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From Robert McLachlan   23 April 1877

39, Limes Grove, | Lewisham, S.E.

23 Apl. 1877

Dear Sir

I take this opportunity of thanking you very much for your support in my now succesful candidature for Royal. Soc.1

You probably know that the Arctic insects have been entrusted to me for working-out.2 There is one point that I think may be of special interest to you: up to the extreme point reached (nearly 83o N.) a Bombus was observed, & it always frequented the flowers of Pedicularis hirsuta.3 I believe that this flower is one in which cross-fertilization is almost absolutely necessary or self fertilization not easy, but shall be glad to be set right if I am wrong. Presuming it to be necessary, it is of great interest to find the principle carried out in these high latitudes, where the continuous existence of insect-life in a given locality, must be somewhat precarious. There are at least 6 (perhaps 8) species of Butterflies from the extreme North, & fine handsome insects, Colias 1 species; Argynnis 3 (perhaps 5) sp.; Chrysophanus 1 sp.; Lycæna 1 sp.4

I am | Yours faithfully | R. McLachlan

C. Darwin Esq FRS. &c &c

CD annotations

Top of letter: ‘Answered’5 ink

Footnotes

1
CD had signed the certificate, dated 10 February 1876, proposing McLachlan for election to the Royal Society of London (Royal Society archive, GB 117, EC/1877/11). CD had supported McLachlan’s earlier application for fellowship in 1874 as well (see Correspondence vol. 22, letter from H. T. Stainton, 15 January 1874). The council of the Royal Society had drawn up a list of candidates recommended for election at their meeting of 19 April 1877, and evidently informed the successful candidates (Royal Society council minutes, CMO/XV). Although the formal election took place on 7 June 1877, those recommended by the council were always elected by the fellows.
2
The British Arctic Expedition of 1875–6 was led by George Strong Nares (ODNB). McLachlan’s ‘Report on the Insecta’ was published in the Journal of the Linnean Society of London (M‘Lachlan 1877).
3
See M‘Lachlan 1877, pp. 101, 106; the species described from specimens collected as far north as 81° was Bombus balteatus (golden-belted bumblebee). Pedicularis hirsuta is hairy lousewort; like most Arctic species of Pedicularis, it is entomophilous and is pollinated by both bees and flies, but also self-pollinates above the northern limits of these insects (Savile 1964, pp. 254–5).
4
In his report, McLachlan described Colias hecla (Arctic sulphur) and C. boothii (a synonym of C. tyche boothii, Booth’s sulphur), Argynnis polaris (a synonym of Boloria polaris, Polaris fritillary) and A. chariclea var. obscurata (a synonym of Boloria chariclea arctica), Chrysophanus phloeas var. fieldeni (a synonym of Lycaena phlaeas, small copper), and Lycaena aquilo (a synonym of Polyommatus aquilo; M‘Lachlan 1877, pp. 108–11).
5
CD’s reply has not been found.

Bibliography

Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.

M‘Lachlan, Robert. 1877. Report on the Insecta (including Arachnida) collected by Captain Feilden and Mr. Hart between the parallels of 78° and 83° north latitude, during the recent Arctic expedition. [Read 15 November 1877.] Journal of the Linnean Society (Zoology) 14 (1879): 98–122.

ODNB: Oxford dictionary of national biography: from the earliest times to the year 2000. (Revised edition.) Edited by H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison. 60 vols. and index. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2004.

Savile, Douglas Barton Osborne. 1964. General ecology and vascular plants of the Hazen Camp area. Arctic 17: 237–58.

Summary

Thanks CD for helping his successful candidacy for F.R.S.

He is working up Arctic insects. Bombus is found at 83° N., as far north as has been reached.

Letter details

Letter no.
DCP-LETT-10939
From
Robert McLachlan
To
Charles Robert Darwin
Sent from
Lewisham
Source of text
DAR 171: 1
Physical description
ALS 3pp †

Please cite as

Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 10939,” accessed on 14 May 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-10939.xml

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