WCP4317

Letter (WCP4317.4458)

[1]

Ternate1

Decr. 20th. 1860.

My dear Mr. Pascoe2

Yours of January & March last3 were only received by me on my return here last month. Many thanks for the papers you have sent me (the list of Longicorns of Australia4 I have not however received) & especially for your ideas on the subject of publishing genera & species. Your plan has removed a considerable weight from my mind, for the quantity of minute & obscure species in my collections were beginning to frighten me.

My collections now just packed are immense as regards specimens (above 13,000) [2] but they are particularly poor in Longicorns5 & in fact in Coleoptera6 generally. There will be no doubt some curious & new things among the small ones wh[ich]. are very numerous. They are from Ceram[,]7 Mysol8 & Waigiou,9 & if you are taking to Homoptera10 you will find I think the largest collection of these you have ever seen.

The Geographical distribution of Insects in the Archipelago is certainly far less strongly marked than that of Birds & Mammals, but I think that it may be in a great measure imputed to the much greater liability of insects to accidental dispersion. Still such cases as Tmesisternus11 & its allies strictly confined to the Australian region of the [3] Archipelago & Collyris12 almost equally peculiar to the Indian region point to the same primary distribution in the one case as in the other. More generally however the same genera have I think sub groups with a characteristic "facies"13 in each region.

Insects moreover are much more affected by as to form by local circumstances than Birds & Mammals; thus the extreme general similarity in climate & vegetation between Borneo14 & N[ew]. Guinea has led also to a general similarity in the most prevalent insect forms, while the really close zoologic connection between Australia & N[ew]. Guinea is obscured by the very strongly contrasted physical features of the two countries being favourable to [4] the propagation & development of distinct forms of insect life. Thus the Anthribidae15 of the Indian region have increased & developed rapidly in the equally luxuriant forests of the Moluccas16 & N[ew]. Guinea, while in the arid plains of Australia they barely exist. On the other hand the numerous Melolonthidae17 of Australia favoured by the dry climate & numerous flowering shrubs of [1 word struck through, illeg.] its plains, are unknown in the damp & flowerless forests of N[ew]. Guinea & the Moluccas, where also the more bulky forms of the Indian region have not been able to penetrate. Hence the excessive paucity of Lamellicornes18 in N[ew]. Guinea.

The distribution of insects is therefore more obscure & complicated than that of the vertebrates. It was originally the same, but it is more rapidly affected by time & the accidents of distribution & differences of climate.

In haste| Yours very faithfully| Alfred R. Wallace [signature]

F. P. Pascoe Esq.

1
An island in Indonesia, part of the Moluccas, or Maluku Islands.
2
Pascoe, Francis Polkinghorne (1813-1893). British entomologist.
3
[cross referencing to these letters in the volume, if they exist]
4
Throughout his entomological career, Pascoe published many papers on genera and species of longicorn beetles. The "list" referred to here is most likely Pascoe’s own list and not yet published. He later published: Pascoe, F. P. 1866. On the longicornia of Australia, with a list of all the described species. Journal of the Linnean Society, Zoology, 9: 80-112; and Pascoe, F. P. 1867. Supplement to the list of Australian longicornia. Journal of the Linnean Society, Zoology, 9: 300-308.
5
Longhorn beetles in the family Cerambycidae.
6
The order of insects that includes beetles and weevils.
7
Now Seram, an island in Indonesia, part of the Moluccas, or Maluku Islands.
8
Now Misool, an island in the West Papua province of eastern, Indonesia.
9
Waigeo, or Waigiu, is an island in the West Papua province of eastern Indonesia.
10
The suborder of insects in the order Hemiptera (true bugs) that includes those with sucking mouthparts (aphids, scale insects, cicadas, and leafhoppers).
11
A genus of longhorn beetles in the family Cerambycidae.
12
A genus of tiger beetles in the family Carabidae.
13
"The general aspect or appearance exhibited by an organism" (OED).
14
A large island in the Malay Archipelago, now split between Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei.
15
The family of beetles known as fungus weevils.
16
The Moluccas, or Maluku Islands, are an Indonesian archipelago to the west of New Guinea, and are also known as the "Spice Islands" for their role in colonial spice trade.
17
The subfamily of beetles known as scarab beetles.
18
A now obsolete name for the family of beetles which include the scarab beetles.

Editorial information

Status: Edited (but not proofed) transcription [Letter (WCP4317.4458)]

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

Revision history

Transcribed by Lord, Annette [2012-07-13] Transcription checked by Catchpole, Caroline [2013-01-15] Transcription checked by Barton, Michael [2018-11-01]

Published letter (WCP4317.5789)

[1]1[p. 77]

My Dear Mr. Pascoe,

Yours of January and March last were only received by me on my return here last month.

Many thanks for the papers you have sent me (the list of Longicorns of Australia I have not, however, received) and especially for your ideas on the subject of publishing genera and species. Your plan has removed a considerable weight from my mind, for the quantity of minute and obscure species in my collections were beginning to frighten me.

My collections now just packed are immense as regards specimens (above 13,000), but they are particularly poor in Longicorns and, in fact, in Coleoptera generally. There will be, no doubt, some curious and new things among the small ones, which are very numerous. They are from Ceram, Mysol, and Waigiou, and if you are taking to Homoptera you will find, I think, the largest collection of these you have ever seen.

The Geographical distribution of Insects in the Archipelago is certainly far less strongly marked than that of Birds and Mammals, but I think that it may be in a great measure imputed to the much greater liability of insects to accidental dispersion.

Still such cases as Tmesisternus and its allies strictly confined to the Australian region of the Archipelago, and Collyris almost equally peculiar to the Indian region, point to the same primary distribution in the one case as in the other.

More generally, however, the same genera have, I think, subgroups with a characteristic "facies" in each region.

Insects, moreover, are much more affected as to form by local circumstances than Birds and Mammals; thus the extreme general similarity in climate and vegetation between Borneo and N. Guinea has led also to a general similarity in the most prevalent insect forms, while the really close zoologic connection between Australia and N. Guinea is obscured by the very strongly contrasted physical features of the two countries being favourable to the propagation and development of distinct forms of insect life. Thus the ANTHRIBIDAE of the Indian region have increased and developed rapidly in the equally luxuriant forests of the Moluccas and N. Guinea, while in the arid plains of Australia they barely exist. On the other hand, the numerous MELOLONTHIDAE of Australia, favoured by the dry climate and numerous flowering shrubs of its plains, are unknown in the damp and flowerless forests of N. Guinea and the Moluccas, where also the more bulky forms of the Indian region have not been able to [2] [p. 78] penetrate. Hence the excessive paucity of Lamellicorns in N. Guinea. The distribution of insects is, therefore, more obscure and complicated than that of the vertebrates. It was originally the same, but it is more rapidly affected by time and the accidents of distribution and differences of climate.

In haste,

yours very faithfully,

Alfred R. Wallace.

F. P. Pascoe Esq.

1
Editor Charles H. Smith's Note: The title of a note by Hale Carpenter printed on pages 77-78 of the Proceedings of the Royal Entomological Society of London Series A in 1939. The letter is preceded by a short introduction from Carpenter, not given here.

Editorial information

Status: Edited (but not proofed) transcription [Published letter (WCP4317.5789)]

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

Revision history

Transcribed by Smith, Charles Hyde [2013-04-11] Transcription checked by Catchpole, Caroline [2013-04-11] Transcription checked by Barton, Michael [2018-11-01]

Please cite as “WCP4317,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 28 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP4317