302 MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES. 



mology. A cliild begins l)y hearing the names of a few of the 

 common insect forms abont him, and no sooner does he begin to get 

 a little familiar with them than some new book comes out on the 

 subject and he runs up against an entirely new nomenclature, either 

 of genera or species, or both, which is well calculated to discourage 

 the most ardent entluisiast. Better almost any name that shall per- 

 manently stand for the species than this constant change. If authors 

 were agreed among themselves one might conclude that there was 

 some system to their madness, but when one author calls an insect 

 Limenitu disippus, another Limenitis tnisippus, another Basilarcliia 

 disip2)i(s, and still another BasilarcJtia archippus^ it is enough to 

 bewilder and disgust the hungry aspirant for knowledge on the 

 subject. Even the common names liave stuck better in many in- 

 stances than tliose given by the scientists, and one has often to resort 

 to them to avoid confusion. Let us hope that order will eventually 

 come out of all this chaos, and that those who tinker with the names 

 and classifications may call a halt before they make a separate genus 

 for every S2:)ecies, and the scientific names to each are more numer- 

 ous than the legs of its caterpillars. In studying exotic insects, 

 especially those from little-known lands, one is spared these changes 

 of names to a great extent, for it is frequently our most common 

 insects which have three or four scientific names. Let us aim to get 

 these names anchored, and when once a name is well established to 

 hold to it instead of following tlie caprice of each new writer who 

 may have little more to attract attention than a renaming and re- 

 classification of our familiar forms. To be able to glibly articulate 

 long scientific names and to be familiar with the most recent classi- 

 fications does not constitute a knowledge of natural history. A 

 thorough understanding of the habits of an animal learned through 

 search and observation is of much more value than a knowledge of 

 its most recent name, which may be a very temporary affair. 



One other native insect of this genus is Danais herenice. It is 

 a rather plainly-colored insect, being 3'ellowish brown, sometimes 

 reddish brown, the wings being margined with wide bands of black 

 in which are enclosed numerous small white spots. Several larger 

 wliite spots adorn the outer portion of the u})per wings. The under 

 side is colored much like the upper, except tliat on the lower 

 wings wide lines of black follow the veins. This insect is very 

 abundant in Mexico, and extends its habitat up into Texas and 

 Arizona. 



