WCP2383

Letter (WCP2383.2273)

[1]1, 2

6 Haddo Villas

Blackheath, London

27 Oct[ober]. 1878

My Dear Mr Wallace

In reply to your inquiry of yesterday I think that I can quite satisfy your mind on the question raised. —

The [2] The larvae of Callimorpha Jacobaea3 feed on the leaves of the Senecio Jacobaea4and when numerous entirely denude the whole of the plant of leaves. —

In 1877 I saw acres of ground where the plant was abundant — and covered with the larvae [3]5 of the insect in question, But[?] every plant defoliated and the larvae travelling over the ground seeking for food, they are not eaten by birds. — If I can assist you [1 word illeg.] Epping Forest6 I shall be most happy to do so, but my knowledge of city people is very limited [4] Believe me | My Dear Mr. Wallace | Yours very truly | J Jenner Weir7, 8 [signature]

A R Wallace

1
Text in another hand in the top right corner reads "427".
2
There is an image on the left side of the page, printed in dark reddish brown ink, of a wading bird, standing on one leg in tall grass. It is holding in its other webbed foot and in its beak a scroll on which is written the address and date.
3
Callimorpha Jacobaea: The Cinnabar moth. It has a black and yellow warning coloration and is rejected by many birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians. Nature publishing Group. <http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v219/n5155/abs/219747a0.html> [accessed 22 July 2015]. In 1867, Weir proposed his hypothesis of warning colouration in animals in a letter to Charles Darwin. Weir kept an aviary of birds and conducted experiments on the predation of birds on caterpillars of different colours, providing the first hard data in support of the theory. Wikipedia.
4
Senecio Jacobaea: Ragwort. Wikipedia.
5
Text in another hand in the top right corner reads "428".
6
In 1878, the Epping Forest Act apponted the Corporation of London as conservators of the Forest. Wallace applied for the new post of Superintendent of the Forest. From 152 candidates Wallace made the shortlist of three, but was not appointed. Raby, Peter (2002). Alfred Russel Wallace, Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 354 pp. [p.220].
7
Weir, John Jenner (1822-1894). English amateur entomologist, ornithologist and civil servant. Wikipedia.
8
There is a British Museum stamp in red ink below the signature.

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Letter (WCP2383.2273)]

For more information about the transcriptions and metadata, see https://wallaceletters.myspecies.info/content/epsilon

Revision history

Transcribed by Ghosh, Susan [2018-08-15]

Please cite as “WCP2383,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 2 May 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP2383