publishing new lists, will it nut be well to make the change from 

 Aegeriidae and Aegeria to Sesiidae and Sesidi 



In 1777, Scopoli, in his Introductio ad historiam naturalem, pro- 

 posed the genus Macroglossum with the European stdlatarum, an opaque 

 winged species, as the type. In 1816, Dalman, in the Vetensk. Akad. 

 Handl. proposed the genus Hemaris for the European species fuciformis 

 and bombyliformis, both transparent winged insects allied to our diffinh 

 and thy she. 



I have not examined these European species, but Mr. J. B. Smith 

 informs me that he has examined stellatarum and finds no structural 

 differences from the clear winged species. If he has made no mistake 

 in his examination, there still remains the opacity or transparency of the 

 wings to separate them. It is true that some of the species, on emerging 

 from the pupa, have a few scales on the transparent part, which soon fall 

 off, but I never heard of a case where there was the slightest danger of 

 mistaking one for an opaque winged species. ' 



If we accept the view advanced by Dr. Horn, that genera do not 

 occur in nature, but that they are simply convenient divisions, would it 

 not be more convenient both to the collector and the student, to regard 

 the clearwings as a distinct genus since the transparency of the wings is 

 so obvious a character.-' If so, our species will belong to Dalman's genus 

 Hemaris . 



In 1 8 16, Ochsenheimer, in the 4th vol. ot his Schmetterlinge von 

 Europa, established the generic name Deilephila with nerii as the type, 

 and this genus has always been accepted as it seems to include species 

 well separated from those of other genera. In 1816, the Verzeichniss of 

 Hiibner purports to have been published, but the part pertaining to the 

 Sphingidue could not have been published earlier than 18 18 as shown by 

 Mr. Scudder. In this work Hiibner has given a large number of generic 

 names, some of which are now in use and generally received. 



In addition to the above named authors, Harris, Clemens. Walker, 

 G rote and Robinson, Boisduval, Poey, Bremer, Duponchel and Swainson 

 have given us genera for our North American species of the Sphingidcik 

 till, at the present time, we have more than we know what to do with. 

 and the work of elimination has begun. 



In the Entomologica Americana, Vol. I, page 81, Mr. Smith has 

 given us a very suggestive and timely paper on our N. A. Sphingidae and 

 one which I trust is to be only a preliminary paper to a fuller and more 

 exhaustive one on the same subject hereafter. Without taking the space 

 to call attention to the numerous good features of the work, 1 desire I" 



