190 THE entomologist's record. 



the matter, the date has been once for all fixed, beyond whicli literary 

 research is not needed in nomenclature ; but all names proposed since 

 that date are liable to have their title investigated, no matter how 

 " thoroughly established " they may be held to have become. It is a 

 matter of regret that there are so many mere combinations of letters, 

 nonsense words, in existence, such as Mr. Walker's alliterative Nadata, 

 Datana, Tadana, though these sound well enough and besides are 

 sufficient for the purpose intended. But many names, in fact most, 

 possess a meaning and a derivation, and if the spelling of such names 

 may be subjected to correction, why may not any name be entirely 

 changed or dropped, when too near another, to obviate confusion ? If 

 the view were formulated and adopted by a competent bod}^ that 

 generic names are to be treated as a fortuitous combination of letters 

 then, under the law of jjriority, it would seem imperative that we 

 revert to the original spelling (or rather missjDelhng) of Gracilaria, 

 Cosmopterix and Micropterix. I believe that, on the whole, adherence 

 to the present custom of regarding generic titles as liable to change 

 when too near and evidently the same word with a previous title, to be a 

 wise one and less productive of error than a retention of badly 

 differentiated names. It would seem that the whole subject might be 

 brought up for discussion and authoritative ruling, but until this is 

 done (and I am not able to find it made the matter of any "Rule "), 

 there would appear to be reason for the action of those who take tlie 

 gi'ound that names for genera insufficiently distinguishable for practical 

 use should be abated. And if, in principle, generic names are to be 

 regarded as mere combinations of letters, must not the same be held of 

 specific titles also ? By what authority does Mr. Meyrick qualify the 

 attempt to deprive the Latin names of insects of all relevancy by the 

 use of the adverb " now " ? Does not such a jirinciple contradict the 

 fundamental notion of the Linnean system of nomenclature as dis- 

 played in the Syslema Naturae, in which the generic and specific titles 

 form the commencement of the diagnosis? — A. Kadcliffe Gkote, A.M. 



guRRENT NOTES. 



Mr. H. G. Dyar expresses the opinion {Ent. News, March), founded 

 on the larval characters, that Orneodes (Ahirita) hexadactyla belongs to 

 the most typical section of the Micro-lepidoptera. He finds that some 

 of the larvse of the Pterophoridae also possess the characters of 

 " Micros." He believes, therefore, that " the Orneodidue and 

 Fterophoridae are not so very distantly related." 



We are informed by Mr. J. Hartley Durrant, F.E.S., in response to 

 our remark on the subject (ante., p. Ii2) that the reason why Lord 

 Walsingham gives " Stgr. Cat," and not Linno, as the sponsor for Alvcita, 

 is that he regards the name as wrongly used by Staudinger, and that 

 Aluclta, L. ought really to be applied to the genus Leioptilns. 



Mons. I'Abbe Begin, Prof, of Nat. Hist, at the Seminary of 

 Sherbrooke, in the Province of Quebec, recounts (Le Naturaliste Cana- 

 dien., Feb.) the capture on Oct. 30th, 1894, of a male and female Colias 

 philodice, which were much darker than the specimens he had taken 

 earlier in the summer. In place of the normal light-yellow ground 



