Ɛpsilon

To C. V. Riley   19 May 1877

Down, | Beckenham, Kent. | Railway Station | Orpington. S.E.R.

May 19th 77

My dear Mr. Riley

I must send you a line to thank you very much for sending me your ninth Report, which like all its eight predecessors has interested me much.— You always manage to discuss points of general interest, besides those of practical importance. What a pretty illustration of a sub-rudimentary organ is that of the ovipositor of the saw-fly!—1

With many thanks & all good wishes | Yours sincerely | Charles Darwin

1
Riley sent the ninth Annual report on the noxious, beneficial, and other, insects of the State of Missouri (Riley 1869–77). CD’s copies of the reports from 1871 to 1877 are in the Darwin Library–CUL. For drawings of perfect and imperfect ovipositors of sawflies, see Riley 1869–77, 9: 20.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-10967F,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-10967F