March — April 1S90.] 



PSrCHE. 



329 



Most of us think that we can pen a 

 readable description of an insect, for- 

 getting that the proportion of persons 

 so capable, is very small. Dr. Behr, 

 H. Edwards, W. H. Edwards and H. 

 Strecker besides Boisduval have all 

 dealt with the Pacific forms. Part of 

 their work represents first impresions 

 only, while some of it partakes of the 

 form of digested considerations. Now 

 comes Mr. Elwes who has redigested the 

 investigations of those who have pi'e- 

 ceded him the conclusions being a gen- 

 eral merging of forms and great reduc- 

 tion of species, and all that can be said 

 in favor of this newer treatment is, that 

 it possibly tends in the right direction. 

 jSIr. Elwes remarked that he found spe- 

 cies difficult to decide about, but that 

 Mr. Edwards got over the difficulty by 

 naming them all separately. What else 

 could he do in an empirical provisional 

 arrangement but to make his skeleton 

 and clothe it as he could obtain the ma- 

 terials wherewith to make it perfect? 

 No ! Edwards has got over no difficul- 

 ties in that way, but he surmounts them 

 by zeal mixed with a deal of honest 

 hard work. Mr. Elwes is inclined to 

 consider A. adiante a variety of either 

 zeretie or moyiticola I on the contrary 

 feel constrained to look upon it as hav- 

 ing little relation with either of those 

 forms. Neither zerene nor monticola 

 have yet been seen in the habitat of 

 adiante so that as far as we know, 

 adiante is strictly a local form, species 

 or variety, though if they were to occur 

 in company that would prove no unity 

 of species ; T take zerene^ liliana and 



rupestris in company (this rupestris 

 being inontivaga Behr) , the locality be- 

 ing of a similar nature, in Napa Co. to 

 that which produces adiante in San 

 Mateo Co. But Mr. Elwes thinks there 

 is no affirmity between adiante and sem- 

 iramis. When speaking to Dr. Behr 

 about semiramis he remarked that in 

 all probability it was a southern form of 

 adiante. This is a case showing the 

 uncertainty of eye sight. I look upon 

 them as true and distinct and, moreover, 

 I see nothing but the silver to connect 

 semiramis with coronis but on the con- 

 trary I see much in it that reminds me 

 of another and altogether different type. 

 Take examples of the Arizonian noko- 

 mis male and of aphrodite male, of 

 semiramis male and of adiante male 

 and female, and examine them from 

 above and you will perceive they all 

 possess the same tone of yellow brown 

 and that the hind wings of all have 

 the same style of interrupted bands of 

 black ; the peculiar yellowish brown 

 that softly fades toward the hinder part 

 of the hind wings, is unlike any tint 

 seen on any other butterffy found in 

 California except adiante and semira- 

 mis. I shall, for the present at least, 

 keep adiante free from all alliances, and 

 the other species, though the richly em- 

 blazoned underside of the hind wings is 

 a point of some weight, yet in the midst 

 of so much uncertainty it were better to 

 still inscribe on its label as usual, Argyn- 

 nis semiramis., W. H. E. than the 

 other which was suggested in Mr. 

 Elwes's paper. 



