Abstract
WHETHER certain plants are, or are not, natives of Britain is a question that often exercises botanists, and any new evidence on the subject is always acceptable. It has recently occurred to me that a certain kind of evidence may be obtained by studying the insects attached to such plants. The question is one of interest not only to phyto but also to zoo-geographers; for if the species of plant to which an insect is restricted is proved not to be indigenous then the insect cannot be indigenous either. If, on the other hand, the plant is only doubtfully an alien, and the insect is not one that might be easily introduced, then the probability is that the plant is a true native.
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WHITE, F. Insects Corroborative of the Nativity of Certain Plants. Nature 18, 278 (1878). https://doi.org/10.1038/018278a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/018278a0
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