16 Journal New York Entomological Society. [Vol. vl. 



in the case of Mr. Meyrick, who puts the Caradrinidse " at the head." 

 As matters stand Mr. Meyrick will undoubtedly be applauded to the 

 echo by Mr. Hulst. Because, in the Lepidoptera, ''students have 

 specialized (!) and few collectors, even, go outside of the Macro- 

 Lepidoptera." Prof. J. B. Smith has, "therefore (?) secured the co- 

 operation of Dr. Henry Skinner in the Rhopalocera ; " and Dr. Skinner 

 warrants the endorsement of the Preface of the Philadelphia List by 

 placing the Milkweed Butterfly "at the head" of the " Nymphalidae." 

 After this specimen of "modern classification" one may well put the 

 List by with the feeling that whatever may be the cardinal error of the 

 Boston creed, neither in Brooklyn or Philadelphia is there any salva- 

 tion. The suppression of vein VIII of the secondaries, in the most 

 specialized of the Emperor Moths, is a direct monition of the value of 

 the character in the Papilionides. In this latter super-family the more 

 specialized forms show clearly additional features of advancement, so 

 that the lessons taught by the suppression of vein VIII is no longer 

 needed to enable us to appreciate their development. The reason why 

 this was not considered is, that the gauge for specialization offered by 

 the wing was not understood, so that loose notions as to sequence and 

 rank were not only permitted, but, the more bizarre they were the more 

 they were thought "scientific," until at last we are landed in the 

 anarchy offered us by Mr. Meyrick. 



The Attacinse have served us here for a text upon Papilio, and to the 

 Emperor Moths we now return. The fact that the diminution of the 

 radial veins in a secondary development, occurring in pursuance of 

 evolutionary law, up and down throughout the more specialized groups 

 (such as the Parnassinse, Pierinse, Lycseninge, Saturniadae and Agliadse), 

 is shown by a table published by me separating the genera of Attacinse 

 as the Radius is 3 or 4 branched. For a study of the whole insect leads 

 me to regard the 3-branched Philosamia as a specialization of the 4- 

 branched Attacus with which its phylogeny probably lies, rather than as 

 nearly related to Samia; with which it has the suppression of III3 in 

 common. 



Leaving the Attacinae, with open cell, we come to the more gener- 

 alized Saturnianae* with the crossvein present and, so far as I can see, 

 almost everywhere at least partially functional. Undoubtedly here is a 



* It is more correct to commence with the more generalized forms, but I have be- 

 come convinced that in the Lepidoptera it will always be more practical to adhere to 

 the Linnean sequence, and this for a variety of reasons, among them this, that the 

 contrary course will never be adopted by " collectors," who wilUhus be deprived ofc 

 the light thrown or reflected by " scientists." 



