134 THE entomologist's record. 



generic names. It is, however, necessary briefly to glance at succeed- 

 ing authors, in order that the genesis of our conflicting lists may be 

 traced, and the reasons for their differences made a})parent. This will 

 best be done by dealing se})arately with the French, the German, and 

 the English workers. 



No Frenchman has any consjiicuous place in the ranks of the 

 trivial name givers during the formative 2:)eriod. Fourcroy is the 

 earliest author of whom 1 have heard as using trivial names in a 

 work on The Entomoloijij of Paris, published in 1785. In 1789, the 

 year of the outbreak of the Kevolution, api)eared the first volume of a 

 dictionary of insects, published as a part of the Encyclopedie Methodiqne. 

 A volume appeared in each successive year till 1792, and further 

 volumes in 18 LI, 1819 (l82;-{ ?) and 1825. The author of the first 5 vol- 

 umes was M. Olivier, a physician. After his death the remaining volumes 

 were edited by M. Latreille, who was also the author of that part of 

 Cuvier's Animal Kiaydoin relating to insects. M. Latreille wasai'rested 

 as a priest during the Revolution, and it is said that he escaped trans- 

 ])ortation owing to his discovery of a new insect while in captivity at 

 Bordeaux. The V(dume ])ublished in 1819 (1823?) consists of a list of 

 known Rhopalocera, with co})ions s^-nonymic references, which show an 

 acquaintance with all the authors whom we have already passed in 

 review except Haworth. It was the production of M. Godart, who, 

 two yeai'S later, commenced the publication of a work on the lepidoptera 

 of France, consisting of descriptions and coloured figures. M. Godart 

 dealt with the Rhopalocera, Sphinges, Bombyces, and about half the 

 Nocture, but dying in 1825 the M'ork was completed by M. iJuponchel, 

 the director of the Theatre Franoais, the last volume being published 

 in 1812. Two years later Dupcuichel published a systematic catalogue 

 of European lepidoptera. Boisduval in 1829 had issued a similar list 

 of Butterflies, Sphinges, Bombyces and Noctua?. He was a physician, 

 and received from Newman in 1845 the designation of " prince of 

 le})idopterists.'" In 183(i, he produced the 1st volume of a descriptive 

 work, whicli, however, only dealt with part of the l)utterflies. Eleven 

 years later, finding liimself unable to carry out his project unaided, he 

 called to his assistance M. Guenee, a lawyer of Cliateaudun, wlio was 

 also a profoimd student of lepidoptera in all the stages of their exist- 

 ence, and who had already published in 1835, in conjunction with iJe 

 Yilliers, a work on the butterflies of Europe. Boisduval reserved to 

 himself the Sphinges, Bombyces, and the remainder of the Butterflies, 

 and to Guenee was assigned the task of dealing with the rest. M. 

 Guenee ably discharged his task, and his 3 volumes on the Noctu.b have 

 long taken rank as a classic. His part of the Avork was completed in 

 1857. Boisduval never succeeded in getting any more of his sliare 

 ready, l)ut in 18-40 he issued a revised editi(m of his 1829 catalogue, 

 in which he adoi^ted the uniform termination aria for all Geometk.k. 

 and Avhicli formed tlie groundwork of Uouldeday's first list. The 

 dominant influence on tlie French naturalists, especially the earlier 

 ones, was that of Fabricius ; preference is given to his names, and 

 great value is attached to the Vienna Cataloijue. By the later au- 

 thorities, Hiibner is exalted to the place of honour, but his influence 

 still causes the retention of Vienna Catalogue names. The princi})le, 

 which seems to have guided them in dealing with nomenclature, was to 

 adopt the names used by the authority whom they took as their chief 



