12 PAPILIO AXTICOSTIENSIS. 



length as tliose of spccimsiis of Asterius, from the E-.istern, Middle and We.>teru States and 

 Colorado, but shorter than those from Florida. Brevicauda was taken at St. .John's 

 Newfoundland. 



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

 descriptions, unaccompanied by figures, and in my misery I wrote to Mr. Couper, in Montreal, 

 refpiesting him to try to see the types of Brevicauda, and compare his examples with them, or 

 if that was im]5ossible, to write to Mr. Saunders, of Ontario, Canada, who described 

 it, and with whom he was acquainted, concerning the S2)ecies ; after some tiiue Mr. Couper 

 wrote: "I communicated with the Kev. Canon Inucs, (in whose collection arc Sijccimcus of 

 Brevicauda,) and I\Ir. W. Saunders, asking for information regarding P. Brevicauda; up to 

 this instant, no answer from either ;'' this certainly was not very satisfactory, but as I was 

 not particularly anxious to make a fool of myself by rc-christeniug old species, I importuned 

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

 March 17th, 18 To, came another letter from Couper, thus : "I have purposely delayed a 

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

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

 answering ; however, uo answer has been received ;" after receiving this letter, I, of course, 

 concluded that ^Ir. 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 myself 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 probability, after all, is, that Brevicauda and Anticostiensis, (if they 

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

 least, of being very marked and interesting ones, which, I trust, will be considered sufficient 

 reason lor my having figured the latter; I did 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 

 took on Anticosti Island at the same time with this species, Colias Interior, Scud ; Pieris Frig- 

 ida. Scud.; Chionobas .Jutta, Hul). ; Ly. Lucia, Kirby ; Ly. Scuddcrii, Edw. ; Ly. Nov. Sp. ? 

 Thyatira Pudens, Guen.; SesiaUniformis, Grote; and many other Leji. as well as Coleoptera ; 

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

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

 deserves. 



April, 1873. 



