THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 91 



species, attention is directed to it, it can never more be lost sight of, and 

 sooner or later its true position will become established. But if several 

 formS; of which nothing definite is known, are rolled into a lump, who 

 can say that they will ever again be separated or even noticed ! 



In Mr. Elwes' revision of the genus Erebia he enumerated Epipsodca, 

 and hesitatingly under it (with a query) a var. he thought worthy of a 

 name, Brucei. He says he did not know whether to call this a var. or a 

 species. He and Mr. Godman had each one specimen, and " it is so 

 different iioin Epipsodea that, had I more specimens, I should be inclined 

 to consider it a different species." So he puts it down as a var. with a 

 query. If he had had more specimens — say one or two more — he would 

 have done exactly what he is holding Mr. Edwards up to public reproba- 

 tion for, put it as a species ! Well, Mr. Bruce sent me eggs laid by the 

 Brucei, and in due time one of them gave a typical Epipsodea imago. 

 The indefinite knowledge has become definite. 



On p. 569, larval characters are deprecated as a means of determining 

 doubtful species, because the larvae " are liable to vary " as much as the 

 perfect insect. I will put my experience against the author's, and I say 

 that the variation in the larvae of each species of Argynnis is practically 

 nothing.* They are as like each other as so many peas. When, there- 

 fore, I have reason to think, from the imago, that a certain form is a dis- 

 tinct species, as, for example, the one now known as A. Cipris, and which 

 was called by Mr. Mead and myself the Rocky Mountain form oi Aphrodite, 

 but on my part always with doubts, if I can get eggs, I may find out the 

 truth one way or the other. In case of Cipris, the larva and pupa 

 showed a distinct species, and thereafter I had no difficulty in defining 

 the geographical limits of Cipris. Aphrodite has a chocolate-brown larva 

 and brown pupa, with no other markings ; Cipris has both stages varie- 

 gated and striped with yellow, and is as remarkable in its ornamentation 



* There are many cases among the Heterocera, where the larvK alone are relied 

 on for distinguishing species, vide Weismann's Theory, p. 543, Eng. Ed. " In the 

 SphingidK, cases are not wanting in which the moths are far more closely allied than the 

 larva;. This is especially striking in the genus Deilephila, eight species of which are 

 allied in the imaginal state, in a remarkable degree, whilst the larva; differ greatly 

 from one another in color, and to as great an extent in marking." In the case oi D. 

 Euphorhuc and Nidca, whilst the larva; show great differences * * * the moths 

 cannot he distiugitislied luith certainty. The imago of the rare Nicoca is, for this reason, 

 wanting in most collections ; it cannot be detected whether a specimen is genuine, i. e., 

 whether it may not perhaps be a somewhat large example o{ Eiiphorhice.'''' 



