29 
THE ATHALIA GROUP OF THE GENUS MELITAA. 
By Groree Wuee er, M.A., F.E.S. 
(Continued from p. 7.) 
_Tuere are three principal directions in-which the species of 
this group tend to vary, viz. size, the distribution of the usual 
colouring, and the approach on the upper side to the more varie- 
gated Aurinia-group. The first of these has already been 
touched on and in some cases accounted for, nor has it, taken 
alone, given rise to any varietal name, except in the one (pro- 
bably mistaken) case of varia. Other sources of variation are 
the shape of the wings, which in some cases appears to be a 
local peculiarity, and the occasional approach on the under side 
to the Cinzia-group, which seems to be purely aberrational in 
character. Of the remaining directions of variation the approach 
on the upper side, especially in the female, to the Awrinia-group 
is perhaps the more widely interesting, but being in most cases 
by far the less conspicuous, it has not figured so largely as a 
cause of named varieties, and more particularly aberrations, as 
the unusual distribution of the ordinary colouring, and it is to 
the named forms that I wish now to direct attention. As a 
matter of personal opinion, I regard it as a somewhat un- 
necessary overloading both of the memory and of the ‘‘ variety ”’ 
list to name every intermediate form, though no doubt it serves 
here and there to recall to the minds of entomologists the names 
of some who have done valuable work which might otherwise be 
in danger of being forgotten—I allude to the work not the names ; 
but on the whole it would seem better if extreme forms only were 
named, and intermediates merely regarded as ‘transition to 
so-and-so,” or if all aberrant forms were called by the name of 
the well-marked form they most nearly resemble, and towards 
which they tend, without regard to the actual extent of the in- 
dividual aberration. But as this is now far past hoping for, so 
many names having already been given, some of them a very 
long time back, it is at any rate as well that we should know the 
forms to which the names really apply, a knowledge which can 
only be gained by reference to the original descriptions; though 
it is still quite permissible to refer to the same name forms 
nearly resembling the originals, especially in the case of those 
that are rather aberrational than varietal in character. One 
can hardly help feeling that in general the desire to possess 
named varieties, and the love of writing ‘‘ mihi,” or seeing one’s 
own name quoted, after the name of an insect, is more often 
responsible for the constant accumulation of aberrational names 
than any more scientific cause; and this accumulation has 
increased vastly since the time when Kingsley made such game 
