,2 PAPII.IO ANTICOSTIENSIS. 



length as tl.oso of .spwimens of Asterius, from the Exstcrii, Middle and Western States and 

 Colorado, but shorter tluui those from Florida. Brcvicauda was taken at St. John's 



N<>\vfouiidland. 



I now again had the pleasant excitement incidental to endeavoring to study out bare 

 descriptions, unaceompanie.l by figures, and in my misery I wrote to Mr. Conpcr, in Montreal, 

 reciuestin'r him to trv to sec the types of Brevicauda, and compare his examples with them, or 

 if that was impossible, to write to Mr. Saunders, of Ontario, Canada, who described 

 it an.l with whom he was aequainted, concerning the species ; after some time Mr. Couper 

 wrote: " I eommunieated with the Rev. Canon Innes, (in whose collation arc specimens of 

 Brevicauda,) and Mr. W. Saunders, asking for information regarding P. Brevicauda; up to 

 this instani', no answer irom either ;" this certainly was not very satisfactory, but as I was 

 not particularlv anxious to make a fool of myself by re-christening old species, I importuned 

 Mr Couper to try the gentleman with another epistolary shot ; in duo time, under date 

 March 17th, 1873, came another letter from Couper, thus : "I have jHirposcly delayed a 

 reply to vour favor of 2d, because since its receipt I wrote again to Mr. W. Saunders for the 

 desired information, and mv letter was written in terms which could not deter him from 

 answering; however, no answer has been received;" after receiving this letter, I, of course 

 concluded that Mr. Saunders' time was of too much value to be encroached upon, and 

 requested Mr. Couper to by no means trouble him again, as his dignified silence at last 

 brought me to a proper sense of my true position, and was a merited punishment to both 

 Couper and mvself for our temerity. 



However,' I believe this is distinct from Brevicauda, and if it be not, it is an absurdity 

 to retain that name; the probabilitv, after all, is, that Brevicauda and Anticostiensis, (if they 

 be not the same,) arc both varieties of Asterius ; if such is the case, they have the merit, at 

 lea«t of bein- verv marked and interesting ones, which, I trust, will be considered sufficient 

 rca,so'ii for my iiaving figure.l the latter ; 1 di,l not figure the male, as I considered the female 

 the most remarkable on account of the greater width of the macular inner bands. Mr. Couper 

 tookon Anticostl Isla.i.l at the same time with this species, Colias Interior, Scud ; Pieris Irig- 

 ida,Scud.; Chionobas.Jutta,Hub.; Ly. Lucia, Kirby ; Ly. Scudderii, Kdw.; Ly Nov.Sp.? 

 Thvatira Pudcns, Giieii.; SesiaUniformis, Grote-; and many other Lep. as well as Coleoptera ; 

 he starts again for same loealitv next month on another collecting tour ; he expects to be able 

 to find the larv;o of Anticostiensis, and I hope he will meet with the success he so well 

 deserves. 



April, 1873. 



