2 THE GENESIS OF THE TERMINOLOGY 



It seems probable that the short paper published by Dr. Hagen in 

 1870, entitled " Ueber rationelle Benennung des Geaders in den Fliigeln der 

 Insekten" was the beginning of the series of efforts to establish a system of 

 terminology of the wing-veins of insects applicable to all orders of insects. 

 For the author of the "Bibliotheca Entomologica" was very familiar with 

 the literature of entomology then published, and had there been earlier 

 efforts in that direction he would have quoted them. 



It is with much pleasure that I remember that my own interest in this 

 subject was first awakened by a lecture Dr. Hagen delivered to me, his 

 first American student, in the summer of 1872. In this lecture he called 

 my attention to the paper referred to above, then only two years old, and 

 urged the importance of investigations in this field. 



Dr. Hagen recognized six longitudinal veins, four principal veins and a 

 branch of each of two of these. His paper is accompanied by a plate, 

 which is reproduced here (Fig. i) ; but no explanation of the plate is given, 

 and there is no reference to it in his text. It is evident, however, from his 

 descriptions of the veins that he recognizes, that the significance of the 

 lettering of the plate is that indicated below. The six longitudinal veins 

 recognized by him are named as follows: subcosta (a), mediana (h), hind 

 branch of the mediana (6^), front branch of the submediana (c^, sub- 

 mediana (c), and postcosta {d). 



Dr. Hagen' s view regarding the practicability of establishing a unifonn 

 terminology of the wing-veins met with little if any favor among the leaders 

 in entomology. For example, Dr. Graber, in his " Die Insekten" published 

 in 1877 (Vol. I, p. 196), in referring to the effort to establish a imiform 

 tenninology says that, as a matter of course, no scientific significance should 

 be attached to such attempts. 



Even as late as 1895 Professor David Sharp, in his most excellent text 

 book of entomology (Camb. Nat. Hist. Vol. 5, p. 107-8), writes as follows: — 



"Various efforts have been made to establish a system of nomenclature 

 that shall be uniform throughout the different Orders, but at present suc- 

 cess has not attended these efforts, and it is probable that no real homology 

 exists between the nervures of the different Orders of Insects." 



This statement by Dr. Sharp was made in spite of the fact that the 

 classic contribution of Josef Redtenbacher, " Vergleichende Studien iiber 

 das Fliigelgeader der Insecten" (1886) had appeared nearly a decade before; 

 in fact, it was probably this paper that suggested it; for the obscurity into 

 which Dr. Hagen's paper had fallen would have saved it, standing alone, 

 from comment. 



It was not till the appearance of Redtenbacher' s paper that any great 

 progress was made in the establishment of a uniform terminology of the 

 wing- veins. This paper with its numerous illustrations drawn from nearly 



