ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 



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Philadelphia, Pa., November, 1900. 



' ' It seems to be utterly forgotten that the species is in some 

 degree a natural entity, whilst the genus is much more a matter 

 of opinion and convenience, not to say caprice. It is a label of 

 classification, whilst the specific name distinguishes an actual 

 .separate thing." — T. A. Chapman, M. D. 



Are genera labels of classification, matters of opinion, matters 

 of caprice, or emanations of the " mihi itch " ? We fear that 

 their utility is being lost sight of, and that caprice, or the 

 " mihi itch,^' is having much to do with their formation. It 

 looks as though we are rapidly approaching the time when we 

 will have a genus for every .species, and then we may conve- 

 niently alx)li.sh the binomial nomenclature. If this comes to 

 pass what will the ' ' mihi itch ' ' fellows do ? Oh ! horror of 

 horrors ! perhaps entomologists will lo.se their heads, like some 

 of the bird and mammal men, and give us infinite divisions of 

 sjKicies and varieties. Just imagine an entomologist sitting on 

 a high stool in the Department of Agriculture and trying to 

 conii)ete with the manunalogists in grinding out binomials and 

 quadrinomials and describing individuals from some one's fence 

 corner. An exixirience of many years has .shown that a multi- 

 plicity of genera is only confusing to the .student and beginner, 

 and they fight shy of works thus burdened. The condition of 

 affairs in regard to genera was tersely put in a recent publica- 



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