CHARLES W. HOOKER. 55 



derivative Henicospilus. Some later writers have tried to 

 remedy his seeming mistake by adding the H, hence the 

 confusion. According to the International Code of Nomen- 

 clature — Art. 19 — "The original orthography of a name 

 is to be preserved unless an error of transcription, a lapsus 

 calami, or a typographical error \^ evident." In this case an 

 error of transliteration is evident, not an error of transcrip- 

 tion. Both a lapsus calami and a typographical error are ex- 

 cluded, for Stephens wrote Enicospilus consistently in several 

 places and at different times, namely, in his Catalogue of 

 British Insects, p. 352, 1829, in his Illustrations of British 

 Entomology, Mandibulata, VII, p. 126, September, 1835 ; 

 List of Plates, November, 1845, and in the Supplement, p. 

 3, August, 1846. 



The question rests, therefore, upon the interpretation of 

 the word transcription, and I do not believe it can be made 

 to include transliteration,* The latter corrections can not, 

 therefore, be accepted, and the generic name stands as Eni- 

 cospilus Stephens, established November, 1845 ; type Eni- 

 cospilus merdarius Grav. 



Distribution. — Most members of this genus are tropical or 

 subtropical, but a few range into the Boreal Zone, repre- 

 sentatives of the genus having been taken from Alaska and 

 Newfoundland in North America to Buenos Ayres in South 

 America, including the West Indies. 



Enicospilus purgatus has a remarkable distribution, speci- 

 mens before me showing that it ranges from Fox Point, 

 Alaska, t and Grand Lake, Newfoundland, south into Mexico, 

 the West Indies and Chili. No other member of the genus 

 is known to be so widely distributed. Among the tropical 

 forms monticola has been taken 3,000 feet above sea level 

 and flavoscutellatus at 4,500-7,000 feet, but whether these 

 species are local or have followed the mountain ranges is 

 not yet determined. 



* For further discussion of emendation of names, see U. S. Dept. 

 Agr., Bur. Animal Ind., Bull. 79, pp. 75-76, 1905. 



t "An Indian village at the extreme southeastern corner of the 

 Alaska mainland . ' ' 



TRANS. AM. KNT. SOC. , XXXVIII. 



