4 WM. H. EDWARDS. 



is copied from one of Abbot's drawings, a poor copy of a poor origi- 

 nal; but the under side is not to be mistaken. 



The accompanying description mixes the species and sexes surpri- 

 singly. Closely following Grodart, they say, " Le dessous des ailes est 

 tantot d'un gris de bois ond^ et vari^ de brun," {% C-aurcum) '' tantot 

 d'une couleur ferrugineuse ou feuille-morte uniforme, avec I'extremit^ 

 un peu plus claire," ( 9 C-aureum). " Jouvent brun, legeremeut glace 

 de vert-blanchatre, surtout aux ailes mf^xlenres:" {^ Literroff at ionis, 

 Fab.) and add that in all the varieties there is a silver spot, sometimes 

 in form of a G, and sometimes of an uninterrupted C or interrogation 

 point. Here these authors seem to me to have also included Grnpta 

 Comma, Harris, then undescribed, as a third species, that species in 

 many respects resembling the other two, and being distinguished by an 

 uninterrupted C, a character unknown to me in the others. 



Boisduval and Leconte further add, " This Vanessa varies much, and 

 if we did not obtain from the same caterpillar (la meme chenille) the 

 varieties of which we have spoken, we could easily make three species ;' 

 here, again, I suppose, alluding to Comma. 



Dr. Harris describes Interrogatlonis. 2nd Ed. Ins. Mass, p. 298, as 

 having the hind wings in the male most often black above, except at 

 base, and sometimes of this colour in the other sex also ; under side ot 

 the wings in some rust red, (^C-aureum) " in others marbled with light 

 anu dark brown, glossed with reddish white," (S Interrogationis P^ib.) 



Dr. Harris therefore considered the mule luferrogationis Fab. as the 

 type, and the male C-aureum as a variety, and the female C-aureum as 

 the type, and the black female a variety. 



However, in what manner authors subsequent to Fabricius regarded 

 these species has no direct bearing upon the main question, which is — 

 did Fabricius properly distinguish them or either of them ? Certainly 

 he did. He was unacquainted with the male of his Interrogationis, 

 but his description of the female was precise, and the language used 

 proves that he had not in mind this male when he referred to C-an- 

 reuni. His C-aurenm was without a band of black spots, and was 

 what he considered to be Cramer's C-anreum. That the latter was 

 intended to represent the male of the other species is the opinion of 

 Lintner and, I think, with reason. 



If Mr. Lintner is right on this point, then, inasmuch as the name 

 Interrogationis was applied by Fabricius to the female of the black 

 winged species ( Umbrosa), that is now the true specific name. 



