MEAGRE DESCRIPTIONS OF SOME NEW SPECIES, &c. 107 



Sevei-il male* taken In- Mr. P. Knetzing near Montreal, Canada, were, through his goodness, added to my collection. 



It is evident that we have as vet but a limited acquaintance witli the iauna of Canada and British Cdumbia, as is proven by the ' 

 manv new and unde.scribed species 'lately received therefrom; conspicuous in the East are the above described Sphmx and Hepialus 

 Thuh and in the West, Eukucopha-us tri-cohr, Packard, and Henry Edwards' Smerinthus Occidentalis, a monstrous form ot 3Iodestus, 

 expanding nearly 6 inches, and of a very pale yellowish fawn-colour, much like in the European S. Quercus. 



Mackoglossa ^Ethra, Nov. Sp. or Var. 



Female. Expands Is inches. ,,,,,, j 1 1 i i .1 



Vbove head and bodv olivaceous of a paler vellow shade towards the sides ; caudal brush yellow and black beneath same_ as 

 DitKni^ Primaries, margin" much broader than in 'Diffinis and serrated on inner edge; a large carmine apical spot; base and interior 

 margin reddish with olivaceous liairs on the former. Inferiors, narrow brown exterior margin ; abdominal margin carmine ; beneath, 

 costa of both wings red. One example from Montreal, Canada ; from Mr. P. Knetzing. j , , w 



If this be not a new species, it is certainlv a most remarkable aberrant form ot Diffiiiis; the total ab.sence of the broad black trans- 

 verse band of upper Bide of abdomen is a most'noticeable feature, as well as the entirely red costa of all wings beneath. 



Hepialus Desolatus, Nov. Sp. , . , , , , , , u . *i, i- 



Expands 2 inches Brown, same shade as H. Sylvinus, L., to which the whole insect bears a tolerable resemblance, but the lines, 

 etc are better defined in the European species, than which ours is much more obscure ; on primaries the principal markings are a 

 narrow sub-basal band accompanied with a darker shade, midway between this and the outer margin, running from apex to interior 

 margin is another paler line with its darker shade, from which at the inner margin emanates another short line which runs somewhat 

 diagonallv towards the sub-basal line. Secondaries brown, with a few barely distinguishable paler spots on costa. One example taken 

 at Owen'.s Lake, Nevada, by one of the naturalists of Lieut. Wheeler's Expedition in 1871. 



Catocala Jocasta, Nov. Sp. 



HeTdlind thorax grev, abdomen vellowish-grev ; beneath, dirty white. Primaries grey on costa signs of a transverse anterior line ; 

 reniform indicated by a few darker scales ; transverse posterior is not a line, but a broad shade ; beyond this, except a small intervening 

 snace the wine is darker ; fringes same colour. . 1 ^i 1 j • 1 1 



Secondaries vellow, with a broad black marginal band which is deeply indented on inner exlge, towards the abdommal angle, 

 where it becomes niuch narrower ; fringes white. Under surface pale yellow, primaries with a broad marginal band narrowest at inner 

 angle- a rather narrow median band which does not reach to inner margin; no traces ot a sub-basal band wlui ever ; fringes gre^ . 

 SeSndaries, marginal band as above, no mesial; a few scattered scales on costa, and a few more where the discal lune ought to be, 



^""^^rverv "curious and interesting species, evidently allied, notwithstanding the absence of the median band of secondaries, to TTAiJ- 

 neyi, Dodge", and 3Iyrrha, figured on Plate XI ; there are no distinct markings on the primaries, which are only clouded and have a 

 powdery appearance. One'example received from Dr. W. B. Carpenter, Kansas. 



MTir°Expands\hree^ndie.r Head and bodv ochrev yellow. Abdomen with very faint indications of a chain or row of con- 

 fluent dark ringsf reaching from thorax to anal segment on each si.le. Primaries pale ilesh-colour. Secondaries same yellow as bod> ; i^ 



all wings with a submarginal black band, narrower than in Egtanterirui or Pica; veins, from outer margin to this band, accompanied 

 with black broad at margin, narrowing to a point as thev near the transverse band ; a large black discal spot on all wings. 



Female larger than male. Priinaries whitish-yellow, very pale. Secondaries ochrev yellow ; the same black ornamentation as 



in '^^]^^ly°l^''^l^'\^\'^g-„ by Mr. Nuttall in 1836, at the Rocky Mountains, head of Snake Eiver and now in possession of 

 Mr Titian K Peale, who dedicated the species to its discoverer, in his MSS. description and unpublished plate.s. 



■ Diflers from all allied forms in the immaculate abdomen, which in all the other species is heavilv annulated with black 



Harris' species Hera, (described in Report of Insects of Massachusetts, 1841, and figured m Audubon's '■ Birds ol America, 

 T 3.51^1^01115 n^ofe than Eglanlerina, Boisduval (Lep. Cal., Ann, Soc. Em. Fr P- 51, 1852). The examples of ilera were aken 

 b^Mr Nuttall afthe Rockv Mountains; three of them were in collection of Mr. T R. Peale, who received them trom Mr. ^u all 

 h'nself- one of these three," a c?, Mr. Peale still has in excellent preservation, the other two were destroyed through accident. Anothei 

 specimen was in c^^^^^^^^^^^ Doubledav, Enghind ; this one was the original of Dr. Harris' description ; and wo more are in my 



cabinet All these specimens cited were taken in 1836 by Mr. Nuttall. The species is also common m Cahtornia; but, as a general 

 thino- these are not quite as heavilv marked with black as those found in the Rocky Jlountains. 



"There 's also much variation "in the position of the black discal spots ; in some examples these connect with the transverse band, 

 in others are very close but disconnected, and in still others are tar removed. n „,.!„,.;„ il,o 



Walker's species, Pica, (British Mns., Cat. 6, p. 1318, 185.5) of which I possess one c? example, taken by Mr. Drexeler m the 

 Rockv Mountains, is a somewhat narrower-winged species, easily known by the uniform white ground colour ot all wings. 



Dr Leeonte in liis paper on nomenclature alreadv alluded to on page 102, in speaking of the binomial svsteni, says Jte aigu- 

 ments infavour of the original describer of the species in the one hand, and of the author the binomial combination a opted on he 

 Xr 1 and are eouallv strong, perhaps, as regards the convenience of science, and each side has been argued with the utmo.^l ab.htx, 

 raciadh Ido ori4gad has a matter of anv consequence, if each person will dlstinctiy declare mh^.^york M ^f '«- f e " '^'>- 

 The numbM of instancl in which any confusion can result are few, and the synonymy in catalogues which are always at hand will at 



°°'' ThiJe'can Sutelv be nothing said in favour of the author of the combination; the specific name is the one by which we know 

 the inlet No one speaks of TaneJ Antwpa as Vanessa, but every one knows what -f <='-,--"' 7,^-^;^y-;;%T'J: j,^;„, >, „„d 

 In Grote & Robinson's List Lep. N. Am., Boisduval's genus, " Adelocephala, is coupled with Hams species, »'<»'o^ ""a 

 Mr. G^'iaiXed behind the 'combination, thus/' ^cWo<.pWa 6,Wor,Gro,e ;" again, ^^^^^l^^^' ^,^ 

 & Smith's species, Pelluclda, are made Anisota Pelluclda, Grote. The Cen-opm ot Lmnajus, Mr. Grote has placed in hi. genus, PlatNsamia, 

 andTransniogri^Vd U into Platysamia Cecropia, Grote, and so on in this manner have the names of Lmna^us, labncius. Abbot ^ Smith, 

 Hoi-riQ "Wnlker etc been nut aside to make place for the greater one ot Grote. , r r. j .1 



"" w)re th 'ml^ihod" i^eilllv tbllowed, th'e confusion Consequent would be truly astounding; the dragon's eeth of Cadmus or h 

 fecunditv of the louse, would be as nothing to the multiplicity of synonyms that wou d issue trom each species. For instance take 

 SX Armnte ■ Fkbricius first noticed this species in his Syst. Ent., and we cite him, in consequence as the au hor , gentlemen ol 

 thelboveSo would sav Catopsilia Argante, H.bner, though "that author did not even place Argante in his genus Catopsilia, but in hi> 



