From Frederick Smith   5 November 1869

British Museum

5th. Novr. 1869

My dear Sir

I have just read an article in the Entomologists Monthly Magazine for Novr. 1869. page 130 on Scolytus, the Elm Beetle— the paper is entitled. “Observations on the Œconomy of the British Species of Scolytus—By T. Algernon Chapman, M.D.—Abergavenny—

The Author observes “S. destructor, intricatus and pruni, are able to squeak audibly, by a rapid movement of the abdomen against the elytra, intricatus making the loudest noise—1

I just send this in case it may be useful to you—2

Yours very truly | Fredk Smith

CD annotations

1.2 Scolytus] underl pencil
Top of letter: ‘Scolytus’ pencil
1
The reference is to Chapman 1869; the author was Thomas Algernon Chapman. Scolytus pruni is now S. mali, the larger shothole borer.
2
CD cited the article in Descent 1: 379 n. 70, but he mistakenly gave the author’s name as ‘Algen’, and the journal as the ‘Edinburgh Monthly Magazine’.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-6972,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-6972