Insects of Hawaii
BOOK NOTICES
INSECTS OF HAWAII, by ELWOOD C. ZIMMERMAN. Vol. 1, xx+206 pp., 52 fig.;
vol. 2, viii+475pp., 228 fig.; vol. 3, vii+255pp., 110 fig.; vol. 4, vii+268pp.,
92 fig.; vol. 5, vii+464 pp., 238 fig. University of Hawaii Press. 1948.
It is expected that the complete work will involve 12 to 15 volumes; but since
there will evidently be a rather long period of time between the publication of
volumes 1 to 5 and the appearance of the succeeding volumes it seems appropriate
to attempt an appraisal of the parts that have been issued.
In these years of increasingly narrow specialization in insect taxonomy it is
almost incredible that one man should attempt to encompass even so large a field
as is represented by these first five volumes and still hope to offer a reasonably
critical treatment of each group. Zimmerman has done this, however, and he
has been amazingly successful. He has not been inhibited by various practices
that have become more or less standard with specialists in individual groups, and
for that reason he has brought to the subject fresh approaches and original views.
To be sure certain portions are somewhat less thoroughly done than others and, of
course, mistakes have been made; but no part of the series published thus far can
be considered a superficial treatment.
A sharp observer, a skilled taxonomist, and a worker who drives himself
relentlessly, Zimmerman has made the most of his many years in the Islands
and has acquired a broad understanding of insular faunas in general. This has
been of immense help to him in the preparation of the present work. Moreover,
he has availed himself freely of the advice and guidance of others with long experience in Hawaii, particularly C. Montague Cook, Otto H. Swezey, C. E. Pemberton,
F. X. Williams, and R. H. Van Zwaluwenburg; and he has also called upon specialists in various groups for help with specific problems.
In Volume 1, which is introductory, the author has capably reviewed the
geological history of Hawaii, has presented analyses of the biota, including a
tabular summary of the endemic Hawaiian insects and a discussion of the flora
with a summary of the Hawaiian plants, and has given an interesting account of
the development of the endemic fauna.
The remaining four volumes are technical, taxonomic treatments of certain
insect groups. Volume 2 covers the Apterygota, represented in Hawaii by only
a few forms: Embioptera, of which Hawaii has only one species; Orthoptera;
Isoptera; Dermaptera; Zoraptera (a single species); Corrodentia; Mallophaga;
Anoplura; Odonata, and Thysanoptera. Many of the illustrations are taken
from other publications but there are numerous good original photographs and
drawings. Keys to the genera are given, and also keys to the species of most
of the larger genera; some of these, particularly for certain large endemic genera
of Orthoptera, (e.g., Paratrigonidium) are rather weak and will be difficult to use
successfully; but on the whole the keys, supported by illustrations and by notes on
habitat, hosts, and behavior, will permit recognition of individual forms.
Volume 3 is devoted to the Heteroptera. The nomenclature has been brought
up to date; and many species heretofore known only from inadequate descriptions
are illustrated, some of them from the holotypes in the British Museum. These
illustrations will be of much value in future studies of such families as the Nabidae
and Miridae, the Hawaiian species of which are numerous and still largely
undescribed.
Volume 4, on Homoptera: Auchenorhyncha, makes it possible for workers
to identify the Hawaiian leafhopper fauna with reasonable accuracy, and it provides an excellent starting point for critical taxonomic studies in these groups.
Essentially the treatment is synoptic, but some parts are also revisional in that
certain erroneous generic placements have been corrected. On the whole the
subfamily definitions and allocations of the genera in these subfamilies follow
the generally accepted arrangements. It is noted, however, that Typhlocybinae
is used for the group properly called Cicadellinae, a course which would leave the
family Cicadellidae without a typical subfamily.
241
242
Annals Entomological Society of America
[Vol. XLII,
Volume 5 deals with the sternorhynchous Homoptera, including the psyllids,
aphids, and coccids. The first three of these groups are briefly treated since the
Hawaiian representation is very small. There are, however, particularly in the
section on aphids, some original illustrations, drawn by Frieda Abernathy, that
are excellent. The scale insects and mealybugs of Hawaii have received a good
deal of serious attention in the past; furthermore, in developing the section on the
Coccoidea, Zimmerman obtained excellent cooperation from the outstanding
American specialists in this group. He was thus enabled to give a more thorough
treatment than was done for most of the other groups covered in these five volumes.
With its numerous, often double-page, anatomical figures (prepared by Professor
Ferris after the pattern followed in his Atlas) and the detailed discussions of both
the taxonomic and ecological relationships of the species, this section appears to
approach the ideal for a restricted faunistic study and it will have utility far
beyond the limits of the Hawaiian Islands.
Altogether, approximately 5,000 species of insects have been recorded from
the Hawaiian Islands. About 1,100 of these are treated in Volumes 1 to 5 of
"Insects of Hawaii." Because our knowledge of them is still very fragmentary,
some of the groups can only be covered rather sketchily; but for all groups treated
this work should be of immediate value because it brings together references to
all the described Hawaiian species for which, in the past, it has been necessary to
consult numerous publications, some of them not readily available in most
libraries. The author has covered this literature thoroughly and has given a list
of the literature consulted at the end of each ordinal treatment. The whole work
has been planned and executed with care; it is well printed on paper of good quality,
and it is commendable in a high degree. It is a work that will be immensely and
increasingly useful to serious students everywhere who attempt to understand the
intricacies of insect classification and distribution.—C. F. W. MUESEBECK.
HOW TO KNOW THE IMMATURE INSECTS, by H. F. CHU, vi + 234 pages,
631 figures. Wm. C. Brown Company, Dubuque, Iowa. 1949. Price,
$2.00, spiral binding; $3.00, cloth.
The appearance of a second taxonomic manual of immature insects within
a few months' time is noteworthy. Dr. Chu's work follows the pictorial key
style of the other nature manuals edited by H. E. Jaques, and students who have
found this plan useful should have equal appreciation of the present book. It is
extremely convenient, to have each important step in the key illustrated and to
have new technical terms explained by illustrations at the point wher (...truncated)
