Abstract
PROF. G. D. H. CARPENTER delivered the first part of his inaugural lecture as Hope professor of zoology iii the University of Oxford, on November 17. After speaking of the important part played by the study of insects in the solution of some of the chief problems in biology, he went on to deal with questions of parasitism and symbiosis; pointing out that in some cases of close association, both parties are benefited, while in others the entire advantage is enjoyed by one party at the expense of the other. The case was mentioned of the termites, which are enabled to subsist on nitrogen-free material, for example, cotton-wool, in virtue of the Protozoa inhabiting their intestines; these latter having apparently the power of fixing free nitrogen from the air. The importance of insects as carriers of disease was exemplified with many illustrations; and stress was laid on the necessity of a careful study of the habits of the insects concerned, by engineers and others engaged in the control of such maladies as malaria, sleeping-sickness and plague. Without sufficient knowledge, more harm than good may be done by the efforts of health officers. Further points made by Prof. Carpenter included the evolution of the alleged use of ‘tools’ by burrowing Hymenoptera; of the ‘symbolic marriage gift's offered by the empid flies; and the function of colours in courtship, as to which some recent views were criticised. Finally, the influence of insects in the production of flowers was adduced as a further illustration of the great part performed by insects in the world of Nature.
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The Study of Insects. Nature 132, 813 (1933). https://doi.org/10.1038/132813c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/132813c0