Nov., '02] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 281 



Compound Vernacular Names of Insects. 

 By Edwin W. Doran, Ph. D. 



The necessit}- for uniformitj' in writing the common, or ver- 

 nacular, names of insects is apparent to every student of ento- 

 mology ; but it must also be apparent to every one that there 

 is no uniformity, especially in compounding these names. 

 Entomologists owe to the present generation and to posterity 

 .something more than the mere accumulation of facts. Edu- 

 cative expression of these facts is necessary, and correct form 

 in writing is worthy of their attention. 



The question of uniformity in writing the vernacular names 

 of in.sects has been discussed somewhat at various times by 

 entomologists. In 1897 Prof. C. P. Gillette presented a paper 

 and brief list of words at the annual meeting of the Association 

 of Economic Entomologists, and in the following year I pre- 

 sented a paper before the same body suggesting certain cor- 

 rections in that li.st. But these and other discussions seem to 

 have had little effect. I, therefore, call attention to the subject 

 again, and have also undertaken the preparation of a much 

 more extensive work, containing a list of three or four thousand 

 names and an introduction giving the principles and rules for 

 compounding names. This I hope to publish soon. The in- 

 troduction in that paper has been prepared chiefly by Mr. F. 

 Horace Teall, department editor of the "Standard Dictionary." 

 I have drawn upon that largely in presenting the principles and 

 rules of compounding names of insects in this paper. 



Custom cannot be relied upon in determining the proper forms 

 of in.sect names, as it is entirely unsettled, different authors using 

 different forms, and often the same person using different forms 

 in the same publication. Custom, therefore, is confusion. For 

 example, we find all the following forms in common use : !' Elm 

 leaf beetle," " elm leaf-beetle," " elm-leaf beetle ;" " apple tree 

 tent-caterpillar," "apple-tree tent caterpillar," "apple-tree 

 tent-caterpillar." 



But when we take names like "reddish yellow spruce bud 

 worm," which may be written in at least eight forms, or " red 

 humped apple tree caterpillar," " sooty corn root web worm," 



