APPENDIX (continued). 



Family LYG^EID^E. (Vol. II, p. 1.) 



The most noteworthy incident which has arisen in connection 

 with this family since it was previously ^enumerated in this series is 

 a question of nomenclature, and applies to the name of the family 

 itself. The question was first raised by the late Mr. Kirkaldy, who 

 advocated the view thafc a family name should be founded on the 

 oldest genus it embraced, and should be changed accordingly. 

 He proposed three different emendations : 



Myodochidce = Lygcddce, auctt., Kirk., Entomologist, xxxii, 



p. 220 (1899). 

 Geocoridce = Lygceidce, auctt., Kirk., J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 



xiv, p. 306 (1902). 

 Pyrrhocoridce = Lygceidce + Pyrrhocoridce, auctt., Kirk., Faun. 



Hawaiien. iii, pt. ii, p. 158 (1902). 



The first of these substitutions has now been adopted by several 

 writers on the family, but others and myself retain the original 

 name. It is a similar disturbance in nomenclature as was advo- 

 cated for the change of the well-known family name Capsidce to 

 that of Miridce (cf. vol. ii, p. 413) and may well be left in the area 

 of nomenclatory disputation. 



To add to the confusion, and by necessity, Kirkaldy then pro- 

 posed that the deposed name Lygcddce should be substituted for 

 another well known and universally employed family name Coreidce. 

 This suggestion, however, he recently discarded (Canad. Ent. 

 1910, p. 63), again adopted the name Coreidce and advocated that 

 Lygceidce " should pass away into the realms of synonymy." The 

 effect of these propositions has been disastrous ; Dr. Sharp, 

 in compiling the last ' Zoological Eecord,' has been compelled, 

 " owing to the confusion now existing," to treat the families 

 Coreidce, Lygceidce, and Pyrrhocoridce in combination. 



Since the enumeration of the Lygceidce was published in these 

 volumes, Dr. Horvath has published an excellent monograph of 

 the Colobathristinae as restricted by himself. The late Dr. Breddin 

 lias also described a number of species from Ceylon, accompanied 

 by a considerable dislocation of the usually observed sequence in 

 the arrangement of the subfamilies. These publications are incor- 

 porated in the following pages, but I have not seen any of Breddin's 

 types, and in his description of species it should be remembered that 

 that writer pursued an analytical rather than a synthetic process. 



