270 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



at the time they required them, so that they could have begun the work 

 early in the season and continued employing, from year to year, those 

 assistants who had been taught, at an expense of much time and trouble, 

 what was required of them. 



J. Fletcher, 



Mittheilungen aus dem Roemer-Museum, Hildesheim. No. 6. — Juni, 

 1896. Die Saturniiden (Nachtpfauenaugen), von A. Radcliffe 

 Grote, A. M. 



This paper of 28 pages is illustrated by three plates and eighteen 

 cuts. The illustrations are from photographs of living moths and are 

 remarkably fine. The author defines the superfamily Saturniides and 

 gives a table separating the families and a number of genera. The value 

 of this table is unfortunately vitiated by the curious spacing, which 

 renders it practically impossible to follow it. 



The Saturniides are divided into two families, and each of these into 

 three subfamilies. The Endromidte, Bombycida;, and Lacosomidfe are 

 shown not to belong to the group, principally on larval characters. The 

 relations of the Sphingidae are also briefly discussed. Following are 

 remarks on parthenogenesis and hybridization in the group, a discussion 

 of the subfamilies adopted, geographical distribution, nomenclature, certain 

 corrections to the author's previous paper on the Apatelidse, and a list of 

 European and North American Saturnians. 



No fault is to be found with the classification which the auilior has 

 worked out, regarded as an artificial grouping. A certain character of 

 venation is selected (position of vein IV. on primaries) and the groups 

 referred strictly by this character. A natural classification, which should 

 combine several such special ones, is not attempted. As compared with 

 the reviewer's classification on larval characters, the position of the 

 groups represented by Hemileuca and Aglia are transposed. Mr. Grote 

 must, therefore, suppose that the larva of Aglia is derived from a Cither- 

 onia type independently of the Saturnia branch. The larva should have 

 re-acquired the pair of anal tubercles which are already entirely lost in 

 Citheronia, and lost the unpaired tubercle on joint 13. He must also 

 suppose that the stinging spines have been twice separately evolved in 

 the group. On the other hand, to reconcile his grouping with mine 

 it is only necessary to suppose that vein IV. has m.oved toward IVj in 

 Hemileuca separately from the types of Attacus and Saturnia, where this 

 process is congenital, Harrison G. Dvar, 



Mailed October and. 



