Feb.. 1 91 3 Bulletin of the Brooklyn Entomological Society 37 



The Makers of Coleopterous Species. 



By R. P. Dow, Brooklyn, N. Y. 

 A catalogue of the described species of Ijcetles of America, 

 north of Mexico, was published in 1852. Prior to that date 

 there was no general list. In 1873 another, made up to date, 

 was brought out by G. R. Crotch. In 1885 Henshaw published 

 his check list, later brought down to 1895, and this list, which 

 has been out of print for two years, is still the one catalogue on 

 which all coleopterists depend. During the last eighteen years 

 the uncatalogued additional species bring the total of American 

 beetles to about 20,000. The check list contains about 12,000 

 and a census of the describers of species places their number 

 just under 300. At least 200 other describers have worked more 

 recently. 



The average collector wishes mainly that his species be cor- 

 rectly named and cares but little about the original namer. To 

 the eyes of many the names of even Linnaeus, Leconte and Horn 

 are familiar, but to their minds there occurs little or nothing 

 about the men who had no check list for guidance, no divisions 

 of tribes, save of their own creation. It is the purpose of this paper 

 to present a little picture of a number of those men whose names 

 will endure as long as scientific nomenclature. Most of these 

 names appear in the list as abbreviations only, and for convenience 

 each will be entered on the margin for ready reference. 



Carl Linne, the son of a Swedish clergyman, passed many 

 years of poverty while working out a "System of Nature" which 

 is the basis of all scientific nomenclature. Fame came to him 

 in 1755. His binomial system stands unchanged to-day. He 

 had the writings of Wray, London, 1724, in which the new system 

 was clearly forecasted. He also had studied Aristotle, who 

 mentioned about 90 species of insects 300 years B. C. He had 

 also studied Swammerdam and Reaumur, a generation 

 Linn, earlier than himself. He arrived at the psychological 

 moment. All Europe became enthusiastic about nature 

 study. Linne became professor at the University of ITpsala, taught 

 enormous classes, was ennobled, and ruled the scientific world 

 for twenty years until he became a hopeless invalid. 



Linne 's genera were broad and his species were as numerous 



