166
CORRESPONDENCE
There was no evidence that males, unfed or fed, were more attracted to the mating pairs than to the control dish. Thus, pooled results of 20 experiments showed 407 observations of males at the control dish and 376 observations of them at the dish containing mating males and females (X21df=1.2273, not significant). In other tests using the same method, free moving males were not attracted to groups solely of males or solely of females confined in the petri dish, nor were free moving females attracted to confined groups of mating bugs, nor to males only, nor to females only. This lack of attraction between adults of T. infestans was also shown by observations in a smaller arena, 30 cm x 20 cm x 5 cm, in which 20 free moving bugs (unfed or fed, males or females) were offered a choice between a clean air stream of four litres per minute entering one port as a control and at another port a similar air stream which had passed over larger groups of bugs (50 males or 50 females, or 25 males and 25 females mating together). It is worth emphasising that, in contrast to this lack of attraction between the sexes of T. infestans, significant attraction was evident of male R. prolixus to mating pairs in a petri dish or to an air stream passed over mating pairs of this species (0.05> P> 0.01, in both cases) using the same olfactometer devices. This indicates that the negative findings for T. infestans were not a fault of the experimental design, but that a male attractant pheromone derived from mating pairs, or indeed any intersexual attractant, either does not occur in T. infestans or is considerably less potent than the male attractant produced by mating pairs of R. prolixus, and cannot be detected by these methods. A sex attractant could have potential value in the detection and sampling of domestic infestations of triatominae vectors of Chagas’ disease. This may become practicable for R. prolixus but appears to offer less prospect for T. infestans. We are, etc., C.J.SCHOFIELD Department of Entomology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1 E 7HT K.MOREMAN Chester Beatty Institute, F&ham Road, London, S. W.3 1st October, 1975 Reference Baldwin, W. F., Knight, A. G., & Lynn, K. R. (1971). A sex pheromone in the insect Rhodniusprohxus (Hemiptera, Reduviidae). Canadian Entomologist, 103, 18-22.
Zoological nomenclature in medical parasitology and entomology SIR-There has long been a tendency for some applied biologists, particularly paramedical entomologists, helminthologists and protozoologists, to pay insufficient attention to the INTERNATIONAL CODE OF ZOOLOGICAL NOMENCLATURE (1964). So many serious infringements of the Rules were perpetrated in the pre-published Proceedings of the third International Congress of Parasitology, held at Munich in 1974. that a resolution was nassed at the closing plenary session calling on the -World Federation of Parasitologists to petition the International
Commission on Zoological Nomenclature formally to suppress names proposed in the abstracts of papers that had been published in the three volumes of Proceedings of that Congress. At home in Britain, steps have been taken recently by the British Society for Parasitology to ensure that papers read at the annual Spring meeting, an’d which may have a bearing on taxonomy, are not then published as abstracts in such a form as to break the Rules or foment nomenclatural instability. The allure of naming species is such that editors of scientific journals may be obliged not to publish papers submitted by authors who disregard nomenclatural conventions. Under these circumstances, it is regrettable that two letters published recently in these Transactions (bu BRAZIL, 1974, alld by GILLETT, 1975) have incorporated proposals of nomina nuda. These names technically contravene Article 13(a) of the Code, being neither accompanied by a description of the taxon to which each is meant to be applied, nor to a bibliographic citation of such a description. They are therefore invalid. Without debating the details of these particular cases, it may be worthwhile to draw attention to the loophole through which both letters have passed. This is the apparently inadequate scrutiny given to the scientific content of “Correspondence” and “Demonstrations” as published regularly in these Transactions. While Fellows are, of course, entitled to express their views freely through these channels, it would help them as well as serve the aims of the Society itself if such items, especially those involving taxonomy, were subjected judiciously to the same refereeing procedure as applies to other papers and communications. I am, etc., GRAHAM B. WHITE Department of Entomology, British Museum (Natural History), London 26th September, 1975 References Brazil, R. P. (1974). A new Leishmania of the L. mexicana complex. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 68, 340. Gillett. J. D. (1975). The Anonheles aambiae comulex: naming the sibling species. Transac>ions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 69, 366. International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (1964). Ed. Stall, N. R. London: International Trust for Zoological Nomenclature.
The Anopheles gambiae complex: naming the sibling species SIR-It is unfortunate that Professor GILLETT (1975) should have chosen the medium of your “Correspondence” to publicise his suggestions for the naming of two sibling species in the Anopheles gambiae complex, for he has now propagated in the literature two names that are nomina nuda in terms of zoological nomenclature-and no taxonomist likes the burden of extra names to cope with, even if they lack validity. It is not sufficiently realized by the non-taxonomist that proliferation in the literature of names without descriptions, however helpful in intent, only adds to the taxonomic zoologist’s difficulties-for once printed the names cannot be eliminated and some cognizance must.
CORRESPONDENCE
There was no evidence that males, unfed or fed, were more attracted to the mating pairs than to the control dish. Thus, pooled results of 20 experiments showed 407 observations of males at the control dish and 376 observations of them at the dish containing mating males and females (X21df=1.2273, not significant). In other tests using the same method, free moving males were not attracted to groups solely of males or solely of females confined in the petri dish, nor were free moving females attracted to confined groups of mating bugs, nor to males only, nor to females only. This lack of attraction between adults of T. infestans was also shown by observations in a smaller arena, 30 cm x 20 cm x 5 cm, in which 20 free moving bugs (unfed or fed, males or females) were offered a choice between a clean air stream of four litres per minute entering one port as a control and at another port a similar air stream which had passed over larger groups of bugs (50 males or 50 females, or 25 males and 25 females mating together). It is worth emphasising that, in contrast to this lack of attraction between the sexes of T. infestans, significant attraction was evident of male R. prolixus to mating pairs in a petri dish or to an air stream passed over mating pairs of this species (0.05> P> 0.01, in both cases) using the same olfactometer devices. This indicates that the negative findings for T. infestans were not a fault of the experimental design, but that a male attractant pheromone derived from mating pairs, or indeed any intersexual attractant, either does not occur in T. infestans or is considerably less potent than the male attractant produced by mating pairs of R. prolixus, and cannot be detected by these methods. A sex attractant could have potential value in the detection and sampling of domestic infestations of triatominae vectors of Chagas’ disease. This may become practicable for R. prolixus but appears to offer less prospect for T. infestans. We are, etc., C.J.SCHOFIELD Department of Entomology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1 E 7HT K.MOREMAN Chester Beatty Institute, F&ham Road, London, S. W.3 1st October, 1975 Reference Baldwin, W. F., Knight, A. G., & Lynn, K. R. (1971). A sex pheromone in the insect Rhodniusprohxus (Hemiptera, Reduviidae). Canadian Entomologist, 103, 18-22.
Zoological nomenclature in medical parasitology and entomology SIR-There has long been a tendency for some applied biologists, particularly paramedical entomologists, helminthologists and protozoologists, to pay insufficient attention to the INTERNATIONAL CODE OF ZOOLOGICAL NOMENCLATURE (1964). So many serious infringements of the Rules were perpetrated in the pre-published Proceedings of the third International Congress of Parasitology, held at Munich in 1974. that a resolution was nassed at the closing plenary session calling on the -World Federation of Parasitologists to petition the International
Commission on Zoological Nomenclature formally to suppress names proposed in the abstracts of papers that had been published in the three volumes of Proceedings of that Congress. At home in Britain, steps have been taken recently by the British Society for Parasitology to ensure that papers read at the annual Spring meeting, an’d which may have a bearing on taxonomy, are not then published as abstracts in such a form as to break the Rules or foment nomenclatural instability. The allure of naming species is such that editors of scientific journals may be obliged not to publish papers submitted by authors who disregard nomenclatural conventions. Under these circumstances, it is regrettable that two letters published recently in these Transactions (bu BRAZIL, 1974, alld by GILLETT, 1975) have incorporated proposals of nomina nuda. These names technically contravene Article 13(a) of the Code, being neither accompanied by a description of the taxon to which each is meant to be applied, nor to a bibliographic citation of such a description. They are therefore invalid. Without debating the details of these particular cases, it may be worthwhile to draw attention to the loophole through which both letters have passed. This is the apparently inadequate scrutiny given to the scientific content of “Correspondence” and “Demonstrations” as published regularly in these Transactions. While Fellows are, of course, entitled to express their views freely through these channels, it would help them as well as serve the aims of the Society itself if such items, especially those involving taxonomy, were subjected judiciously to the same refereeing procedure as applies to other papers and communications. I am, etc., GRAHAM B. WHITE Department of Entomology, British Museum (Natural History), London 26th September, 1975 References Brazil, R. P. (1974). A new Leishmania of the L. mexicana complex. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 68, 340. Gillett. J. D. (1975). The Anonheles aambiae comulex: naming the sibling species. Transac>ions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 69, 366. International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (1964). Ed. Stall, N. R. London: International Trust for Zoological Nomenclature.
The Anopheles gambiae complex: naming the sibling species SIR-It is unfortunate that Professor GILLETT (1975) should have chosen the medium of your “Correspondence” to publicise his suggestions for the naming of two sibling species in the Anopheles gambiae complex, for he has now propagated in the literature two names that are nomina nuda in terms of zoological nomenclature-and no taxonomist likes the burden of extra names to cope with, even if they lack validity. It is not sufficiently realized by the non-taxonomist that proliferation in the literature of names without descriptions, however helpful in intent, only adds to the taxonomic zoologist’s difficulties-for once printed the names cannot be eliminated and some cognizance must.
