THE NOMENCLATURE OF BRITISH LEPIDOPTERA. 59 



ditional but absurd place beside the Zygaenas (Anthrocera), and 

 placing them with the Arctiidae and Noctuidae." Now, whether 

 Dr. Chapman wrote "Zygaenas" or not in his original paper 

 matters little (although if this had been struck out and the more 

 correct Anthrocera had stood alone, it would have taken away the 

 point of this criticism), but here we have on p. 26 and p. 31 

 two entirely different uses of the term Zygcena by eminent 

 specialists, one applying it to one of the highest groups of the 

 Arctiid or Syntomid stirps, the other to the generalised Anthro- 

 cerid stirps, just as far away from each other in real relationship 

 as two moths very well can be. As bearing on this point, I see 

 I am credited (pp. 42 and 43) with exhibiting certain species of 

 "Zygcena" at the South London Entomological Society's meet- 

 ings of Nov. 24th, 1898, and Jan. 12th, 1899. Now, for many 

 months I have been making a very special study of these moths, 

 and I am certain that I have never used the name "Zygcena" 

 personally for these moths for a considerable time, as I always 

 now apply the term Anthrocera to avoid confusion. At any 

 rate, the point is this — the Zygcena phegea (p. 31) and the 

 Zygcena trifolii (p. 42) bear infinitely less relation to each other 

 than, say, Sphinx ligustri and Saturnia pavonia, which are at 

 least members of the same stirps. 



In conclusion, I do not ask for an uniform code. That I 

 know is impossible, and my private opinion that "synonymy is 

 of the devil" has already been quoted in this magazine. Ento- 

 mologists of the old school do not follow the modern expansion 

 of the science, and to these the work of Chapman, Eeuter, 

 Packard, and Dyar is not acceptable. Others, again, do not know 

 anything about the work of these men, and will always send 

 their lists of captures, named according to any book (out of date 

 or otherwise) that they may have ; but I do ask that in matters 

 of importance, such as that of Zygcena mentioned above, the 

 same name be not applied to insects belonging to two entirely 

 different stirpes of the Lepidoptera. Let us call the Burnets 

 Anthrocera and the Syntomids Zygcena, or the Burnet Zygcena 

 and the Syntomid Syntomis, but not both the Burnet and 

 Syntomid Zygcena. If Mr. Kirby is right about the naming of 

 " Zygcena phegea ," then Dr. Chapman's criticism shows that the 

 Burnets want another name to separate them absolutely from 

 the Syntomids in question. 



THE NOMENCLATURE OP BRITISH LEPIDOPTERA. 



For some years past the North London Natural History 

 Society has officially recognised the ' Entomologist Synonymic 

 List ' as its authority for the nomenclature of the Lepidoptera ; 

 but as so many changes have subsequently been proposed by 



