172 The Irish Naturalist. May, 



Urbicolides. Similarly the Linnean Ruralis (with betula as type) is re- 

 vived for the typical " hairstreaks," arid the family name Lycaenidae, in 

 general use for more than seventy years is put aside in favour of 

 Ruralidae. We cannot help regretting that Mr. Tutt has made so exten- 

 sive a pilgrimage in the perilous paths of priority. The object — at least 

 the professed object — of zoological nomenclature is to facilitate the stud) r 

 of animals. Much of the modern work on nomenclature can, however, 

 have little result beyond hopelessly confusing the student of the future. 

 The interpreters of old zoological writings agree fairly as to the rules which 

 guide their labonrs, but they often differ utterly in the application of 

 these rules. Many of them will doubtless argue that the terms Urbicoh? 

 and RuraJes, used as the}' were b}' Linne as plural adjectives, cannot 

 stand as generic names at all, and that we maj' therefore continue to 

 speak of Hesperiidae and L,yaecnidae with a clear conscience. The generic 

 splitting adopted by Mr. Tutt will probably be, for the most part at 

 least, adopted by all students of bntterfles in the near future, and the 

 changes of names thus necessitated cannot but be accepted. It may 

 cause inconvenience, however, that diagnoses of new Palaearctic genera 

 not occurring in Britain, should be published in a work on British 

 Butterflies. 



Two families (the Urbicolidae and the Hesperiidse) are recognised by 

 Mr. Tutt among the British " Skippers, ri the former being divided into 

 two sub-families, the Thytnelicinse and the Urbicolinae. The Thymeli- 

 cinae include Adofaa h'neola, A. flava, and Thymelicus actceon, which differ 

 from the other five British " Skippers," and indeed from butterflies 

 generally in having eggs that approach the fiat form characteristic of 

 many moth families. Mr. Tutt gives short generic diagnoses, usually 

 drawn from some eminent systematist — Watson in the case of the 

 "Skippers" — but the treatment of imaginal structure is somewhat 

 meagre, and the absence ol structural figures is to be regretted. On the 

 other hand, when we turn to the specific description, we fiud that the 

 range of variation and the habits of the butterfly are treated at great 

 length, while the larval stages are described in much detail. Many gaps 

 previously existing in the life-histories of certain species — the " I,ulworth 

 Skipper," Thymelicus actirou, for example — are filled in the present volume, 

 and it is gratifying to know that in this important part of his labours, 

 Mr. Tutt has received invaluable and generous help from friends who 

 have placed at his disposal specimens or notes of observations of larvae 

 which they have been so fortunate as to secure. The only Thymelicine 

 of which there is an Irish record is Adopceaflava, and nobody has seen the 

 insect in this country since Birchall's time. The British localities — Mr. 

 Tutt uses " British " in the wide sense so as to include Ireland — are 

 grouped under counties, the counties of England, Wales, Scotland, and 

 Ireland being lumped all together in alphabetical order, so that Cork may 

 be sandwiched between Cheshire and Cornwall. It is hard to understand 

 how any naturalist who takes an interest in geographical problems can 

 tolerate so bad an arrangement. Of the three British Urbicolinae only 

 Augiades sy/va/uts is recorded as Irish. Both the British Hesperiinae, 



