38 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [February, 



Many are repelled from the study on account of the burdensome 

 nomenclature. 



One would have to use his judgment in deciding what is a new 

 variety, form or aberration. A beginner or an amateur should 

 not publish new names without using great care, or feeling sure 

 he is correct. Skill in detecting varieties, etc. , comes with expe- 

 rience, and the best of all make mistakes. I think careful, con- 

 servative views should prevail, and I hope you will inculcate these 

 virtues in young students; and I think it much better for them 

 to give their time to studying the habits, structure and transfor- 

 mation of insects than to collecting and describing supposed new 



species. 



^ H< # -% % %<. % 



Thus we find that quite a diversity of opinion exists among 

 well known students, and I can scarcely hope that my own views 

 will be convincing, though it would be very good if some definite 

 meaning could be assigned to what, after all, would strike the 

 beginner as being elementary terms. 



In looking over the above letters the point that seems most 

 worthy of discussion is that relating to intergrades. 



Dr. Hulst describes Variety thus: " Forms distinct, but inter- 

 grading more or less in any locality." 



Prof. Smith says that a variety does not breed true, but occurs 

 in reasonable proportion independently of season or locality. 

 Then he continues: " It is to be understood also that there is no 

 regular succession of intermediate forms between this variety and 

 the usual form. Where a range of intermediate forms exists I 

 would not consider the extreme entitled to a name." 



(To be continued.) 

 o 



Relationship of Pyralidae and Pterophoridae from the Larvae. 



By HARRISON G. DYAR. 



In connection with the controversy on these groups, started by 

 Mr. Tutt, I would like to present to the readers of the NEWS an 

 outline of a system of classification based on the larvae. This 

 will be presented more fully elsewhere, but in this place its bear- 

 ing on the relationships of the Pyralidse and Pterophoridae may 

 be of interest. 



Accepting Prof. J. H. Comstock's division of the Lepidoptera 



