( XXX ) 



name, and so it remained in his collection as only probably A. 

 jmniscus of Rossi. More recently Dr. D. Sharp had found it 

 within a few miles of his own house, and suspecting that 

 we had two or three clear-winged yellow species of the genus 

 in England, he got Mr. J. E. Collin to secure further specimens 

 from this locality, and about the same time Mr. C. J. Wain- 

 wright allowed him to examine a very long series in beautiful 

 condition which had been caught at St. Ives, in Cornwall. The 

 result of his studies, commenced thirty -four years ago, was that 

 he was convinced that all these specimens belonged to one species 

 only, of which the male had often figured in collections under 

 one name, the female under another. Still, he was not convinced, 

 but believed that we have one or two more closely allied British 

 species of which he had been unable to meet with recent or good 

 specimens until he saw two specimens which clearly belonged 

 to a distinct species now exhibited. At various times 

 there had been recorded as British of the clear-winged yellow 

 species of Anthrax: (1) A. 2xiniscus, Rossi ; (2) A. hottentottiis, 

 Linne ; (3) A. Jiavus, Meig. ; (4) A, concinnus, Meig., Avhich 

 is believed to be a synonym of (5) A. abhadon, Fabr. ; (6) A. 

 fasciatus, Meig.; (7) A. leacostoma, Meig.; (8) A. cinyidatus, 

 Meig.; (9) A. venustas, Meig.; (10) A. circumdatus, Meig.; 

 and (11) A. bimactdatus, Macq. ; of these, all except A. Jiavus, 

 A. concinnus, and A. bimaculatus remain as species in the 

 1 ecent ' Katalog,' but he did not believe they represented more 

 than four species at the utmost, and nowhere could he find a 

 good description of a single one of them, while he was convinced 

 that the scattered notes and inadequate descriptions given by 

 variovis writers were hopelessly intermingled in synonymy. 

 Further than this, it was to be borne in mind that many more 

 species had been described in recent years which belonged to 

 this same group, though he would admit that in most of these re- 

 cent descriptions greater care had been taken for discrimination, 

 and the species could be recognized so that he could distinguish 

 all of them from our common British species. He supposed he 

 should have to cut the Gordian knot, and call our species A. 

 jxtniscics, give a good description, and leave posterity to deal 

 with it. But after all until this evening he had been no further 

 forward as to the probable other British species or two. 



