ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 



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Philadelphia, Pa., February, 1906. 



The great number of undescribed species of insects in this 

 country made it necessary for those interested in entomology 

 to devote a considerable portion of their time to systematic 

 work and to the description of these forms. There is no 

 doubt that many species have been described from insufficient 

 material without proper data and we have also had the " split- 

 ter ' ' with us. Now that the great territory between the Mis- 

 sissippi and the Pacific Ocean is becoming better known and 

 series of good material accumulating, it has become possible 

 to ascertain the true relationship between many described 

 forms. The great desideratum at the present time is an 

 efficient nomenclature that will properly express the relation- 

 ship of allied forms. The old term variety has been found 

 more or less wanting, but it had the great advantage of show- 

 ing relationship between names. It is a question whether the 

 trinomial system is much of an advance. Terms like "to- 

 pomorph' ' express an idea of evolution but do not necessarily 

 show relationship. We notice recently that a number of per- 

 sons are compiling data from various collections to get at the 

 relationship of species through distribution, time of appearance, 

 etc., and we will look forward with pleasure to the outcome. 

 Cooperative studies of this kind may give excellent results. 



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