SPHINX SANIPTRL 



(PLATE XIII, FIG. 18 cf.) 



Male. Expands 3 inches. 



Upper surface in colour and ornamentation same as the European *S'. Plnastri, L., with this exception — 

 that tiie latter has two broad transverse brown bands on primaries, the outermost of which is entirely wanting 

 in the present insect, and the innermost is quite narrow and darker in colour than in Pinasfri. 



Under surface uniform brownish-grey, faint traces of a rae.sial band on secondaries. In Plnastri are the 

 marginal part of primaries a little paler and more ashen than the rest of wing; in this species there is no 

 percei)tible change in the colouration. 



Female. Expands 3f inches. 



Head and body same as male. 



Upper surface, primaries same colour as male, destitute of all markings save a faint apical line and the 

 obscure streaks in cells between the median nervules near the median nervure. 



Under surface uniform dull greyish-brown. 



Described trom one '5' and one ? example. The former was captured in Canada and was received by Die 

 from IMr. Reakirt; the female I took silting on a fence near some pine woods a mile from Reading, Pa. I 

 have never seen any others. Both examples are in good condition, though the female is a little worn; they 

 seem to me to be an intermediate form between Sequoicea,nA Plnastri, though very close to the latter. 



Some years agti in the month of Octolier, crawling on tlie ground among tlie dead pine leaves in this same piece of woods, I 

 found two larvae which belonged to some insect of this group, perhaps to this species. My notes say: "Not quite three inches long, 

 rather slender, head yellow striped with red ; body reddish, .surrounded with many transverse fine black lines; a brown stripe on back 

 from head to anal horn, this stripe lined with white on both sides; on sides alternate bands or lines of green and yellow, green pre- 

 dominating from head to last segment (save onel ; caudal horn dark reddish-brown; first few spiracles white, the others ringed with 

 red and black; from base of anal horn to end of anal segment, a reddish brown dorsal line." 



Unfortunately, with all my care, these larva;, though they entered the ground, failed to produce perfect insects ; nor did I ever 

 after see but one other, which was mutilated by .some bird, but I have little doubt but that they were the larvae of the species I have fig- 

 ured. 



If this species be a form of Pinastri, I know not, as I have never seen an example of the latter destitute of the broad brown trans- 

 verse shades of primaries ; but should this be the case, it is an easy matter to re-anagraiuize the name back to its original spelling, 

 und alles ist wieder gut. 



ON THE GENERIC PHANTASIES OF S. H. SCUDDER. 



We fear Mr. Scudder's terrene existence is in considerable jeopardy, for has it not been said "whom the gods wish to destroy 

 they first make mad," and to recapitulate all the entomological vagaries that gentleman has indulged in would take volumes ; at the 

 magnitude of such a synopsis even Hubner's ghost would stand durafounded. 



The Hesperid.'e have been sepiarated by him into myriads of genera, and the genera into countless spiecies. Nisoniades Juvenalis 

 has been forced to evolve N. Virgilius, Horalius, Entiius, Ovidius, TibuUus, Plaulus, Propfrtiuf, Funeralis, Terentius* — these separated 

 from the old species and each other only by a twi.st or two in the shape, or the millionth of an inch difference in the size of the organs 

 of generation ! From the genus Pampliita he has educed, on what grounds it would be a wise man indeed who could tell, genera with- 

 out end ; Prenes, Limochores, Oddodes, Antliomaster, Polites and Hedone are a few of the many that at the moment occur to me. 



In an evil hour, by some mischance, he came into possession of the old obsolete Hubnerian tract, beginning "Tentamen determi- 

 nationis," etc., printed (without date) .sometime about 1806 ; he must needs get a reprint of the precious document for distribution at 

 ten cents, or thereabouts, per copy, ami, lo I broadcast, like seed of thistles, or like dire pestilence, the thmg spread, bringing forth no 

 good fruits. As the leading sheep blindly jumps headlong into a ditch, and the flock as blitidly follow, so Grote, ever ready, and 

 mad for any means that might bring his name into notice, enrolled himself under the Tentamen banner, and others of still lesser note, 

 stricken with Tentamania flocked around the same standard. Tentamania spread with rapidity ; the pages of the Can, Ent. are filled 

 with its virus, the Cambridge organ and the Buff'. Bull. (Grote's organ) teemed with it. Scudder, on pages 233 — 269 of publication 

 just cited, gives his ".'Synonymic List of N. .Am. Xymphales ;" were it written in the language of the Zulus it could be no whit more 

 unintelligible to the mass oi' students than it is. He says: "The following list has been prepared to exhibit in the briefest po.ssible 

 manner the classification, nomenclature, etc.," and that "it is" (heaven forfend) "the Prodromus of a more extended catalogue in which 

 the writer hopes to inclutle a fuller synonymy * * * * and which, through the co-operation of his colleague, Mr. A. R. Grote, will em- 

 brace all the Lepidoptera of North America." 



He goes on to say that "the aim has been to eliminate everything unessential to the points in view," to which he might have 

 added, which was to try to cram down our throats head and shoulders the most monstrously absurd and incongruous compilation that 

 ever emanated from the disea.sed brain of man since the advent of .\dam. Here is the way you are to distinguish his genus Satyrodes: 

 "Hind wings entire;" now you know all about it the moment you see this insect (there is but one of the genus) ; you know what it is, 

 notwithstanding that a thousand others have the "hind wings entire;" there is a mysterious affinity between you and the insect 

 that tells you it belongs to Scudder's genus Satyrodes. You turn to the list and find "Satyrodes Eurydice, Linn.-Johanss., Amoen. Acad., 

 6, 406 iPapilioi; Scudd., Rev. Amer. Butt., 6 t Argus)'" shades of the mighty! what an exhumation of old dead bones; the insect 

 meant, by referring to the synonymy, in exceedingly small italics, is the common Pararge Cantkus, Linn., {Boiidufalli, Harr.), by which 

 name it has been known and cited for a hundred years, and now at this late date we are called upon to change it, at Mr. Scudder's 

 behest. "Neominois" is erected by Scndder for an insect (iSa^yrus iJiV/m^suf) allied to Satyrus Beroe, Ftt., S. Hippolyte, Esp., Semete, 

 Linn., etc. As a synonym of Cercyonis Wheeleri, Edwards, he cites our Satyrus Hoffmani, entirely ignoring the figures of the male of that 



*Paper on A.ssymetry, Proc. Bost. Soc. N. H., 1870, Vol. XIII, pp. 277, 288. 

 fFigured on Plate IV of this work. 



118 



