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XIII. On the classification of the Pyralidina of the 

 European fauna. By Edward Meyrick, B.A., F.Z.S. 



1 Eead April 2nd, 1890.] 



Plate XV. 



When Professor Fernald was in England last year he 

 expressed a desire that I would work out the classifica- 

 tion of the Pyralidina of the European fauna. He 

 pointed out that the generic nomenclature was in a state 

 of great confusion, owing to the misappropriation or 

 neglect of the names used hy older authors, that, as a 

 means to the removal of these abuses, the generic 

 definitions required a thorough revision and correction 

 — Lederer's classification, now nearly thirty years old, 

 the only one based on an adequate examination of 

 structure, is not founded on modern principles, and con- 

 tains more actual errors of observation than is generally 

 known, — and that the work was of great importance, as 

 the classification of the species of any part of the world 

 must always be based on a knowledge of those of the 

 European region, which were the first worked out. 

 Thus he himself stood in immediate need of the work 

 for his forthcoming paper on the Pyralidina of North 

 America. This paper has been written in accordance 

 with his request, and he concurs in the general prin- 

 ciples on which I have worked, and agrees with the main 

 results obtained, although he is of course in no way 

 committed to an entire approval of all the details. 



The species here included are those which inhabit the 

 region of the European fauna in the sense in which the 

 term is used by Staudinger in his Catalogue, except that 

 I have excluded the Labradorian species ; if these are 

 included, a large part of Canada has an equally good 

 claim, and they will moreover, in any case, be worked 

 out by Professor Fernald. The region as so defined is 

 a reasonably convenient one for delimitation, but I 

 would not be understood to express any belief in its 



TRANS. ENT. SOC. LOND. 1890. — PART III. (SEPT.) 



