place.
The most interesting feature was that a plug was just
above the chamber and about two inches from the aper-
ture at the top of the stalk. This plug was about one-
fourth inch in length, and was made not of the pith of the
sumac, but of the tough, woody threads, tightly curled
and matted together, making a very compact plug.

Liopus alpha Say. [E. A. Schwarz]. Taken alive in
a hollow elder stem, May 15, 1918, and emerged from a
sumac twig on May 31, 1920.

Liopus variegatus Hald. [H. S. Barber]. The pupa of
this beetle was taken from under the bark of a dead tree
at Meramec Highlands on May 11, 1916. On May 17 it
became adult, and lived in the jar, containing dead bark,
for twelve days.

Saperda tridentata Oliv. [H. S. Barber]. Several
larvae and pupae and a few adults of this beetle were
found under the loose bark of rotting logs on May 7
and 11, 1916.

Gastroidea cyanea Melsh. [E. A. Schwarz] x Coccinella
9-notata [E. A. Schwarz]. A ? of C. 9-notata and a <?
G. cyanea were in actual copulo when kept in confine-
ment on April 29, 1914. This same condition had been
noted in the open field a few days previously.

Melasoma scriptum Fab. [E. A. Schwarz] x Melasoma
interruptmn Fab. [E. A. Schwarz]. These two distinct
species of Chrysilomeda were actually seen in copulo on
May 5, 1915 on a willow. Later the female laid eggs in
confinement which hatched.

54 Trnns. Acad, of St. Lonifi

Bahia (/Kadrif/uttata Oliv. ( K. A. Schwarz]. Al)oiit a
dozen of those beetles were seen on a sumac, some in
copulo, on June '22, 1916.

Gastroidea n/afiea }^\i'\>^h. | Iv A. Scliwarz]. A l;iri:<'
numher of plants of sour-dock, I\i(»i(i.r, had, on April 4,
1914, a larirc nuniher of adults of these blue beetles. On
Aj)ril 14, none were to be seen, and careful scrutiny
proved that the adults had entirely disappeared. On
Ai)ril 20, both adults and e<!f^s were present a^ain in
abundance. This was probably a new j^eneration. On
that date, many dead adults were found on the ground,
showin*^ that they were even then on the decline. On
April 29, the adult beetles were very scarce indeed, and
the eggs were fewer, but on the thousand or more dock
plants, all seemed infested — fairly alive — with larvae, in
various stages ranging from very small to half-grown.
Most of them were feeding on the under side of the
leaves, leaving the foilage dotted with transparent spots.
While one does not want to call the larvae gregarious, the
fact is that thev actuallv did live in clusters or masses,
but this was probably due to the simple fact that their
food supply was so close at hand that they had little oc-
casion to wander from tlic i)lace where they hatched from
the clusters of eggs. With very few exceptions, the eggs
as well as the larvae were on the under side of the leaf.
The largest groups of larvae were on the apex of the
plant, where the tender young shoots were being de-
vounnl. I <lid not ascertain whether the larvae had
migrated to the top, or whether the eggs had been de-
posited there.

The following year, 19ir), T was on the ground earlier,
and gathered more data on the life cycle of this beetle.
On March 127, with the weather (piite cool and the sprout-
ing dock just raising its head above the ground, there
were no beetles on the dock in the open tield. In a shelt-
ere<l spot under a large piece of building-})aper which
had been thrown in the lield, a few dock shoots were

Ecological and Behavior Notes 55

about one inch high. On these, about thirty adult beetles
were found feeding, one pair in copulo. They had prob-
ably just emerged from the ground. On April 15, the
popuhition of adult beetles seemed to be at its height,
and egg-laying was prolific. No larvae were on the leaves,
and by digging in the soil under the plants we unearthed
no pupae. Hence at this date we got the eggs produced
by the first generation. On April 25, the adults had
nearly all disappeared, and eggs were rare, but thou-
sands of small and medium-sized larvae were defoliating
the plants. By May 13, no eggs, no larvae and no adults
were to be seen, but an inch or so beneath the surface of
the soil were found hundreds of pupae. A hundred of
these were removed from the earth under one plant.
They were taken into the larboratory, and on May 16 the
yellow pupae transformed into blue beetles. On May 15,
just the day before the insects in the laboratory matured,
the field was examined and only one adult beetle could
be seen. The date of emergence of the population must
have been determined by its controlling factors with
most wonderful precision, for on May 16, at 3 p. m., enor-
mous numbers of fresh adults were at work on the dock.
None were yet copulating or ovipositing, nor were any
females with distended bodies in evidence. They all
looked alike in regard to size, and I could not tell at a
glance if all were males (due to priority of male emerg-
ence), or if the females had not yet had time to become
distended. In the ground beneath, yellow pupae were
scarce.

The field could not be visited for a month. On June
27, we found the blue adults abundant once more. The
many dock plants were almost defoliated. I have ob-
served this field for a number of years, but this was the
first year that the beetles had wrought such destruction.
Plate V, figure 3 shows a dock plant— the upright mid-
ribs—all that was left of a thriving clump. This was a
typical plant from the field, and not at all a selected

5G 'Trans. Acad, of SI. Louis

exception. Witli the dock thus }i;om\ tlio ])eotlo.s had mi-
prateil to tlie nearby i)i,i^-weed, milk-weed and jx'pjxT-
^'rass, l)ut many still cluni^' tenaceoiisly to the mid-ri))s of
their favorite, the dock.

A few hatches of e^<i^s laid in the laboratory liatched in
six days. The pnj)ae transformed in the earth IV2
inches below the surface, in a little smootldy-lined bur-
row without an openiuir.

Trirhabda canadensis Kirliy. [E. A. Scliwarz]. These
beetles were abundant on the resin-weeds at Wickes,
June 16, 1917. TJie fact that ])ortions had been eaten
from the weeds in so many places led us to suspect that
the adults fed on this i)lant.

Diahrotica Vl-punctata x /). vittata. Between Sep-
tember 4 and 14, 1912, seven cases of matins: between the
two species were observed in the pumpkin-l)lossoms. In
every case, the male was the striped beetle, D. rittata,
and the female the spotted variety, I). ]2-punctaf(i. One
j)air was observed in copulo for one-iialf hour continu-
ously; they were then disturbe<l when bein,<x placed in the
bottle, but later in the day they re-united for another
hour and a (juarter.

Ilallica hlmar(]inata Say. [E. A. Scliwarz]. Feeding
on the leaves of a willow sprout Octolx'r .'>, 1917.

Blcpharida rhois Frost. [11. S. Barber]. This beetle
was found dead in a sumac stem in January. From the
position it was evident that it had cre])t into tlie jiole for
shelter and died.

Sijnchroa punctata Newm. \\\. S. Barber]. These
pui)ae were taken from under the bark of a rotten \o<r on
May 11. 'i'he adults emerged the next day.

Nacerdcs inclanura Linn. [E. A. Scliwarz]. Many
were seen in St. Louis in the first week of June, 1915.

Ncmojinatha lutca. [E. A. Scliwarz]. These wen^
a])undant in July on the blossoms of the sunflower, and
seklom (lew from plant to ])lant. They could easily be
picked up from the flower; they practiced no <lropping

Ecological and Behavior Notes 57

reaction, but feif^ned death, stretching out the legs stiff
and exuding from the joints of the legs a yellowisli liquid.
They often spent the night in the heart of the flower.

Orthoptera

Ischnoptera deropeltifonnis Brunn. [A. N. Caudell].
On May 10, these were taken during the day from
under the bark of a fallen tree. On June 26, at 4 a. m.,
one was found on a leaf of a roadside plant four feet
above the ground.

Ischnoptera pennsylvanica De G. [A. N. Caudell]. Ob-
served frequently at Wickes in June 1917.

Ischnoptera uhleriana Sauss. [A. N. Caudell]. IMore
than a dozen of these brown roaches, all males, were seen
on top of leaves of oak bushes by the roadside at 8 p. m.
on June 10.

Periplaneta americana Linn. [A. N. Caudell]. This
southern roach is now thoroughly established in a north
St. Louis planing-mill, having probably been introduced
with lumber shipped from Florida.

Parcohlatta pennsylvanica De G. [A. N. Caudell]. Dur-
ing the first part of June 1919, at Manchester, Mo., the
males of this species were abundant at early twilight,
flying about the outside of an old log house, evidently in
searcli of females. Ten or twenty of these could be seen
almost any evening, but only once during the season did
I note a female. She was occupied with the most amorous
attention to the nearest male. She dashed about him
with commotion sufficient to attract the attention of the
most naive. Again and again he would turn indifferently
aside as she thrust herself squarely in front of him with
her demonstrations, but each time, undaunted, she
wheeled about and planted herself directly before him
with her "tail" toward him, lifted the posterior part of
the body and her wings high in the air by stretching and
spreading the legs, and nervously vibrated the wings, as
though inviting him to approach. Since he did not re-

^8 Trans. Acad, of SI. Louis

spond, she a})an(lon("(l allurement, and in the same man-
ner blocked his path and precii)itously hacked up under
him until the union could ])e formed. After a moment he
escaped and ran away, rather indifTerently, hut was re-
eaptuHMl hy precisely the same metliod.

Mclauopliis fcmur-ruhruiti. A number of times recent-
ly T have seen the English sparrow pursuiniif or eating
insects, frequently this ^grasshopper or butterflies. May
it be that the disajjpearance of many horses on the streets
is seriously reducin<2: their food supply, and that thus the
automobiles may be a factor in chaniifing the diet of the
English sparrow from vegetable matter to insects?

Schistocerca damnifica Sauss. c? [A. N. Caudell]. This
full-grown hopper was found jumping about among the
d<'ad leaves at the surprising date of April 7, 1915.
Whetlier he had hiberiuitwl or migrated remained a
mystery. His coat was all clean and unscarred.

Gryllus pcnnsylvanicus^wrm. [A. N. Caudell]. Crick-
ets in confinement prove themselves ])ractically omniv-
orous. They eat almost any vegetable material offered
them — crackers, clover leaves, potatoes, etc., and in case
of extremity, they readily devour the dead bodies of their
companions.

Ceuthophilus uhlcri (?) Scud. ?. [A. N. Caudell]. A
large quantity of soil had been thrown out of a hole in
the side of a little knoll in the road. This earth was in
the form of large chips, and their size and form showed
that they had been bitten out by some large-jawed insect.
The hole was three-fourths inch in diameter, and went in
horizontally, quite irregularly, for a distance of If) inclics.
It terminated in a pocket 1>4 inches long and 1 inch in
diameter, which was 5 inches beneath the surface. The
I)ocket was (■m])ty. Midway in the gallery, the above
cricket met me. It seems hardly jjossiblc that a creature
no larger than a grasshopper could have made so large
an excavation. The above burrow was found on July 17.
On dune 1(5, the following year while excavating a wasp

Ecological and Behavior Notes 59

burrow, I accidentally uncovered another containin^^ this
cricket. This burrow was very different from the above
in all but diameter; it sloped downward into the earth
only two inches to the pocket, which was two inches long.
Gn/Uus domesticus Linn, [A. N. Caudell]. Two speci-
mens, evidently the entire population, captured in a
house; one was adult and the other one third grown,
although the date was December 1.

Camptonotus carolinensis Gest. [A. N. Caudell]. At
twilight I plucked from a shrub a leaf which was curled
up and spun together. Snug within was this female
cricket. I offer no explanation of its presence.

Ilapithus agitator Uliler. [A. N. Caudell]. This cricket
was being devoured by a young spider, Phidippus tri-
punctatus [J. H. Emerton].

Paratettix cucullatus Burm. [A. N. Caudell]. This
liopper was abundant on the sandy shore at Wickes, Sep-
tember 6, 1919 ; many in copulo.

Ceresa hubalus Fabr. [E. H. Gibson]. This tree-hop-
per was evidently a satisfying morsel for an unidentified
spider.

Ormenes venusta Melch. [E. H. Gibson]. Being de-
voured by a spider, Phidippus audax Htz. [J. H. Emer-
ton].

Publicia fulginosa Oliv. [E. H. Gibson]. In early Sep-
tember this tree-hopper was abundant on the stems of
horse-weed and rag-weed. One was being devoured by a
wheel-bug, Arilus cristatus Linn.

Acanalonica conica Say. [W. L. McAtee]. This pro-
tectively colored tree-hopper was being carried off by a
spider. It is of interest because the spider found this
protectively colored creature, and furtheiTnore, because
it carried its prey to a distance before devouring it. The
spider escaped unidentified, but was one of the jumping
kind, small and dark, such as are usually found on the
ground in low places.

CO Trans. Acad, of St. Loui.<i

Bugs

Tihicina soptendecim [W. 1.. McAU'o]. Tliis cic-ada
can inala- an astonishing amount of oommotion wlion it is
beinu: carried oil' alive by a liird. Hvon so larsro a ])ird
as a rol)in lias to pauso fnMjuontly and ponnd it on tlie
ground witli its l)oak to lirin^j: it to snlnnission, the
cicada screechin^^ frantically all the while. In early sum-
mer, the latter jiart of May, when the adults are newly
emer2:ed and the chitin still soft, they often fall prey to
birds. \\\ the middle of June, the population is usually
at its heii^ht, l)ut hundreds of <lead ones are to be seen
by the roadside and at the c(\^q of the woods; many of
these bodies give evidence of a death by violence.

Phymata erosalAww. [E. II. Gibson]. This "ambush-
bug" was snugly hidden in the flowers of the goldenrod
while it devoured a fly, Ennyommopsus nigrifrons T. [C.
H. T. Townsendj. Had not the black fly been so con-
spicuous in the yellow flower, I should never have noticed
the episode. Another such bug was caught devouring a
honey-bee in a sweet-clover blossom.

Alydus e\irinus Say. [W. L. McAtee]. This bug was
mistaken for a wasp, Pompilus sp., and even picked up
for such as it ran about on a barren area, June 22, 1916.
Not only did its color in the sunshine strongly resemble
that of the wasp, but its manner of walking and of ojien-
ing and closing its wings were strangely deceiving. One
cannot understand this in looking at a dead, pinned
specimen.

Lyyus pralcn^is [W. L. McAli-e]. On February 10,
191ii a twig was brought indoors, with this adult bug in
the tunnel. It was very lively, despite th(^ time of year,
and flew about the lamp for an hour belure it was cap-
tured.

Trichopcpla scniivittata Say. [W. \^. McAtee]. A j)air
taken in copulo at St. Ijouis, July 26, 1915.

Gerris remigis Say. [ W. L. McAtee]. A few years ago

Ecological and Behavior Notes 61

in April I took a water-stridor of this species preying
upon a green caterpillar. The caterpillar had evidently
fallen into the water from a tree above; the strider had
its beak inserted into its victim for more than a half hour
before I took it.

Basahus higuttatus Say. [E. H. Gibson]. Taken among
twigs and leaves at Wickes, June 12, 1917.

Podisus sp. [0. Heideman]. On June 25, 1915, at Cliff
Cave, Mo., a n>TQph of this Hemipteron was found prey-
ing upon an adult, Beduvius personatus Linn. [0. Heide-
man]. It had its proboscis inserted in the ventral side of
the victim's abdomen, and held it free in the air. Even
when picked up it did not release its grip, but continued
for half an hour to drain the life-blood of its prey. It
lived in confinement for thirty hours after this feat.

Melanolestes picipes (?) [H. S. Barber]. Our notes
from various times and places contain half a dozen
records of having taken this ** kissing bug" in various
houses, by the evening lamp. One made known its pres-
ence on the back of my neck by inflicting a momentary
pain which was so sharp that, in a most unscientific man-
ner, I slapped it without even trying to observe its ways.

Anasa tristis De G. On Aug. 12, 1912, 1 made notes on
the clusters of eggs laid by this insect. The great major-
ity of them had been deposited on the under or shaded
side of the leaf. Out of 58 lots observed, 49 were on the
under side of the leaves, 2 were on the top of the leaf,
2 were on the stem and 5 were on the board fence nearby.
Although most of the groups contain, as Howard says,
from 20 to 40 eggs, we found many batches comprising
fewer. On September 30, a large number of adults were
found under the loose bark of a dead tree where they
were probably preparing for liibernation.

Podisus {Apeteticus) maculiventris Say. [0. Heide-
man]. At 5:30 one August afternoon this Hemipteron
was observed holding by its legs to the fluffy flower of
the white snake-root, while it held far out in the air, on

62 Tratis. Acad, of St. Louis

its dainty pro])oscis, a small caterpillar from which it was
Slicking the juices.

S'nira diadcma Fabr. [E. II. Gibson]. Feeding on
small beetle, June 1>2, 1916.

Apiomerus crnssipes Fabr. [E. H. nii)soii]. Walked
sidewise when uncovered under loose board, June '2'2,
1!)16.

AIi/dns rurirnis Say. var, A. nfcr Dall. [O, Ileideman].
In flip:ht and in manner of walking they closely resemble
wasi)s, October 27, 1916.

DiPTERA

Morellia micans Macq. [J. M. Aldrioh]. Three of these
Dij)teT-a were found huddled together under the bark of
a dead tree, on November 26, 1916. They appeared dead
or frozen, but soon revived in the warmth of my pocket,
and became quite active.

Trichiopodo radiat a hoew. [C. H. T. Townsend]. Pair
in copulo at Wickes, ^lo., on sumac, June 28, 1918.

Pyrgota loidata Weid. [F. Knab]. Taken at lights 10
p. 111. May 26, 1917.

Trphritis acqualis Loew. [F. Knab]. Some wasj), as
yet undiscovered, had used this species of Hy exclusively
in provisioning her nest in tlic hollow of a sumac stem.
The two lower cells, less than an inch in Icngtii, con-
tained each six flies, while the tojmiost cell was evidently
just being filled by the wasp-mother, and containcnl only
one fly. No wasp c^^::: was found.

Toxophora pellucida Coq. [C. T. Creene]. Tliis Dip-
teron emerged from a bramble where it had evidently
been parasitic on wasps, since between the mud \k\v-
titions were dead and shrunk(>n Lepido])terous larvae,
the provisions stored liy the Kumenid wasps for their
young.

Tipula sp. [J. M. Aldrich], Crane fly devoured by an
p]nglish sparrow, May 15, 1915.

Proctacanthus milherti Macq. [Y. Knab.] On several

Ecological and Behavior Notes 63

occasions we have noticed the carnivorous habits of this
robber-fly. Once it was seen devouring a grasshopper,
Melanoplus sp. [A. N. Caudcll] nymph; again one was
flying from plant to phuit as we pursued it, carrying
lightly a large sulphur butterfly, Colias philodice, upon
which it was dining — a pretty sight. Another had sub-
dued and was devouring so formidable an adversar}^ as
Bomhiis sp. [S. A. Rohwer].

Archytas aterrima R. D. [F. Knab]. In a curled up
leaf, which was spun together with silk threads, were a
Lepidopterous pupa and the puparium which gave forth
this Dipteron, side by side.

Archytas analis Fabr. [C. T. Greene]. Thousands were
seen feeding on the flowers of Melilotus alba at Silica,
July 2, 1920.

Chrysophila velutina Loew. Four of these were found
dead in a tiny streamlet at Wickes, July 12, 1917. Two
of these were parasitized by a tiny red mite.

Helicohia halicis T. [C. H. T. Townsend]. An ant,
Formica pallidifulva Latr. [W. M. Wheeler] female was
seen going off at a galloping pace carrying this fly. The
fly was fresh and limp, but I do not know whether it was
newly killed or had been found dead.

Syrphus americanus Wied. [C. T. Greene]. This fly
had fallen prey to a spider, Morptnsa sp. [Emerton].

Erax rufibarbis Macq. [C. T. Greene]. Numerous on
the white sand flats at Silica, Mo., July 2, 1920.

Calabata antennipes Say. [C. T. Greene]. Two speci-
mens seen on cottonwood tree where the bark was de-
cayed, July 21, 1920.

Conops brachyrhynchus Mocq. [C. T. Greene]. This
dipteron resembling a wasp was abundant at Silica, July
2, 1920.

Slichopogon trifasciatus Say. [C. T. Greene]. These,
in intimate company with Microbembix monodonta and
Philanthus politus Say, behaved and appeared in flight

64 2 rcnis. Acad, uf S(. Luuis

so like .V. monodonta as to docoive cvoii an cxporienccvl
eye.

Spilowjfid quadnfasciatd Say. [C. T. Groono]. This
wasp-likt' fly was taken wliile at rest in the crcvico of a
tree at AVickos, Octohor l.*5, 1!)lM). It h)()ks so iinicli like
Odipurus foramiuatus that one would at onco sup^p^est
protoctivo luimicry, exceptiiiic for the fact that in all
prohahility the two species do not appear at the same
time in the season.

Chironomus tcntans F. [J. ^f. Aldrich]. At twilight at
Creve Coeiir I^ake, many hundreds of these flies were
seen flyin<^ from the lake toward the shore. Earlier in
the afternoon a beetle, Ciciudcla rrpanda [II. S. Barber],
was found preying upon this fly.

Chironomus sp. [C. T. Greene]. Over a little stream
in Tower Grove Park, three groups of these mosquito-
like flies were seen dancing at dusk, on March 'JO, 1921.
One swann was near a foot-bridge, two feet above the
water, and the other two groups were about eight feet
above the ground. Each group comprised a hundred or
more insects. They hovered or poised in the air without
changing their positions, witii their heads all pointing
southward for many minutes at a time; then for a time
they would change to another form of maneuvering, danc-
ing in and out, up and down, facing in various directions.
In a short time, however, they always resumed the for-
mer behavior. Out of the grouj) a mated couple would
occasionally dash away and escape, but darkness was
falling so fast that I failed to ascertain from which type
of dance the mating occurred.

The gnats and midges of this family bear great gen-
eral resemblence to the Culicidae. Sharp says,* "They
occur in enormous numbers, and frecpiently form dancing
swarms in the neighborhood of the waters they live in."

Tahauus lincula Fabr. [ F. Knab]. Found dead in the

•Insects, IM. II. p. 4C8.

Ecological and Behavior Notes 65

laboratory window at Wickes, June 12, 1917.

llylemyia cilicrura Rdi. [J. M. Aldrich]. Tliis was
taken from a milkweed blossom where it was being de-
voured by a flower spider, Misumena.

Cachliomyia macellaria Fab. [C. 11. T. Townsend].
Being devoured by a young spider, Phidippus sp. [J. H.
Emerton].

Phormia regina Meigen [C. H. T. Townsend]. Many
of these flies were in the head of a dead robin, perhaps
ovipositing. May 20, 1916.

Psoropliora ciliata Fab. [J. M. Aldrich]. This fly's
method of alighting on one's flesh is very similar to that
of the mosquito, but its bite on August 30, seemed more
painful.

Actina viridis Say. [J. M. Aldrich]. Two living speci-
mens were taken in April, and in September a number of
their puparia were found in manure.

Empis sp. [F. Knab].* At 4 p. m. on a September day,
about a hundred of these were doing a sun dance for sev-
eral hours in a small sunny spot in a shady road. They
hovered constantly in one spot, about three feet from the
ground. No others were to be seen that day, but at 10
0 'clock the next morning a similar group was performing
in the same manner further down the road, this time in a
shady spot.

Copecrypta riificaiidaWnlp. [C.H.T.Townsend]. This
fly was abundant on Fox Creek, at Allenton, August
21.

Ogcodes eugonatus Loew. [F. Knab]. This fly had
been used for provisions by an unknown wasp. One
compartment in the elder stem contained four flies, and
the cell on the other side of the sawdust partition con-
tained only one and was evidently unfinished.

•Later Identified by J. M. Aldrich as EmpIs clausa, Loew.

66 Trans. Acad, of Sf. Louis

Tf.H MITES

Txit'iculUrrmrs virqinicus Bks. [T. E. Snydor]. On
April 25, 1915, my attention fell upon a number of win.i^cd
Tennites on the winii:. Tliev were easilv tracMnl to a tinv
hole in the wall of a house, from whicli they were issuing,
flincrlo file, and flew away. Sentinels or soldiers were
standiniT cruard just outside and also inside the hole as
the line filed out. This exo<lus continued in a practically
unbroken stream for a half hour. The place was watched
occasinoally for the next two days, but no further emer-
gence was seen. The swarm of sparrows which soon
assembled was enough to attract the attention of the
neitrhbors, and they continued their merry feast and noisy
chatter as long as the insects come out in the air. A sim-
ilar exodus was observed from other houses, on May 7,
1920 and May 2"1, 1920. Some of them which were cap-
tured lived less than fifteen hours in vials.

Lepidoptera

Tortricidia pallida 11. S. [11. G. Dyar]. Being de-
voured by spider, Pardosa nigropalpis 9. [J.R.Flmertoii].

Picris protodice was preyed upon by the dcvil's-horse,
;^ tafjv} 0771 ant is caro I iv a.

Plagodis alcoolaria Gucn. [II. G. Dyar]. This moth
was found helplessly impaled and dead on a last year's
cockel-bur on Aj)ril 24.

n rmerocampa leucostipma S. «Jv: A. [H. (I. Dyar]. This
moth was found depositing its eggs in a cleft in a maple
tree trunk, October 10, 1917.

'J'Jifcla sp. [A. BuKck]. Ihmdreds of these butterflies
were clustered in little independent groups frisking about
in the sun on a country road, frequently resting witli ver-
tical wings on the grey earth. I could see no occasion for
courtship, and suspected that the gregariousness was
only for play. This was on September 8.

Arctia sp. A sparrow, on May 11, was eating a butter-

Ecological and Behavior Notes 67

fly, and left us only a win^ for identification.

Papilio phylenor Linn. [Ernst Schwarz]. Actually
feeding on human excrement by the roadside, September
9, 1916.

Thyridopteryx ephemaeformis. During the past few
years, bag-wonn cocoons have been taken from the fol-
lowing vegetation : maple, wild sunflower, white snake-
root {Erigeron canadensis), horse-weed, elm tree, rag-
weed, sour-dock, pokeberry, iron-weed, elderberry, pep-
per-grass, cultivated rose-bush, wisteria vine, rose of
Sharon, tamarack, hop vine, iris, sycamore, willow, peach
and sweet clover. While they are for the most part found
on trees, yet the list shows that they feel at home on
almost any plant. In a region where the bag- worms were
plentiful, only three were found on a group of eight cedar
trees. It is easy to suspect that cedar is distasteful to
them. Notes were kept on the longevity of 20 males
which emerged in confinement : 18 lived 24 hours ; 1 lived
14 and 1 only 12 hours. On October 14, a jumping spider
was found devouring the c? bagworm while he was ferti-
lizing the ? within the bag.

One occasionally finds these bags nicely decorated with
seeds (as in PL VII fig. 11) instead of the usual bits
of twig and leaves.

Pyrgus tesselata Scud. [H. C. Dyar]w A day on the
highroad showed this butterfly in only one spot; about
a dozen were fluttering around some fresh horse-dung,
evidently refreshing themselves upon it. This was on
October 19, 1920.

Myriapods

Scutigera forceps. [J. M. Aldrich]. Frequent obser-
vations have led me to conclude that this house centipede
is carnivorous and feeds chiefly at night. One night in
July one was seen clinging to the screen door devouring
a small moth. Another was surprised on the stone wall
of the cellar where it was eating a young spider, Zclotes

G8 Trans. Acad, of SI. Louis

sp. [N. Raiik.s]. Oil tlio iiiiiflit of Soptombor 9, a moth,
Acronijcta sp. [Hcinricli] was also taken from a ceiiti-
pedo's mouth. A«!^ain, on May 'JG, one was enjoying a
motli, Diacrisia virpinica Fal). | II. (!. Dyar] whicli it had
cai)tuiV(I in tlio darkness. An incision liad Ix'cn made in
the victim's l)ody wall, at the side, and the soft alidDiniiial
contents devoured. They arc oven canibalistie. 1 once
plac^Ml two of them in a jar; the next morning, there was
only one, the larc^er, and a few scraj)s of lej^s and skin of
the other.

PoUfdcsynus serraUu^ Say | K. V. Chamlierlin]. Under
the ])ark of a rotten lo^ May L'O, 1 5)1(1 we found the neat
mud nest and ei^^s of this species, with the mother's body
coiled carefully around them,

Parajulus venustrus Wood. fR. V. Cham])erlin]. This
milliped was found feedinji: on the flower cluster of some
white-Howered composite by the roadside, Octol>er 7,
1916.

Spiders

Thcridium tcpidarioruyn Koch. [N. Banks]. A larc^e
spider, Phidippiis audax Iltz. [N. Banks] became en-
tan.u^led in the web of tlie little spider above. Tlie small
spider quickly threw a web about the laru:er one and
easily made him his victim — a veritable ^ame of David
and Golioth.

Misumcna {Uuncinia) ojcator'm ?. [J. 11. Emerton].
Feeding on .i^rasshoj)per, (PI. VI fi*^. 7, p=prey) Septem-
ber 10, 1918.

Huncmia alcatoria TItz. [C. R. Shoemaker]. A little
II\nnen()pteron seemed to be asleej) on tlie (lowers of a
^oldenro<l. WIkmi 1 ])ioked it up. 1 was sur])rise(l to find
that it was iield fast by this yellow sjiider, whose color
adorded him such ^ood ])rotection in his huntin.2:-,u:round,
the Hower, that even my practic<'d eye <1i(] not notice him.

Misumoia aspcraia. [J. 11. Emertoji]. One often finds,
in the lields or by the railroad-track, sumac twigs, with

Ecological and Behavior Notes 69

the tops cut away by the mower, the pith removed and
the tunnels plastered with mud. In one large collection
which I made of these sealed twigs, about a dozen were
found upon closer examination to have the tunnel closed
not Avith mud, but ^Wth this little gray spider, motion-
lessly keeping guard at the top of the tunnel. There is
doubtless purpose in this; he probably gets many a meal
through this disguise. Even though the bushes are leaf-
less, the Ceratina bees come to nest in the cut stalks, and
a certain Chrysomelid beetle is frequently found among
them. This spider was seen at Wickes, June 18, 1920,
devouring a fly, Ptilodexia sp. [J. M. Aldrich].

Dolomedes idoneus. [J. H. Emerton]. Two of these
females were observed for a time in confinement. The
first, after having spent a week in the glass jar with
earth-covered bottom, made a packet of eggs and carried
it beneath her body. During my absence of three days
her €gg-case disappeared ; I fear that some beetles or a
cricket, which I had placed there for food, had dispatched
it. The most interesting point is that this one seemed
never to eat during the time she carried her egg-case,
although all the while choice viands were before her, and
she became thinner and thinner until her death on July
14, while her contemporary without an egg-case, in the
cage beside her, ate freely and looked well. The other,
after a few days, was found manipulating a bunch of wet,
yellow, fresh eggs. They were in three heaps, but she
seemed to try to get them together while she stood high
on tiptoe and spun a web around them, but in the artifical
surroundings the work was too imperfectly done for the
details to be normal. She, too, died before the eggs
hatched. These two, while imprisoned, refused to eat
honey-bees, Lucanus dania, Carolina locust, cuckoo bee,
ensign fly, larvae of potato beetle, Bercaea haeynorrhoi-
dales Fab., and another bug, Acrostrernimi hilaris Say.
[E. H. Gibson], but gladly accepted daddy-long-legs,
spiders, black crickets, meal-bug adults, flies, a half-

70 Trans, Acad, of St. Louis

^rowTi katy-did, and a lar^e brown twij^-niimicking cater-
pillar.

Lycosa rah'ida Walck. In following a suspicious-look-
ing hole I soon uncovortHl a chamber, two inches Ix'low
the surface of the i^round ; this contained this larp^e spider
with a small wasp larva attached to it which shows that
this spider is the j)rey of a diirirfr wasp.

Li/cosa kochi Kyserlinii: f.I. 11. Emerton]. This
spider was found in a rui)l)ish })ile on May 15, carryinpf
her ej]:^-casc. This she lost while beinj^c transferred to
the vial, but she soon re,i^aine<l it and adjusted it as before,
and carried it constantly. A week later I suddenly found
that her body was completely covered witli myriads of
little ones. After three days, they disbanded. The
mother was then verv verv weak and thin and walked
slowly, and died after two more days.
' Phidippus tnpunctata [J. li. Emerton]. These spiders'
nests were abun<lant about the sheds June 13 to 19, 1920.
One unique nest had two openings; when disturbed, the
spider would use either extremity which at the time
seemed the safer.

Ecological and Behavior Notes 71

Plate V

Fig. 1. Nest of the potter wasp, Eumenes fraternus. (Photo by Dr. C.

H. Turner.)
Fig. 2. Bits of vegetation from which Mcgachile gcnerosa makes her

cup-shaped cells.
Fig. 3. A sample of the work of defoliation on sour-dock, done by

Gastroidca cyant'a.
Fig. 4. Nests of Megachile bees in hollow twigs.

Plate VI

Fig. 5. Opening to the burrow of Notiochares philadelphictis.

Fig. 6. Cells from which Aufjochlorn similis emerged.

Fig. 7. Misumena olcatoria feeding upon (p) grasshopper.

Fig. 8. Bembix spinoJac digging her burrow.

Plate VII

Fig. 9. The cells of the burrowing bee, Anthophora abrupta.

Fig. 10. Wood burrow of carpenter bee, Xylocopa virginUa, reused by

wasp, Monobia quadridcns, which made the mud partitions.
Fig. 11. An unusual decoration of seeds on bag of Thyridopteryx

ephemaeformis.

Plate VIII
Fig. 12. Burrow of Cerceris fumipennis.

4 ,

I'lAu: V

■y

5

. o

^

r.* ^ ^ '

^^v

f .-

f

11

Pi, ATI- VII

12

Pi.ATi: VIII

Transactions of the Academy of Science of St. Louis

Volume XXIV No. 8

EXTRACTS FROM THE DIARY OF OTTO WIDMANN

NESTING HABITS OF THE PURPLE MARTIN

HOW YOUNG BIRDS ARE FED

WHERE THE MARTINS ROOST

THE CROWS' WINTER ROOST AT ST. LOUIS

OUR BIRDS IN WINTER

CHAETURA PELAGICA (Linn.) CHIMNEY

SWIFT
BIRDS OF THE OZARKS
REMINISCENCES OF A VISIT TO BRANSON

AND WHITE RIVER, SPRING OF 1906

OTTO WIDMANN

Issued December^ 1922

1

. 1-

EXTRACTS FROM THE DI2VRY OF
OTTO WIDMANN

NESTING HABITS OF THE PURPLE MARTIN

Old Orchard, Mo., January 24, 1890.

There is certainly more to be said about birds than
merely to describe the nests and eggs, and it is a real
fact that the habits of our birds, even the commonest,
are not too well known. For instance, do we not find in
some of our best works that the Martin raises two broods
in a season, or "that it is said to raise even two or three
broods in the southern states"? With a better knowl-
edge of the habits of the bird such statements would not
be possible, considering that the Martin does not com-
mence nesting in Louisiana before April, although the
first arrives in February. The time required for a suc-
cessful rearing of a brood of Martins does not vary much
from ten weeks, of which about two weeks are occupied
by nidification and oviposition ; two weeks are necessary
for incubation; four weeks are passed in feeding the
nestlings, and the remainder is spent in feeding, leading
and teaching the fledglings. Here in this vicinity the
Martins begin to arrive in the latter part of March, but
of a record of eleven years the earliest date on which
young Martins have left the Martinbox is June 25.

The following list gives the earliest and latest dates of
young Martins leaving the box, i. e., able to fly :

1878 July 16-July 22 1883 July 14-July 31

1879 Julv 6-July 12 1884 July 1-July 25

1880 June 25-July 21 1885 July 3-Aug. 4

1881 June 25-July 13 1886 July 1-Aug. 8

1882 July 24- Aug. 7 1887 July 3- July 27

1888 Juno 30- Julv 27
Whole number of eggs laid during the season of 1888
was 220. Pairs building, 43; pairs lapng one set, 33;

2 Trans. Acad. Sci. of >S(. Louis

two sets, G; no eggs, 4; sets laid, 45; sets batclied, 33;
eggs liatHied, lL'8; young brought up to be able to leave
tbe box, 110. I-'ifty Ijoxcs had been crec^tod. Seven were
not occupied.

Tbe verv earlv and rcallv untiniclv return of tiie old
Martin in spring can only be cxph'iined by a strong desire
to take possession of a suital)le nesting site before others
arrive. He knows that without a desirable home his
chances for getting a spouse are slim. He knows tiuit on
her frail heart his glossy coat makes no imi)ression, if it
is not backed by a comfortable home. His melodious and
rapturous carols will attract her, but before she makes
up her mind to stay siie satisfies herself that the house
which he offers suits her ideas of a home and nursery.

That the same individuals return to the same i)lace has
seldom been doubled, but a good ))r()of of it may not be
out of place. A few years ago, when Progne ajtpeared
on the scene a little earlier than I expected and before I
had put up the boxes which were taken down every win-
ter, I had the satisfaction of seeing an old Martin hover-
ing in the air at exactly the same spot and at the very
same height above the ground where a box used to stand.
This shows that a bird's memory is niucK ]>etter than it
is generally known.

In ])Ossession of a box of his choice the old Martin
sticks to it and awaits the arrival of the females. Some-
times he has to wait for weeks, but whenever tbe weather
is pro])itious his eyes scan the lirmament, and as soon as
he discovers the coveted object his voice is raised in
ecstacy. A female thus attracted soon alights and the
whole colony is in the greatest excitement, every male
doing his best to ijivite the sweet newcomer into his
bouse. After a little rest and meditation she settles
daintily at the side of one of the noisy wooers, whose
entreaties become now still more boisterous. He per-
suades her into liis house, but she only looks attentively

Extracts from Diarij of ()t(u Widmann 3

into it at first. She may or she may not enter it. She
reflects, is undecided, and goes off into the air, accom-
panied by an excited outcry from th<» whole colony.
Immediately all males are at her side, and drawing beau-
tiful circles around her bewitchin.u; form liesoech her in
the most passionate terms. Soon she returns, goes from
one box to the other, comes back again and sits on neu-
tral ground to reconsider the situation. The whole
manoenver may not take more than half an hour and the
choice is made. The rejected suitors content themselves
immediately and fights are rare among old people who
respect each other's domain, but after the arrival of
birds of the second year, when both females and vacant
bird boxes become scarcer, quarrels are more numerous.
Occupation of a box and mating do not mean nest-build-
ing yet. A pair may have possession of a box for weeks
before it begins to build, which is generally not before
the middle of April and which is even then sometimes
interrupted by cold spells, when food is scarce for sev-
eral days. On fine, warm spring days nest-building is
done with great zeal all day, not only in the morning, as
before. The female is the one that does most of the
work, but the male accompanies her on the collecting
trips, and his presence is really of value as he stands
guard while she alights on the ground to pick up twigs,
weed-stalks, straws, pieces of string or rags.

These rough materials are laid down, not very artis-
tically, but with a good deal of method to make the struc-
ture fit for its use. The rough material is kept in place
by bits of half-dried cow manure and the wall facing the
door is plastered with mud. In rainy seasons more mud
is used and some boxes facing west have been found to
contain regular walls of mud between the entrance and
the nest, the mud-wall itself weighing as mucli as eight
ounces.

When the construction of the nest is nearing comple-

4 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

Hon tlie lia])])}- ruuple visits tlie apjjk' tree tu line the
nest witii green leaves. The nest is now ready for the
reception of eggs and oviposition begins. In strong con-
trast to the doings of the European House Sparrow,
which continually offends the eyesight by his endless
attempts, the copulations of the Martin are performed
at such an early hour of the morning that they are seldom
seen by human eyes. At this period, when in the dawn
of the morning he greets the approaching day with sweet
music from the door of his home, the voice of the male
]\Iartin has a i)eculiar softness, and his utterances on
these occasions are entirely dilTerent from what lie says
at other times.

Before nest-building has made much progress the .Mar-
tins do not watch their boxes all day, and especially in
cool, dry weather the procuring of food necessitates their
absence from home for hours at a time, and often when
tliev return in the evening thev find their homes invatled
by the European House Sparrow. In such cases, ])ar-
ticularly when the Sparrow has already begun to (ill up
the box with his rubbish, the chances for a recaptujc of
the box by the ^Martin are poor, unless a friendly liand
comes to his help.

After the nests are finished the watch is kept close and
often the precaution is taken to cover the newly lai<l
eggs with a fresh su))j>ly of green leaves.

Besides concealing the eggs from tlie eyes of intruders
it also serves to keep them cool. P>ut in stai \atioii times
nest and eggs are left alone long enough lo giv«' the
Sparrow time to enter the house. The Sparrows, how-
ever, are not the oidy ones that play havoc with the hid-
den treasures; the House Wren also has been seen to
intrude and to throw the eggs out of the .Martin's box.
The Bluejay, the (irackle, the Kobin and the Catbird
have been seen to inspect the inside of the bird-houses,
and it is a question whether snch visits are not danger-

Extracts from Diary of Otto Widmann 5

ous in the absence of the owner. It is therefore not at
all surprising to find that from eggs deposited in early
May none, or few, are hatched. The eggs laid in the
last week of May and first of June prove to have the best
chance for a successful ultimate result. The outcome of
later broods is uncertain for the reason that the mortal-
ity among nestlings increases with the advancement of
the season. Soon after the first of July the heated, dry
period sets in and with its progress insect food adapted
for nestlings becomes scarcer and scarcer, while the ter-
rible scourge of the poor bird, its parasites, increases
at an enormous rate. The excessive heat in the bird-
houses, the parasites and the want of succulent food
combine to produce a restlessness among the helpless
creatures which early leads to destruction by their fall-
ing out of the lofty cradle. The number of eggs is gen-
erally five; one nest out of five contains six eggs. Four
eggs are laid when a second set is deposited after the
first has been destroyed, or it is the result of some mis-
hap, of which a not unusual one is the accidental brush-
ing out by the bird herself in leaving the nest. When
incubation is under way the male's business is to watch
while she does the sitting, but several times during the
day he is seen to enter the box with something in his bill,
and a moment later the lady of the house comes out of
the door, stretches her wings and goes off. She stays
away only fifteen to twenty minutes, but wdien she re-
turns she has hardly passed the threshold when the male
is already on the start and generally leaves in great
haste. His presence seems to be hardly more than a
watch, and when she stays away long he is likely to come
out on the porch, look up to the sky, and even to go off
in search of her.

The time which elapses from thi' (Ir(Ji)piiig of the last
eggs to the appearance of the young varies considerably,
namely, between thirteen and twenty days. The ordi-

6 Trans. Acdil. Sci. of SI. Louis

iiaiy time stH'ins to hi* lit'tceii dt sixteen ila\ s. Early
broods take longer, late hroods a shorter time, so that
the weather, directly or indirectly, seems to be the cause
of these irregularities.

From tile a])i)earnnce of the first yoiing to the hatch-
ing of the last i^y:^ in the same nest a difrerence of two,
three or even four days is rather the rule than the excep-
tion, and this tends to show that incubation may have
set in before the last c^f::;'^!; was laid, and it may be the
effect of the high temperature in the boxes during day
time, while the female covers the v'fii'f!;^^ at night and in
the morning. Oviposition takes place in the morning.
The remarkably large number of addled eggs, reaching
as high as 20 to 25 per cent, may possibly be accounted
for by this s]iontaneous incubation and subsecjuent
cooling.

When tlie young Martin is six days old its eyes begin
to o])en. and when it is twelve days old it has already
strength enough to crawl out of the nest and take ])osi-
tion under the door. Here all the imnates, numbering
often four to six, are seen, closely packed, stretching
their uecks and greeting every approaching object with
mouths wide ojien. At this ])e!-iod the parents are ke]it
busy in ap]ieasing theii- hunger, and lai-ge inimbers of
dragon flies, soft grasshoi>pei"s and other substantial
morsels disap]>ear in the capacious throats. Sometimes,
however, the insect ]>roves to l>e too large for one swal-
low, when the ])arent bites it in two, but otherwise no
dressing of wiugs or legs is done. In order to facilitate
the work of digestion, possibly also for the sake of their
chemical constituents, small snail shells whi<-h they
gather on the sandbars are fed along with the insects,
and some knowing mothers descen«l into the chicken yard
to pick up of:^f!; shells for an extra dish. T^iecea of broken
china, found in the stomachs of young Martins, were
probably finl by mistake. Rut the busy old ones not only

Extracts from Dianj of Otto Wklmann 7

carry food to tlieir brood, tliey also remove all their
alvine discharges. By the time the young folk appears
under the door it is already educated to cleanliness, and
a peculiar touch and motion of the parent has the effect
that the thus accosted member of the household turns
around and offers a white little pellet, which the attend-
ing parent seizes cleverly and carefully and carries it off
to a distance. Few young Martins die during the first
two weeks of their life, but the mortality is enormous
during the following two or tliree weeks, when in a hot,
dry season fully one-half were seen to perish. Exposed
to a merciless July sun, tormented by innumerable para-
sites, half dead with the sting of an empty stomach, des-
peration seizes the poor bird, when it is seen to lose its
liold and half falls, half flutters to the ground below.
Once down it is lost. If not killed outright by the fall,
it is soon found by an animal or, crawling under some
sheltering object, starves to death. The parents were
never seen to feed one on the ground. They content
themselves with a short endeavor to make it fly up, but
seeing that this is impossible they give it up as lost.
The assistance which man can give in this case is to
restore it to its nest, but the probability is that it will
fall out again. The best prevention of such disasters is
the free and often repeated application of insect powder,
scattered over young and nest. When four weeks old the
pinions are far enough advanced to carry the young bird
a short distance in the air and the parents decide that
the time has come when the offspring should leave the
nursery. This is the most critical moment in the life of
young Progne and bad judgmiMit on the part of the par-
ents has cost many a child's life. Some young fellows,
imconscious of danger, follow the leading parent with-
out any trouble, but others, afraid of trusting the untried
wings, must be pushed off the platform and, when in the

8 Trans. Acad. Sci. of Si. LouU

air, instead of following the parent flutter aimlessly
about until exhaustion lets them drop where dano^er
lurks. The Mnrtins tlifmselves know well the iiii]^ortance
t)f this stej), and a youiiir hird's first aj)]iearan('e on win*?
never fails to create general <*()mnioti()ii in the colony.
Some of them, taking delight in the chase, follow tlie
fledgling, and in tlicir endeavor to drive it to a safe place
often harass the poor thing until its strength gives out
and it falls a prey to the ever-present bad boy, who puts
it in a cage and stuffs bread crumbs down its throat until
deatli comes to the rescue.

After the second day out this danger is over, but the
parents have to feed it for some time yet, and good par-
ents bring their offspring home before an approaching
storm and in the evening to have them under shelter dur-
ing the night, since camping in the treetop on a stonny
night would result fatally. Some have been, seen to bring
them home, all of them, for ten consecutive nights, but
such instances are rare. The rule is to bring them a few
nights only and not all of them, either. About one-half
are never seen again after leaving the box. This home-
bringing is a very noisy and amusing affair, since the
parents have a good deal of trouble to collect all the
members of a family into one box and to keep them
there.

The peculiar call note, one whicli is only used by par-
ents to command their children, comes here to perfection,
and the arrival of ovorx individual is signalized by a
general n])roar. Having at last succeeded in getting all
their children into one box it is necessary' to watch and
feed them there, lest they be off again. One of the old
birds remains until dusk, when it suddenly disappears in
tlie direction of the common roost, leaving the young
alone until da\\Ti next morning.

Extracts from Diary of Otto Widmann 9

HOW YOUNG BIRDS ARE FED.*

St. Louis, Mo., July 17, 1884.

Jt may be interesting- to you to know more about the
family cares of our birds. In order to find out how often
young Martins are fed by their parents, and at what time
the piincipal meals are served, I watched my sixteen
feeding pairs during an entire day, June 24, from 4:00
A. ^1. till 8:00 P. M., marking every visit of the feeding
parents, males and females separately.

The Martins began hunting at 4:15, but no food was
brought until 4 :30.

The accompanying table shows that our young Mar-
tins had to put up with a light breakfast, but the visits
became more and more frequent as the sun and mercury
climbed up, and reached their liveliest time between 9
and 10 A. M., i. e., lunch time. After that a lull was
noticeable, broken only by an approaching storm, which
brouglit new life into the feeding business, but for a
short time only, and to be reduced to a minimum during
the light rain, 1 :25 to 2 :46. Even after the rain had
ceased little feeding was done until the sky began to
clear up and the sun reappeared.

From that moment the number of visits swelled with
great rapidity, and kept me hard at work for over an
hour. It was the most substantial meal of the day, and
the young INlartins may well call it their dinner.

After this the parents took a well-deserved rest, but
when the sun neared the horizon they were all off again
preparing for supper, which was not so hearty as one
might expect.

As a rule the older the birds in the nest the oftener
they are fed, and from the size of the insect which the
parents bring the age of the young may be judged.

The youngest birds are fed at longer intervals with

♦Reprinted from Forest and Stream, Vol. XXII. p. 484, 1884.

10

Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

(TUsImmI insects, mostly small beetles, from the craw.
About a tortnig'ht old they are i'vd from the bill with soft
insects of the size of lar^^e flies, but insects with stings,
such as bees and wasps, are never Itrou^lit. Wiien four
weeks ohl, lar<<'e tlra.ii:onfli('S, t^rasshoppers and butter-
flies make the prin<'ipal food.

Tlie young Martins do not leave their box until they
are six weeks old.

The t^il)l«' ntM'ds no further ex])laiuition except that the
occupants of the sixteen boxes were of all ages, from one
week old in NO. (I to five weeks in Xos. lL\ 10, 17.

The number of hungry mouths has something to do
with the fre(piency of the visits. No. 7. whicli heads the
list, has four young ones (four weeks old), while most
of the other boxes have three. No. 10 has onlv two.

WEATHER CONDITIONS.

75*. t»lm, cle«r

74'

77* to 84*. wlndlltht. S. . ..

84* to 85*

S.'i* to86*

86* to 87*

87* to 89*, •tod lorrfastoi 8.

98*, mi.m ii 1 r arhuic, wind ihinins to W.

83*, r» DC at 1:25

78*. r»- . L'45

80*. cluruiK, caio

79*

79* to 82*. winds. W

82* to 81*, cAlm. clmf

81* to 80*. t»lni, dtu. . . -

Time.

I I I I I I I
No. INo. ISo. No. (No. |No. iNo.

7 1 12 17 51 111 10 24

I I I I I I I

< I I I I I
No. No. I.No. INo. (No. [No. 'No.

2S 22 16! 36 II 14' 26

4 to r,
i, to 6
fi to 7
7 to 8

5 to 9
9 In 10

10 tn II

11 to 12

12 t« I
1 to 2
2(0 3

3 to 4

4 Ui .')
.''> to fi
fi to 7
7 V> 8

A.M.(

11|
12
19

9|
W

4'

9

151

IS,

171 IS

•£i

14

P.M.

281 27

•yt

■>■>■

'■

16 17

13

121

"

7 5

8

7)

•'

41 38

X,

4.'.

•'

25 .12

20

•>•>

••

7 20

11

ir.

11 14

23

ir>

41 101 7

121 12! 8

91 221 12

14( 17( 9

'S' 211 9

. 17( 15

-: 20' 12

241 lOi 16

171 23, If
7
4

311 3S| Xi
14

6

lOl
111

51
121

14 131
15 1 20
9 13|
141 IS
131 20|

71

321

6

8

8
141 14
13! 19
221 12 14
17' 17, 13
12 10
13; 10

8

71

14 17
121 121
121 151

131 131

14 121

111 101

10 in

IS

14
8
7

241

12' 11

81 10

71 10

11' 7

6! 10

8' 4

6! Hi

111 7;

14! 121

in' 0'

11

71

9! 12
18 15

8! 11

10'

4i
ir

No. I No
19 6

fl.

:<: :v. ic-

1
5
4

6

9
10

7

5

5

2

6

8

5

6

5

7
901.3277

85
118
171

2m

232
276
2S5
217
2S0
133
119
459
224
166
196
177

,111) if.l 140 12S ILT :Ci .S.T iia us r.i ',?, ."W fi.! .">><, 57

33 1454

Nufflbfr of rUitf bv ffinAlf

ll'J.-! 11"0'140 147;11'7 157 1.341 84 105! 131 112.110 S4 761 46

57,1823

1 1 1 1 1 1 i ) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

1

Extracts from Diary of Otto Widniann 11

WHERE THE MARTINS ROOST.*

St. Louis, Mo., September 19, 1884.
It is generally known tliat Martins spend the niglit in
their boxes only during the breeding season. At ail
other times they sleej) in the open air. By taking posses-
sion of the box in the early spring the ^[artin shows its
intention to become pater famil'ias. All old males take
boxes on arriving, as soon as they can find any to suit
them. Young males, although several weeks behind in
arriving, do not show so much eagerness to own their
own box, and even young ])airs prefer camping out until
nest-building has begun. Bachelors sleep in the open air
all summer, but visit the colonv of their brothers and sis-
ters regularly in the morning and evening, meddling
sometimes with their domestic affairs, playing tricks,
and doing real mischief by annoying the young ones.
During the breeding season both parents sleep in their
box until the young ones have left the box. The first few
nights the young Martins are often brought home by
their parents. The weather has much to do with it;
rainy, windy weather brings home most of them, but as
a rule the best parents, those which feed them most reg-
ularly and diligently, bring them home safest and long-
est, even to a whole fortnight. This home-bringing is
attended by much noise-making, and great excitement
prevails until the young are safely lodged. The parents
do not enter the boxes, but one of them watches the en-
trance until quite dark, when it hurries off in the direc-
tion of the common roost.

AVhere is the roost? This is not so easily found out.
"Wlien Audubon saw a high old tree covered with Martins
after sunset and again the next morning before sunrise,
he thought he would make no mistake by imagining that
the ^Martins sleep on those dead trees all night. But they
do not. Those trees are only the meeting place for the

* Reprinted from Forest and Stream, Vol. XXIII, pp. 183-184. 1884.

12 Traus. Acad. Sci. of St. Loul.s

Martins of a certain district, from wlicnco they start for
the distant roost in tlie willow tliickct, wliicli they do not
enter nntil it is quite dark, and whicli they leave with the
first dawn, from ten to fifteen minutes before the swift
leaves its chimney.

Tiie youn.u: join the parents as soon as tliey are abh^
to fiy the distance, or, as here, to cross the Mississippi.
From tliat moment the boxes are never entered again,
but tlieir roofs are used for social gathering in tlie morn-
ing hours during tlie next few weeks. The regularity of
these visits does not last long; pauses occur; in dry, hot
weather tlie visits are short, in cool spells they are cut
off entirely, but a sultry, rainy tenu ])rings them back
again to spend a few hours in animated chattering
around the old home. In the evening tliey only pass
without stopping, but they visit often their old hunting
grounds in the neighborhood. IXiring the day they are
seldom seen after the first of August. After this date
they appear late in the evening, but their number
increase rapidly. They collect on treeto]is, church steeples
and other points of i)rominence and loftiness, around
whicli they swarm like bees for about half an hour, when
the air for a mile around is filled with ^Martins, which
now form a whirling body of many thousand, rolling up
and down at first above the bluffs, then above tlie Missis-
sippi, going and returning in wude circles, but all this
time drawing surreptitiously toward the willows on the
other side of the river. It has now become dusk and the
descent cannot be seen from this shore, but the moment
can be known by a sudden outcry of alanned Crows and
Rlackl)irds which had retired into the same willows long
before.

Such vast numbers of Martins cannot be sent forth
from one city nor from a few counties. ThC' Martins of
half of the states of Missouri and Illinois must flock to-
gether to form sucli an army. But it is not yet niigra-

Extracts from Dkinj of Otto Widniann 13

tion; it is only the x^relude to it. Such common roosts
are the starting points for those thousands, and are the
resting stations for many more thousands which pass
through in tlie last week of August and in September.

Our birds became peculiarly excited and mysteriously
restless after August 12. After an interval of several
weeks, the old birds began at this day to \dsit their boxes
again, hung around them for half hours, not with merry
carols as in early summer, but for the purpose of giving
a last look at the scenes of former happiness.

August 20 and 21 were stormy, followed by a north
wind period with several cool nights. The tactics of the
great army were now changed. Migration began. After
the 24th the gatherings on this side of the river ceased,
our St. Louis Martins had left, and to the St. Louis man
the Martins had become verj' scarce. Not so to the
initiated, and if you come along with me across the Mis-
sissippi, I will show you more Martins than one can
otherwise see in a lifetime.

It is August 24, 6 P. M. Only a few Martins are seen
on this side of the river going east. We take a skiff and
follow them. After ten minutes' rowing we approach
the opposite shore. What is that? Hundreds and hun-
dreds of birds sailing low, above the water, hundreds of
silvery splashes flashing up from the now dark waters
of the great river. What a strange sight ! The Martins
are taking their bath. Now we are on the sandbar of the
Illinois side, opposite the southern part of St. Louis, just
north of Arsenal Island. It is a large tract of fine river
sand, newly formed, almost quite dry and free from vege-
tation, except a strip along the willow thickets which
border it on the east. It is 6 :30. Since we have arrived
the air all around us has filled up with Martins, pouring
in from all directions, high wy) and low above the water,
all going toward the one place — the outer rim of the sand-
bar, where on a few acres of sand ten thousand Martins

14 Trans. Acad. ^ci. of St. Louis

are sitting alroaily in solonin silence, probably in secret
session. Ten tlionsand Martins sitting close toi^^etber on
a few acres of sandbar is a sipflit not often met witli, and
we nnist look at them verv sbai'plv. Thev are not very
shy, many alight a few yaids from us and wf ran watch
every movement. The only movement we can see is a
pickinji: motion as if takin.u; uj) a ^rain of sand, but this
is only i)lay work, because we see them also pick at straw
protrndinji: from the sand. They did not come to eat
sand, their only ])urp()se is to meet here and decide if to
go on vnth their journey southward or to take a rest in
the neiiifhboring roost. It is now (! :-!.") and getting dusk.
The smoke of the city, driven by a northeast wind, lias
enveloi)ed the western horizon and all will be dark in a
few minutes. Do they slee]) on that sand.' They have
been sitting here now for half an hour. Look here, four
birds coming toward the willows; they are scouts! Ts
this not a strange call, a call never heard around their
breeding l)oxes? They are now all four above us, circling
over the willows and returning to the sand. Presently
the ranks of the Martins thin out, and in less than a min-
ute all have left the sand, Hying out on the river, down
toward the island, rising above the willows, and in a few
minutes all is (piiet, dark. The Martins hav<» gone to
rest, and we will not disturb them. It would be dilTicult
work to penetrate these willow thickets at night.

The willows are about twentv feet biiih and stand verv
close together. The ground is swam])y in some places
and it is covered all over with debris left by last year's
inundation. We shall try to see them leave the willows
tomorrow morning.

It is 5 A. .M., the stars have disappeared, with the ex-
ception of a few bright ones. We are on the bluffs o]>]io-
site the sandbar. The first break of day stands in the
<»astern horizon, but night still reigns west of us. This
is the moment when the Martin leaves its roost. They

I

Extracts from Diary of Otto Widmann 15

are already coming over the river; a few voices only,
then more and more, and now the whole air is filled with
the short calls of Progne. They seem to he all around
us, below and above, but we may strain our eyes in all
directions, not a single bird can be discovered ; it is too
dark and the birds are too high above us. A few minutes
later the bulk has passed, but it is getting lighter and we
are able to see a few loiterers, mere dots passing the
zenith, following the others in a northwesterly or west-
erly direction. A few minutes more the last will be gone
and no Martin will be seen at this place before 5 P. M.

After migration has thus begun it will be good for
us to visit the scene of rendezvous every day. The Mar-
tins begin to arrive at 5 P. M. ; they arrive mostly low
above the water, comparatively few are coming at some
height. As soon as a few hundred are together they
begin to sit down on the sand. In the beginning they are
pretty restless, changing their places every few minutes,
sometimes flying up in a cloud to settle dovm. at or near
the same spot again. If we are watching them now from
a place south of the bar we notice that not all settle down
again. After swinging a few circles, part of the flock
detaches itself from the rest, and, heading south, soon
disappears in that direction. Although the number re-
mains about the same for two weeks, we soon lind that
a change has been going on from the l)eginning. As early
as September 1 we become aware that we have almost
entirelv to do with birds of the vear. The old birds, the
old males, at least, have mostly left.

The most imposing sight may be had by disturbing the
aiTny at the moment when all have settled on the sand.
The whole mass goes up in a body, turning right and left,
forms two mighty streams which unite above the water
in a great whirl])ool, rushes up and down, sweeping
along the river to a distant point, then coming back again
like a huge cloud, which moves hither and thither until

16 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

the neutral tint of night allows the safe retreat. On Sep-
tember 7 and 8 the number of Martins present was still
as large, or larger, than ever. After the sultr>', stormy
weather of September 9 and 10 a cold northwest wind
reduced the temperature to 66 degrees on tlie 11th, and
on this evening the Martins assembled on the sand))ar
for the last time. The number was much smaller than
usual, and when the cloud rose from the bank at G P. ^^.
com])aratively few returned. On the 12th no Martin was
sitting on the bar, but about a hundred flocked together
low above the water near the bar and disappeared soon,
moving slowly in a southerly direction. The same took
place on all the following days. Small flocks began to
collect at 5:30 and disappeared after staying about the
neighborhood until a little after 6 P. M. The last were
seen on the 18th, ])Ut only a few, and none today.

Extracts from Diary of Otto Widmann 17

THE CROWS' WINTER ROOST AT ST. LOUIS.*

St. Louis lias many sig-lits worth seeing-, all more or
less known and appreciated, but one of its greatest
natural curiosities, the big roost of wintering Crows on
Arsenal Island, where thousands and perhaps a hundred
thousand Crows congregate, is never mentioned.

The Crow is a common summer resident in this part of
the country. Every grove has its pair nesting, and
around their favorite feeding grounds a dozen Crows
may be seen together any day during the breeding sea-
son. To these places the young resort when able to fly,
and parties of thirty or so are nothing unusual in sum-
mer, oftener or sooner heard than seen, especially when
the presence of a Hawk excites their hatred.

In the neighborhood of their winter roost they are not
seen in any unusual numbers before the middle of Sep-
tember. The river front of St. Louis is sixteen miles
long. The center of the city with the courthouse is about
half way of this long line. Four miles south of the court-
house, down the river, is the head of an island called
Arsenal Island (formerly Smallpox Island, because dur-
ing the Civil War the smallpox hospital was situated on
this island).

At that time the head of the island was opposite the
St. Louis Arsenal, and for that reason the name Arsenal
Island was given. At the present day the island begins
one mile south of the Arsenal, having been washed off
continually at its head until about five years ago, when
it was fixed by strong embankments erected by the gov-
ernment. At the same time, in order to force the cur-
rent to the Missouri side, the island was connected with
the Illinois shore by a dam which obstructed the flow of
water so much that the old channel east of the island
is nearly dry now in summer, and willows begin to grow

* Reprinted from the "Ornithologist and Otologist," Feb., 1SS8.
Vol. XIII, No. 2.

18 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

ill many i>lafeh>. The islaiul is tlierofore steadily grow-
ing; it is two miles long, one-fourtli mile wide, mostly
grown np with willows and cotton woods, from twenty-
tive years old at its present head, where the flora is
already more varied by admixture of shrubs and climb-
ers, to one year old and entirely new growth at its recent
additions. The foot of the island is a sandbank, change-
able in size according to the stage of water, at the i)resent
low water about half a mile long, and reaching to the
Illinois shore in the vicinity of the Bessemer Steel
AVorks.

The island is not inhabitetl excei)t by a single old man,
who keeps a few cows in summer and tries to raise a
little crop of corn for their feed. He does not molest
any of its feathered visitors, but the island is a nmch
frequented shooting ground for boy hunters, who make
it very unsafe on Sundays.

This island has been chosen by the Crows for their
winter roost, and during the fifteen years in which I
lived in the neighborhood, I have seen them regularly
every winter.

The reason why the Crows selected this island seems to
be the convenient position in regard to food supi)ly
coujiled with comparative safety from nightly raids.

The food supply is twofold: On the land, the environs
of a large city surrounded by gardens and dairies and
pastures, etc.

On the water, the rich harvest provided by the dump-
ing places of the city, which throws its garbage into the
river to carry it off.

The Crow is the typical scavenger, and the choice of
its winter roost proves it. If it could live on com and
mice, it would spend the wint<'r hawk-fashion in solitude
near some out-of-the-way cornfield, but it is no mice
destroyer. Neither is it a grain eater. 1 have examined
thousands of pellets (tlif^ indigestible ])arts of food

Extracts from Difirij of Gilo Widmanii 19

thrown up), which are lying uiuler the trees where they
roost and on the sand where they gather. Tliese pellets
show tliat very few mice enter the l)iil of fare of the
Crow. But they also prove that the Crow has no stomach
for grain. Large pieces of maize and entire kernels of
oats and wheat are thrown out undigested, and even
the acorn, which must often appease their hunger, is
found intact in the pellets.

The Crow eats anything and everything, when pressed
by hunger, but it prefers animal matter, and it makes
no difference whether it is fresh or old. It turns over
the old droppings of cattle to see if there is anything
eatable underneath. It devours a rotten apple for a
change of diet, and eats the chicken without asking how
long it has been dead or with what disease it died.

When they are so lucky as to find the dead body of a
horse, they return to it eveiy day until the bones are
perfectly clean. I have even heard of the remarkable
sight, when the cadaver of a man was seen driving dow^n
on an ice field, surrounded and torn to pieces by hordes
of Crows.

The Crows like our climate, because we have, as a rule,
very little snow. The snow which precedes our cold
spells comes with a high wind and is, therefore, drifted.
Snow which falls heavily later in the season does not
stay long. After a fresh snowfall, or during a sudden
cold snap, the Crow's resource is the river. For miles
and miles along its shores Crows abound, watching at
the water's edge, visiting the sandbars and hovering over
the nver, fishing from its surface choice morsels with
which they make hastily for a safe place to eat in peace.

The most animated picture is to be had in times when
the river is full of floating ice. At such times it is fairly
alive with Crows all da3\ Sitting on the edge of floating
ice fields, they drift down for miles, watching the agitated
waves until thov bring to liglit the oagerlv sought for

20 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

dainty in tlic shape of a rosy lung or similar succulency.
When such an article has been found, it is accompanied
for many miles by troops of hungry Crows, and the
crowning event takes place wlien the Bald Eagle joins
the revelers and gets the lion 's share.

In former years. Herring Gulls were not uncommon
at such feasts, but of Into they seem to be quite scarce
around here.

In very hard winters, when the river remains solidly
frozen for some time, the Crows are verv much less
numerous, but as soon as the snow begins to go they
return, and when tlio ice breaks up thoy are back in
full force.

From the middle of September, when they first appear
at the roost, until the middle of October, the increase is
slow. The last decade of October and the first of
November is the time wliou tlio l)nlk of Crows arrive
at the roost.

Cool, still days, with gloomy skies and misty air, bring
them from the North in loose, straggling flights, from
different directions, but falling into line north of the
icity, they pass around its western bounds near Shaw's
Garden, and thence in a straight line towards the foot
of the Island, where they arrive in a regular stream
which pours in some days from 1 or 2 p. m. mitil dark.

On arriving above the river the Crow ceases beating
the air and, instead of flapping heavily along as usual,
it spreads its wings and floats down majestically towards
the island, where it first goes for water and then for
a perch in the trees. This perch is often changed before
the final selection is made. Cottonwoods and willows,
twenty to thirty feet high are chosen, and a dozen or
more find a place in a single tree.

^\^^en the November sun has set, the trees on the
lower part of the Island are black with Crows, and the
noise thoy make and wliicli they keep up until quite

ExtrcK ta from JJiury of Oitu Widmanu 21

(lark is heard for miles around. Before the sun is up
in the morning the Crows leave the roost, but the noise
may be heard long before daybreak, and does not cease
until they have left. In open weather in fall, hardly a
Crow is seen at the roost all the forenoon. The place
looks deserted. The Crows have gone, and the first rays
of the sun find them scattered over hundreds of square
miles. We may go out any direction mthin twenty miles
of St. Louis, but we see Crows winging their way to
some distant feeding ground, scattering as they proceed,
spreading over fields and woods, but enlivening the
scener^-^ wherever they appear.

They seem to do most of their feeding in the morning.
In the early afternoon they begin to collect into flocks,
and large congregations may be seen in many places,
passing the time playfully until ready to go home, when
flock joins flock, trying to keep track if wind and weather
l)ermit. On clear, still days they fly at great heights. A
gale throws them far out of their beaten path and they fly
as low as possible, seeking shelter from the wind behind
woods and buildings, and following as much as possible
the lowest depressions of the ground.

They first appear at the roost soon after midday, but
the majority arrive within an hour before sunset; com-
paratively few come later.

It is not unusual to see them carry food in their bills to
the roost, and different kinds of nuts and acorns, pieces
of meat and even bones may be found on the sandbank.

As long as the weather remains mild the Crow sleeps
in the trees, but when the sharp north wind strips the
trees of their leaves the trees lose much of their attrac-
tion for the Crows, and they begin to spend the nights
on the sand which girdles the island.

In November comparatively few Crows resort to the
sand, but when in December zero weather sweeps over
the island, most of them remain on the ground, covering

22

Trn)is. Acml. Sci. r»l' St. Lums

tlif vast sandbar at the foot of the island with innumer-
abk* l)lack <l<)ts, and as many more a.iifain stay (ui the \i\r^Q
ice fieKl which stretches now alontr the shallow eastern
shore like a continuation of tlie sandl>ar.

Here tliey aic on the bare ice I'rcMii 4 p. m. till 7 a. ni.,
iifteen lon<j: hours, with temperature near zero, exposed
to the fieive wind without any shelter at all. Ifow tlicy
can stand it is more than I know, and althou;rh I have
found frozen Crows, and Ci'ows willi stumped toes as
reminiscenoes of foiiner exiterienccs, I still believe, as a
rub', they stand tlie rijj^ors of our winter quite welb Tlie
first sunnv mild dav, and innnediatelv after the col(U'st
sj)ens, the Crow thinks of courting, and shows all sii^ns
of an amorous Crow wliose love is not l»y our tempera-
tures refrigerated.

This courtini^ is done openly, in broad daylight, so-
cially, gracefully. The Crows gather on a sunny hillside
or some similarly favorable ])lace, and talk to eadi other
in the softest crow language; one flies straight up into the
air, soars for a moment, floats gracefully down, cheered
by the rest, amidst which he alights to see others do what
he did.

As soon as the weather becomes mild and the ground
free from snow and ice, the Crows begin to disperse. This
is generally not before P\»bruary, and sometimes quite
late in that month, but by the middle of March their
ranks are thinnec] out verv much, and few are left after
the first of April, (b'lierally, their departuri' is not i)ar-
ticularly noticed, it being a continuation of their daily
Higlit, failing to return to the roost in the evening.

But sometimes T have seen two birds flying together in
a northerly direction, even in the afternoon, and right
against the incoming stream of Crows. These I t^ike for
absconders, ready to <lisi)ense with sociability, the two
being enough company by themselves. With the begin-
ning of tlie breeding season the liistorv of the common

Extracts from Diary of Otto Widmann 23

roost ends. We do not now follow them into the sylvan
retreats where they raise a big family. Let us liope that
all will return to us in the fall, bringing- with them-
selves a great army of jolly young Crows. Interesting
would it be to learn if other cities on the lower Missouri
River and Mississippi have similar roosts. Omaha, Kan-
sas City, Cairo, Louisville, Memphis are probably like
favored.

24 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

OUR HIRDS IN WINTKU.

Illustrated hy Lifc-Sizo Colored Pictures.
(St. Louis Naturalists' Cluh, February 2H, 1920.)

l''()iiy nicnibers of the St. Louis liinl Club couuted
tweuty-seven species of birds in taking- a Cliristnias cen-
sus for "Bird Lore," coverin.j^ four scjuare miles in the
vicinity of Creve C'oeur Lake on December 27, 1IM1>. The
sauie number of species was rejjorted by the St. JiOuis
Biiil Club on December 22, 1918, but i:>ent Jokerst and
Paul Dent, by makin*^ twelve miles on foot in seven hours
on the same day, enumerated forty-four species. This is
all one party can be ex])ected to see in one day, but if
a few days of observation could have been added and dif-
ferent localities visited, the number raiffht have Ihhmi in-
creased to fiftv-six, as has been done once bv me. And
even this number is possible of a farther increase by
some of the casual species that may be met with only l^y
a rare chance and of whi<'li there are about ten.

The three Audubon Charts, thou,ii:h made in ^Fassachu-

setts, can be used to advantage for our jtui pose, since the
l)ird fauna of the United States east of the 100th merid-
ian, or about the middle of Kansas, is ])ractically the
same. The only drawback is that tliey do not contain all
the species mentioned.

Beginning: at the u])]ier left corner of Chart No. .3, the
Northern Shrike oi" I'utclierbird, Fjanius horrnli.'i, comes
to us in November and leaves us in March. It breeds in
Canada and Alaska and winters in the northeiii I'liited
States and as far to the south as North Carolina, Ken-
tucky, Arkansas, Texas ;iiid Central Californin. It is a
larger bird than the Sliiike which is witli us in the sum-
mer, fonnerly called Loggerhead, now Migrant Shrike,
one of the several subspecies of the TiOggerhead, The
typical Loggerhead, at home only in the southern states,
ditTers from the ^figrant in having the wings slightly
shorter and the general coloration darker. In western

Extracts from Diary of Otto VJidmann 25

Missouri the Migrant intergrades into the paler sub-
species, the AVhite-rumped Shrike, with niucli more white
ill its dress. All the different subspecies of the Logger-
head are much smaller than the Northern Shrike, the dif-
ference amounting to one and one-third inch in total
length, and are of less robust build. The general color-
ation is the same in both species. One of the character-
istic, distinguishing markings, the white under eyelid, has
escaped the painter of the charts, but the difference in
the black stripe through the eye is plainly visible, for in
the Loggerhead the black extends over the forehead.
'Another character is the wavj^ darkish lines on the un-
derparts of the Northern Shrike in distinction from the
plain white of the Loggerhead. While in the United
States in the winter the Northern Shrikes live mostly on
mice, but lacking this favorite food they kill small birds
and are said to play havoc in some places with the Eng-
lish Sparrows. They are courageous birds ; one has been
seen to attack a Hairy Woodpecker, a bird as large and
strong as the Shrike itself. I myself have witnessed the
attack by one of our Migrant Shrikes upon a Downy
Woodpecker, which he held on the ground and would
have killed if I had not been attracted to the scene by
the pitiful cries of the Downy.

There are numerous species of Shrikes, inhabiting
most parts of the world. All have the habit of impaling
their prey on thorns or barbed wire, or fixing the mice
or small birds in forks of twigs in order to get at them
more easily, or to preserve them for the future, if they
have captured more than they can dispose of at once. In
Germany, where there are four species, they are, for tliis
reason, called Neuntoter or Dorndreher. Our summer
Shrikes spend the winter in the southern states, but re-
turn to us very early and are among the first birds to
build nests, often having fully fledged young in INFay.
Young ones taken out of the nest and reared bv hand

26 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

make inteivstinju:, cliarinin^ P^'ts, for the Shrikes are
intolli<j:eiit l)ir<l.s with a coniparativcly hir^e brain. How-
ever, they are (luarrelsoine and <'nvious, and wlien two
are kejjt in one ca^e it will not he lon;^ before one of them
is killed by the other. Shrikes require nuich food, and
it is for this reason that they are not sociable, prefer a
solitary life and drive intruders from tln-ir chosen
domain. Although belonging: to the Oseinc l*asserine
birds, Shrikes are generally not classed among singing
birds, but they have a melodious song, though not loud
and only given wiien they l)elieve themselves not heard
by man. It was only when I was entirely out of his sight
tliat my pet indulged in his vocal ])raetices, soft and
really ])leasing i)erformances. Mueh ean be learned from
birtls kept in continement.

One grand dominating impulse of migration in spring
is breeding, to insure the perpetuation of the si)ecies.
Migratory birds come north to breed, to rear their young
iu a climate where the temperature is best suited to their
recpiirements. Another i)hysiological process tells them
when to leave their summer homes. The failure of food
supply is undoubtedly the most imj)ortant impulse, but
this southern Hight has been performed so often and so
regularly that the imimlse has become hereditary as is
demonstrated by many facts. My pet Shrike was in a
dark room where no noise such as the calls of migrants
passing over could reach him, the room was wann and
the food plentiful, but when October came along every
evening about nine o'clock he began to tlutter in his cage
and thrust hims<df against the wires until (piite ex-
hausted. This migratory instinct forces most birds to
leave their breeding grounds long before real want of
food is felt, often at a time when nothing indicates the
approach of winter. Many insect-eating birds leave in
August and September when insects are most abundant;
seed and fruit eaters depart when there is still an

Extracts from Diary of Otto ^S'idmann 27

abundance of food for tliem. Few insectivorous birds
winter in tlie United States, l)ut many species go deep
into South America to Brazil and Peru. Some nesting"
in the northern United States winter in the Gulf States,
and many Canadian birds find our climate not too severe
for their winter quarters. Birds that have the longest
journey to travel start earliest. Some birds born in high
altitudes arrive in the United States as early as July.
Nineteen s])ecies of shore birds breed north of the Arctic
Circle, and everyone of them visits South America in
winter; six of them go to Patagonia, a route of 3,000
miles. But the Arctic Tern beats them all; it nests as
far north as the bird can find land to make its nest. When
the young are grown the family leaves the Arctic and a
few months later they are found skirting the edge of the
Antarctic Continent, 11,000 miles away. Of land birds
the Xighthawk has the largest route, 7,000 miles from
Yukon to Argentina.

"While it has been proved that regular migrants, the
real birds of passage, have their fixed ^\anter quarters,
to which thev return everv year, there is another kind of
migration which we may call nomadic migration. This is
most prevalent in cold regions, but is found over most of
North America. To this class of migrants with no set-
tled or definite winter home belong the Pine Grosbeaks,
the Crossbills, Redpolls, Snow Buntings, Shore Larks
and many others.

As the nomad wanders to and fro, pitching his camp
here one day, miles away the next, so do these vagrant
birds pass the non-breeding season in quest of food. All
of these species are gregarious, are fond of each other's
compan}', some wandering in troops, others in large
flocks. It is this sociability which forces them to move
constantly from one place to another to find all the food
they need. So long as food can be obtained in sufficient
quantity some species show a reluctance to leave their

28 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

homo, unmindful of tomporatiiro. Even in the Arctic
rt'iirions some l)irils mav be found all winter, where food
c^m be had, species whose food consists of buds, twi^^s,
seeds, berries, or of carrion or refuse; or those that prey
upon other ])irds. Ptarmi.trans, I^nvoiis, Oyrfalcoiis and
Owls belonu: to tliis class.

Of avian nonuids several are shown on the chart. Tlie
Purj)le Finches, tlie Pine Siskins, the Gold Finches may
be called nomads, for their stay in any place is of short
duration. Few birds are more erratic than the AVax-
win.ii:s, the Cedar Waxwing of the United States, and the
Bohemian AVaxwing of the Boreal Zone of both hemis-
pheres.

Many of the nomadic wanderers have a circnmpolar
distribution. Either the species tliomselves or nearly
related species or subspecies occur in Boreal regions of
America and Elurasia. One hundred and twentv-eight
genera of birds are found in both hemispheres, and of
the 31 boreal genera of the North American mammals '25
are common to Boreal America and Eurasia. As similar
facts exist in reference to insects, reptiles and plants,
faunal geogra])hers have combined the Palaearctic and
Nearctic regions into one grand division under the name
of Hoi arctic Realm.

A fine example of a bird with circumpolar distribution
and nomadic habit is the Pine Grosbeak. In summer it
lives in the forests of the Boreal region. In winter it
wanders in ilocks far and wide, according to circum-
stances, extending its movements irregularly into the
northern United States, excei)tionally as far south as
Missouri, where it has been i-ccorded once from
La Grange by Susan Johnson, December 3, 1003.
Other southern records are Kentucky and District of
Columbia. They live on the seeds of trees, coniferous
and deciduous, their buds, and are particularly fond of
the berries of the Red Cedar and of the seeds of the

Extracts from Diary of Otto Widmann 29

White Ash. The males liave a pleasing song and are
favorite cage birds in the north of Europe, where the
bird is common.

The Crossbills are of circumpolar distribution, inhab-
iting in nearly related species the coniferous belt of both
hemispheres. The White-winged Crossbill is purely-
American, breeding chiefly in the Northwest, but occurs
often in the company of the Common Crossbill, with
which it shares the same habits.

Crossbills are peculiar in structure ; the head is large,
the jaw stout, the bill long and compressed, the tips of
the mandibles abruptly bent, so that their sharp points
cross each other at an angle. This curious tool is a spe-
cial adaptation to its food and the manner of securing it.
The sharply pointed curves serve as the most convenient
hooks for getting the seeds of the pines, spruces and hem-
locks out of the cones. The bill is also used as a tool for
climbing after the manner of the parrots. Crossbills are
true nomads. They have not even fixed places nor regu-
lar times for nesting. They may occur by thousands
some years and be quite absent during others. Nests
have been found from February to October. They seem
to breed only in places where they are sure of enough of
their favorite food trees, spruces and balsams, loaded
with ripening cones. They rove widely in search of food
and their wanderings in winter extend irregularly south-
ward, exceptionally as far as South Carolina and
Louisiana.

When feeding in trees no sound escapes their throats,
and they would easily be overlooked if it were not for
the noise made by the falling scales detached from the
cones by the birds in securing the seed. When disturbed
in their work they all start at once with a peculiar note,
and fly far, but may be back again after a short time. On
the wing they look like female Cowbirds or overgrown
House Sparrows, especially the young birds and females
in their duskv dress.

\iO Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. LouU

A great wanderer is the Snow P>iintiii,ir- It makes its
nest in the Aretic ami Subarctic Kegion, and is the lirst
passerine bird to penetrate into tliose regions with the
return of spring, before tlie snow is melted. In winter
they come south, usually in large Hocks, to the northern
United States, sometimes as far south as Indiana, Mis-
souri, Kansas, Coh)ra<lo and Oregon. They are decidedly
gregarious and delight to fly in the stormiest weather.
Their a])pearances is often considered the harbinger of
snow, and they retuni northward with the disaj^jiearance
of snow. All are gone from the United States by the end
of A]uil. They are said to be much less numerous than
formerly in the regions which they visit regularly in win-
ter. One of the reasons for the decrease is that they have
been slaughtered by liundreds for food and for millinery
pui*poses, the beauty of tlie bird in its spring plumage of
black, white and brown rendering it ]iarticuhn'ly attrac-
tive as a *'hat l)ird." It is also said tliat thousands of
h(>ads of Snow Buntings were ])ahned off on county
clerks as those of English Sparrows, wlien bounties were
paid on them. It may be said that bounty laws under the
best conditions are expensive and unsatisfactory, and as
far as the English Sparrow is concerned liave ]n'oved to
be extremely unwise and iiietTective, as many of our val-
uable birds have been destroyed and bounties illegally
paid.

Better acquainted than with the Snow Bunting are we
^lissourians with its cousin, the La])land Longsinir, be-
cause we have it as a regular winter visitant, a])]>earing
from the north in November and remaining till March,
exceptionally as in the cold spring of 1907 till the middle
of April. They are similar in gen<'ial ai)])earance to the
Snow Bunting, but with a large black ]iatch on the breast
and a chestnut collai- on the back of the neck. In early
winter the black is obscured by wliite tips of the feathers.
It breeds in the northern part of both hemispheres and
comes south to the United States, chiefly the middle

Extracts from Diary of Otto Widniann 31

states, abundantly to Kansas and Colorado. Near St.
Louis we meet with it in most unlikely places, on wind-
swept hillsides, often in company of Horned Larks, feed-
ing on grass seeds, probably also on grasshopper eggs
and dead grasshoppers. It is a great sight to watch a flock
of a few hundred hungry Longspurs alight on a tract of
unfilled land. They do not scatter over it promiscuously
as some other birds would do, but start all together at
one end of the tract and go at once to work j^icking up
whatever there is for them to eat, advancing like an army
in one direction. After a very short time those in the
rear of the advancing column fly low over the heads of
the flock and alight at the head of the army, but are at
the head only a few moments when another part}' leaves
the rear and goes to the head. This goes on until the
whole tract has been gone over, and is certainly a good
way of gathering everything desirable mtli the least
possible loss. When disturbed the whole flock goes up
to a great height and is soon lost out of sight, for they
are great flyers and are among the longest-winged mem-
bers of the Sparrow family.

lA rover, but a 100 per cent American rover, not a
hyphenated intruder from the Old World, is the Evening
Grosbeak. He is at home in the mountainous West from
Canada to Guatemala, but visits with irregular frequency,
sometimes in large flocks, as far east as New York and
New England. The species has repeatedly been encoun-
tered in Missouri and mav be looked for at anv time be-
tween October 1 and April 1.

I had the pleasure of making its acquaintance in Strat-
ton Park, near Colorado Springs, June 6, 1903, where a
male and female were hopping unconcernedly on the
walks of that very much frequented pleasure resort. It
is a bird of distinguished appearance and not easily over-
looked or forgotten. It would be something to bo thank-
ful for if the species would become more plentiful and
would extend its breeding range into the middle states.

32 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

There is no reason why it should not find food in culti-
vated, settled regions, as it does not live mainly on the
seeds of conifers, but eats all kinds of seeds, high and
low, and feeds its young on insects like its congener, the
Hawfinch of the oid AVorld. This bird, the Kirschkern-
beisser of Germany, is an ornament to any lan(lsca]ie,
admired by the nature lover, hut less popular with the
grower of cherries, which the bird likes more for the ker-
nel than for its meat.

When speaking of the a\4an rovers likely to l)e met
with by St. Louisans in their winter walks, it would be
amiss to omit the AVaxwings, of which there are two well-
defined species, one a rare winter visitant, the other a
common resident. The rare guest, tlie larger of the two spe-
cies, is the reno^\^led Bohemian AVaxAving, citizen of two
worlds, equally well known in the Old World and in the
New, because of circumpolar distribution. The snuUler
species is the Cedar or Cheriybird, a 100 ])er cent Amer-
ican with no brothers or sisters in the Old World. For
the larger part of the year the Bohemian desei-^^es its
name, for it leads the life of a gypsy, a man without a
country. In breeding time it retires to parts of Alaska
and the Canadian Northwest, but, wishing to live in com-
pany and feeding chiefly on wild berries, it has taken to
a habit of wandering, which carries it far away from its
nests in search of sufficient food. They may appear in
a particular locality one winter and not be seen again at
the same place for many years. It is probable that they
come to Missouri much oftener than we are aware of, for
it is by mere chance that we come across a troop of birds
of such erratic behavior. They must not be confounded
with our Codarbird, which tliey resemble very much in
color, shape and habit, but which are about an inch
smaller, liave no wliite on the wangs, and white instead
of chestnut under tail feathers.

Althougli a troop of Cedarbirds may ho met with on
our walks in any month of the year, as a rule the bulk of

Extracts from Dianj of Otto Widmann 33

the species spends the coldest time south of our state,
when they feed largely on the berries of the Red Cedar,
Haw, Sumac, Bittersweet, Chokeberry, Black Alder (Ilex
verticillata), Smilax and Ilackberry. Restless f rait eaters,
like these Cedarbirds, are nature's best agents in the dis-
tribution of the seeds of many trees and shrubs. I may
state here that I had the good fortune last summer of
watching a pair of these birds at their nest. This is con-
sidered a rare chance, not only because the birds them-
selves are uncommon in smnmer, but because they are
the most secretive of breeders. The nest was fifty feet
from the ground in the top of an Elm tree, and luck
willed it that one of the owners slipped into it at the veiy
second when my glass was fixed upon it. Unlike most
other birds the Cedarbirds are very seldom seen in the
vicinity of their nest, but arriving from a distance alight
directly at the nest and disappear within. Wlien leaving
they take wing immediately at the nest and fly over the
tree tops, disappearing in the distance. As soon as the
young are able to fly the family joins others and is never
seen at the breeding stand again.

One of the best treats we can have in the bird line is
when our winter walk leads us upon a troop of Redpoll
Linnets, as the Redpolls are often called. These beauti-
ful, sprightly little birdies with a red crown and pink
breast belong to the rovers, who restlessly go from place
to place in flocks containing from 6 or 8 to more than a
hmidred birds each. Like Crossbills and other rovers
they are irregular in respect to their visits in the United
States. Sometimes absent in a locality for several years,
they may again appear in small nmnbers or perhaps only
late in winter. In Missouri the earliest ever reported
was on November 4 and the latest April 8. Redpolls have
one of the greatest ranges of passerine birds, and the
very same species is found in Europe and Asia from
England to Japan and in America from Alaska to
Labrador.

34 Trans. Aca-d. Sci. of St. Louis

Their near relationship to the Goldfinches and Siskins
is at once noticed in their behavior, the same affectionate
and confiding disposition, allo\nng a near approach when
occupied in feeding on the seeds of herbs and grasses,
in the pnrsnit of wliicli they come into our towns and
suburbs.

One of the best-known birds with a circumpolar dis-
tribution is the Horned or Shore Lark. It is known in
Europe and Asia, in northern South America, northern
Africa, and received its specific name Alpestris because
found as a breeder in the AJps.

The type species, the one upon which the genus has
been based, breeds in northeastern North America and
in Europe and comes to the United States only in ^\'inter,
occasionally as far south as Missouri. At least it appears
that flocks of Horned Larks seen on the sandbars in the
Mississippi River opposite St. Louis belonged to this
subspecies, a geographic race that may be distinguished
from our resident subspecies praticohi by its large size,
darker color and yellow instead of white head-and-tliroat
markings. As the difference in size amounts to half an
inch it is quite obvious to a practiced eye, but the fact
that our Prairie Horned Lark is not known to frequent
sandbars at any season, but that the type species hai)it-
ually prefers large Hat tracts along the seacoast or inland
waters in the winter wanderings, seems to confirm our
identification. It is, however, true that in cases of sub-
species real proof is desirable and scientists are not to
be blamed for rejecting reports of unusual occurrences
not attested by specimens. As the West and Northwest
of North America are iiiliabited by other subs]K'cies,
there is a probability or possii)ility that some of our win-
ter visitants belong to one of those. The study of Horned
Larks is made still more complex because our l)reeding
subspecies is largely a resident bird and does not leave
us until driven away by deep snow. Even snow has no
horror for some of them who know where to find sus-

Extracts from Diary of Otto Wklmann 35

tenance in pastures and farmyards or follow roads into
towns in quest of a favorite bird, food, horse dro])pings.
With the replacement of horses by the auto this su])ply
has greatly diminished, a circumstance which our TTouse
Sparrows have especial reason to deplore.

The Larks, though having a general resemblance to
many members of the Sparrow family, have anatomical
characters that separate them into a family of their own.
It has its center of distribution in the Old World, where
about one hundred species are recognized, among them
the celebrated Sky Lark, wdiile America has only one
species, but this is so well scattered over the whole con-
tinent that the last edition of the A. 0. U. Qieck List
enumerates fourteen subspecies. While the song of the
Horned Lark cannot be compared to that of the Sky
Lark, it still has some merit, and is so much more inter-
esting because given by the bird while on wing high in air.

Wlien speaking of the birds of a circumpolar distribu-
tion, we must not forget to mention the Snowy Owl.
Everybody has seen mounted specimens of it, for it is a
favorite object of the curio shops, especially those at
Niagara, a region in which the bird sometimes appears
in large flights. Old males are nearly pure white, younger
birds and females are more or less barred by transverse
spots of brownish. Li its summer home the Snowj^ Owl
lives mostly on lemmings, and it is not every winter that
it leaves its boreal home, but in some years large flights
have reached the United States, when as many as 500
have been reported from New England alone. Excep-
tional wanderings have carried some of them into central
and even southern states to South Carolina and Louis-
iana, and flights hav^ been obsen^ed far out at sea. The
species is more diurnal than nocturnal, and when away
from home takes what food can be obtained, chiefly mam-
mals, but also birds, fish and even offal. The breeding
range extends from the limit of trees north to the Arctic
Ocean. The flesh of the ])ii'(l is said \o resemble that of

36 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

chicken in np])oarance and is very much relished by the
Eskimos. The bird is capable of rapid flight and is able
to catch ducks and pigeons on the wing, striking them
down after the manner of the Duck Hawk.

Siskins, as we generally call them, although the name
belongs to a different species of the Old "World, are
counted among the winter residents of Missouri, but we
better call them winter visitants, for they are, like the
Purple inches, highly erratic. They may stay a few
days at a place, but when gone may not be seen for a
whole year. They breed in the northern coniferous for-
ests and in the western mountains down to the Mexican
border, but are great wanderers for one-half of the year.
In appearance they resemble much our Goldfmches in
their winter dress, but are easily known by the spotted
underparts and yellow areas on \\dngs and tail. Having
the feeding habits of the Goldfinches, the two species are
often found together on their feeding grounds and at the
water pools, but when disturbed the Siskins go off their
own way, keeping together in troops, which sometimes
amount to real flocks. Before their departure in spring
the males become very musical, but their song is not as
melodious as that of the Goldfinches or that of the Pur-
ple Finches.

Tlie latter are great musicians, in fact they are one
of our best songsters, their song resembling that of the
AVarbliiig Vireo, undisputedly an artist among songsters.
Purple Finches are more regular in their visits to us and
might be classed among our winter residents if they would
only remain longer in one place, but they like to rove
from one feeding ground to another in search of favorite
food, the seeds of trees, shrubs, weeds and grasses. Like
other birds they have sometimes a hard task to get at
their food. During one of those dreaded periods, when
everything was covered by snow and frozen rain, when
boys were skating in the streets of St. Louis, I came upon
a troop of Purple Finches in a sinkhole near Carondelet.

Extracts from Duinj of Otto Widmann 37

Thoy were feeding on the berries of the Coral Berry,
Indian Currant or Buck Vine, as the shrub is variously
called. They had probably been feeding there all day, for
the frozen ground was covered with the pulp of the ber-
ries, discarded by the birds in the attempt to get at the
kernels, which served them as food for the time being.

Most of the Purple Finches seen in winter are in the
brown dress of the female or young male, but there are
always a few more or less crimson colored old males
among them. Brown birds seen in the act of singing are
probably all young males, though it is possible that
females try to sing, as we know that female Cardinals
and female Pine Grosbeaks are doing.

The Yellow-rumped Warbler or Myrtle Bird is not
really a winter resident with us. Wlien we see it late in
December, as we see it often, we can label it a delayed
transient, rather than winter resident, because records
of their occurrence in January" and February to the mid-
dle of March are rare. Some observers insist on calling
all birds seen in the month of December winter residents.
This is a mistake. A bird may be kept back by an abun-
dance of its favorite food, as, for instance, in this case the
drupes of Poison Iv^^ or Red Cedar berries, but when
these are all gone the birds will leave and not return
until spring migration sets in. In the Atlantic states it
is the Myrtle Berry or Bay Berry, the fruit of Myrica
Carolinensis, which grows in large numbers along the
coast, that keeps the bird lingering through a part of
winter and has given it the name of Myrtle Bird. To us
Yellow-rump seems to be a more appropriate name. Late
in fall as well as in early s])ring Chipping Sparrows and
Bluebirds are often their com])anions. Bluebirds may
also be mentioned among our winter birds, for though
the real winter home of the species is south of the Ozarks,
there are always a few remaining with us in sheltered
bottoms and are liable to appear at their breeding stands
anv warm dav, even in Jniiuarv. This rear the first were

38 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

seen at Webster Groves on l\'liriiary L', when a sudtleii
warm spell indueed them to visit tiieir old haunts, not to
stiiy, hut simi)ly to see how matters stand. On such
ins])eetion tours they remain only a short time, announce
their presence by a few carols an<l retire to their feeding
grounds in tlu' creek or river bottom. It is liar<l to
ex])lain how they lind nourishment enougli to bridge them
over the snowy and icy })eriods, since their main sus-
tenance must be taken from the insect world, hut for
warm (juarters to spend the nights old woodpeckers'
holes serve them well, and I have myself witnessed how
three or four entered the same bole, certainly a good way
to kee]) warm. All birds accumulate a layer of fat in
autumn, and it may be taken for granted that this store
is drawn upon in times of want.

The Missouii liiver, flowing from west to east and cut-
ting our state into two parts, North ^lissouri and South
Missouri, forms in winter the dividing line of two faunal
zones for many species of birds, absent or rare in North
Missouri, but becoming more and more regular or numer-
ous as we proceed from the river southward.

As belonging to this class we may name the Migrant
Shrikes, ^lockingbirds, Bewicks and Winter Wrens,
^feadowlarks. Doves, Prairie TTorned Larks, Rusty
Blackbirds, Cowbirds, (irackles, Sapsuckers, Flickers,
Turkey \'ultures, several kinds of S])arrows, Purjile and
Goldtinches, Siskins, Kinglets, Kingfishers, several kinds
of Hawks and Ducks, Robins and Bluebirds.

The Hobin is no sti'angei' to our wintei- fauna. W(>
m<'et him in ilocks in the heavy tinibei" in Christmas tinH»,
hear even his song and ciieei-fu! rail when we least expect
him. I have seen him as early as the lirst day of Feb-
ruary in Shaw's (larden, but ordinarily it is a month
later when he mounts his favorite perch at his summer
home for his first song within the city of St. Louis.

At Old Orchard T have seen one once when the mercury
w;is l)elow zero, Imt llie intelligent bird was not freezing

Extracts from Dinry of Otto Widmann 39

to death, for be was hugging a pile of fresh stable manure
that kept him warai and may have fed him at the same
time.

Birds which do not breed with us but come to us reg*
ularly to spend the winter we call winter residents, dis-
tinguishing them from winter visitants, those species that
appear only for a short time and are more or less irregu-
lar in their visits to the same locality.

Of our true mnter residents we have to name at first
the Junco or Snowbird, as it is commonly called. Ours
and the adjoining states are the winter homes of millions
of these lovely, sprightly creatures, to whom no cold
seems to be too severe as long as they find something to
eat. In fomier times thev found food and shelter in the
virgin forests with their fallen trees and impenetrable
brush, but since these have given way to farm land, the
Junco resorts to the pasture and farmyard for its food
supply. With the first awaking of spring the Junco
becomes restless and excited and gathers into flocks to
begin the flight toward its summer home, which is chiefly
north of the United States and extends to the Arctic
Coast. Subspecies inhabit tlio western mountains, one
the Alleghanies.

The Canada Tree Sparrow occurs through the greater
portion of British America in summer and winters from
the ]iorthern United States southward to Virginia,
Tennessee and Oklahoma. In general appearance it
reminds us of the Chipping Sparrow, which is with us in
the summer, but leaves us at the time when its northern
cousin comes. Besides being a little larger, the TroQ
Sparrow differs from the (^hi})py by having broad white
wing bands and a dark s])ot on the breast. It always
occurs in troops, sometimes in hirge flocks, and is pro-
vided throughout the winter with an unfailing supply of
seeds from the dried flower clusters of golden rod and
other withered weeds that reach above the snow. The

40 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

inimbor of wild ])laiits and treos which keep their seed
throuLrli tlie winter is ^J'^'J^tiT than tlio casual ()l)s<'rv.'r
woukl believe. Many of them are wi(h'sj)read species
well suited to form winter staples for irranivorous birds.
Like most visitors from the nortii the Tree Sparrows are
very active, lively birds. Even when feedinic they utter
a low note with a nnisical sound, and p:iven by many indi-
viduals at the same time produce a conversational ehirj)-
in^, so i^leasantly modulated as to sound like the expres-
sion of contented companionship. This habit is so much
like that of the Euroi)ean Tree Sparrow that it caused
the early European settlers to give the bird the name of
Tree Sparrow, otherwise a misnomer, since the bird from
Canada does not frequent trees at all, but seeks the
thickets for a retreat and i)rotection from weather and
enemies and makes its nest on or near the ground. To the
winter residents of the vicinity of St. Louis we must
add several more members of the S])arrow family,
though they occur in much smaller numbers than the Tree
Sparrows and Juncos. The more common of them is the
Song Sparrow, to be found chiefly along the "wet
weather branches" running through lields and ])astures
and usually bearing a fringe of tangled weeds and
grasses, thus forming an excellent retreat and feeding
ground in all kinds of weather. Among them are some-
times a few Swam]) Sparrows, but their true winter home
is from southern Missouri to the Clulf. A particular
pleasure is derived from a meeting with a ])arty of Fox
Sparrows in the bottoms of the rivers. They are likely to
srreet vou with a few musical notes even in January, and
you will see the musician on top of a low tree only a short
distance away. They are usually in (■omi)any of other
Sparrows, among which they ajtpear like big brothers.
White-throated Sjmrrows ar<' not rare, but they stick
to their seclusion in the heavy uiuh'rbrush of the forest,
while the White-crowned S]iarrow is to be looked for

Extracts from Diary of Otto Widtnann 41

along the hedges in the fields or with other sparrows at
the border of forests.

Other Sparrows, but belonging to the class of "perma-
nent" residents, because here in winter and summer, are
the Cardinal and the Towhee. Like the other Ground
Sparrows, with which they are often associated, the
Towhees are great hiders, and when keeping silent, as it
is their habit in winter, it is not easy to get a sight of
them, although they may be present in the same locality
all winter. Even the Cardinals of striking coloration
and large size know how to keep out of view in the heavy
shrubbery, but it is a fine sight to see one of the beautiful
birds emerge from its seclusion and, if the sun shines
brightly, give you one of its cheering songs even in the
depth of winter. In sheltered places where corn is
shocked or left standing on the stalk in the field we may
have the good luck of coming upon a whole flock of them
when other food is scarce.

On such an occasion we may discover that Nuthatches
don't starve when corn is to be had and we may be aston-
ished to see them extract the nucleus only, the sweetheart
of the kernel and reject the rest. Nuthatches, of which
we have four good species mth seven subspecies in North
America, belong to a family which is like the nearly
related Creepers and Titmice of circumpolar distribu-
tion. In Missouri two species are of regular occurrence
and a third of local range in the pine region of the
Ozarks. Of the two commonly found around St. Louis
one is a permanent resident, the other a transient and
occasional winter visitant. The first is the White-
breasted or Carolina Nuthatch, the other the Red-
breasted or Canadian Nuthatch. Both have the same
habit of hopping up and down the trunks and branches of
trees in a manner which distinguishes them easily from
other birds. While other woodland birds like the Wood
Thrush and Pewee have learned to accommodate them-
selves to the new conditions connected with civilization

42 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

and arc buildinp: their nests near human liabitations, the
Nuthatches stick to the woods and avoid man as much
as they can in nesting time. But in winter they lose this
shyness, join roving troops of Titmice and come to our
fruit trees in the orcliard and to our sliade trees around
the dwellings, doing much good as insect destroyers.

Chickadees and Tufted Tits belong to that small
coterie of permanent residents who try and mostly suc-
ceed in braving our winters. That they sometimes suc-
cumb to the cold, I have seen myself. After a cold night
a Chickadee fell lifeless from a tree in front of me and
a Nuthatch was found frozen stifY in the spout of a gutter
on our house in Old Orchard. The poor bird had crawled
in it, taking it for a safe place, not knowing that metal
is a good conductor of heat, becoming ven* cold at night
and taking oil the warmth of the little body. But as a
rule we may assume that birds which take refuge in tree
holes can withstand very low temperatures and our
Chickadees and Titmice are hapjiy and frolicking even in
the cold weather. Their food supply is always accessible,
insects and seeds serving them equally well for nourish-
ment. Tn search of these they wander in little troops,
never alone, but often accompanied by other birds, usually
Downies and Nuthatches, sometimes Creepers or King-
lets, a lively assemblage, welcome wherever they go, be it
forest or j)aik, farm or city, never doing any liarm, but
always lots of good. The Downy and the Hairy AVood-
pecker are j)ermanent residents, often seen in pairs in
winter and therefore believed to remain mated the whole
year. It stands to reason that many other species could
furnish exam))les of ]>ennan('nt mates, l)iit it is not easy
to prove in species where u\i\\o and female are not as
easily distinguished as in most of the Woo<lpeckers. Red-
birds, the sexes of wliidi aic easily told, are also found
keeping together in winter, as if mated for another year.

While our Woodpeckers are very quiet in winter, they
are among the first to feel the impulse of love and are

Extracts from Diary of Otto Widmanti 43

with their companions, the Tufted Tits ami Chickadees,
the most prominent wooers in early spring, announcing
their intentions in no mistakable manner, and notifying
others of their kind by drumming to keep out of their
chosen domain.

An unique visitor of our wintry woods is the Brown
Creeper. It is invariably found hugging the tiiinks of
trees and easily overlooked, because of its colors of
various shades of brown and white. It is the busiest lit-
tle body in the woods, always on the move, diligently fol-
lowing its useful occupation of gleaning insects and their
eggs from cracks in the bark, holding to its su^jport by its
sharp claws and rigid tail feathers. On seeing an o]>
server it goes to the opposite side of the tree, but by wait-
ing and watching we may get a glimpse of it again higher
up on the tree. It starts usually near the base of a tree
and ascends by little jerks in a spiral way, uttering an
occasional soft chirp, leaving the tree before ascending
very high in order to begin the ascent at the base of
another tree. It is a conscientious worker, but its labor
becomes monotonous, because it is an endless repetition
without variation. When vou have watched it a few min-
utes you have seen it a year, and seeing one is seeing a
thousand. To us the species is of particular interest, be-
cause Missouri is the only state in which it has been
found breeding south of the coniferous forests of the
North, except in mountainous regions. Nests have been
found in the Bald Cypress swamps of the Southeast and
on dead elm trees in the Duckpond in St. Louis County.
The nests are usually built behind the loose bark of de-
caying trees, but with the disappearance of these oppor-
tunities for nesting sites our Creepers will be forced to
do as the Old World cousins have been doing for a long
time and put up with any kinds of holes in trees and even
crevices on buildings in the woods.

One of the birds most difficult to find is the Winter
Wren. It has to be looked for chiefly along creeks in the

44 Trans. Acad. ISci. of St. Louis

■woods, where it loves to liidc iiiidiT the exposed roots of
trees. In inierration it lias visited wood j)iles and brush
heaps in ])()puhited ])laeos, ])nt as a rule it seeks the re-
tirement of the forest.

The Bewick's Wren, whose summer home is chiedy
south of the Missouri River, while that of the AVinter
Wren is in the north, is sometimes found in winter in the
suburbs of St. Louis. The Carolina Wren used to be one
of our conspicuous birds in \nnter. Its loud whistle was
one of the lirst sounds we heard on entering its haunts.
The species was known as a most faithful ])eniianent resi-
dent, Itcing found at its breeding stand all the year round.
It is only since the unusually severe winter of 1917-18
that Carolina AVrens have become scarce, and in fact in
most places where it was known to occur for many years
it is totally absent since then.

A really dainty little bird to be met with in oui- woods
in winter is the (Jolden-cresteil Kinglet. It is a hardier
species than its cousin, the Kuby-crowned Kinglet, which
is with us in si)ring and fall. The Golden-crested has two
black stripes on the head enclosing a yellow stripe, which
in the old male has a scarlet center. It is not alwavs easv
to get a good view of these markings, as the little fellow
is in almost ])erpetual motion. Tii migration they occur
in small trooj)s by themselves, but in winter we find them
usually in company of Titmice. Their soft "see, see, see"
and sprightly actions show they are always in the best of
spirits. Their sunnner home is mainly north of the
United States, but we find them breeding in the moun-
tains of the Atlantic States and in the West. Tn Europe,
which has nothing like our lluinniingbird, two sjiecies of
Kinglets are the smallest birds known.

J31ue.jays are not as i)lentiful in winter in our neighbor-
hood as some seem to think. They are rather few in
number, but by many jK'oj^le oftener seen in winter than
in simuner, because they come into our very yards in the
city to gather food from the garbage ]iail and chicken

Extracts from Dmry of Otto Widmann 45

coop. They have found out that the immediate vicinity
of dwelhngs is not only the best place for finding food,
but also the safest from their winged enemies, the Hawks
and Owls. Very few Bluejays remain in our woods in
winter; even such places as cemeteries are forsaken,
though these are favorites in nesting time. It is the
omnivorous nature of the Jays and Crows that helps
them over the hardest times. Crows were formerly the
most conspicuous birds in winter in the city of St. Louis,
when all tlie garbage collected in the city was dumped
into the river. In the eighties they had an immense roost
on Arsenal Island, opposite Carondelet, and later on
Gabaret Island, opposite North St. Louis. In going to
and coming from their feeding grounds in the county
thev had to flv over the citv. While the flight from the
roost in the early morning was but little noticed, the
flight to the roost in the afternoon was a grand spectacle.
'As earlv as four o'clock, in cloudv weather even much
earlier, troops of Crows began to come from the west,
flying at great heights in clear, calm weather, but low
over the roofs of houses on windy or cloudy days, cross-
ing the city at certain points, troop following troop until
the passage became a continuous stream of birds, denser
and denser, until the sun had sunk down in the west.
From points of vantage one could follow the birds to the
island and see them alight on the sandbar that separated
the willow-covered interior from the water. There the
thousands and thousands of Crows alighted, went to the
water's edge to get a drink and took a good long rest
before flWng up to find a perch in the willows, which
were then forming an almost impenetrable thicket, 15 to
30 feet high. On these willows they spent the long win-
ter nights, poorly sheltered from the cold northerly and
westerly winds blov^ang over the river.

A crow can withstand severe cold much better when the
feet, the most tender spot, are protected, and when too
cold for them in the willows tliov remained all night on

46 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

the sand, and whon snow was on the gruunci, on the snow.
After tliey had left in the morning one conld see every
spot wliere a Crow had spent the niglit; a round depres-
sion (if n])out six inches in diameter, fhinked on tlie lee
side by a few droppings of excreta and on the wind side
by a few holes in the snow made by the bird's bill. When
Illinois began paying a bounty for Crows their number
dwindled down ra])idly, and in the past ten years there
were no crows flying over the city and one has to go to
the Missouri Riv^er region to see flocks of crows in winter.

The most interesting winter loost in the vicinity of St.
Louis is that of the Red-winged Blackbird, a place where
thousands of them come together every evening to spend
the night in company, while they scatter far and wide in
search of food during the day. The roost is on sandy
land between the Creve C'oeur Lake and St. Charles
bridge. The ])lace is overgrown witli scouring rushes,
Equiseium hicwnlf, which during tlie summer reaches a
height of two to three feet. Tn the fall the stems break,
and in leaning over in all directions form a matted mass
under which small animals find the best possible resting
plac(^ in winter. The ground being sandy absorbs rain
(}ui<kly, snow remains mostly on the mattecl mass and a
freezing i-aiii makes the shelter <'ven more secure.

I'ndei- these rushes the Ixedwings spend tlie coldest,
windiest nights in |ierfect comfort, and it is only lack of
food that rcfluees their number when di^ep snow covers
tlit'ir feeding grounds, fields and pastures, where animals
are kept or cornlields where coimi is left in shocks or on
the stem, hiniiig the day not a hird is seen aliout this
roost, the birds crossing over the livcr to spread over
St. Charles and neighboring counties, but in the ev«'ning
before sunset they come in long streams, pouring into the
adjoining timber before going to the rushes, which is
done only when dusk is settling over the region. Most
of tliese T?edwings belong to tliat subs])ecies or geo-
graphic race that breeds in the Cnited States, but in the

Extracts from Diary of Otto Widmanyi 47

depth of winter they are joined by a northern, larger
subspecies which comes down from Canada to spend the
coldest time with us.

When we watch the incoming flocks closely, as they fly
over or alight in trees to rest, we see sometimes a troop
of Bronzed Grackles in their company, and once in a
while we meet with a few Rusty Blackbirds or a Cowbird
on our rambles through the county in winter, but as a
rule these species are less hardy than the Redwings,
especially the males. We may assume that the Redwings
we have here in winter, though of the same subspecies
as the ones that breed here, are from the northern United
States, and some of them seem to be intermediates be-
tween ours and the Canada subspecies, ostralegus, which
is nearly an inch larger than ours.

There are always a few of our Flickers and Redheads
left behind when the great army of tlieir kind has gone
to more genial winter homes. These abandoned indi-
viduals lead a recluse life and are therefore easily over-
looked. The Red-bellied AVoodpecker is of a decided
sedentary habit and we count it among our true perma-
nent residents. Another truly permanent resident is our
Bobwhite. It can stand well our ordinarv winters, can
go without food a few days, but extraordinarily cold and
snow;\' winters have proved destructive and have
decimated their numbers badly.

The Grouse, Partridge or Pheasant, as the Ruffed
Grouse is called by different people, is still found, though
rarely, in our state. Old settlers claim the species was
once plentiful, but this must have been before the state
became settled by the white man with his shotgun and
hunting dogs. There are several theories trying to
explain the deplorable scarcity of this valuable game
bird. One is that a disease killed them; another that the
spread of the jigger was destructive to the young or sit-
ting hen ; one said the extension of the range of the Red
Fox into Missouri was the cause, the Red Fox being much

48 Trans. Acad. Set. of St. Louis

more daiitroroiis to birds than the Grev Fox, but 1 tliink
it is mainly tlie farmer's hog that prevents the rearing
of all kinds of birds nesting on the ground in the timber.
Towliees, Ovenbirds and several other speeies nesting on
the ground are extenninated in woodlands where hogs are
kei)t, and most of our Missouri woods are overrun by
hogs. They are as destructive to eggs as to young birds,
and wliere no young are reared the species must soon
disappear.

Besides the birds already mentioned there are several
kinds of Hawks and Owls to be found here in winter. The
Screech, Barred and Great Horned Owls are true perma-
nent residents, while the Short-eared, Long-eared and
Saw-whet Owls may be counted among the winter visit-
ants. The Sparrowhawk is a real permanent resident in
St. Louis, but has only become so since the English Spar-
row has multi])lied so wonderfully, affording the Hawk a
never-failing provision at all times. Of the large ^fouse-
hawks, the Red-tailed is with us all the year, the Red-
shouldered being a less hardy bird, while the ^farsh
Hawk and Rough-legged Hawk are regular winter
visitants.

Extracts from Diary of Otto Widmann 49

CHAETURA PELAGICA (Linnaeus) CHIMNEY SWIFT.

(St. Louis Naturalists' Club, Feb. 26, 1921.)

The great Linnaeus took our Cliinmey Swift for a
Swallow and called it Hirundo Pelagica in his Systema
Naturae of 1758, and changed the orthography of the
specific name in a later edition in 1766 to Pelasgia. It is
not clear why he employed these words, since the mean-
ing of pelagic relates to the high seas, like marine ; it can
only be understood that he took it figuratively to mean
nomadic, migratory, in allusion to the nomadic Pelasgi,
an ancient, prehistoric race of the Mediterranean region.
Even Wilson described it in his American Ornithology in
1812 as Hirundo Pelasgia, Chinmey Swallow. Bonaparte
in his Synopsis, Birds of the United States, 1828, took it
from the Swallows and placed it in the same genus with
the European Swifts and called it Cypselus Pelasgius.
He was followed by Nuttall in his Manual in 1832, and
by Audubon in his Ornithological Biography in 1834, but
in Audubon's Synopsis of 1839 and in his ''Birds of
America" in 1840 the bird appears under its new name,
Chaetura Pelasgia, which was corrected by Baird in 1858
to Pelagica, on account of its priority, being used by
Linnaeus in 1758.

The genus name Chaetura has been bestowed on the
bird by Stephens in Shaw's General Zoology in 1826. The
word is made from the Greek xo^'^-rK a bristle, and '*^^'''
tail, in allusion to the spines, which project from the ends
of the tail feathers. Although Swifts have much in com-
mon with the Swallows in appearance and habits and
were formerly counted among them, not only by the peo-
ple generally, but, as we have seen, also by systematists,
they are now widely separated from them in classifica-
tion.

While the Swallows belong to the Suborder Oscines of
the Order Passeres, the Swifts form together with the
Nighthawks and Hummingbirds the Order Macrochires,

50 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

from viacro, loii^, and cJiir, hand, established by Nitzsch
in 1829, an order well defined by anatomical characters.
It is remarkable that, though so much like Swallows in
many respects externally, the Swifts have scarcely any
part of the structure which is not formed on a dilTcrent
plan. The Swallow family is a good member of the
Oscines or Song Birds, a suborder of the order Passcres
or Perching Birds. There is only one other suborder of
the Passeres, the Clamatores or Songless Perching Birds,
to which belong in North America only the Flycatcher
family, Tiiramiidae, while the Oscines comprise all
the rest of the small land birds with the excep-
tion of tile Woodpeckers, Cuckoos and Kingfishers,
which form orders by themselves. The order Passeres
exceeds by far all other orders in number of species, of
which there are over 9,000, as many as of all other orders
put together.

The Macrochires of the United States are divided into
three suborders: Caprimulgi, Goatsuckers; Cypseli,
Swifts, and Trochili, Ilunmiingbirds ; the first two are
fissirostral or birds with deej)ly cleft gai^es, and the lat-
ter tenn'irostral or birds ^^^th slender bill. C'j/pseli is
taken from the (ireek word ^'V'"?*", Swift, from tlu'lr rapi«l-
ity of flight. The suborder Cijpseli is again divided into
families and subfamilies. Our Chimney Swift belongs
to the subfamily Chaetur'niae or Spine-tailed Swifts of
the family Micropodidae, also called Cypselidae, of which
there are nine genera and seventy-eight species. The
four species of Swifts of the Ignited Stattv'^ belong to
three genera, two of which are only found in the western
United States, the P.lack ST\*ift and the White-throated
Swift; the third genus, to which our Swift belongs, is
represented on the Pacific Coast by the Vaux's Swift, a
much smaller l)ird, but of similar habits.

The Swifts are found all over the globe and are well
represented in America, but some genera are exclusively
East Indian and Polvnesian. All have the salivary

Extracts from Diary of Otto Widmann 51

glands developed to secrete a mucus which serves to glue
together the material to build the nest. Species of the
Old World CoUocalia make tlie edible bird's nests, so
much sought after in China and Japan. There are many
interesting peculiarities connected with the nidification
of Swifts. A Panijptila, a cousin of our White-throated
Swift, living in Guatemala, attaches a tube a foot or more
in length to the underside of an overhanging rock, con-
structed of the pappus of plants, caught flying in the air.
Entrance is from below and the eggs are laid on a shelf
near the top. A near relative of our Swift in Brazil
makes a similar tube nest out of seeds of a certain plant,
suspends it to a horizontal branch and covers the outside
with feathers of various colors. As there is no shelf to
receive the eggs, it is believed that these are cemented
against the sides of the tube and brooded on by the bird
while in an upright position. A Dendrochelidon, a Swift
of Java, builds, on a horizontal branch, a narrow plat-
form of feathers and moss, cemented together, and lays
in it a single egg. The nest is so small that the bird sits
on the branch and covers the egg with the end of her
belly.

When this countiy was first settled S^^dfts were breed-
ing and roosting in hollow trunks of forest trees, but the
change from trees to chimneys must have been early, for
the first writers on birds connect them with their habit
of using chimneys for nesting and roosting. At present
the change is nearly complete, as comparatively few cases
become known where hollow trees are used for nesting.
In Missouri it is mainly the water tupelo, Nyssa unifiora,
which may still offer them retreats, because apparently
healthy trees are entirely hollow, resembling flues and
affording entrance by broken-off branches. We found a
nest with eggs in such a tupelo in the St. Francis River
in Dunklin Co., fastened to the wall of the shaft only two
feet above the water in which the tree was standinc:. As
the opening was fifteen feet from the water, the nest was

52 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

in the safest place jiossible, no enemy being able to reach
it and it was hard work for an axe to get at it from the
skifT in wliirh wc were.

It is a remarkable coincidence in their domestic affairs
that in sjjite of the great dilTcrence in anatomical struc-
ture and therefore distant relationship, the Cliimney
Swift has one important trait with the Swallows and that
is the readiness with which it modifies its way of nesting
according to circumstances. Of the seven s]>ecies of
Swallows which wo have in North iVmerica six have
almost completely changed their modes of nidification,
breeding now in convenient places offered by buildings,
or in houses expressly provided for their use. It may be
presumed tliat in consequence of this change of nidifica-
tion Swallows have increased in numbers of individuals
with the settlement of the countrv or civilization, as we
are pleased to call it, but it is a positively known and
easily explained fact that the Swifts have not only be-
come much more numerous in all populous parts of the
Eastern United States, but have extended and are still
extending their breeding range into the treeless regions
of the West, following the building of human habitations
on the Great Plains which foiiiierly had to be avoided
for want of nesting sites. The present distribution of the
Chimney Swifts is a large one ; it breeds in all the Eastern
United States, from the Atlantic to the (Jreat Plains
and from about 50^ latitude in tlie soutliern ]irovinces of
Canada to southern Florida and southeastern Texas.
Reports of its occurrence in this large ar(>a are so evenly
and thickly spread that we cannot help to assume that in
numbers of individuals the Swift suqiasses the six spe-
cies of Swallows of the Eastern T^nited States ]nit
together, but, strange to say. its winter home is not
known. A few Chimney Swifts have been taken in migra-
tion at Vera Cruz and in Yucatan (Cozumel Island), but
it is a known fact that when the last Swift has left the
United States at the end of October the species has

Extracts from Diary of Otto Widmann 53

entirely vanished until the first ones reappear in the
Southern JStates in March, five months after their dis-
appearance. This is such an unique occurrence in bird-
dom, for we know by this time the winter habitat of
nearly all North American birds, that it is not strange to
find people who think the Swifts must hibernate in some
unknown, inaccessible retreats in Central or South
'America, spending the five months in a lethargic or tor-
pid state like the bats and many reptiles and batrachians.
About half a dozen species of Chaetura, resembling our
Chimney Swift, have been found in different parts of
Central and South America and the Antilles, but no one
has ever told us where the millions and millions of Chim-
ney Swifts of the United States spend the winter. That
such enormous numbers of birds of one species could
escape the vigilance of scores of collectors working for
generations in all parts of the Western Continent is
really mysterious. If the species had a restricted dis-
tribution and were therefore little numerous, as, for in-
stance, the Kjrtland Warbler, which is breeding in only
three counties in central Michigan, it would not astonish
anybody to be told that its winter quarters are not known.
But in the search by ornithologists the winter home of
even this rare Warbler has been found in the Bahama
Islands.

This chapter of possible hibernation of a bird is so
interesting that I cannot refrain from reading to you
what Dr. E. Coues, the most talented writer in bird lit-
erature and one of the most distinguished promoters of
American ornithology^ had to say on the subject.*

The Cliimney Swift is a wonderful bird. Besides its
mysterious disappearance in fall there are three features
in the economy of its life which stand out prominently :
Its marvelous powers of flight, its peculiar nest building,
and its unique roosting. Few birds spend such a large
part of their life on the wing as the Swift does; it never

♦Birds of the Colorado Valley, by Dr. Elliott Coues, pages 372-378.

54 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

perches on trees or wires as Swallows do ; it aliirlits ouly
on perpendicular walls in holes. On account of its almost
incredible rai)idity of flight a Swift is of all land birds
the most diflicult to procure. There is little doubt that a
Swift flies usually at the rate of a mile a minute, and
since it is on the wing, when with us in summer, at least
ten hours, it covers daily a distance of GOO miles, ecjual
to a straigiit line from St. Louis to New Orleans or to
Puluth. Since the distance from New Orleans to Yuca-
tan is only GOO miles, a Swift could cross the Gulf of >rex-
ico in one night, from 7 p. m. to 5 a. m.

The bird is only five and one-half inches long, but has
a wing spread of twelve and one-half inches. Its color is
a sooty brown, darkest on the head and back; the throat
is pale. In flight the tail is folded to a point until a
change is made in the direction of the flight, when the ten
tail feathers are spread far apart to check the force of
motion. In spite of the general resembhince the flight is
more steady and free from jerks than tliat of a Swallow,
the wings are used with extremely fast fluttering motion,
alternating with only short moments of soaring, and all
movements are performed with an abruptness, dis-
tinguished from the easy, elegant evolutions of the Swal-
h)w. ft is astonishing to see two creatures so little
rchited as Swift and Swallow i-esemble each other so
much, and it shows "iiow nature attains the same end in
(lifTerent wavs, furnisiiiiiu: similitudes in diversitv no less
easily than she produces a wealf h of diversity from essen-
tial unity."

A bird student can soon tell a Swift from a Swallow in
fHght at any distance, as he can learn to i<l('ntify other
birds on the wing. This study is interesting and gives
much amusement, for we see how difTennl l>irds move in
(lifTerent ways tlirougli the air. Hawks and Vultures
spread out their broad wings and sail gracefully and
apparently without any effort in straight lines as well

Extracts from Diary of Otto Widmann 55

as in beautiful gyrations. Most otker birds have to keep
their wings in constant motion, some with long, measured
wing-strokes, others beating the air as fast as they can.
The members of whole families are easily recognized by
their ffight, as, for instance, the AVoodpockers, wliich alter-
nately close and open their wings and thereby fall and
rise at intervals. The flight of the Bluejay seems to cost
the bird much effort and the bird knows he is not a fast
flier ; when going great distances as in migration he keeps
as much as possible over tree tops in order to take ready
refuge in case of danger. The Robin is a swift flyer,
more rapid than the Blackbirds, from which it is easily
distinguished when they are flying together to a common
roost. The Song Sparrow can easily be known from
other ground Sparrows in its flight from one thicket to
another, as can the Groldfinch be recognized by its
undulatory flight accompanied by a sweet note with every
bound through the air.

Good flyers have the advantage of being able to indulge
in the pleasure of aggregating in large masses, impossi-
ble to their lesser agile fellow creatures. Thousands of
Swifts, Swallows, Robins, Blackbirds, Crows and others
of equal flying power can spend the nights together and
find sufficient food the next day by spreading over hun-
dreds of square miles, if necessary. All birds have the
social instinct well developed, even Hawks and Owls flock
in migration and roost together, but the comparatively
feebly winged Sparrows and Warblers may hold together
only a few dozens of their kind without endangering their
food supply.

When not in the air the Swift is found clinging to the
wall of a hollow tree, a chimney flue or a rough board in
the attic of a house, in a barn or shed or deserted build-
ing, and we must admire the courage of the little bird in
risking its life by entering and descending into dark
places to depths to which no other bird, not even an Owl,
would dare to penetrate.

56 Trans. Acad. Set. of St. Louis

Wliile the liigli keel of the Swift's breastbone, able to
su])port large pectoral muscles, corresponds to tlie untir-
ing })Ower of flight, the long tibiae, short tarsi and strong
claws are most ably adapted to the purpose of which they
are intended, that of clinging in upright })osition to })er-
pendicular surfaces, in which the stitT, bristly tail feath-
ers serve as a brace. It is in these places that the Swift
not only finds rest and spends its nights, but also builds
its nest, a semi-circular, half-saucer-s]ia{)ed basket, a
curious and unique structure of short bits of twigs glued
together l>y the saliva of the bin!. M;\\r and female are
both provided with glands situated below the tongue ])ro-
duciiig this glutinous substance, but only during the time
of nest building and in small daily (juantities. It is a
colorless liquid, which soon hardens to a yellowish var-
nish, a strong cement in a dry place, but soluble in water.
As this glue is the only means by which the nest is fas-
tened to the wall, long spells of rain loosen its hold, caus-
ing the destruction of its contents. If this happens early
in the season, a second attempt is made, and this explains
why late broods are found, giving rise to the mist^iken
belief that two successful broods are reared. By actual
observation it has been estal)lished that to raise a brood
of Swifts takes much longer than fonnerly supposed, it
takes the Swift longer to build a nest than other birds,
beciiuse the glue put down one day has to harden l)efore a
new layer can be added. AN'liile it dries in one day of warm,
dry weather, it takes longer in wet and cool weather.
Starting the construction of a nest a good layer of glue
is smeared against the wall and a few short bits of twigs
are stuck to it while yet wet. These twigs are broken
from dry branches of trees by the bird flying repeatedly
against them and taken hold «)f and carried to the nest
with their feet. The whole ])roeess of nest building, egg
laying and raising of young to the state when they can
feed themselves is a slovr one and requires fully two

Extracts from Diary of Otto Widmann 57

montlis. As the Swifts live entirely on small winged
insects and have to catch them on the wing, weather con-
ditions influence all their functions, not only the building
of their nests, but even the deposition of their eggs, of
which 4 to 6 are laid. Like most eggs deposited in dark
places their color is white, but while a Canary hatches its
eggs in 13 days, it takes the Swift 17 to 19 days. Both
parents not only help in nest building, but also in incu-
bating and feeding the young. The incubating parent
spreads its breast protectingly over the base of the nest
and, when necessary, spreads its wings over its contents.
The young ones, too, lie with heads to the base and the
anal region protruding over the rim to keep the nest
clean. Several nests may be found in one chimney, but
never one below the other. The young make a strong
hissing noise when the feeding parent appears, and when
three weeks old fly with the same hiss against the face of
an intruder of their home. They are at least four weeks
old when able to try their wings for a first flight, but are
brought back to and fed in the chimney for some time
afterward. AVhen nest building is completed, the salivary
glands beneath the tongue shrink and when feeding young
this space is used as a pouch to store the insects for the
young. In feeding the parent thrusts its head deep into
the wide open mouth of the young, ejecting the contents
of its pouches with jerky motions. That these consist
partly of living insects is seen when the parent's head is
retracted and minute insects appear trying to escape
from its bill. This explains the peculiar cleaning of the
bill after feeding. That the Swift, like most other birds,
returns to its former home to breed has again been dem-
onstrated by Mr. BajTies who banded one in 1911 and
caught the banded bird the following year when it came
again down into the same room.

Swifts are very devoted to their young and instances
are known when they have risked and sacrificed their
lives in the attempt to reach them in burning buildings.

58 Trans. Acad. Hci. of St. Louis

In some cases tliey give offense hy making noise in tlie
early morning or by tlie slirill twitter of the young when
being fed and ciiuse people to close their chimneys
against these lovable birds, whose sen'ices in the destruc-
tion of disagreeable and obnoxitnis insects arc so very
benelicial to mankind. Ft)rtunatelv there are manv chim-
neys not used in summer to be found in populous districts,
and where all other suitable places such as garrets, bams,
etc., are absent, instances have been reported where the
daring bird has built its nest several feet below the
ground to the side of deserted wells.

The occasion of the first llight of young Swifts is made
a holiday affair for all the Swifts of the neighborhood
and is attended by much merry noise-making.

After the young are strong on the wing the whole fam-
ily betakes itself in the evening to the community roost
and these places are used for rest mitil migration from
the north sets in, when all resort to the great roost where
hundreds and thousands can spend the nights together.
These are the places that cause so much comment and
admiration, because they offer a spectacle which even the
most unobserviiig and disinterested passer-by cannot
overlook. The first settlers of the country were struck
with the novelty of seeing a cloud of small birds revolv-
ing al)ove an old hollow tree and at last disappearing
within it. They called these trees *' Swallow trees," be-
cause they took the birds for Swallows, though England
has a bird which is called Swift, a cousin of ours, but of
another genus, a Cypselus, a spineless Swift of similar
appearance, but different habits.

Swallow trees may still exist in remote regions, but all
over their United States range Swifts are now known to
occupy large chimneys for this ]iurpose and, if not dis-
turbed, return to them year after year in ever-increasing
numbers.

We St. Lonisans have always had excellent opportu-
nity for watching such Swift chimneys. From the south-

Extracts from Diary of Otto \Vid)nan)t 59

ern part of Carondelet to the Chain of Rocks, and in the
suburbs, there have been and still are a number of chim-
neys used for the purpose, some harboring hundreds,
some thousands of transients in their passage through
the state. To the student of bird migration the visit to
such chimneys is of great interest, for it is the only place
where he can get early dates for the appearance of the
first Swift in spring and for the verj^ last, present in fall.
It was thus possible for me to get dates much in advance
of others in spring and the latest in fall as long ago as in
the year 1885, the report of which has been published by
the Department of Agriculture in "Bird Migration in the
Mississippi." The whole record of the movements of
the species in that spring from March 31 to May 16, and
in fall from August 17 to October 17 is given in dry fig-
ures, but the exquisite pleasure these visits and observa-
tions gave me and my family who helped me has not been
told and cannot be adequately told, one has to witness the
sight one's self.

Many times since then have I watched Swift chimneys
in different parts of the city, but the grand spectacle has
never ceased to imbue me with the same feeling of won-
der and admiration as it did on the first day. It was last
fall that we had the good luck of discovering the roost
which in size and accessibility and ease of observation
surpasses all others, the chimney of the greenhouse in
Tower Grove Park. It was in the late afternoon of Sep-
tember 17 that we noticed an unusually large number of
Swifts hunting over Shaw's Garden, and following them
to the park we came just in time to see the first individual
of an enormous mass of highly excited, twittering birds,
revolving in a large circle over the greenhouse, drop into
the mouth of the chimney. After a few more had fol-
lowed a continuous stream poured into the chimney for
the next ten minutes without the least interruption. Since
each bird balances itself with highly elevated ^^'ings and
a side to side movement to prevent a too rapid descent,

60 Traits. Acad. Sci. of HI. Louis

*
we are pcniiitted to judge the number of birds by count-
ing how many enter in one second and multiplying this
with the number of minutes. In this manner we arrived
at the prodigious number of 3,UUU. One of our surprises
was to see that after the birds had poured in for five min-
utes the nunil)er of wheeling, rushing, twittering l)irds
was the same as at the beginning, their ranks being con-
stantly lilletl by new arrivals and there was no let-up in
the rate of the influx until the last had dropped out of
sight at 6 :25 and darkness luid fallen over the park.

The chimney was built of brick in 1885, and according
to employes of the park has been used by the birds for
twenty years. It is GO feet high, square and tapering
from six feet at the bottom to five feet at the top. Im-
mense as this structure is, it is sometimes not sufficiently
spacious to accommodate all the Swifts that come to roost,
and for such occasions an overflow roost has been estab-
lished in the chimney of the florist opposite the park on
Magnolia Avenue. Between 500 and 600 entered this
roost on October 14, but it had been given up on October
17. Between September 17 and October 15 we paid sev-
eral visits to the roost and found little change in behavior
and numbers except that on October 15 the first entered
at 5:40, half an hour earlier than on September 17.

October 15 was a fine day, i>artly cloudy with a temper-
ature of 7.'^^ and verv light wind. When we arrived at
the roost at 4:35 only about 50 Swifts were dotting the
sky above the jxirk disapi)earing for short times, ap)>ear-
ing again, bnt without any increase for an hour, and we
feared the bulk of the species had left us for good. Rut
during all this time the sight of a most beautiful illumina-
tion of the evening sky was enjoyed witli utmost gratifi-
cation. .\s the clouds drifted slowly from west to east
they were colored by the setting sun, producing the most
delicate tints of rose upon the bluish gray and blackish
gray background, deepening to fiery red from 5:20 to
5 :25, fading rai>idly. At 5 :40 an increase in the number

Extracts from Diary of Otto Widmatm 61

of Swifts was noticeable, and at 5 :45 two separate bodies
had formed, one over the florist's, the other over the park
chimneys. At 5:46 the first entered the park chimney
and it was now evident that the wild, whirling flock of
excited, twittering birds was thickening fast, but the
descent was slow compared with former entries for the
next five minutes, though continuous. At 5 :51 an enor-
mous crowd of birds was in the air and the crowd above
the florist's went over in a body to the main army, which
now ]:)Oured in a thick stream for over five minutes, while
new flocks arrived and circled in clouds hardly visible on
account of the darkness which had set in. Only sharp
eyes could see them enter and I had to use my fieldglass
to see the large numbers lately arrived go in during the
last four minutes, until at 6 p. m. the last disappeared.
October 15 had always been considered a late date for
Swifts, but there were fully as many birds present as
before; it took them fourteen minutes instead of eight
to enter and the descent commenced when almost dark,
the birds arriving later than usual and in real flocks. In
many years October 14 to 19 were the dates for the very
last Swift on my records, but the extraordinary beauty of
last autumn retained our Smft long enough to break all
records for the state of Missouri, namely October 26, the
previous latest being October 24. Though the weather
after the 15th continued with maximum temperatures
above 80° until October 23, the number of roosting Swifts
became smaller and irregular ; only 800 were counted on
rainy, dark October 18th, 1,200 on the 19tli, and 600 on
the 21st. When cooler weather set in on October 23rd we
thought migration would be over and were astonished to
see, on October 24th, that the roost was not entirely de-
serted, as two birds came when almost dark and went
directly into the chimney without any preliminary osten-
tation.

Mr. Christie visited the roost in a drizzling rain on
October 26 and reported that within 18 minutes, from

G2 'ft (ins. Acad. Sci. uf St. LouU

5:05 to 5:23, fortv-foiir Swifts wont in. Thev arrived in
troops of ten, fonr, fivo, twenty-one and four. The cold
weiitlier of October 27, with snow flurries on tlio 28th,
made fartlier visits unnecessary.

Mr. Frank Hand, tlie frentleman who saved onr King-
fishers in Forest l*ark from destruction, gave me the
result of a \'isit to the roost to see the Swifts leave the
chimnev in the earlv morning. He arrived before six
o'clock on the morning of October 21, when it was still
dark. At 6:12 the Swifts began to come out, one or two
at a time, but continuously following each other for thir-
teen minutes until (1:25, when the last appeared and left.
At the rate of one in a second, he thought 780 left the
roost. After flying a few times around the greenhouse
they disappeared, mostly southward.

The exit in the morning is not such a spectacular alTair
as the entry in the evening, but it is worth mentioning
that I have seen the Swifts go back into their chimney,
when after flying around a short time they found the
weather cold, with a misty rain and no ])rospect of a
breakfast for the moment. I have also repeatedly seen
them go into the chimney and remain there during the
hottest hours of the day, an observation which explains
their sudden commonness toward evening where few or
none were seen in the afternoon.

If the weather be ordinarily favoral)le we may expect
to welcome our first Swift about the first of April, hut
whether this will be at the Tower Grove Park greenhouse
or not will depend on the condition of the furnace. As
many fires are still burning under their favorite autumn
retreats, the early Swifts have to look for unused chim-
neys elsewhere or go directly to the nesting chimneys for
rest and shelter.

While the first Swift arrives at New Orleans between
March 18 and 25 (earliest date !March 13), the earliest
for southern ^fissouri is ^farch 28 and for St. Louis
March 31, 1885. Let us hope that with an unusually early
spring we can beat this date in 1921.

Extracts from Diary of Otto Widniann 63

BIRDS OP THE OZARKS.

(St. Louis Naturalists' Club, February, 1906.)

For the bird lover a trip through the Ozarks is one of
real delight. A great variety of his feathered friends
greet him from all sides, on the high ridges as well as
on the hillsides, on the rich flood plains of the valleys and
in the picturesque ravines. He has the pleasure of not
only finding the different kinds of birds common to the
rest of the state, but also some southern species "which
have in the Ozarks the northern limit of their breeding
range. Others are so numerous in comparison with adja-
cent regions of their occurrence that we may regard the
Ozarks as the center of their geographic distribution.

The best known among the latter is the Bewick's or
Long-tailed Wren, which in the Ozark region entirely re-
places the ordinary House Wren of northern Missouri
and the Eastern States generally. The Bewick's Wren,
a name given the bird of Audubon in honor of one of his
friends in Edinburgh and adopted by all ornithologists,
differs from the House Wren in color, size and shape, but
it is mainly its long tail and entirely different song by
which it is easily distinguished. While the House Wren
has only a monotonous, though sprightly, ditty, the
Bewick's Wren has a real, modulated song that reminds
one very much of the well-known song of the Song Spar-
row, but is superior to it in harmony and strength. Any-
one who hears the song for the first time stops to listen
to the loud, melodious notes, uttered generally from a
post or the roof of a building. When hopping about in
search of food it holds the long tail up almost perpen-
dicularly, but when singing it throws its head backward,
l)ointing its bill straight up and drooping its tail in a
pendent position. It likes the proximity of man ; we sel-
dom find it far away from human habitation. In the
Ozarks, if not driven away, every farm has its pair ; they
are familiar objects about the barn, stable and wood

64 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

sheds, frequent the wood pile and brusli heaps and may
be approaclied within a few stejjs. But it is not only the
farms wliich enjoy tliis familiarity — in the village and
even in the large towns are they at liome, and there are
probably very few houses in the Ozarks from which their
song cannot be heard during a large i)art of tlie yrar.

Most of them leave Missouri in the fall and spend the
coldest months in the more southern states, but some are
pennanent residents, remaining ^\^th us all the year
round, spending the cold winter niglits in some sheltered
nook about the outhouses and seeking their insect food
among the piles of wood, the crannies in the walls and
trees wherever insects hide themselves or their eggs. It
is one of the most useful birds on a farm, working nearly
the whole year in the interest of the farmer, since those
that winter farther south return to us early in March.
Like the common House Wren our Bewick's AVren makes
its nest in holes, selecting any cavity out of reach of the
house cat for a nesting site. Being a welcome \isitor
everywhere it often builds in some nook about the house
or stable and, wdiere such are provided for them, in bird
boxes. Where suitable sites are not to be had it selects
sometimes queer places such as the pocket of a coat hang-
ing on the wall, the board over a door, shelves in rooms,
or in any kind of vessel accessible to them. Tt is now
very seldom that it goes back to its original nesting sites,
the natural cavity of a tree or old woodjieckers' holes.
For ordinary use it has a soft, low call note, but when
surprised or on the approach of an enemy it utters angry
scolding notes and defends its young l)y bold swoops
upon the intruder. Two broods are usually made, Imt if
one should come to naught they try it for a third time.
While feeding their broods of tive or six young they de-
stroy an enormous number of noxious insects in the gar-
den and orchard, thereby becoming great benefactors to
the horticulturist.

Another bird characteristic of the Ozarks, having there

Extracts from Dianj of Otto W'idmann 65

its center of distribution, is the Prairie Warbler. This
name was given the bird by Wilson in the early part of
the last century and was given on very slight acquaint-
ance. The bird is hardly ever seen on the prairie. A
more appropriate name would be Hillside Warbler; the
hillside is its real home, where its song is heard from the
time of its arrival about the middle of April through May
to the end of June. It has a peculiar song, strangely
resembling the notes of a young Quail when calling for
its mother. It consists of five notes, begins low and
grows louder with a strongly rising intonation. Its pecu-
liarity is such that it never fails to attract the attention
of everyone who has an ear for the voices of nature.

Though not loud, the song has a far-reaching quality
and it is often not easy to detect the source of the
sprightly strain even if the singer is not concealed, gen-
erally being jDcrched on some eminence as the top of a
low tree or the highest branch of a shrub. Its home is
not in the forest, not among high trees, but in those
stretches of scrub oaks, so common in the Ozarks. It is
a neighbor of the Cardinal Redbird, the Yellow breasted
Chat, the Indigobird and Field Sparrow. It makes only
one brood in a year and places its neat little nest in a
bush or sapling, generally between two and five feet from
the ground. It leaves us in tlie latter part of September
and winters from southern Florida and the Bahamas
through the West Indies to Honduras. Above yellowish
green with a patch of chestnut in the middle of the back,
it might be called the Cliestnut-backed Warbler. The
color of the lower parts, most often seen when singing, is
bright yellow with dark streaks along the sides of the
neck and bodv. Male and female differ but little, the vel-
low of the female being paler and the markings generally
duller.

Another bird of special interest to the bird lover who
visits the Ozarks is the Blue Grosbeak, a southern bird
which finds its northern-most habitat in southern Mis-

66 Trans. Acad. Sri. of St. Luui.s

souri, wlicic it lakes the place ol" the lu)>e-l)reastetl (iros-
beak so coimnon in i\w eontral and nttrtliorn jtortions of
the state. As large as a female Cowhird, tlie male Blue
(irosheak looks like an overgrown Indigobird, being deep
blue except parts of the wings, which are brown. The
female is light brown with very little hhie, and that only
on tlie tail. It is not a woodland bird, being rather found
along the ('i\\::,{' of the woods, and i)referring cultivated
land. It is a common resident of the orchard, where it
likes to make its nest. This is sometimes found in close
proximity to occupied houses, wliere the bird is a great
favorite, since its song is one of the sweetest we hear
throughout the southern and western Ozark region. It
is oftenest heard in the early morning and toward eve-
ning and reminds one ratliei- of the song of the Purple
V\\\Q.\\ than of that of its nearest relative, the Kose-
breasted Grosbeak. Although a bird of more northern
distribution in the breeding time the Kose-l)reasted (Jros-
beak, this beautiful and gifted songster, is by no means
a total stranger in the Ozarks, as it is fairly well repre-
sented along the northern slope and in the border region,
i. €., the region which joins the Ozarks with the western
and northern prairie region of the state.

There is hanlly any one of our feathered songsters of
a more general distribution through the Ozarks than the
Orchard Oriole. Somewhat smaller and of less striking
coloration than its cousin, the Baltimore Orioh', it is a
much more voluhle singer. No orchard, no cluster of
shade trees is without a pair and their remarkably lively
song is heard all the day long through May and .lune.
They i)refer cultivated land to unsettled regions and come
into the larger towns where their wonderful grass-woven
semi-pendulous nests are built in shade trees of the most
fre<iuented streets. While with us their diet consists
chiefly in the obnoxious insects which infest our shrubs,
an<l ill doing so pay fully foi- the little fruit which they
take from our trees. Like ourselves, birds need some

Extracts from Didrij of Otto Widmann 67

fruit for a change of diet, especially on hot summer days,
and there was formerly no lack of wild fruit in our woods,
but by cutting- down these trees we deprived the wild
creatures of their ]iossessions and ought therefore be
willing to share with them what grows in our orchard, or
else plant some of their favorite fruit trees, such as Red
Mulberry and AVild Cherry for their exclusive use. The
georgeous Baltimore Oriole, such a common denizen of
central and northern Missouri, is much less common than
its congener, but not entirely unknown in the bottoms of
the larger streams as a summer sojourner from May till
August.

Still another bird which finds in the Ozarks its center
of distribution is the Summer Tanager, also called Sum-
mer Redbird, a true woodland bird which is nowhere so
much at home as on our Ozark hills. The bird is a beauty,
bright venuilion all over, no black wings like its north-
ern relative, the Scarlet Tanager, and its song is one of
the best bird songs we have, and that means much. Its
notes are a clear whistle somewhat in the style of the
Robins, but much more fluent and melodious. It is given
with great constancy all through summer, often in the
heat of noonday when most other songsters are resting,
^luch oftener heard than seen because hidden by the
dense foliage of our forest trees, the bird is nevertheless
not shy, visits frequently our gardens and orchards and
builds its nest often by the roadside, sometimes so low in
branches hanging over the road that their contents can be
inspected by simply standing on the seat of the wagon
j)assing under it. It is not easy to decide which one of our
two Tanagers is the more beautiful, the southern Summer
Tanager or the more northern Scarlet Tanager with its
deep black wings and tail in sharp contrast with its scar-
let body. In song the former is decidedly superior to its
cousin, for in spite of a general resemblance the mellow-
ness of the one distinguishes it at once from the other,
but both are tru(» woodland songs, charming wherever

68 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

they are heard. W'liile the domain of tlie Summer Tana-
ger comprises tlie iiiils and hiji^her elevations, the Scarlet
Tanairer sticks to the rich and varied sylva wliich fol-
lows the streams hi<^h up into the valleys and ravines,
affordini^ us thereby the opitortnnity to hear hotii species
sinp: at tlie same time,

^lany people have noticed that in Missouri, from Perry
County southwestward aloni;" the southern slope of the
Ozarks, we have two kinds of Whippoorwill. They have
heard, alone or together with the well-known common
call, another ditTerent call, but given un<ler similar con-
ditions at night after dark and again in the early morn-
ing before daybreak. Very few know that the originator
of the strange doleful notes is the Chuck-wills-widow, a
larger southern relative of the more northern and better
known AVhippoorwill, In general habits they resemble
each other very much, are never seen in daytime except
when accidentally driven from their nests or hiding
places in the shady retreats of the forest, preferably on
hillsides overgrown with much miderbrush. Their call,
which has given rise to its queer name is uttered in rai)id
succession for several minutes and often resumed again
for hours after short breathing spells. They are loudest
and most excited during the mating and nesting time in
Mav and June and are occasionallv heard throusj:hout
smnmer. Though they are with us from latter part of
April to the end of September, very few people, in the I
region where they are ])lentiful, get a chance to see one, 1
so well do they understand to evade <lct^'<*tion by remain-
ing in their lii<ling ))laces among the <lry leaves aiul logs
or rocks on the ground until ahnost trodden upon.

Such is the abundance of bird life in the Ozarks that
the trained observer mav witli little effort identifv sixtv
to seventy species during the nesting time in any one of
its valleys.

We may yet mention a few other species frequently met
with in the soutliern slope of the Ozarks, but not at all, or

Extracts from Diury of Otto Widmann 69

rarely, seen along the northern slope, namely the Black
Vulture and ^Mississippi Kite. The former is a cousin
of the better known Turkey Buzzard, sharing the same
tastes and living the same lazy kind of life, but easily dis-
tinguished by its different shape and black head and
neck. The contour of the bird on wing soaring above us,
often in company of its cousins, is especially marked by
broader wings with whitish stripes and a stumpy tail.
Its flight differs from that of the Turkey Buzzard by
much less soaring and by often repeated flapping of the
wings. While a common bird in the southern states, its
first acquaintance is a remarkable incident to the visitor
from the northern states and contributes to the joy of
the newness of experiences. Another surprise to most of
us is the Mississippi Kite. It is not unknown along the
northern slope of the Ozarks and was even a breeder in
the woods of the city of St. Louis thirty-five years ago,
but its real home is farther south. It is a great delight
to see the handsome bird draw its circles high over our
heads when we stand on one of the prominent look-out
points so common in the Ozarks with the view of the
rows upon rows of long-stretched hills, so characteristic
of the region.

70 Traits. Acad. Sri. of St. Louis

REMIXISCEXCES OF A VISIT TO HHANSON AND WHITE RIVEK
IN TANEY COUNTY. MO., IN THE STUING OF 1906.

When the naturalist visits a new locality ho is full of
oap'ornoss to Icani what is in store f<»r him in cronpral
and in his favorite liohhy in particiilai*.

it was therefore with irreat expectations that Mrs.
W'idinann and 1 hei^an our ornitliolojiical reconnaissance
of i^ranson, the new town so iiai>i)ily situated where the
new branch of the Iron Mountain liailroad, the so-called
White River Division, crosses the White River on a lonp:
and high bridge. To call Branson a new place would not
be correct, since the post office l^ranson has been on the
nia]> for perhaps fifty years, but what we saw of the town
in 1900 was all now and everything built on a large scale,
the hotels, drug stores, general and furniture stores, liv-
ery, bams, post office building and ;i bright new bank.
There seemed to be no doubt that Uianson woidd in
course of time become an important jdace for tiu' distri-
bution of everything people need for comfort and luxury.
But this ])ush and boom is not what the nature lover
admires most; it is the surroundings of the town,
especially the magnificent curves of the beautiful White
River walled in by steep cliffs and high bluffs.

A short walk over an excellent road through a t'orest
leads to Branson ITeight and Tjible Rock, ])oints com-
manding extensive views up and down the river for sev-
eral miles from tin' new railroad bridge on the left to far
beyond the new Maine Club House on tiie right. The
foreground comprised the newly plowed lields in the bot-
tom land on the o))])osite side of the curve with men and
teams still working, and "200 feet below us the swift
stream carrying at this moment a long raft of cedar ]>oles
guided by two men to its d(>stination, the loading incline
at the foot of the bridge, where a truck and wire rope
were busy lifting the poles fi'oiii the water onto the cars.
A little stream with the promising name Turkey Creek
opens its romantic valley just opposite Branson, and on

Extracts from Diary of Otto Widinanit 71

our way to the clubhouse we followed it for a short dis-
tance. For the convenience of the members the railroad
station Hollister has been erected a mile south of Bran-
son on the opposite side of the river, doin^ away witk
the trouble and delay of crossing the river on a ferry, and
thereby greatly facilitating access to the chibhouse at all
seasons.

While the view over the White River Valley from the
Branson side was grand, that from the cliff in front of
the clubhouse was more imposing and surprisingly pic-
turesque. The sides of the bluff' being almost perpen-
dicular, a point projecting beyond the rest seemed won-
derfully adapted for the erection of an observation
tower, standing out like a bastion 288 feet above the
water of the swift stream which describes here a wide
semicircle, with nothing to obstruct the view over many
miles of the river's course and over the bluffs and cliffs
on both sides. Flanked and backed by rows of wooded
hills as far as the eye can reach, the sight is so grand that
it is not easily forgotten.

It was near noon of May 7 when my wife and I stepped
from the train at Branson under the finest Ozark sky
imaginable, bright and clear, with a liglit refreshing
breeze which kept the temperature at a lovely point all
afternoon and enabled us to identify fifty-two species of
birds before nightfall and without going beyond the con-
fines of the town.

The next two days were spent in the environs of the
towTi, varied by a drive to the Maine Clubhouse on the
afternoon of the 9th, and b(»fore we boarded the car again
on the 10th our list of birds had swelled to the number
of eighty-four, only fourteen of which were transients,
seventy being recogniized regular summer sojourners and
breeders in the locality.

As the water in the river was pretty high and rapid,
few waders could be expected in our search for bird
specimens, and we saw only a (rreen ITeron and a few

72 Traus. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

Spotto(l Sandpipers froquontinj^ the pol)l)ly islainls. Of
gfallinaccoiis Itircls the Bohwliitc was repoato(lly flushed,
but being already ])aired tiiey were rather quiet. The
Doves were much more in evidence, and often seen and
heard. One of the common siprhts were the Turkey Buz-
zards, several of which were drawing: their circles over
distant hills all day long. A rare sight, because seldom
met with so far north as Missouri, was the appearance of
two Black Vultures, or Carrion Crows, among a party of
Turkey Buzzards on the afterjioon of the Hth at the clul>-
house. Of Hawks only two species were noticed, tlie
harmless red-shouldered TTawk, which lives chiefly on
snakes and frogs, and the Sparrow Ilawk, a ])air of which
had their home in a stum)) by the river. The Owl fam-
ily was represented only by the Screech Owl, whose soft
notes were heai'd at dusk down by the ferry at the edge
of the town. The weatherwise Cuckoo, or Kaincrow, was
one of the birds often heard, but its wisdom did not ])rove
true. At the White Kiver at the foot of town a King-
fisher had its home.

Of the AVoodpeckers five species were observed, the
ubiquitous downy, the gaudy redhea<l, the red-bellied
and the Hicker, all rather quiet because occupied with
family cares. Strange enough, a belated Sapsucker, who
spends the winter here, but whose summer home is in the
northern states, gave us a surprise, because not expected
here so late in the season.

The true AVhi))poorwill. being a more nortlierii sum-
mer sojourner, was not heard, but the Cimck-wills-widow,
the southern representative of the family, exten<ls its
range into Southern Missouri, and several could be heard
every evening, coming even into town under cover of
night. About sunset the Xighthawks began to go in
search of food, gloats, moscjuitoes and similar quarry,
which they sometimes find at great heights, at others over
fields or river. The Chimney Swifts, omnipresent com-
panions of civilization, had their noisy time of love and

Extracts from Diary of Otto Widmann 73

liappiness chasing in pairs wildly through unmeasured
space, or sailing with wings held aloft in close proximity,
and with such harmony that it is plain to see two little
souls are animated by one thought. Humming birds were
repeatedly seen visiting the flowers, and seem to be quite
numerous along the bluffs, the homo of many a wild
flower seldom or never seen in other localities.

The Flycatcher family was well represented by six
members, the Kingbird on open ground, the Great-
crested evorj'where in the woods, the Phoebe, whose nest
with eggs was on the veranda of the clubhouse, the Pewee
and Acadian Flycatcher, common inhabitants of the for-
est, and as a rare guest on its way from CV^ntral America
to the northern states the least Flycatcher, or Chebec.
Blue Jays were much in evidence all the time, the home
birds having nests were rather quiet, but there were yet
small troops of transients present, and these were noisily
flying about, headed northward.

Crows were rather rare in Taney and neighboring
counties, for the reason, as we were told, that farmers
lay poison for them in the fields which they visit, believ-
ing to thereby increase the product of their farms, while
the result will be quite the other way by giving many
pests a better chance to propagate.

The Cowbird, the faithful companion of the cattle, was
present wherever animals were grazing, but of other
Blackbirds none were noticed, though thev mav locallv
occur in small numbers.

The Meadow Lark also distinguished itself through
absence. So much more conspicuous was the Orchard
Oriole, then in its full song period, mating, courting, and
nest building. It seems to thrive best in the immediate
vicinity of human habitation and frequents the shade
trees of the town. The Baltimore being a more northern
breeder but not entirely missing in the valleys of the
Ozarks was represented by only a few which had appar-
ently come to stay in addition to a troop of 6-8 transients,

74 Trans. Acatl. Sci. of St. Louis

uiiicii sIiowcmI I»v llicir action thai tlicv were onlv on a
sliort visit, jjrohahly clieckcW in proiiress by the jiie-
cedin<,^ cold spell of May 5-0-7 wjieii tli«* fn)st nipped
many a tender yonn'j: oakleaf on tlie Ozark hills without
doin^- any a))pr(M'ial)le damai^c to I'lnit trees whieh can
stanil well a little frost after tlic hloomin.ir season is
passed.

Of the S|)ari(>w faniily ten species weie noted, six
breeding and fonr lransi<'nt. The summer resident
species were the Goldlinch, the Larklincji, the ('hip])y,
Field Sparrow, Cardinal and lndi<i^o Bird. The tran-
sients, ])resent in small numbers, were the white-crowned,
white-throated and Lincoln's S))arrows, and the rose-
breasted Grosbeak, the latter ])ossil)ly stayini^ in small
numbers. The Tana^ers were both thei-e, the sunuuer
Tanai^er being- heard in the forest everywhere, and tlie
scarlet Tanaj!:er, a line old male, met but once. More
j^regarious than any others were the members of the
Swallow family. All oui- eastern species, six in numl)er,
were well re])resented and jthiyed a prominent part in the
enlivening- of the \alley. Whole droves of them, com-
posed of three, four or more species, were constantly
flyinu: wp and down the river in search of food, which in
cold weather they lind over water easier than elsewhere.

Martins, Rough AVings, learns, P>ank and Eave Swal-
lows were )>robably all at home in the vicinity, but the
number of Tree Swallows seemed too large for suunner
residents, the species being rather rare in sunnner in
southern ^Missouri, and must therefore be regarded as in
j)art transient. Foni- species of Vireos were prominent
among the musicians in the great concert performed
every morning and, belonging to our most industrious
and persevering singers, wei-e olten heard during tlu' (hiy
when most other binls are silent. The red-eved, the
warl)ling, the vellow-throated and the white-eved Vireos
were all more or less common in their favorite haunts.
The s])lendid i)rothonotary Warbler was at home on t)ie

Extracts from Diary of Otto Widman7i 75

willow-covered islands, and the modest blue-winged yel-
low AVaibler in the scinhby growth of the hillside. Its
cousin, the Tennessee Warbler, one of the latest of north-
ern, migrants, an indefatigable musician, though of low
ability, betrayed its loitering in the tree tops many times
every day. The Parula Warbler, though probably not
rare in the trees of the river bottoms, escaped notice with
the exception of one singing male. The Yellow AVarbler
is by far the most common of its tribe and, being in the
height of its mating period, was one of the birds oftenest
seen and heard during these days. Lingering far behind
its brothers and sisters, the majority of whom had by
this time reached their northern breeding ground, was a
solitary Yellow-rumped or ^Myrtle Warl)ler, Cerulean
Warblers, rightful citizens of all southern woodlands,
were rather common, and not sparing with their s})rightly
musical eiforts, therefore much oftener heard than seen.
The Black-poll Warbler is of all its relatives the last to
leave the state on its vernal travel from South America
to the coniferous wood of the North and quite a few were
detected among the Tennessee and other AVarblers popu-
lating the lately verdured oaks and hickories with which
these hills are mostly covered.

Do^vll in the elms and sycamores along the banks of
the river rang out from time to time the clear and pecu-
liar songs of the Sycamore Warbler, indicating where the
pair had settled for the summer. An entirely different
locality is chosen for that purpose by the Prairie
Warbler, which betakes itself to the second growth of the
hillside. The ringing song of the Oven Bird is one of the
ordinary sounds of the region, while the small-billed
Waterthrush, repeatedly startled from the water's edge,
must be classed among the guests, i)resent only for a
short term of rest and shelter from a winter home in
South America to breeding grounds in Canada.

Small differences in size and coloration distinguish the
northern small-billed, from the l^ouisiana Waterthrush,

Tfi Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

but their songs ditTcr widely, and it was a pfroat satis-
faction to enjoy the op})ortnnity to listen to l>otli songs
at tlic same time. But while the northern species was
yet hundreds of miles from its nesting grounds, the
Louisiana AVaterthrush was quietly feeding half-grown
young in their cozy nook under roots ])rotruding from
the banks of a creek. W'liile the Kentucky Warbler seems
to prefer the lower levels of a valley or ravine, the Mary-
land Yellow-throat, its congener, finds a home wherever
there is a thicket to its taste, and is therefore much more
often heard along the hills than the other, but both are
plentiful.

One of the most conmion sights and sounds met with
on our strolls, high and low, was the "Cliat" and its
almost human whistle. Being in the height of the love
season the execution of its flight song was a more connnon
occurrence. AVilson's Black Cap, a small, easily over-
looked, transient, but by no means rare in migration, was
several times the object of attention. Numerically strong
and generally <listributed, was the Redstart, a breeder
in the region, but probably reinforced by the transient
individuals northward bound. Catbirds were not com-
mon, the Carolina AVren was noticed a few times, and
Bewick's AVren several times in town and about farms,
never away from human habitation. As true and not
uncommon denizens of the woods, we have to mention the I

Carolina Nuthatch, the Tufted Tit, and Carolina Chicka- I

dee. Rather unexpected, because late in the season, was
the appearance of a Ihiby-crowned Kinglet, travelling
leisurely in comjiany of our late "Warblers, the Black-cap
and Tennessee.

One of the most interesting woodland birds is the (Jnat-
catchcr, or Polioptila; though nowhere connnon, it is so
well distributed through the state that we find its curious
nest in a bald cypress over the water of the St. Francis,
as likely as in a ]iost oak on a lidge of the Ozarks.
Though already with family cares, and not at leisure to

Extracts from Diary of Otto Widmann 77

sing, their tiny forms were detected in a few places in the
deep forest.

The Thrush family was represented by three species:
The Wood Thrush in full song near the Table Rock ; the
Alice's and Swainson's Thrushes, transients on their
way to far northern breeding grounds, were well scat-
tered and met with every day. The absence of the Robin
can be explained by the nearness of Branson to the south-
ern limit of its breeding range, Robins being very rare
in siunmer south of Missouri. One pair of Bluebirds was
all that was met with, though the species is not rare in
summer in Southern Missouri.

0

Transactions of the Academy of Science of St. Louis

Volume XXIV, No. 9

CHARLES HENRY TURNER, PH. D.

A. G. POHLMAN: CHARLES HENRY TURNER, AN
APPRECIATION.

PHIL RAU: THE SCIENTIFIC WORK OF DR.
CHARLES HENRY TURNER.

PHIL RAU: A LIST OF PAPERS PURLISHED BY
C. H. TURNER.

CHARLES HENRY TURNER (POSTHUMOUS PAPERS)

TROPISMS IN INSECT BEHAVIOR
THE HOMING OF THE HYMENOPTERA
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF "PLAYING 'POSSUM"

TITLE PAGE AND INDEX MARCH, 1920, TO

DECEMRER, 1923

Issued December J 1923

I

TliANS. A<:\ii. S(.i. <ii Si. I m is, \<ii . \\l\'

l>i.\ii: 1\

(•ii.\u'i.i:s iii;m;n' ti i:\i:k'

CHARLES HENRY TURNER.

Charles Henry Turner, Ph.D., Professor of Biology at
Sumner Teachers College, Saint Louis, died at Chicago,
February 14, 1923.

Dr. Turner was bom at Cincinnati, Ohio, on February
3, 1867. From the Cincinnati University he received the
degrees of B. S. and M. S. in 1891 and 1892. In 1907 the
University of Chicago conferred upon him the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy, magna cum laude.

While Dr. Turner held various teaching positions, such
as the Chair of Biology, Clark University, 1892-1905;
Principal of High School, Cleveland, Tenn., 1905-1906;
Chair of Biology, Haynes Normal School, 1907-1908;
Teacher of Biology and Psychology, Sumner Teachers Col-
lege, 1908 until his death, yet he is best known among
scientists for his research work.

CORRECTIONS.

Vol. XXIV, No. 1.— Bottom of p. 16: Vol. XXI II, No. 9,
should read — Nipher, Francis E., Studies of Properties of In-
tegral Numbers, 9 pp.; New Evidence of a Relation Between
Gravitation and Electrical Action, and of Local Changes in the
Electrical Potential of the Earth, 5 pp.

NEW YORK

BOTANICAL

UAkOEN

CHARLES HENRY TURNER*

AN APPRECIATION.

It has been said that the size of a man may be meas-
ured in terms of his influence for good and for the better-
ment of his fellow man. But just as the striving to attain
is more important to us than the desired thing itself, so
we tend to look abroad for a trul}^ great man when,
forsooth, he walks in our very midst. We are very likely
to think of the great man as one who has acquired a vast
amount of money; as one who has achieved a political
distinction ; as one who has gained a social prominence ;
as one whose opinion on public questions is eagerly
sought. Many people mistake notoriety for fame; con-
fuse the word politician and statesman ; take for granted
that well-known is the equivalent of great. Were
not the historians so overcome with the pomp and the
splendor of a Pilate that they quite forgot to mention
the humble CariDenter of Nazareth? It may be well to
consider some of the features which go to make up the
truly great man, that those of us who have sought afar
shall recognize a brother who perhaps at this moment is
touching elbows with us.

The first essential in the great man is a devotion to
work. Some of us envy the well-knoA\Ti man who toils
but little and therein we cater to our own ambitions of
lassitude. But no man is great unless he rises above the
petty inconveniences of his surroundings. No man is
strong unless he meets the competition about him. Devo-
tion to work means exactly what it says. It does not

•Read at the memorial to Dr. Cliarles H. Turner, at Sumner High
School. May 25. 1923.

8 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

mean devotion to nictlioils. It docs not im])ly a certain
nuiJiber ol" liours a dav. It docs not sui^i^cst a content-
nient witli the doing of a daily stint in a manner wliich
calls I'or nciliu'r commendation iioi' criticism, hcvotioii
to v.'ork means work Ijccausc one must work, and, I'ai'cd
by sucli a spirit, seeminicly insurmountal)le ol)stacles are
s\voi)t away alonir with other trivial factors of hirth and
race and station.

JUit work itself is not cnouirh. The second inj^redient
in our stren.<j;'th of character is unsellishness : the desire
to sliare the joys and the sorrows of life with others; the
accomplishment of the friendly act for its own sake: the
appreciation of a bond of jirojier sympathy of man for
man. The man wlio works with an unsellish devotion
ever searches for that which shall iiring his neig-hbor to
a higher level of doing and thinking and living. A great
man must indeetl be unsellish and take a i)ri(le in the
Dierit which his talent may lend to others.

And in the search for truth, even in the little things of
life, our great man interjirets that wliich he finds and is
ever threading the beads of fact into some ])atteni of a
worldly ])hiloso])hy. I^'aithfulness to truth is after all
but a faithfulness to the little things and our great man
achieves merit in his respect for that which is known and
tliat which is unknown, liecause of his consciousness of
his own limitations and because of his r(>spect for truth,
the great man is huinbli'.

AVe have been misinformed in our ideas of great men.
AVe have been misled into looking for magniliceTice and
for vain-glorious trapjtings in which our fancy would
clothe an imf)ortant person. Imlecd llie hunibh^ sini-
])licity (d' the truly great man disarms us (juite com-
pletelv and we crane the neck to overlook exactiv that
which we seek.

Charles- Henri/ Ti(nicr, an Appreciation 9

It is for vou who knew Doctor Turner to satisfy your-
solves that here indeed was a great man. It is for you
to determine in your own hearts if this man possessed
the stren.gth of character, the devotion to work, the faith-
fulness to ideals, the respect for truth, and the unselfish-
ness in sharing that which he possessed. Was he indeed
the humble man of science who might well be taken into
the fold of the most highly esteemed?

You have answered this question yourselves. It will
not be given to many of us that men and women and little
children shall gather together after we are gone to pay
tribute to our memory. It is a privilege to appear before
you as a representative of the Academy of Science, an
organization of which Doctor Turner was not only a
member, but also a councillor. Let each one of you
cherish the memory of Doctor Turner who left behind
him the priceless heritage of devoted service that those
who knew him and worked with him cannot help but have
been the better and the stronger through this contact.

Permit me, in the name of the Academy of Science, to
pay our respect not only to Turner the Scientist, but also
to Turner the Man.

A. G. POHLMAN.

THE SCIENTIFIC WORK OF DR. CHARLES
HENRY TURNER*

During liis lii'otiiiR', Di-. Turner ijublished about fifty
treatises on Neurology, Invertebrate Ecology, and Ani-
mal Behavior. In addition to these, he wrote, for a num-
ber of years, reviews of the literature on Com])arative
Psychology in liie rsychologicai Bulletin an<l in The
Journal of Animal l>ehavior. Tiiis alone is an index of
the esteem in which scientists in his own line regarded
bis work.

His first work was published in 189l! in the Journal of
Comi)arative Neurology. A few years later an impor-
tant volume on Tiie Entomostriea of Minnesota was pub-
lished jointly with Ilerrick. In this r)0()-i)age treatise,
with eighty-one plates, many new species were described
and much attention was paid to the ecology of these
creatures.

Then, suddenly, his attention was turncil from the
microtome, and he produced a most interesting series of
experimental investigations on the behavior of insects.
His researches on homing, on reaction to light, on death-
feigning, on tro]nsms, have cleared up some of the most
perj)lexing ]iro])lems of comparative psychology and have
thrown new light on the subjects of the interrelations of
tropisms, instinct, ami what may, to a certiiin extent, be
called intelligence.

But most interesting of all was his technique of experi-
menting. Dr. Turner spent much thought on his method
of work before he ever went into the field, ami there with
ingenious devices, some simple, some intricate, he solved

•Paper rend at tlic nuinorial tn Dr. Cliarlcs II. Tiitiii.T, at Sunnier
High School, Mny 25, 192.3.

Scientific Wurk of Dr. C. H. Turner 11

some of the big problems of animal behavior. For in-
stance, he discovered, by ingenious ex|)erinients, that
ants are not guided home by odors, but that light-rays
as landnuirks are a larger factor than has heretofore
been supposed in their orientation. Again, by adjusting
the window shades on three windows in the room where
mud-daubers were nesting, thereby alternating the ligiit
and darkness. Dr. Turner proved that wasps find their
way home, not by some mysterious sense, but by means
of landmarks.

In his work on the homing of the burrowing bees, he
devoted from five to ten hours a day during the
month of August to studying the insects in the field. He
found that any change made in the topography is sure to
confuse the insect upon its return, in finding the entrance
to its home. Many other details were brought to light
which militate against the old idea of a "homing in-
stinct" and against Bethe's contention that bees are
guided home by an unknown force which acts reflexly.
He concludes from his work that the burrowing bees are
guided by memory in finding the way home, and that they
examine carefully the neighborhood of the nest for the
purpose of forming memory pictures of the topographi-
cal environment of the burrow.

Whether insects can or cannot distinguish colors is a
matter of much theoretical importance, for the correct
interpretation of the relation of insects to flowers de-
pends upon this answer. Most students of natural selec-
tion believed at one time that forms and colors of flowers
were adaptations to attract insect visitors. Dr. Turner
solved this problem in 1910 by experiments carried on
in 0 'Fallon Park. By his ever ingenious methods he
contrived tests with certain colored disks of paper and
certain colored boxes which were filled with honev. After

iL* Trdiis. Acdil. Sci. uf St. Luuis

k)iig weeks of experiiiR'iiting lie discovered and has con-
clusively shown that odors alone do not lead bees to
flowers, but that bees do res])ond to colors, and not only
tiiat, but also that they are capable ol' recognizing theiu
at a distiince.

Not content with discovering that bees are capable of
recognizing colors, a year later he carried out in great
detail a series of experiments which j^roved that bees
can distiiignish between patterns. Here, too, he used
ingeniously devised paper boxes with various color
markings. ]Iis method was to inrinit a few bees to learn
that they could collect honey more easily from artifacts
of a certain color pattern, than they could from (lowers,
and after they had thoroughly learned this, to see if these
bees could select artifacts of this i)articular color ])at-
tern from a number of different color patterns. The
result of this investigation was the discovery that bees
can distinguish color patterns, and there is much in their
behavior to indicate that in their ability to distinguish
details they are near-sighted. This ability is of value
to them in recognizing plants that yield honey; and since
insects can distinguish colors and the fine details of color
patterns, there remains nothing in the visual powers of
bees to militate against the theory that the colors and
markings of flowers are adaptations which attract insect
visitors.

Ill a woik on the beliavior of that marvel of tlio insect
world, the pit-making ant-lion (lai'\'a). Dr. Turner do-
scribes in detail its method of excavating the pit, which,
when completed, is a trap for insect prey. He explains
the method of the creature in capturing prey, whicli it
sucks dry with its hollow jaws; he tells of its various
reactions, which are i)robabIy ti()i>isms; how it is impos-
sible for the insect to move foi'ward, but in its backward

Scientific Wark of Dr. C. II. Turner 13

movements it can move in straiglit lines or curves, and
can scale vertical surfaces, lie tells us further the de-
tails of its cocoon, and then with painstaking experiments
he works out the details of the insect's ability to "play
possum." Here he concludes that death-feigning poses
are not death attitudes, and that death feigning is not
instinctive, but an exaggerated prolongation of the pause
made by most animals when they are startled, and he
endorses James when he says, "It is really no feigning
of death at all, and requires no self command. It is
simply terror paralysis which has become so useful as
to become hereditary."

In 1922 Dr. Turner published a paper entitled "A
Week With a Mining Eumenid." He tells how the water-
carrjnng mining wasp digs her nest, paralyzes the cater-
pillars for her young, attaches her egg to the roof of the
<;hamber by a silken thread; how she is guided to and
from the nest by visual landmarks, and how, when he
made slight changes about the nests, the wasps returning
home with caterpillars had great difficulty in finding their
nests.

Important work was also done on the common roach.
In a paper entitled "Behavior of the Common Roach on
an Open Maze," he finds that a roach may be taught
Anthin a day to run the maze. It learns by trial and
error method, yet in so doing it utilizes sense stimuli.
At times the insect acts as though experiencing the emo-
tion psychologists call will ; in its toilet-making activities
the roach very much resembles the cat, and in their be-
havior on the maze, roaches display marked individuality.
In another roach paper entitled "An Experimental In-
vestigation of an Apparent Reversal of the Responses to
Light in the Roach," he takes roaches, which are noc-
turnal animals and habituallv shun the light, and trains

14 Trans. Acad. Sri. of St. Louis

thorn to reverse their lifelong hahit, and avoid the dark
instead. This he does by teaching them to avoid certain
dark places because of disagreeable experiences asso-
ciated with them. The disagreeable experiences were
slight electric shocks from an instrument contrived by
him. By means of this j)recise ai)paratus, he finds that
male roaches learn more quickly than tlie females, and tlie
young ones are more apt than adults.

Up to a short time ago, most naturalists believed tluit
insects can hear, not because it has been experimentally
demonstrated, but for morphological reasons, and be-
cause many kinds of insects can produce sounds; they
believed that insects would not be endowed with tlio
power of j)ro(lucing sounds unless other members of the
species could hear them. Jn a joint paper by Dr. Turner
and Mr. Ernst Schwarz, it was experimentally proven
that the Catocalas not only hear sounds, hut that they
can hear sounds of certain pitch, as the authors demon-
strated by use of an organ pipe and Galton whistle.
Moreover, it was discovered that a species which re-
sponds only to a high pitch on the Galton whistle can be
taught to respond to low tones also when low tones are
of life significance, or in the popular language, when
they mean danger.

And so on throughout his work, such alluring titles
appear as "Behavior of a Parasitic Bee," "Do Ants
Form Practical Judgment?" "Psychological Notes on
the Gallery Spider," "Habits of Mound-Building Ants,"
"Ifunting Habits of an iVmerican Ammo]>hila," "An
Orphan Colony of Polistes jxillipcs/* "The Koactions of
the Mason AVasp," through a list of fifty-odd titles that
came from his jien.

Nature lovers and scientists cannot but feel grateful
for Dr. Turner's admirable contributions. In making

Scientific Work of Dr. C. H. Turner 15

his studies be did not venture on lengthy and costly voy-
ages to far-away countries teeming with fascinating
alhirements. In his scientific work, as in his other inter-
ests, he had the ability to take the material that was
near at hand and make the most of it.

Among Dr. Turner's notes were three completed
papers of a less technical nature, which will be published
by The Academy of Science of St. Louis. The titles are :
"Tropisms in Insect Behavior," ''The Homing of the
Hymenoptera," and "The Psychology of 'Playing 'Pos-
sum'." Another paper, "The Hydrotropism of Marine
Invertebrates," was accepted for publication in the Bio-
logical Bulletin just before his death.

Dr. Turner's works have been very favorably quoted
both here in America and in Europe. Dozens of quota-
tions from his treatises are to be found in such works as
Wheeler's Ant Book, Washburn's The Animal Mind,
Smith's Mind in Animals, Holmes' Evolution of An-
imal Intelligence, and Bouvier's The Psychic Life of
Insects. In fact, in the behavior literature of France,
they have named a certain type of orientation after this
discoverer. This is best described in Bouvier's book,
The Psychic Life of Insects, translated from the French
by Dr. L. 0. Howard, where it is "called Turner's
circling, using the name of the learned American who
best studied this phenomenon."

Dr. Turner's interests were not solely scientific. Often
his time and strength were severely taxed by his faithful
devotion to various sociological works among his people.
Among his unfinished papers were found several chap-
ters of a novel, a number of chapters of a book of nature
stories for children, and the manuscript of a book of
thirty-two poems. Not alone has science lost one of its
most thorough students, but also the colored race has

16 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

lost one of its most efficient workers for race hettcmient^
in its various and intricate i)hases.

The lian(licai)s under which Dr. Turner's work was
accomplished were many, and were modestly and bravely
met. Only one of these was the limitations of a small
salary, out of which he was compelled to purchase hi>
own tools and library for research, since he did not enjoy
the access to laboratories and institutions where equii)-
ment is supplied.

And when at last one considers the quantity and tlie
quality of his scientific research work, accomi)lished
under handicaj)s, and in addition to a full life of other
activities and unusual efficiency in the class-room, one
can only say — well done!

PHIL UAU.

A LIST OF PAPERS PUBLISHED BY
C. H. TURNER

1892 Psycholoiiical notes on the gallery spider. Journal of Compara-

tive Neurology, pp. 95-110. 1892.

1893 Preliminary note on the nervous .system of the genus Cypris.

Journ. Conip. Neurol. 3:35-40, pis. 3, 4.

1894 Notes on the Cladocera of Georgia, Bull. Sci. Lab., Denison Univ.,

8:22-25. pi. 7.

1895 Synopsis of the Entomostraca of Minnesota. (With C. L. Herrick).

Geol. and Nat. Hist. Surv. Minn. 1895, p. 552, 81 pi.

1896 Morphology of the nervous system of Cypris. Journ. Comp.

Neurol. 6:20-44. 8 pi.

1899 Notes on the mushroom bodies of the invertebrates. Zool. Bull.,
2:155-166. 6 fig.

1899 Svnopses of North American invertebrates. Amer. Nat., pp. 877-
"888. 1899.

1901 The mushroom bodies of the crayfish and their histological en-
vironment. Journ. Comp. Neurol. 11:321-368. pis. 21-24,

1906 A preliminary note on ant behavior. Biol. Bull., 12:31-36.

1907 The homing of ants. Journ. Comp. Neurol, and Psychol.,

17:367-434. 3 pis.

1907 Do ants form practical judgments? Biol. Bull. 13:333-343.

1908 The homing of the mud-dauber. Biol. Bull., 15:215-225.

1908 The homing of the burrowing bees. Biol. Bull., 15:247-258.

1908 The workers of Vespa corolina Dr. resemble in coloration the

moles. Psyche., 1908. 1-3.

1909 The mound of Pogonomyrmex badiiis and its relation to the

breeding habits of the species. Biol. Bull., 17:161-169.

1910 Kcological notes on the Cladocera and Copepoda of Augusta, Ga.,

with descriptions of little known species. Trans. Acad. Sci., St.
Louis, 19:151-176. pis. 36-38.

1910 Experiments on color-vision of the honey bee. Biol. Bull.,

19:257-279.

1911 A note on the hunting habits of an .American .AmmophiLa.

Psyche, 18:13-14.
1911 Recent literature on the behavior of the higher invertebrates.

Psycholog. Bull., 8:277-286.
1911 Experiments on the pattern vision of the honey bee. Biol. Bull.,

21:249-264.
1911 Literature for 1910 on the behavior of spiders and insects. Journ.

Animal Behavior, 1:401-412.

1911 Notes on the behavior of a parasitic bee of the family Stclidae.

Journ. Animal Behavior, 1 :374-392.

1912 An experimental investigation of an apparent reversal of the

responses to light of the roach (Periplaneta oricntales L.).

Biol. Bull., 23:371-386.
1912 An orphan colony of Polistes pallipcs. Psyche. 19:184-190.
1912 The copulation of Ammophila abbreviata. Psyche, 19:137.
1912 Reactions of the mason wasp, Trypoxylon albatarsus, to light.

Journ. .Animal Behavior, 2:253-362.
1912 Sphex overcoming obstacles. Psyche. 19:100-102.
1912 Recent literature on the behavior of the higher vertebrates.

Psychological Bulletin, 9:290-300.

18 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

1912 Literature from 1911 nn the behavior of spiders and insects.

Journ. Animal Ikhavior. 2:3H0-397.

1913 Behavior of the common roach, Periplancta orientales on an

open maze. Hiol. Ikill., 25:348-365.
1913 Recent literature on the behavior of the higher invertebrates.
PsycholoK'ical lUilletin. 10:307-317.

1913 Literature for 1912 on tlie l>ehavior of spiders and insects. Journ.

Animal Behavior, 3:401-428.

1914 Auditory powers of the C.atocala moth; an experimental field

study. (With Lrnst Schwarz.) BioL Bull.. 27:275-293.

1914 An expcrinuMilal study of the auditory i)o\vcrs of the j{iant silk
worm moths, Saturniidae. Biol. Bull., 27:325-332.

1914 Hecent literature on tropisms and instrinclivc activities. Psy-
chological Bulletin, 11:278-285.

1914 Literature for 1913 on tlie behavior of spiders and insects. Journ.

Animal Behavior, 4:394-413.

1915 .Notes on the behavior of the ant-lion with emphasis on the

feeding activities and letisimulation. BioL Bull., 29:277-307.
1915 Literature for 1914 on the behavior of spiders and insects. Journ.
Animal Behavior, 5:415-445.

1915 The mating of Lasius niger, L. Journ. Animal Behavior, 5:337-

340.

1916 Literature for 1915 on the behavior of spiders and insects. Journ.

Animal Behavior, 0:383-399.

1916 -Notes on the feeding behavior and oviposilion of a captive false

spider. Journ. Animal Behavior, 6:160-168.

1917 Literature for 1916 on the behavior of spiders and insects. Journ.

Animal Behavior, 7:405-419.

1918 The locomotion of surface-feeding caterpillars are not tropisms.

Biol. Bull.. 34:137-148.

1921 Kcological studies of Entomostraca of the St. Louis district.

Trans. Acad. .Sci.. St. Louis. 24:1-25. pis. 1-4.

1922 A week with a mining Kumcnid; an ecologico-behavior study of

the nesting habits of Odynerus dorsalis. BioL Bull., 42:153-172.

1923 The hydrotropism of marine invertebrates. (To appear later.)

I

TROPISMS IN INSECT BEHAVIOR

By C. H. TUKNER

Dr. Jacques Loeb's experiments demonstrating that
certain invertebrates exhibit a form of activity identical
with what students of plant life call tropisms gave a new
impetus to the study of animal behavior and stimulated
numerous investigators to add a large amount of mate-
rial to our scientific literature. Unfortunately some of
this material will not stand critical analysis. So elated
were some of these men over the discovery of what
seemed a simple mechanical interpretation of animal be-
havior, so certain were they of its universal application,
that almost any simple kind of behavior was called a
tropism. No wonder Claperade exclaimed: ''A physiolo-
gist of another world, knowing nothing of our language,
coming here might well, on noticing the numerous points
of attraction which, in the shape of taverns, draw the
human crowd, invent ethylotropism, which would cer-
tainly be one of the most universal after heliotropism. He
might ascribe, also, a negative heliotropism among bak-
ers, actresses and other persons who turn day into night,
a nostropism for physicians, a necrotropism for under-
takers, a phytotropism for gardeners, a geotropism for
field laborers." This is humorous and, at first blush,
may sound ridiculous; but, is it not warranted by the
loose manner in which the word tropism is used?

So varied are the ways in which the term is used that
the standard dictionary defines a tropism as "The inher-
ent tendency of living matter to respond definitely to an
external stimulus." Any reflex action is a definite
response to an external stimulus and is an inherent tend-
ency of living matter. If a tropism is not something
different from reflex action, differential sensibility, trial

liO Trails. A rod. Sri. of St. Louis

and error, practical jiui^ient, etc., tlicn tlic term is
supGrfluous. When Dr. Loeb lirst used tiie term he had
in liiiiid a cliaracteristic type of beliavior. He asserted,
unequivocally, that it was identical with what the
botanists call tropisms. The best way to avoid misun-
derstandings is to use the word as Dr. Lcoh intended and
in no other way. The following is tiiougiit to epitomise
that c^onception : Tropism is a form of externally
induced behavior in which the organism automatically
so adjusts itself as to have morphologically symmetrical
portions ecjually stimulated. After orientation it may
advance, retreat, or remain stationary. In the light of
this definition let us critically examine examj^les of what
appear to be typical tropisms.

On first noticing foraging ants one is almost certain
to conclude that they are guided by tropisms. There is
the long sinuous double line of ants; one file going
toward the nest and the other in the opposite direction.
Draw your finger across the line. Almost immediately
the ants on each side of the finger-j^rint rush to and fro
along its edges. Is not that a case of chemotropism?
Are not the two sides of eacli ant equally stimulated by
the odor trail and is not the confusion caused by the
obliteration of that trail? By means of a simple experi-
ment let us analyze that behavior.'

About a foot or more from the ground arrange a plat-
form eiglit to twelve inches S(|uare. To its left edge
attach a cardboard incline leading from it to territory
that is familiar to flie ants. On the platfoiin i)lace some
ants with their larvae and eggs. In a short time the ants
will he carrying the larvae and eggs down the incline to
their nest. After tin* ])rocession is well establislied,

' Turner, C. H.; Tlic Homing of Ants. Journ. of Conip. Seur. and
Psv., 1907. Vol. XVII, pp. 367-435, PI. II-IV.

Tropisms in limcct Behavior 21

attach to tlie right odgo of the platform an incline leading
to territory that is unfamiliar to the ants. Thiii will
cause no change in the behavior. Allow a few moments
to be certain that tlie manipulation has not influenced
the actions of the ants and then interchange the two in-
clines. On the right you now have an incline that is well
scented with the odor of ants ; on the left one that is en-
tirely free from such odors. If the behavior of the ants
is a chemotropism, the substitution of an unscented for
the scented trail should disturb the movements and make
it necessary for them to relearn the way home. Such
will not be the result. Without a moment's hesitation
the ants will continue down and up the incline, although
there is no ant odor on it. Evidently that behavior is
not a chemotropism.

Moreover, a careful study of ants shows that in most,
if not all, cases the path by which ants leave a nest is not
identical with the one hy which they return. This is
especially true of those ants that have eyes.*

In that case the trails are often widely separated. It
is not intended to ignore the fact that certain species of

blind ants deliberately deposit an odor trail which assists
in guiding them home.^ In that case it is next to impos-
sible to determine the exact width of the odor trail ; but,
even then, tlie incoming and outgoing ants travel along
parallel rather than identical trails. It seems highly
probable that the scented pathway was to one side of the
ant that led the others back to the nest. If that is so tlien
the odor trail must function as a reference point and not
as nn inducer of tropisms.

Enter a dark cellar at night. Turn on the electric

2 Turner, C. H. Op. cit. Cornetz, V.; Trajet de Fourmis et Retoars
du Nid. Inst. Gen. Psychologique, Mem. No. 2, 1910. pp. 1-167.

3 Santschi, F.; Comment s'Oricntcnt dcs Fourmis. Reime Suiiae
de Zooiogic, Vol. .\XI, 191J, pp. 349-426.

oo

Tnnis. Acad. Sci. of iSt. Louis

li^Hit. A keen eye will detect roaches riisliin<i^ in all
(lircctions to the cracks and cranni<'s. rndnnl)todly thoy
are rushinij^ away from the li^^hl. Is that i»chavior a
negative phototropism? ]x?t us analyze it experimentally.
Arrange a floorless rectangular glass pen. Have the
walls and coiling of one-half of this enclosure opaque and
of the other transparent. Place this pen on an opaque
floor so constructed that, on the touching of a key, an
electric slux-k may he given to any creature standing on
it. Thus we have a run-way, one-half of which is in dark-
ness and the floor of which is an electric shocking board.
Place a roach in the lighted portion of the run-way. Im-
mediately it rushes into the darkness. Turn on tlie cur-
rent. ]t dashes into the light. Tuni olT the current and
it will soon re-enter the darkened portion of the run.
Every time it enters the darkness switch on the current;
as soon as it leaves the darkened portion turn the cur-
rent olT. Shortly it will a])proach the entrance to the
darkened run-way very cautiously; later it will halt at
the dividing line and refuse to enter the darkness and
will often retreat to the other end of the run-way.* Per-
haps you think we have simply reversed the tropism;
what was a negative i)hototropism has become a positive
holiotro])isTn. Let us examiiK^ this behavior a little
more. As soon as the roach has thoroughly formed the
habit of refusing to enter the darkness, remove the run-
way from the shocking board and ])laco it in a ]>iece of
ordinary ])oard or cardboard. Place the roach in the
runway. Immediately it enters the darkened ]^ortion.
Restore the run to the shocking board and place the roach
therein. It now refuses to enter the darkness. Evi-

« Turner, C. H.; An Experimental Investigation of an apparent Re-
versal of the ncsponscs to I-i(?lit of the I\oaeh (Penplaneta orientalis).
Biol, null., 1912, Vol. XXIII. pp. 371-386.

Tropisnis in Insect Behavior 23

dently it was not darkness as such that it refused to en-
ter, but darkness associated with a peculiar kind of floor.
It was responding to a darkness that had acquired a
meaning; it was responding to darkness, not as a con-
troller of tropism, but to darkness as a perception. If
you have any doubts as to the soundness of your analysis
place the roach on an open maze so arranged that to fall
from the runways means a plunge into cold water. In a
reasonably short time the roach wall learn to run the
maze, although in doing so it crosses the rays of light at
several different angles.''

Several kinds of insects — bees, wasps, ants, flies — have
the habit of hovering in great swarms and performing
what looks like a sun dance. In the case of certain flies,
at least, all seem to be facing the wind and the behavior
has been interpreted as an anaemotropism. Examine the
hovering swarm carefully — be it composed of bees,
wasps, ants or flies — and you will find that the partici-
pants are males. Occasionally a female corkscrews
through the group or approaches its outskirts. Im-
mediately a few males dart in pursuit and the rest go on
with the dance." Evidently this is a prenuptial dance
and is probably no more of an anaemotropism than is the
soaring of a vulture. When we remember that the hover-
ing of some flies consists in hovering before a wall or
other opaque body this point of view is strengthened be-
cause such a fly cannot be facing the wind, since the wind

5 Turner, C. H.; Behavior of the Common Roach (Periplaneta ori-
entalis) on an Open Ma/c. Biol. Bull., Vol. XXV, 1913, pp. 348-365.

* Turner, (".. H.; Tlie Siin-Dancc of Mcllissodcs, Psyche, 1909.
Turner, C H.; The Mating of Lasius. Jour, of .Animal Behavior,
Vol. V, 1915, pp. 337-340.

Rau, Phil and Nellie; Wasp Studies .Afield, 1918, pp. 9-17.

P6rez, J. — Sur Quclqucs Particularitfis Curiouses du Rappronche-
mcnt des Sexes chez Certains Depteres. Bull. Scicntijlquc </e la France
et la Belgiquc, 1911, 7th series, T. XLV, pp. 1-14.

24 Trans. Acad, ^'c/. of St. Louis

always niov(\s ])arallol to a wall and not at riglit anj^^les
to it.

AVali-li tlu' behavior ol' tent caterpillars. They move
upward and outward, feeding when tliey lind the proper
materials. Later, satiated, they return to the tent.
"Negative ^cotropism when hungry, positive geotroi)ism
when satiated", some say. Or, take the recessional eater-
pillars. They move aloiiii: in a procession with the head
of one in contact with the larva Just in front of it. l^ead
them to the rim of a bucket and start the procession
around the rim. When the circuit has l)een completed,
knock aside the superHuous caterpillars and permit the
head of the leader to come in contact with the tij) of the
abdouuMi of file last meml>er of the ))rocessi(»ii. They
will contiiHK' to niai'<'li around llic rini iiour after hour.'
*' Positive thi^motropism", you say. Let us analyze the
behavior of such caterpillars. Arraii.ii:e a vertical maze
consisting of an uj)rii>:ht about one-inch in diameter to
which are attached a number of jointed arms. Let the
arms be so articulated that they can be bent in a variety
of ways. Such a maze contains no succulent buds nor
tender leaves for the larvae to nibble; hence there can
bo no reversal of tropism due to satiety. A cateri)illar,
when placed at the foot of such a maze will exjih)i'e it. It
may continue uj) to the center su])i)ort to. the toj) or it
may explore one or more of the arms. After a time it is
almost certain to descend the nuize to the .irrouud. This ■

behavior may be repeated seviM'al tinu's. Tlie ap])aratus m

may i)e so manipulated that the caterpillar crosses tlie
light at several different ani^les, so that it moves toward
the wind, from the wind, and at ant;i(>s to it, and so that it
moves at times toward the earth an<l at otlier times awa.v

'Fabrc, J. H.; Tlio Life of tin- Caterpillar, Translated l)y Alexander
Tcixcira de Mattos. Dodd, Mead & Co., lUKs i)}). 38-88.

TropisniJi In Insect Behaviar 25

from it; but tlie manipulation will have no appreciable
effect upon the behavior of the insect.* The above be-
havior will be true of practically any species of surface-
feeding caterpillar provided the larva has not just
hatched from the egg or just emerged from hibernating,
or is about to pupate or to hibernate. If a horizontal
maze is substituted for the vertical one the behavior will
be essentially the same. Since these caterpillars cross
the rays of light, the wind and the vertical line at every
possible angle, tlie behavior is neither a phototropism
nor an anaemotropism nor a geotropism.

Secure a piece of glass tubing large enough to allow
free movements but too narrow to permit the larva to
turn around in it. By such a device it is possible to in-
troduce the caterpillar to the maze with its head pointing
in any desired direction. Under such conditions the
caterpillar, when introduced to the maze, always starts
otT in the direction in which its head happens to be turned
at the time. Irrespective of the direction of either the
light or of the wind or of the pull of gravitation, it con-
tinues in that direction until some new^ stimulus is
reached. There is no automatic adjusting of the body so
as to have symmetrical portions equally stimulated. Evi-
dently, except perhaps just after emerging from the egg
or a state of hibernation, or immediately before pupating
or hibernating, tlicie is nothing about the behavior of
surface-feeding caterpillars to warrant the assumption
that these locomotions are tropisms. The movements
made in locomotion are identical with those executed by
animals that h-arn by tlie trial and error method. In-
stinctively thecaterpillars are physiologically attuned to
a certain environment. Outside that environment there

8 Turner, C. H.; The Locomotions of Surface-Feeding Caterpillars
are uot Tropisms. Dioluyicul linUetin, Vol. XXXIV. 1918, pp. 137-148.

26 Trans. A ((id. Sci. of St. Louis

is physiological unrest. To escape the impleasantness
of this eiivironinent, the creature makes random move-
ments. There is no automatic adjusting the body so as
to have it symmetrically stimulated by the excitant.
Some internal stimulus causes forward movement until
some sensation factor induces it to change its course. If
physiological satisfaction is not obtained, it continues its
rambling until fatigue causes it to rest.

For the purposes of this paper, several cases of what
appear to be typical tropisms have been selected and it
has been shown how experimental analyses demonstrate
that none of these are tropisms. It is thought that these
results constitute an unanswerable argument against the
careless manner in which the w^ord tropism is now used.
It is not contended that there are no such things as insect
tropisms. In the light of our present knowledge, that
would be claiming too much, for the scientific literature
contains records of a few cases of what appear to be real
tro])isms.° It may be that at certain critical periods in
the life of the insect, such as birth, emergence from hiber-
nation, just before pupation or hibernation, etc. — th'e
insect may be more or less under the control of tropisms,
but the behavior of normal insects under ordinary condi-
tions cannot be called tropisms. That is the message of
this paper. It insists that the term tropism be so defined
as to make it an easily recognized type of behavior, and
that nothing be called a tropism that does not stand the
test of critical experimental analysis.

f* Loeb, Jacques; Studies in General Physiology, 1905, pp. 24-37.

THE HOMING OF THE HYMENOPTERA

By C. H. TURNER

INTRODUCTION

Hymenoptera is the name of a group of insects which
includes ants, wasps, bees and their near kin. With the
exception of those forms which in their babyhood are
parasites, all construct homes to be occupied by their
young. These homes may be subterranean, terrestrial
or aerial; solitary or communal; constructed of clay,
wood or paper; but, in all cases, in order to supply the
young with food, the adults make frequent visits to these
nurseries. By some species all of the food is stored in
the nest before the eggs hatch; by others a portion is
deposited before birth and the remainder is added as
the young need it; yet others, which store no food be-
fore the larvae appear, are kept busy supplying the daily
bread of their offspring. Their numerous periodic visits
to the home make the adults excellent subjects for inves-
tigations of the methods by which insects find their way
home. At first blush it may seem that the subject would
have been exhausted long before now ; but, by coining new
psychological concepts and by insisting upon more exact-
ing methods of experimentation, this age has stimulated
a number of scholars to reinvestigate the subject.

The creeping ant leaves its burrow, meanders to its
distant foraging ground and returns, without error, to
its nest. Likewise the wasp and the bee repeatedly fly
away to their hunting grounds and return. From time
to time, four different factors have been proposed to ac-
count for this behavior; a homing instinct, tropisms,
muscular memory and recognition of landmarks.

28 Trans. Acud. Sci. of .S/. J.ouis

The advocates of the homing instinct ckiim that there
is a peculiar inner power which guides insects liome by
the shortest route. Kccognition and memory phiy no
part whatsoever in this form of behavior. The insect
leaves home and forages here and there. AVhen ready
to return, it instinctively knows in which direction and
how far to go.

According to believers in the tropism theory, there is
some external stimulus or stimuli which forces an insect
homeward in the same manner that iron filings are
impelled to orient themselves and move toward a strong
magnet. This process is purely mechanical; it dilTers
from the above in the stimulus being external instead of
internal.

The advocates of muscular memory insist that all the
time an insect is wandering away from home the move-
ments of the muscles and the stresses and strains of the
tendons are inducing in the nervous system a certain
form of tension. A\'hen the insect is ready to return
home, this tension is gradually released and induces the
insect to right-about-face and retrace its steps.

Those who contend that there is a recognition of land-
marks insist that insects and men find the way home in
essentially the same manner; namely, by an associative
memory enabling the possessor to recognize landmarks.
This hypothesis differs from all the others in predicating
an intellectual factor. It i)resupposes that insects are
capable of learning by experience and profiting there-
from.

ANTS

Have you ever watched long lines of ants move to and
fro between foraging grounds and nest? Have you ever
wondered what enables them to find their way? Have
you ever S]ieculated upon the ]isychology of their be-

The Jlominj uf the llyincnoptcra

29

liavior? Not many years ago, it was almost universally
believed that there is a mysterious impulse which guides
insects and other animals. Even today there are a few
who believe in this homing instinct. Watson's recent
experiments' which seem to demonstrate that terns are
guid(»d by a homing instinct will, no doubt, cause some to
feel that this same interpretation may be made of the
lioming of insects. This is not the place to discuss the
validity of Watson's ex])oriments but birds and insects
are morphologically so unlike that what is true in one
ease is not necessarily so in the other.

Fig. 1. Experiment on
tlie honiinf,' of ants. P P
porch, L leaf, \ opening to
nest. The arrows point in
the direction the ant
moved.

In the south many frame houses are supported on nar-
row brick ])i liars. Within the base-board of the porch of
such a building a species of wood-boring ant had estal)-
lished its home. The entrance of this nest was within
a foot of one of those supporting pillars. To the ants
that brick pillar was an unexjilorod territory; weeks of
watchful waiting failed to detect a single ant upon it.'

' Watson, John B. Tlic Behavior of the Noddy and Sooty Terns.
Publication 103, Carnegie Institution of Wasliinyton; pp. 187-225.

a Turner, (". H. The Homing of .\nts. Jour, of Camp. \cur. and
Psvrholofju, 1907, pp. 381-382.

30 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Lauis

The })orcli was shaded witli vines tliat furnished pas-
turage to innumerable herds of **ant cows". At almost
any hour of the day ants could be seen milking aphids, or
moving to and from the pasture. ]\Iuch patient waiting
and careful searching finally revealed a leaf upon which
a single ant was sipping food from plant lice. This leaf
was gently removed and inserted in a hole previously
made in the brick pillar (Fig. 1). This was accomplished
without interrupting the ant's meal. Presently the ant
finished its dinner and was ready to go home. Being
within two feet of its nest, if in possession of a homing
instinct, it should have gone directly home. What really
happened is as illuminating as it was unexpected. Ir. a
meandering line it descended the pillar until almost to the
ground, then turned and zigzaged slowly upward until
it had reached the leaf. After exploring the leaf it twice
more meandered over the pillar and back, each time in a
different direction. On its fourth sinuous journey, it
reached the base-board of the porch and then rushed
directly to the nest. Evidently, transporting the leaf
had caused the ant to become lost.

It is an easy matter to cause ants to lose their way.
After a hard rain, if a nmnber of ants are transported a
few yards from a nest and deposited on the gromid,^
almost none of them will be able to find the wav home.
After niunerous profitless random movements, they will
usually take refuge under stones or chips. Unless dis-
covered by workers from the nest, they are apt to remain
in such situations a long time. Would it be possible to
do this if ants were in possession of a homing instinct?

You may think Miss Pielde' entirely wrong when she
claims to have demonstrated that each joint of the anten-

» Fielde. A. M. Proc. Acad. Sci. Philadelphia, 1003.

The Homing of the Jlymenoptcra 31

na is the organ of a special kind of odor ; you may not be
able to decide whether to agree with those who claim that
the sense of smell is located in the antenna or with those
who claim tliat it is located elsewhere* : but in the light
of the following experiments, there is no escaping the
conviction that ants possess a well developed sense akin
to the olfactory sense of man.

Paint a narrow odoriferous band across the pathway
of homegoing ants, or even draw your finger across the
trail of certain species ; immediately the procession halts
and those nearest the offending streak move hither and
thither as though lost. The confusion will not be perma-
nent. Presently the procession will move along as be-
fore.

As a rule ants will attack any strange worker ant that
attempts to enter the nest but members of the household
will be received with open arms even after an absence of
several days. Take some ants from a nest, wash the nest
odor from their bodies, bathe them in the blood of an
alien colony of ants and then return them to their own
nest. They will be attacked, as least temporarily, as
strangers. On the other hand, take some ants from a
nest, wash the nest odor from their bodies, bathe them in
the blood of ants of an alien colony and then place them
in that colony and they will be welcomed, at least tempo-
rarily, as members of the household.

However, the admission that ants have a well developed
olfactory or topochemical sense is no justification for the
conclusion that odors, by arousing chemotropisms, guide
them home. There are a few species of ants that do seem

4 Forel, August. The Senses of Insects. Translated by .Maclcod
Yearsley. Mcthuen cC- Co., London, 1908, pp. 7.1-100.

Mclndoo, N. E. The Olfactory Sense of Insects. Smith. Misc. i-oL,
63. numher 9. pp. 1-63. 1914.

The Olfactory .Sense of the Hymenoptera. Proc. Acad.

Sci., Philadelphia. 1914, pp. 294-341.

32 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

to rely almost entirely upon odors for guidance; ants
which on their outward journey deposit odors on the trail
to make it more conspicuous. This, however, is not true
of the majority of ants for it is now well known that the
individuals of many species do not return home along the
identical trail by which they departed/ The two path-
ways are near together and roughly parallel but not coin-
cident. Then, too, the following easily repeated experi-
ments militate against such a conclusion :

By means of a pin through its center, attach a rectangu-
lar piece of cardboard, eight inches square to the cork of
a bottle six or more inches high. By means of a narrow
cardboard inclined plane, connect this stage with the run-
way of a nest of ants with well developed eyes. On the
cardboard platform place a number of ants with their
eggs and pupae. At first the ants will rush about at
random as though lost. After a number of fruitless ef-
forts, they will finally find the way to the nest. Soon
there will be a procession of ants moving to and fro be-
tween the nest and the stage. AVhen the trail has been
well established, replace the inclined plane with a new
one and attach it to the opposite side of the platform. If
ants are guided home solely by odors stimulating trop-
isms, those ants should act as though confused and spend
much time learning the way home. Such will not be the
case. Without a moments hesitation the ants will jour-
ney homeward along the unscented pathway.*

Arrange the card-board stage as above with the in-
clined plane upon the right. Near to the right and to the
left sides of the stage and separated from it by heat fil-

5 Turner, C. H. The Homing of Ants. Jour, of Comp. Neur. and
Pay., Vol. 17, pp. 370-378.

Cornetz, Victor. Trajets de Fourmis et Hetours au Nid. InsHtut
Gdndral Psychologique, M4nioires, No. 2, pp. 1-167.

"Turner, C. H. Homing of Ants, ibid. pp. 399-401.

Tkans. Acu). Sci. oi- Si. I.oi is, X'oi . \\l\'

Pi. ATI- X

App.Mrnl lis UScil to ilcillolisl I'.-lIc tll.Ml ccllaill species of
;iii1s ii^e liiiiil ;is ;i I;iii(1iii;m'1<. In llie relies represented
l)\- lliis pliolournpli llie li^iil \\;is sliil'leil from >iile lt>
<i(|e. Later liulits were placed permanently (ni liotli sides;
hnt these were so connecti'ij that w lien one was liiilited
the otiiei- was antoniatically e\t iiiuni.--lie(l. A, heat lilter.
r>. electric liuht. ( ', niii'ror Tor \iewinu- the lowei' side of
1 he indineil plane. < >, .lanet nest.

The Uotnxn<j of the Ilymenoptcra 33

ters, arrange electric lights so connected that when the
light on one side is burning the other is automatically
extinguished (PI. X). Place a number of ants with
their eggs, larvae and })upae upon the stage, and switch
on the light on the right side of the stage. Soon there will
be a continuous procession of busy ants passing to and
fro between the nest and the stage. A\'hen the procession
is so thoroughly established that no ants are straggling
about on the stage, attach a second incline plane to the
left side of the platform. You will now have one incline
on the side where the light is shining and another on the
opposite side. You may watch for hours and the ants
"svill continue to travel along the pathway on the right.
Switch off the light on the right; turn on the light on
the left. Immediately a remarkable change occurs. The
ants act as though they were in a panic. As you watch
them darting to and fro there is no escaping the convic-
tion that they are lost. Presently order will be re-estab-
lished and the procession will be moving to and fro be-
tween the nest and the stage, but not along the inclined
plane on the right. The approach on the left is now the
means by which the ants enter and leave the stage ! Evi-
dently light is a factor in guiding those ants home. Since,
on their homeward journey, the ants moved toward the
light, across the light, and away from the light, it was
light as a. landmark and not as an inducer of photo-
tropisms that guided those ants.

Or, as Sancti^ has done, select a place in the open where
there is a nest of ants with well developed eyes, and
choose a time of day when the home-going ants are facing
the sun. B}' means of a mirror flash the sunlight upon a

^ Sancti, F. Observations ct Rcmarqucs Critiques siir le M<?canisrae
de rOrientation ciicz les Formis. Revue Suisse dc Zuologie, Vol 19,
FP. 316-332.

34 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

home-going ant. Immediately it will depart from the
trail and move toward the mirror. Could that happen
if the insect were slavishly following the odor trail?

To jmnp to the conclusion that light is the sole factor
guiding these ants would be as great a fallacy as that
made by those who claim that odors are. It is well known
that ants sometimes pass under shelters and out on the
other side, that they traverse shadows and that they
often forage after sundown. Admitting that the high
sensitivity of ants to the ultra violet rays indicates that
they are stimulated by light in situations where we can
detect only darkness, yet, recalling that there is experi-
mental evidence that ants are affected by the olfactory
and tactile peculiarities of their trails, one is forced to
conclude that light is not the only factor which influences
the homing of ants.

Any serious student of the behavior of ants is sure to
be impressed with the fact that they have an awareness
of distance in both a horizontal and a vertical direction,
and that this awareness is something which has been ac-
quired by the ant on its outward journey. Just after a
rain, if some ants are taken from a nest and transported
to a distance, they will wander a])out witliont finding the
way home. Even a casual observer would know that they
were lost. Let those same ants make that journey on
foot and each would easily find the way home. The fol-
lowing experiment, which was first performed by Pieron,®
has convinced some students that this awareness of
distance is a function of the muscular sense.

Select a place where the surface of the ground around
the nest is practically unifonn. Watch for a home-com-

^ Picron, M. Du Role du Sens Musculaire dans I'Orientation de
Qiiclques Espcces de Fourmis. Bull. Inst. Gen. Psych., Paris, Vol. IV,

168-187.

The Homing of the Ilymenoptcra 35

ing ant. In its path place a flat piece of cardboard.
When the ant has mounted this, in as gentle a manner
as possible, transport the whole to the ground on the op-
posite side of the nest. The ant will leave the cardboard
and continue on in the direction it was going until it has
gone as far as the distance from the nest to the original
position of the card-board. There it will describe that
series of short complex curves, frequently made by ants
when in the vicinity of the nest, which Cornetz has called
''tournoiement de Turner." As stated above, Pieron
thinks that the movements of the muscles of the ant on
its outward journey induced a certain tension in the nerv-
ous system. As a result of this tension the home-going
ant is automatically warned when it has gone far enough.

Without passing judgement upon Pieron 's theory as
to how ants determine distance, it is the contention of
this article that the awareness of direction is a function
of the perceptual peculiarities of the environment of the
outgoing ant. In other words, on its outward journey
the ant notices certain characteristics of its surround-
ings ; on its return trip it recognizes these and uses them
as landmarks. The use of the expression perceptual
peculiarities implies that that which guides the ants is a
fusion-product of more than one sense. In those ants
with poorly developed eyes, the olfactory (topochemieal)
sense is basal; where the visual organs are well devel-
oped, sight is the sense about the recepts of which the
contributions of the other senses are fused. The con-
tention of some that we should seek a simpler explana-
tion is offset by the fact that there is experimental evi-
dence that ants possess associative memory.

It is thought that the following description of how an
ant was taught to use an elevator on going to and from
a stage a few inches high is proof that ants possess asso-

3G Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

eiative memory. Two marked worker ants, A and B,
were being experimented upon at the same time. "The
one I have called A readily learned the way down and up
the incline; but to B this was an insoluble problem.^ It
continued for a long time to move at random over the
stage, reacliing down over first one edge and then over
another as though it was reaching for a support that was
not to be found, but nothing prompted it to pass down the
incline. Prompted by another thouglit, I shoved the sec-
tion lifter under the ant and transferred it to the island.
The ant tlien stepped off and carried the pupa to the nest.
As soon as B returned to the island, I shoved the section-
lifter imder it and transferred it to the stage. B stepped
off and picked up another ])upa. With the section-lifter
I again transferred it to the island. After this was re-
peated several times, the moment I presented the section-
lifter, whether on the island or on the stage, the ant im-
mediately mounted it and rested quietly thereon until it
had been removed to the stage or to the island; then it
stepped off and picked up a pupa or else went into the
nest. I usuallj' held the section-lifter from two to four
millimeters above the surface of the island or stage. In
this manner the industrious creature passed to and from
the stage about fifty times in something less than two
hours."

At least two other investigators^" have succeeded in
teaching ants to do unexpected things. Since ants
possess associative memoiy and since they are easily dis-
concerted by changes made in the environment, it is not

» Turner, C. H. The Homing of Ants, pp. 386-387.

10 Ernst, C. Einige Beobaclitiinf;en and kiinstlichcn Amcisenncst-
ern Biol. Centrlb., vol 25, pp. 47-51; vol. 26, pp. 210-220.

Wasmann. Die psycUischen Fahigkeilcn dcr Aiucisen. Zoologica,
vol. 26.

The Homing of the Hymerwptera 37

claiming too much to insist that they are guided by land-
marks.

WASPS AND BEES

Tarry upon a busy corner of either a small town or a
metropolitan city. Stop each pedestrian and inquire how
wasps and bees find the way home. Nine out of ten will
say they are guided, in a straight line, by some myste-
rious inner force. This is so ingrained in the folk-
consciousness that the expression "bee line" is used to
designate the most direct route. Some scientists must
be included in that nmnber ; for Bethe'' insists that up to
three kilometers bees are guided home by a mysterious
power. He bases his conclusions upon such experiments
as the following:

If a hive is removed a short distance the returning
bees at first fail to find it.

Bees were taken into the town of Strasburg, a place
which Bethe claims the bees did not visit, and turned
loose in the streets. They went home directly. Bethe
claims that the majority of them started in the right
direction before they reached the housetops.

A yellow hive was placed on a table. Near the hive
was placed a folding screen. On the screen were hung
colored handkerchiefs. The table and hive were covered
with green branches and blue paper was glued to the yel-
low face of the hive. The bees on returning hesitated a
moment, forming a slight swarm. Thereafter, they flew
without hesitation to the door of the hive.

Bethe cites several other experiments but none are
more conclusive than these. Bethe 's preconceived no-
tions caused him to ignore those facts in his experiments
that do not serve his purpose. His experiments show

11 Bethe, A. Die Heimkerh fahigkeit der Ameisen und Bienen zum
Theil nach neuen Versuchen. Biol. Cenlrlb.. Bd. 22, s. 193-215, 234-238.

38 Trana. Acad. Sri. of St. Louis

conclusively that when the position of the entrance of the
hive is gradually changed, either in a straight line or in
a circle, the bees are not disconcerted. In Strasburg, ac-
cording to Forel, the streets are narrow and straight. In
narrow straight streets, how would it be possible for bees
to start directly toward the hive, before reaching the
house-tops, unless the ex|)erimenter had selected streets
that pointed in the right direction? In his hive experi-
ment he counts as insignificant the hesitation of the bees
mentioned above. He noticed that flashing light by
means of mirrors and placing fresh paper around hives
caused bees to hesitate and accumulate in swarms before
entering, but he attributed the disturbance to the keen
sense of smell of bees.

One of Bethe's own experiments militates against his
contention, lie conveyed a hive a long distance from
home and turned the bees out. The old bees returned to
the place from which the hive had been removed but the
young bees re-entered the hive in its new location. When
we remember that old bees on leaving a hive depart im-
mediately and that young bees describe circles of orienta-
tion, does not this indicate that the old bees followed well-
known landmarks to their former home and that the
young bees, being unfamiliar with such landmarks, were
guided back to the hive by newly acquired data? Then,
too, how can Bethe harmonize his view with the fact that
bees caught afield after dark remain out all night? The
weakness of Bethe's contention becomes even more ap-
parent when we consider the experimental work of those
whose conclusions are unlike his.

In a school building in tlie city of Augusta, Georgia,
there was a schoolroom with windows on three sides.
On the north there were four adjacent windows, with a

The Homing of the Hymenoptera 39

space of about eight inclies between each two.^^ Each
window was provided with two sliades, one extending
from the top to the middle, and one covering the lower
sash. On the west there were two widely separated
windows. One of these was kept open night and day.
For convenience, the windows on the north were num-
bered three, four, five and six. They were kept closed
at all times but the shades were manipulated in a variety
of ways. At the beginning of the experiment all shades
were down except the top shade of window four, which
was raised to the fullest extent. A mud-dauber wasp be-
gan a nest a little to the west of the upper left-hand cor-
ner of window four. After one cell had been about
completed, while the wasp was afield, the upper shade
of window four was lowered and the corresponding
shade of window five raised. This shifted a broad beam
of white light one window to the east. No other change
was made in the surroundings. If wasps are guided
home by the mysterious force for wliich Bethe contends,
no change should have been made in the behavior of this
wasp. Presently the insect returned and flew directly,
not to the nest, but a little to the west of the upper left-
hand corner of window five. She searched and searched,
but on that trip did not find the nest until the shades
were restored to their former position. To make a long
story short, for several days, the shades were manipu-
lated in a variety of ways. Each time a change was made
the wasp acted as though it was confused. Evidently
that Hymenopteron was using landmarks, of which the
beam of light was one.

"Several of the walks of the Haines Nonnal School,
Augusta, Georgia, are separated from the adjacent flower

•- Turner. C. H. The Homing of the Mud-Dauber. Biol. Bull., vol.
15, pp. 215-225.

40 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

beds by bricks inclined in such a manner as to form a
serrated border of wedges of bricks, each wedge being
about two inches high and something over four inches
wide at the base.'" One of these flower beds, which was
quite sandy, contained in its center a patch of nastur-
tiums. * * * In a barren spot in this bed, adjacent to an
inverted tin cap of a Coca-Cola bottle, and within an inch
of the northern face of one of the bricks that formed the
serrated border, a burrowing-bee excavated a burrow.
The nest was discovered at nine a. m., August 8, 1908.
The sun was shining brightly at the time but the nest,
which was situated a little to the west of the southern
wall of a large three-story brick building, was in the.
shadow. A gentle breeze was blowing from the south.
At the time mentioned, the bee was busy collecting pollen
and storing it in its burrow. The flowers from which
it obtained its supply must have been quite remote, for
it required about thirty minutes to make the trip.

**For convenience, the brick before which the burrow
was located was designated zero and bricks to the west
of it Wj, AV2, W3, etc., in regular succession. Likewise
the bricks to the east were named E,, E., E3, etc.

"The field from which the bee obtained its pollen was
situated to the south of the school, and the burrow of the
bee was located to the north of the brick border. On
arriving from its forage, the bee would reach the brick
border at or near brick W,o. It then would turn about
so as to face the northern surface of the brick border.
Then hovering at about an inch and a half from the
ground and at about the same distance from the bricks,
the bee would sidle along. Usually its movement was
toward the east but occasionally it would retrograde

13 Turner, C. H. The Homing of Burrowing Bees. Biol. Bulletin,
vol. 15, pp. 247-268.

The Haming of the Hymenoptera 41

westward a short distance and then resume its eastward
progress. On reaching the brick before which the nest
was located, it would drop immediately into the burrow.
After remaining in the burrow a few minutes, the bee
would depart, without stopping to explore the surround-
ings. Several trips were observed carefully and, in each
case, the behavior was essentially the same. In its flight,
neither the orientation of its body, nor the direction of
its movements, bore any constant relation either to the
direction of the wind or to the rays of the sun. ' '

While the bee was afield a hole of the same diameter as
the burrow was made in front of bricks Wi and Ei ; and
the bottle top was placed adjacent to the hole made be-
fore brick AVi. Presently the bee returned and after the
usual preliminary movements, dropped quickly into the
hole before brick Wi. Discovering her error, she backed
out and searched about for her home until it was found.
By making additional holes and by altering the condi-
tions around the original burrow, the bee was caused to
make numerous errors.

These and experiments similar in results but unlike in
detail, which have been described by several investiga-
tors'*, warrant the conclusion that wasps and bees are
guided home by utilizing landmarks.

It is evident that the behavior exhibited in the above
experiments cannot be classed as either an anemotropism
or as a phototropism, for neither the orientation of the

^* Buttel-Reepen. Sind die Bienen Reflexmaschinen? Leipzig, 1900.

Die Siniie der Bicne. 1914.

Forel, Auguste. The Senses of Insects. Trans, by Macleod Years-
ley. London, 1908.

Lubbock, Sir John. Ants, Bees and Wasps. 1881.

On the Senses, Instincts and Intelligence of Ani-
mals. London, 1888.

Peckham, G. W. Some Observations on the Special Senses of
Wasps. Proc. of the \at. Hist. Soc. of Wisconsin, April, 1887.

Peckham, Geo. W. and Klizabeth G. On the Instincts and Habits
of the Solitary Wasps. Madison, Wis., 1898.

42 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

body nor the direction of flight bore any constant rela-
tion either to the direction of the wind or the rays of the
sun. It would be erroneous to claim that these wasps
and bees find their way home by the method of "trial
and error," for there is no gradual "stamping in" of the
appropriate response. When the returning insect finds
the environment markedly changed, it searches until the
opening to its nest is found. On its next departure a
careful examination of the vicinity of the nest is made.
On its next return, unless the environment has been
changed in the meanwhile, the wasp or bee flies directly
to its burrow in the minimum amount of time ; there is
none of that blundering into solution which the method
of "trial and error" demands.

The contention that wasps and bees use landmarks to
guide them home predicates to them the ability to recog-
nize things by sight. This predication is justified by the
following experiments which demonstrate that these in-
sects possess both color-vision and pattern-vision.

A large number of cardboard artifacts were made."
Some were circular discs, some pill-boxes and others cor-
nucopias. Each cornucopia had a semi-circular flange
projecting beyond its mouth. The bottom of the outer
case of each pill-box projected a short distance beyond
the front, and the drawer of each box was shorter than
the case and contained an opening in its front end.
Some of these artifacts were colored red, some
blue, some marked with alternating red and green longi-
tudinal stripes, some with alternating red and green
transverse stripes; some marked with alternating black

and white longitudinal stripes, some with alternating

i"* Turner, C. H. Experiments on Color-Vision of the Honey Bee.
Biol. Bull., vol. 19. 257-279.

Experiments on the Pattern Vision of the Honey

Bee. Biol. Bull., vol. 21, pp. 249-264.

The Ilominfj of the Ilymenoptera 43

black and white transverse stripes; and some speckled
with red and green. These colors were not optically
pure, but were such as could be procured in the market.

The place selected for the experiments was a large
field of white, sweet clover, which was visited by count-
less numbers of bees. The experiments occupied a part
of two summers. The bees were trained to visit an arti-
fact of a certain color by placing honey on or in an arti-
fact of that color and leaving the others empty. The
first season they were trained to visit a plain artifact;
the second, to visit a striped one. Much time and patience
was required to induce a single bee to visit one of these
artifacts. Soon after one of the bees had discovered the
richness of these artifacts in honey, a large number of
bees began to make regular visits to them. After the
bees had been foraging upon these artifacts for several
days and had practically neglected the melilot for them,
new artifacts were constructed and the following exam-
ination was held :

The tests covered a number of days and were arranged
in series. In one series no honey was placed in any of
the artifacts; in another, honey was placed in some of
the artifacts, but none in those of the color and pattern
from which the bees had been trained to expect honey ; in
a third series honey was placed in some of the artifacts
of each color pattern used. The number of varieties of
color patterns used at one time varied from two to seven
and the total nmuber of artifacts used at one time vai'ied
from two to twenty. Almost invariably the bees flew
into the artifacts of the color and pattern from which
they had been trained to collect honey ; but paid no atten-
tion to artifacts of any other color and pattern. The
manner in which the bees passed by most artifacts, even
when they contained honey, and the eagerness with which

44 Trona. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

they rushed into the empty artifacts of the color and
pattern from which they had been trained to exj)ect
honey would have convinced any unbiased spectator that
to those bees certain artifacts had acquired a meaning
and that those insects were exercising the faculty of
recognition.

Less than two per cent of mistakes were made, and in
the light of subsequent experiments, these were instruc-
tive. Two consisted in selecting a box mottled red and
green for one painted with alternating red and green
longitudinal stripes; two in selecting a box with black
and white longitudinal stripes for one with red and
green longitudinal stripes; the other six consisted in
selecting a box marked with alternating red and green
transverse stripes for one marked with red and green
longitudinal stripes. Remembering that these colors
were not optically pure, and recalling the experiments
by which Frisch^^ claims to have demonstrated that bees
are red-green color blind, these are just the kind of mis-
takes we would expect bees to make if they are guided
by landmarks.

Further experimental confirmation that recognition is
one of the mental traits of bees and wasps may be found
in the published works of Foreel (1. c), Lubbock (1. c),
the Peckhams (1. c), Loveir^, and others.^*

^^Frisch, Karl v. Ueber den Farbensinn der Bienen und die Bliimen-
farben. Muencbener medizinischen Wocbcnscbrift, 1913, pp. 1-10.

^^ Lovell, John H. The Color Sense of the Honey Bee. Tbe Anier,
Nat., vol. 46, pp. 83-107.

The Color Sense of the Honey Bee: Can Bees Dis-
tinguish Colors? Amer. Nat., vol. 44, pp. 673-692.

X* In a series of papers extending over a decade ["Comment les
fleurs attircnt les insects." "Un filet empeche-t-il le passage des in-
sectes." "Noiivelles recherches sur les rapports entre les insectes et
les fleurs." "Recherches expcrimentalcs sur la vision chcz les arthro-
podes," etcl Platean describes a number of experiments which he
thinks demonstrate that these insects do not make visual discrimina-
tions. Forel and Lovell have pointed out so conclusively the defects
of his experiments and the fallacies of his conclusions that it was not
thought necessary to discuss them in the body of this article.

The Homing of the Hijmenoptera 45

CONCLUSION

After studying the subject from all possible angles, the
conviction has been reached that iicitlicr the creejnng ant,
nor the flying bee, nor the hunting wasp is guided home
either by a mysterious lioming instinct, or a combination
of tropisms, or solely by muscular memory, but by some-
thing which each acquires by experience. As these in-
sects journey outward, one or more senses contribute
recepts which, functioning as percepts, enable the home-
bound insects to recognize certain landmarks and be
guided by them.

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF "PLAYING 'POSSUM"

By C. H. TURNER

Playing 'possum, feigning death, letisimulation — to
use in succession the hmguage of the southerner, the
Bostonian and the behaviorist — are terms for a form of
behavior which is as widespread as it is remarkable.
Any one who has hunted opossums in the south has
observed an interesting exhibition of it. When an opos-
sum is attacked, usually it falls to the ground, draws
back its lips and looks as though dead. You may toss it
about, kick it, pinch it, do what you may, but not a sign
of life will you get. Indi\ddual specimens have been
known to remain as though dead for hours. This pecu-
liar method of protecting itself from danger is found
throughout the animal kingdom. Not all animals, nor yet
all species, practice it, but from the protozoa upward,
almost all groups of active invertebrates contain certain
species that practice it, and among the vertebrates some
members of all groups letisimulate. So widespread is
this phenomenon that Weir, in his Dawn of Reason,
thought it wise to coin a scientific name for it. He called
it letisimulation (from Ictiim, death, and simulare, to
feign).

All students of one-celled animals have noticed Vorti-
cella fold in its cilia, coil its flexible stalk and retreat
against a support when approached by a larger inverte-
brate. Weir noticed that the approach of certain water
fleas caused a species of rhizopods to drop to the bottom
and to remain quiet until the larger creatures had dis-
appeared.

There is an annelid worm about one-eighth of an inch

The Psychology of "Playing 'Possum" 47

long, wliich sw-ims gracefully. As soon as a water beetle
appears, it hangs in the water as limp as a cotton thread.

Most students of vertebrate behavior are familiar with
the behavior of the black \dper, which Weir considers the
greatest letisimulator of all animals. AVhen it is threat-
ened and a mode of escape is not apparent, the snake
writhes and twists in apparent agony, then turns over on
its back and seems to be in rigor mortis. You seem to
see the reptile pass through its death throes and expire.
Turn your back a few moments and the snake disappears.

The opossum and the black viper seem to have made a
lasting impression on Weir, for, while citing examples
from the protozoa, worms, insects, reptiles, birds and
mammals, he leaves the impression that the most remark-
able examples of death-feigning are to be found in the
reptiles and certain mammals. Since that time much
attention has been given to the study of the letisimula-
tion of insects. Barret (Porto Rico Agri. Exp. Sta. Bull,
1902) has studied it in the mole-cricket; Gee and Lathrop
(Ann. Ent. Soc. of Amer., 1912, Vol. V., pp. 391-399) and
Johnson and Girault (Circ, Bull, of Entom., U. S. Diept.
of Agri.), in the plmii cuculio; G-irault (Entom. News,
1913, Vol. XX'IV, pp. 338-344), in trox; Holmes (Jour,
of Comp. Neur. & Psy., 1906, Vol. XV, pp. 305-349), in
the water scorpions; Newell (Jour, of Ee. Ent, 1913, Vol.
VI, pp. 55-61), and Weiss (Canad. Entom., 1913, Vol.
XLV, pp. 135-137) in the rice wee\dl; Riley (Ann. Ent.
Soc. of Amer., 1912, Vol. V, pp. 273-292) in dragon fly
nymphs; the Severins (Jour. N. Y. Entom. Soc, 1911,
Vol. XIX, pp. 99-108), in the giant water bugs, and Wod-
sedalek (Ann. Entom. Soc. of Amer., 1912, Vol V, pp.
31-40, 367-381), in May-fly n\Tnphs and dermestid larvae.
In the light of the remarkable traits revealed by these
investigators, were he writing his article today, Weir,

48 Trans. Acad. Set. of St. Louis

no doubt, would agree with Holmes that "it is among the
insects that the death-feigning instinct reaches its highest
development, occurring, in a greater or less extent, in
most of the orders. It is especially common in beetles
and not unusual among bugs, but it is quite rare in the
highest orders such as the Diptera, or flies, and the
Hymenoptera, or ants, bees and their allies. It occurs in
a few eases among the butterflies and moths, botli in the
imago as well as the larval state. The instinct is ex-
hibited in different species in all stages of development
from a momentary feint to the condition of intense rigor
hasting for over an hour. "Some insects may be severely
mutilated," according to De Geer, "even roasted over a

fire before they cease feigning."

At the planning of this papei- it was intended to give
an epitome of the researches of all recent investigators
of letisimulating insects ; but later it was decided to limit
this part of the paper to recent investigations of mine
upon our common ant-lion. Although the ant-lion is con-
sidered such a marvel that all popular treatments of
insects and practically all textbooks on entomologj^ dis-
cuss it, hitherto almost no attention has been paid to its
death feigning. Emerton (Amer. Nat., 1871, Vol. IV, pp.
705-708) and MacLachlan (Ent. Mag., 1865, Vol. II, pp.
73-75) are the only ones that mention it and each devotes
only a short sentence to the matter.

One hundred ant-lions, isolated in numbered jelly
glasses of suitable soil formed the subjects of these inves-
tigations. These were kept in an out-of-doors insectary,
the whole north wall of which is exposed to the weather.
Although any kind of rough treatment will cause an ant-
lion to letisimulate, in these experiments letisimulation
was induced either by roughly turning the creature upon
its back, or else by dropping it from a slight elevation.

The Vsychology of "Playing 'Possum" 49

Several investigators liave tlioiiglit it important to
determine if the poses assumed by letisimiilating indi-
viduals are deatli attitudes. Darwin was convinced
death-feigning attitudes are not identical with those
caused by death. Based on consideration of seventeen
species of invertel)rates, Holmes (Pop. Sci. Monthly,
1908, Vol. LXX'Ii, pp. 171)-185) concludes that the poses
assumed were usually quite different from death atti-
tudes, although there were some species in which they
were always identical. I find that the ant-lion has not one,
but several, death attitudes ; likewise it possesses a num-
ber of death-feigning postures, some of which resemble
death poses and some of which do not. Tiie insect be-
comes rigidly immobile in whatever attitude it may be
when it receives the shock. Absolute immobility is the
character that is common to all cases. When the feint
follows a long period of fasting, this inactivity often sim-
ulates death. The rigidity, however, is not so great as
that described for certain insects. In some species of in-
sects the rigidity of parts during a death feint is so great
that the insect may be picked up by the tarsus and held
out at right angles without the leg bending in the least.
That is not the case with the ant-lion. AVlien an attempt
is made to lift it by a tarsus, the leg bends and the insect
awakes from its feint.

With a pair of sharp scissors one may cut off the legs
and the tips of the mandibles of a letisimulating ant-lion
without arousing the slightest response. Attemi)t to cut
the legs with a pair of dull scissors and the insect awakes
at once.

The duration of the death feint varies. Fabre, in his
study of a certain beetle (Souvenirs Entomologiques, Ttli
series, pp. 14-27), found that the duration of the feints
gradually increased from the first to the lifth feint. To

50 TriDis. Acad. iSci. of >St. Louis

test this matter, I selected one hundred ant-lions and, by
proper manipulations, made it possible for each to have
an opportunity to make twenty successive letisimulations.
These experiments revealed marked individual varia-
tions. The longest feint occurred anywhere from the
lirst to the sixteenth feint; although it usually occurred
near the beginning of the series. This irregularity in the
location of the longest feint is in accord with the work of
the Severins (Jour. N. Y. Entom. Soc, 1911, Vol. XIX,
pp. 99-108) and of Gee and Lathro]! (x\.nn. Ent. Soc. of
Amer., 1912, Vol. V, pp. 391-399) on the giant water bugs
and the plum cuculio.

To see if the duration and location of the maximum,
feint and the total time consumed in the series of leti-
simulations mentioned were factors of external stimuli,
experiments were devised to test the effects of tempera-
ture, strength of the inducing stimulus and hunger.
There did not seem to be any relation between these
stimuli and the results. These phenomena seem to de-
pend upon the individuality of the ant-lion; i. e., upon
internal physiological states which vary in different indi-
viduals and in the same individual at different times.

It seems to me that even a layman cannot listen to a
recital of such peculiar behavior as that mentioned above
without asking, "What does it indicate as to the psycho-
logical status of the individuals!" Weir (Dawn of Rea-
son, 1889, p. 202) considers the Ictisimulation of animals
"one of the greatest evidences of intellectual action on
their part." Hamilton (Canad. Entom., 1888, p. 179),
Webster (Canad. Entom., 1888, Vol. XX, p. 199) and a
few others feel that the creatures consciously fear death
and take this means of avoiding it. Dr. Lindslej", in
"Mind in Animals," thinks "this must require great com-
mand in those that practice it." However, the majority

The Psychology of ''Playing 'Possum" 51

of modern students of tlie subject look ui)on it as merely
a remarkable instinct.

Surely no one who is acquainted with how slowly the
ant-lion recovers from injuries could, for a moment, con-
sider anything intellectual which induces it to passively
submit to i)ortions of its legs and of its mandibles being
amputated. Its Ictisimulation may l)e an emotiomil re-
sponse, but it certainly is not intellectual. The tonic con-
traction of the muscles and the diminished reflex irrita-
bility suggest hypnotic ])henomena and lead one to agree
with Holmes (Pop. Sci. Mon., 1908, Vol. l.XXri, pp.
179-185) that "the instinct of feigning death is doubtless
connected with much of w^hat has been called hy})notism
in the lower animals." It is well known that most ani-
mals pause momentarily when confronted with an unex-
pected or violent stimulus. The letisimulation of the
ant-lion seems such a pause prolonged and exaggerated.
The more I ponder over the results of my experiments
with death-feigning ant-lions, the more I am inclined to
exclaim with James : " It really is no feigning of death at
all and requires no self command. It is simply terror
paralysis which has been so useful as to l>ecome heredi-
tary."

I am fullv convinced that a careful examination of the
writings of recent experimenters upon letisimulating in-
sects will convince any unbiased person that the above
explanation is valid for all members of that group. Can
this same interpretation be given to the numerous appar-
ently authentic anecdotes about death-feigning mammals?
Let us consider three typical ones selected from Romanes
"Mental Evolution in Animals":

''It so happened that, while puss was reclining at ease,
seemingly inattentive to all the world around her, a
weasel came unexpected up, was seized in a moment, and

52 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

daiigliug i'rom lior teeth as if dead, was carried to the
house at no great distance. The door being shut, puss,
deceived by its apparent lifelessness, laid her victim on
the step wliile she gave her usual mewing cry for admit-
tance. By this time the active little creature had recov-
ered its recollection and in a moment struck its teeth into
its enemy's nose."

Listen to the description of a death feigning Brahmin
bull which Surgeon Bidie describes as follows: "Some
years ago, while living in AVestern Mysore, I occupied a
house surrounded by several acres of fine pasture land.
The superior grass in this preserve was a great tempta-
tion to the village cattle, and whenever the gates were
open trespass was common. My servants did their best
to drive off intruders, but one day they came to me
rather troubled, stating that a Brahmin bull, which they
had beaten, had fallen down dead. It may be remarked
that these bulls are sacred and privileged animals, being
allowed to roam at large and eat whatever they may fancy
in the open shops of the bazaar men. On hearing that the
trespasser was dead, I immediately went to view the
body, and there sure enough it was lying exactly as if
life Avere extinct. Being rather vexed about the occur-
rence in case of getting into trouble with the natives, I
did not stay to make any minute examination, but at once
returned to the house with the view of reporting the
affair to the district authorities. I had only just gone for
a short time, when a man with joy in his face came run-
ning to tell me that the bull was high on his legs again
and quietly grazing. Suffice to say the brute had
acquired the trick of feigning death wliich practically ren-
dered its expulsion impossible, wlien it found itself in a
desirable situation. The ruse was practiced frequently
with the object of enjoying our excellent grass, and

The Psychology of "Playing 'Possum" 53

although for a time amusing, it at length became trouble-
some, and resolving to get rid of it the sooner, I, one day,
when he had fallen down, sent to the kitchen for a supply
of hot coals which we placed on his rump. At first he did
not seem to mind this much, but as the application waxed
hot he gradually raised his head, took a steady look at
the site of the cinders, and finally getting on his legs
went off at a racing pace and took the fence like a deer.
This was the last occasion on which we were favored with
a visit from our friend."

Foxes, when surprised in a hen house, have acted as
though dead and permitted themselves to be carried out
of the house without displaying any sign of life. As
soon, however, as they have been thrown upon the dimip
heap they have scampered away at great speed.

At first blush these examples seem to be on a higher
plane than the death-feigning of insects but, until the
letisimulation of mammals has been investigated by
means of carefully controlled experiments, it is best to
suspend judgment,

Ingersoll's discussion of the origin of the death-feign-
ing instinct of the opossum is illimiinating. He mentions
the well-known fact that the same stimulus does not
always cause an opossum to letisimulate. AVlien threat-
ened, sometimes it fights, some times it attempts to run
away, at others it feigns death. As far as keen investi-
gators have been able to determine, the external stimulus
is identical. He also calls attention to his belief that, at
the present day, the death-feigning behavior of the
opossum is baneful rather than beneficial. To illustrate,
in Texas there is a species of buzzard that threatens
the opossum by flapping its wings; then, as soon as
the animal letisimulates, proceeds to pluck out its eyes
and to gouge chunks of flesh out of its body. Sinc€

54 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis

this instinct is now detrimental to the opossum, Inger-
sol thinks it a survival of a time when it was of value.
He reminds us that the opossums rank among the most
primitive mammals, and that when they appeared none
of the higher mammals had been evolved. The reptiles
were then the monarch of land, air and water. Many
of them were gigantic beings but, judging from the
size of their skulls, they must have been of a very low
order of intelligence, probably lower than our present
alligators. The indications are that these ancient rep-
tiles fed exclusively upon live prey. Small objects would
not have attracted the attention of such stupid creatures
unless they moved. It is easy to see how this death-
feigning behavior would be of value to an opossum under
those conditions. IngersoU thinks that the instinct ap-
peared and was perpetuated at that time. Wlien one
recalls the gigantic size of many of those reptiles and the
small size of the opossum, although IngersoU does not
say so, the death-feigning of these marsupials might have
arisen as a case of terror paralysis.

If IngersoU 's interpretation of the origin of the leti-
simulation of the opossum is correct, we seem justified in
saying that in both the opossum and in insects death-
feigning is but an exaggerated prolongation of the pause
made by most animals when startled. Although, until
other experiments are forthcoming, we must suspend
judgment about the nature of the letisimulation of many
of the higher mammals, so far as the insects and the
opossum are concerned, we can exclaim with James : " It
really is no feigning of death at all and requires no self-
command. It is simply terror paralysis which has been
so useful as to become hereditary."

3 51

85 00257 3309