NO. 4 OPINIONS 91 TO 97 21 



To certain entomoloi^ists, Sir George H. ITampson, Bart., sub- 

 mitted this case in the following form, namely : 



Arc the genera of Hubner's Tciitamcii to be accepted or not? If accepted, 

 what date is assigned to them? 



and J. H. Durant ^ (1S99) summarizes the replies as follows: 



I. As TO Validity. 



To be accepted. ■ 1 Walsingham, 2 Kirby, 3 Fernald, 4 Grote (=4/11). It 

 may be assumed from his writings and note that Scuddcr concurs (=5/11). 



To be rejected: i Hampson, 2 Meyrick, 3 , Smith, 4 Snellen, 5 Aurivillius, 

 6 Staudinger (^6/11). 



Result S-6/11; majority against accepting genera. 



2. As TO Dait,. 



No reply received from i Ilampson, 2 Meyrick, 3 Snellen, 4 Aurivillius 



(11-4 = 7). 



Published in 1S06: 1 Walsingham, 2 Fernald, 3 Staudinger, 4 Grote, 5 Smith 

 (=15/7). It may be assumed that Scudder concurs as he has adopted this 

 date^(=6/7). 



Commissioner Karl Jordan submitted the case to " Members of 

 the Entomological Committee on Nomenclature " and " various 

 local committees and ....," in addition, asked " a number of 

 entomologists for their views." He reports to the Secretary as 

 follows : 



1. Arguments for the acceptance of the Tcntamen names. — i. The Tenta- 

 men was distributed as a printed quarto sheet in 1806. Iliibncr in Verzeich- 

 niss 1816, says of it that he made it at once known " 10 years ago." Ochsen- 

 heimer states in 1816 that " Hiibner has issued .... the plan of a classi- 

 fication of the Lepidopfcra printed on a quarto sheet," and treats it as a 

 publication of valid names, which lie adopts; a reference in Vol. Ill of 

 Ochsenheimer implies that he knew the Tentamen to have been in existence 

 before 18 10. Several copies are known, some discovered bound up in other 

 books on Lcpidoptcra, which is evidence that the recipients of a copy did not 

 consider it to be a mere advertisement, but scientific matter well worth pre- 

 serving. The classification published in the Tentamen was adopted by Hiib- 

 ner on the plates of Vol. I of his Samml. Exot. Schmett. (1806-1834). 



2. The stirpes (genera) are well defined by the fact that only one species 

 is cited under each stirps. All these species (types of genera) were known. 

 In every case the names of the Tentamen can be identified through Hiibner's 

 own illustrations of the species cited. " We can find out to a dead certainty 

 what Hiibner meant" (Grote), and there can be no doubt about the publica- 

 tion of each generic name. 



* Nomenclature of Lcpidoptcra <Procccdings 4tii international Congr. 

 Zool. (1898), 1899, 285. 



