Identification of two genera of Nemestrinidae. 147 



As both specimens (Andalusian and Bigot's S. -European) are females, 

 the question may be raised whether such irregularities are raore 

 frequent in this sex than in the other? 



In other respects, all that Bigot says about his genus is: „generis 

 Symmicti Loew proximum", but he does not State in what the 

 difference consists. The scanty Statements in his generic and specific 

 descriptions agree with Loew's, excepting of course the sexual diffe- 

 rences; Bigot's specimen is a female, and has a „frons superne 

 lata" and an oviduct. The synonymy of both genera may there- 

 fore be considered as certain; the question of the species remains 

 to be solved. As Loew himself took the Andalusian specimen „for 

 identical specifically with his African costatus", it is probable that 

 Bigot's specimen from Southern Europe, which agrees with the An- 

 dalusian in so many respects, likewise belongs to the same species. 

 Certainty, in that matter, may of course requiro a closer comparison, 



Dr. Wandolleck commits a mistake in changing the generic name 

 Colax Wied. into Atriadop's Wandolleck. Generic names, especially 

 those of old Standing, should not bc changed. The preservation of 

 the continuity of such names is a concern of much graver moment, 

 than the mere avoiding of a possible conflict between Colax Wied. 

 (Dipt. 1824) and Colax Hübner (Lepid. 1816), a conflict which will 

 hardly ever occur in practice. Unfortunately, such entomologists, as 

 care very little for literature, do not understand the importance of the 

 question of continuity, and the difficulties which discontinuity 

 piits in the way of others who make of literature a special study. 



A still greater mistake Dr. Wandolleck coramitted in not adopting 

 the commonplace method of studying the series of yearly entomo- 

 logical Records, before attempting the publication of his „Mono- 

 graph". He thus would have avoided the lamentable sins of Omission, 

 which are now being urged against him. He published a justifi- 

 cation, which I reproduce here verbatim, as much in justice to 

 himself, as for the benefit of those to whom the periodical, in which 

 it was published, is not accessible. But any unprejudiced entomologist 

 will confess, I think, that this attempt at a justification will do Dr. 

 Wandolleck more härm than good. I let its text follow, in the Ger- 

 man original (as it appeared in the Wien. Ent. Zeit., Oct. 1897, p. 

 213), and in English translation. The italics are mine. 



„In meiner oben genannten Arbeit ist mir leider ein grosser 

 Irrthum passirt; ich habe die Arbeiten H. Loew's über jenen Gegen- 

 stand unberücksichtigt gelassen. Da die Mehrzahl der Thiere dem 

 asiatisch-australischen Gebiete angehören, sich aucli in keinem 

 Verzeichniss oder Bericht etwas über afrikanische Arten 



10* 



