74 Mr. Butler on Mr. MeyricVs views of certain 



Not ouly is ]\Ieyrick unorthodox in regard to genera, but also 

 in the matter of species: if Walker confounded two or more 

 species under a description, this author feels himself justified 

 in rejecting both description and name: thus, in the case of 

 Walker's Palparia aurigena* Avhich he states to be referable 

 to three species (two of them forms previously named), he says 

 that Walker's " var. B. is P. hespe^idella, Meyrick; in which 

 case I should hold that Walker's name Avould take priority, this 

 being the general usage amongst Lepidopterists: Meyrick's note 

 on this species also shows that he has not examined the specimens 

 individually, since specimen a, from Sydney, is P. rectiorella $ , 

 specimen c, from Tasmania, is Ileliocausta incarnatella; so that 

 the observation that one of Walker's specimens of P. rectiorella 

 is from Tasmania is erroneous: if Meyrick supposes the order 

 of the specimen in the cabinet to correspond with that given in 

 the catalogue, and has worked all these years in that belief, he 

 must greatly have complicated the synonymy of the Micro- 

 Lepidoptera of Australia: I may, however, state my opinion 

 that, in the present instance, a synonvm may be avoided, as 

 we have received from the Godeffroy Museum a specimen 

 answering to the description of P. hesperidella, but certainly 

 not identical with Walker's P. aurigena; I fear, indeed, that 

 Meyrick had not time to examine a considerable ninnber of 

 Walker's tvpes, since he passes them over in silence, and if so, 

 he has doubtless redescribed not a feAv; it is certain that his 

 decisions respecting some of them were over hasty, as in the 

 following- instances: — 



j^cojtliora retracteUa is given as a synonym of Zonopetala 

 (lecisana ; the species are apparently not congeneric, whereas 

 yj'jcophora nstella, which is identical with Z. deci^^ann, must 

 have been the species intended, 



Iloplitica uhsuinptella, of Meyrick can hardly l)e Walker's 

 species; the latter is decidedly more like Heliocausta tripha^na- 

 tella than a])pears from Meyrick's description; the hindwings, 

 which AValker omitted to describe, are pale clear ochreous, with 

 greyish-fuscous abdominal border and fringe, the latter with a 



* I may remark that Palpariu is a pra^-occupied name. 



