>12 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



A REPLY TO DR. WASMANN. 



BY THOS. L. CASEY, VICKSBURG, MISS, 



Truth may be likened to a bull's-eye — it is much more difficult to hit 

 than to miss. The "splitters" frequently throw their shots too high and the 

 " lumpers" too low, and there are many other sources of aberration which 

 cause the careless worker to miss the bull's-eye. It has sometimes been 

 my misfortune to aim a little too high in monographic work, where the 

 familiarity engendered by long and close investigation may have led to the 

 assignment of too great weight to certain differential characters, but, in the 

 case of the genera allied to Homceusa (Journ. N. Y. Ent. Soc, VIII., p. 

 53), I feel myself obliged to dissent from the views advanced by Mr. 

 Wasmann in the September number of this journal. 



Myrmobiota differs so completely in habitus from Hovmusa, that it is 

 only by considering the general characters of the group that it can be 

 discovered to be allied in any way to that genus. Soliusa resembles 

 Homceusa in general habitus, but differs profoundly in abdominal 

 structure, the basal tergites being strongly constricted at base in the 

 latter and unconstricted in the former. It is rather unfair for Mr. 

 Wasmann to cite other genera, in which such and such characters 

 become valueless, because it is well known to every biological worker 

 that characters perfectly suitable as generic criteria in one group of species 

 may lose all taxonomic value in another group, which may not even be 

 far removed in the series. 



It is not, however, primarily the defence of the genera in question that 

 moves me to make this reply, but rather a singular feature, allied to 

 disingenuousness on the part of Mr. Wasmann, which appears from some 

 recent personal correspondence, and which reappears in the third paragraph 

 of his article. To properly show this forth, it is necessary to reproduce 

 the three postal cards which I have received from Mr. Wasmann during 

 the current year. The entire text only of each card is given, the salutation 

 and endings being omitted. The first is as follows : 



" Luxemburg, March 5th, 1901. 



" I acknowledge the receipt of your kind letter from February 20th ; 

 also your paper on Corylophidce, etc., has arrived, but I could not find 

 time to inform you of its arrival till now. Your publications will be 

 always welcome to me; also specimens of myrmecophilous or termitophilous 

 species, especially of those which you describe." 



