THE ENTOMOLOGIST 



Vol. XLVL] FEBEUAEY, 1913. [No. 597 



FURTHER NOTES ON HESPERIID CLASSIFICATION. 

 By H. Rowland-Brown, M.A., F.E.S. 



(Concluded from p. 11.) 

 (Plate III.) 



When I drew up my table of the genus Hesperia (p. 11, anted), 

 I had not seen M. Charles Oberthiir's contribution on the sub- 

 ject to the ' Feuilles des Jeunes Naturalistes ' (December, 1912, 

 pp. 169-170). So far as it concerns this particular group, I 

 note that his conclusions take form and shape very much as I 

 present my own. He maintains H. alveus var. ryffelensis as a 

 separate species, and brackets H. bellieri with v&i'.foulquieri as 

 doubtful forms of the same species. But until we know more of 

 the comparative life -histories, the imaginal habits, and the 

 geographical distribution of the three it would be as well to 

 keep them under the several head-species suggested. Mean- 

 while, M. Oberthur appeals to French naturalists to assist him 

 with facts, and we may hope that he will be successful, though, 

 judging from the paucity of notes on Lepidoptera in the 

 ' Feuilles des Jeunes Naturalistes,' the number of workers, or at 

 all events of those who communicate their views and observa- 

 tions on the subject, is not particularly encouraging. I venture, 

 therefore, to supplement the appeal by a request to English 

 entomologists resident in Swizerland to co-operate with our 

 Swiss colleagues. Good life-histories of nearly all the Conti- 

 nental Hesperiidse are a desideratum. 



To resume the subject of the identification of the respective 

 imagos of the genus Hesperia, I have the permission of Prof. 

 J. L. Reverdin, Dr. Charles Blachier, and M. Marcel Rehfous 

 to reproduce for the readers of the ' Entomologist ' a plate 

 recently published in the ' Bulletin de la Soc. Lepid. de Geneve ' 

 (vol. ii. fasc. 3, pp. 171-172, July, 1912), which shows with 

 admirable clearness the most important distinctive characters 

 of the several species under review. I thank these gentlemen 

 most heartily for their generosity, and congratulate them at the 



ENTOM. — FEBRUARY, 1913. D 



