189I.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 49 



cies is to be the one first given to it, or in some fewer cases, that 

 one which has been most commonly used. The other names are 

 synonyms. To determine the correct name of a species and its 

 synonymy is very frequently a most difficult task, and in some 

 cases can only be decided by a comparison of the types of the 

 descriptions concerned. 



Family names are usually formed from the name of the prin- 

 cipal genus with the termination ida; added. To a less extent 

 subfamily names end in incs, also formed from generic names. 



The type of a genus is that species which best represents the 

 characters of that genus; the iypzca/ g;enus or family, is the most 

 representative genus or family of the larger group to .which it 

 belongs. The type or types of a species are the individual speci- 

 mens from which the species was described. P. P. C. 



COMPOSIA FIDELISSIMA versus C. OLYMPIA. 



BY HARRISON G. DYAR. 



On opening the December number of Entomological News 

 I was pleased to see Prof French's excellent figure of Composia 

 olympia Butl., but I wish to state that it does not differ in any 

 particular from my examples of C. fidelissima H. S. , and that 

 there is only one species of Composia now known from Florida. 



The question resolves itself into one of the correct determina- 

 tion of the species, and I append Herrich-Schaeffer's description: 

 that of Mr. Butler I iiave not been able to see. Further than 

 this I have seen in the American Museum of Natural History, by 

 the kindness of Mr. Beutenmiiller, two specimens of this species, 

 which, I am informed, are the ones that were before Mr. Grote 

 at the time of his writing on the Zygaenidae of Cuba,* where they 

 are referred to 2.% fidelissima. It is possible that Mr. Butler has 

 redescribed this species under the name olympia, but this point 

 I am not now in a position to decide. 



Composia fidelissima Hen-Sch. 



1866 — Her.-Sch., Cor. Bl. Reg. No. 9, p. 132. 



1867 — Grote, Proc. Ent. Soc. Phil, vi, 303. 

 ". . . . Nigra, cyaneonitida, punctis acpitis, thoracis et baseos alarum 

 anter. niveis; macuUs niveis antelimbum alarum omnium, praeterea serie- 

 bus duabus costalibus anteriorum, maculisque tribus purpureis versus 

 basin costae." 



* Proc. Eiit. Soc. Phil. 



