70 Mr. BuTLEu on Mr. Majriclc's views of co-tain 



possesses no specimeti fur description, but nevertheless is quite 

 certain by intuition that my description is incorrect. 



On page 27 is one of the most astounding triumphs of 

 synonymic science, no less than seven descriptions being re- 

 garded as representing Crcunhus vitellus^ of Doubleday, the 

 excellence of whose descriptions does not appear to have 

 hindered Professor Zeller from describing the species over 

 again, and giving it three distinct names in the same paper; 

 as this synonymy is woith repeating I give it liere, substituting, 

 however, the name of Meyrick for that of Doubleday for the 

 headino;. 



^o" 



Crainhns vitelliis, Meyr. 



Cramh}is vitelliis, Dbld., Dieff. New Zeal., vol. ii, 2<Si). 



Crainhns riexalis, Walk., Brit. Mus. Cat. J7<S. 



Cranilius travscissalis, ibid, 178. 



Cramhus suhlicellns, Z., IMon. Cr., 31. 



Crambns hisectellus, ibid, S2. 



Cramhts incrassatellus, ibid, 32. 



Cramhus vaj^idus, Butl., Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1.S77, 31)9. 



No Avonder the species is described as "very variable" when 

 the forms associated above differ in foi-m, colour, and pattern 

 as much as any two species of the same group in the genus ; of 

 course Mr. Meyrick, before uniting them must have carefully 

 reared the whole from one batch of eggs ; for, Avithout such 

 evidence it wuuld be the height of imprudence to dream of 

 regarding them as mere sports of nature. 



The next compliment intended for me bv my critic, is in 

 reality an attack upon the two artists, Edward Smith and C. 

 Geycr, Avho are bcjth generally admitted to be admirable 

 delineators of insects, but who have, nevertheless, according to 

 Mr. Meyrick, figured two examples of the same sjaecies, so little 

 alike that I failed to recognise their identity, yet Avhich the 

 ipse dixit of my critic declares to be "hardly referable 

 to any other insect " than one in his own possession ; it must 

 be very satisfactory for Mr. Mejrick to have before him a 

 complete IMicro-Lepidopterous fauna of New Zealand. 



I have my doubts about the correctness of the synonymy 



