152 



PSYCHE. 



rjanuary, 1901. 



trouble among American workers, viz.: 

 a lack of cooperation, be it generous or 

 otherwise. I can only say that I am 

 ready, as I have always been, to do any- 

 thing in my power, regardless of all 

 other considerations, to prevent such 

 occurrences as this in connection with 

 Macropsis and Agallia. 



However, once in print, statements 

 and descriptions cannot be withdrawn, 

 much as we would like sometimes. 



I drafted the descriptions of my new 

 species of Agallia and Macropsis men- 

 tioned, some three years before they 

 were printed and they were sent out for 

 publication over two years before they 

 finally appeared. I certainly was not 

 aware of any paper having been pub- 

 lished by Osborn and Ball on the sub- 

 ject, for none had been. And finally 

 I did not hear of nor see the paper 

 by Csborn and Ball until it was too 

 late to withdraw my own. 



If the types of Agallia mexkana fit 

 exactly the description of Diodcsta there 

 can be no question of the synonymy. I 

 followed my own "elaborate directions " 

 and saw t4ie female last ventral segment 

 "slightly concave," though this would 

 be no specific dilTerence. The same is 

 true of my species hcydei and produda. 

 Mr. Ball criticises me for describing 

 from a single specimen, though on the 

 same page he does likewise. Doubtless 

 the "yellow saddle" is likewise a "re- 

 sult of accident or imperfect develop- 

 ment," especially when we consider that 

 the Agallias are quite variable in color. 

 The name reticulata was long ago preoc- 



cupied in European literature. If this 

 species is distinct from any of Uhler's it 

 may be known as ballii. Mr. Ball 

 should certainly state his grounds for 

 reducing inconspicua, especially if it was 

 based on an e.xamination of the type. 



I have no doubt whatever that pere- 

 grinans is a composite species, impossi- 

 ble of determination except through ex- 

 amination of the types. Any one of a 

 half dozen North American and fifteen 

 or twenty South American species would 

 answer the description equally well. 

 The types are credited to " Insulae 

 Taiti et Oahu, California, Rio Janeiro ; 

 var. e Rio Janeiro." Osborn and Ball 

 expressed doubt as to their own deter- 

 mination of it. Not having examined 

 the types this doubt is a very laudable 

 one. In any event the Sandwich Island 

 form retains the name and lyrata cannot 

 be reduced as a synonym of it. This is 

 another " sad commentary on the accu- 

 racy '' of Osborn and Ball's synonymical 

 work. 



Fowler's account of Macropsis had 

 not been distributed when I sent out my 

 paper, nor had Osborn and Ball's paper 

 appeared. Mr. Ball here again mentions 

 my "very meager" amount of material. 

 I fail to see the point of this when the 

 number of specimens averages as large 

 as for many of his own species. The 

 last ventral segment of female in ala- 

 bamensis was described as three lobed, 

 in apicalis this is said to be rounding or 

 two lobed. As to the correctness of Mr. 

 Ball's determination of misella (not 

 " missella " ) I cannot say, not having 



