221- 



A X'ulnerable "New Species." 

 By Eugenk M. Aakon. 



In his "Contributions to Science," Vol. I, No. 2, July 1889,* Mr. 

 Cbas. |. Maynard, the author of the "Butterflies of New Enghind." de- 

 scribes as a new species an extreme form o^ Agraulis vanilLe, which has 

 long been recognized by collectors as commonest in the West Indies. 

 This description, under the name o'i A. insularis, affords an interesting 

 instance of what can be done in the creation of new species if one as- 

 sumes that an extreme form is a constant one, and then advances to the 

 work without sufficient acquaintance with the literature, already sufiici- 

 entlv full. 



The following remarks from this description are quoted as pertinent 

 to this paper : 



" I can find no description of any species ol Agraulis from the West 

 Indies, and Kirby does not even give vani/Le as occuring there.'' * * * 



"General pattern of coloration similar to that of^. vani/Le, but the 

 ground culor is paler, the size smaller, and the wings are broader in pro- 

 portion to the length." * * 



"Dimensions: (j^ /;/5?^/ar/s, spread of wings, 2.40 ; primaries, 1.20 

 long by .65 wide; secondaries, .75 long by .78 wide. Antennae, .60 

 long. Length of body, includmg head and palpi, .80. 9' spread of 

 wings, 2.50; primaries, 1.35 by 80; secondaries, .80 by 80." 



"Average f(/;//7/<r? : (^, spread of wings. 3.00; size of primaries, 

 1.60 by .80; secondaries i.oo by .80. Antennce, .70. Length of 

 body, 1.20. Q . spread of wings, 3.40. Primaries, 1.60 by. 80; sec- 

 ondaries, 1.20 by I. CO." * * * 



''Insularis differs from it {vanillce) in being paler, in having the two 

 inner .^iiois in ihe centr;d cell fused together, these being separate in 

 vanilLc, and in having only two white dots in the lowest spot. ' * * * 



.Alluding to the dimensions : "This is especially discernible in the 

 secondaries, which are not only as broad as they are long, but are some- 

 times actually wider than long, whereas in vanillce the reverse is the case 

 and ilie secondaries are always narrower than long. * * 



"Yet I have never seen a specimen (vanillce) east of the Gulf 

 Stream." 



Accom[ianying this description is a plate, seemingly photo-engraved 

 and Colored by hand, giving figures of typical (^ insularis and (^ vanil- 



Received at the Philadcl[ilHa Academy of Sciences, Oct. loth, iJ 



