1901.] 37 



fixation; for Stephens (Syst. Cat., ii, p. H2 : III. Haust., ii, p. 189) 

 restricts the TIcliophuhus of Boisduval to popularis and leucopluea, 

 removing snponaricd to Hndena, and Westwood, in 1840, specifies 

 2)opularis as the type. But some valuable notes on the exact dates of 

 publication of Du))onchers Hist. Nat. Lep., have been kindly placed 

 at my service by Mr. C. Davies Sherborn, F.Z.S.,and these show posi- 

 tively that Duponchel's List of Noctuid types (Tom. vii, Pt. 2, pp. 

 71, 72, March 21st, 1829) appeared prior to Stephens' work (June 1st, 

 1829), and that therefore we must look to him and not to Stephens 

 for the first restriction of the genus ; and inasmuch as he selects 

 saponaricB for the type, Stephens and Westwood must be ruled " out 

 of order," and Neuria, Gn. (with type saponariw), must sink as a 

 synonym before Heliophobus. 



The question which remains is whether popularis be really con- 

 generic with cespitis, Fab., with which Mr. Barrett unites it; if so, 

 the correct generic name is either Tholera, Hb. (Verz., p. 214), a 

 mixed genus, which by Stephens' first use (List Brit. Anim., p. 68, 

 1850) would become restricted to the type cespitis, or, rather, Charceas, 

 Steph. [111. Haust., ii, p. 108 (1829)], to which Westwood in 1840 

 assigns the same type, cespitis. But if, as I half fear, the two species 

 in question should prove to be not congeneric, I believe the introduction 

 of a new generic name for popularis will be unavoidable ; at any rate, 

 a very thorough investigation of the literature has failed to reveal any 

 existing one which could possibly be applied to it. 



Note. —Perhaps as I have mentioned Charaas, Steph., I ought to 

 add that its application to graminis, L., is utterly erroneous ; only four 

 years after the foundation of the genus Curtis erected the monotypical 

 Cerapteryx ioY graminis, ViwA in 1850 Stephens himself accepted this 

 as a restriction of his Charcsas. 



246, Richmond Road, N.E. : 

 November Hth, 1900. 



ON A SPANISH BEMBIDIUM (Suhgen. TESTEDIOLUM). 

 BY D. SUARP, M.A., M.D., F.B.S. 



The species of Bemhidium allied to B. glaciate are of considerable 

 interest, ovAing to the fact that, in consequence of their peculiar 

 habitat, they are in certain districts completely segregated ; so that 

 the individuals of one such segregated area never mix with those from 

 another. These insects dwell about the edges of melting snow-fields, 

 and are only to be found where such snow-fields occur every year, and 



