April, '07] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. I5I 



Nacophora minima Hulst. 



As Dr. Dyar suggests, Gabriola dyari Taylor is the same 

 as this species. Mr. Taylor's generic description agrees per- 

 fectly with minima, so far as it would apply to the female 

 sex. 



It may be well to state, in conclusion, that the type of 

 Tcphroclystia brunncipennis Hulst= Percnoptilota Uni-iata 

 Hubn. does not bear a "Xyctobia" label, but a Nycterosea 

 label, the gefius which was created for the reception of brun- 

 ncipennis, when it was first described. This is merely men- 

 tioned to show that Dr. Hulst never considered it a Xyctobia, 

 as would be inferred from Dr. Dvar's note. 



The Classification of the Culicidae According to Scale- 



Vestiture Characters. 



By Frederick Knab, Washington, D. C. 



Plate VII. 



While, perhaps, sufficient objection has already been made 

 to the use, by Theobald and his followers, of the scale-vesti- 

 ture of the Culicidae in classification,* it seems worth while to 

 give a few illustrations of their worthlessness for such purposes. 

 Even could the different writers agree, as is by no means the 

 case, on the application of Theobald's terminology to the vari- 

 ous forms of scales, the fact still remains that the shape of the 

 scales gives no assurance whatever of the systematic position 

 of the insect. Moreover, the scales show no fundamental dif- 

 ferences of structure but only differences of form, and all inter- 

 grades occur between the scale forms indicated by Theobald 

 for generic division. This question has been so ably discussed 

 by James and Liston that it would be superfluous to enlarge 

 upon it here, particularly as some of their remarks have 

 already been quoted (Dyar and Knab, Jour. N. Y. Ent. Soc, 

 Vol. XIV, 1906, p. 172-173). At the best the groups accord- 

 ing to scale characters are unnatural and not in accordance 

 with structures of primary importance. The truth is that very 



* Theobald's classification has been condemned in the following writings which may 

 escaped English readers : Neveu-Lemaire, Classification de la faniilU- dea Culicidae, 

 Mem. Soc. Zool. de France, Vol. XV (1902), p. 105-227; Donitz, Beitrage zur KcaatnlM 

 der Anopheles. Zeitschr. i. Hyg. u. Infectionskrankh., Vol. XL1 (1902), p. 15-88. 



