60 Journal New York Entomological Society. 



[Vol. X. 



this mark is given. A study of all the Plusias shows that it is not at 

 all reliable. It is variable among individuals of the same species 

 (sometimes differing even in the two wings of the same insect) ; and 

 again is identical in species which are quite distinct. 



In this dilemma I decided as far as possible to obtain access to the 

 types, in order to know what had been before the authors. I have 

 myself made comparison with the types in the Neumoegen and Ed- 

 wards collections in New York, and with the types in the National 

 Museum. Mrs. Fernald sent me the type of surena, and Professor 

 French made comparisons for me with his type of knzii. I sent about 

 forty species to the British Museum where Sir Geo. Hampson made 

 comparisons for me, naming the specimens as they agreed with types 

 or material similarly named. I should mention that my material was 

 sent to him without labels of any kind, being merely numbered so that 

 the correct labels could be replaced on their return. Some of these 

 identifications proving quite unexpected to me, I decided to verify the 

 work, and intrusted to Mr. Schaus a similar lot of insects including 

 some species not forwarded at first, and he very kindly went over the 

 ground again, comparing my material with the types and material in 

 the British Museum and labeling them according to his identifications. 

 Even this left a few points in doubt and I took advantage of Professor 

 Smith's kind offer to make comparisons ibr me, and on his last visit 

 to Europe he looked up several species for me and wrote out his 

 opinions. 



From the comparisons which have been made for me I find that the 

 tendency in the British Museum is to "lump" species. Several of 

 our American species have come back to me with Old World names. 

 It is not unnatural perhaps, for the custodians of a great world col- 

 lection such as is in the British Museum to place side by side all in- 

 sects which resemble one another, looking upon countries or even 

 continents as mere localities, and the resulting aggregation as simply 

 a "series." To make my meaning plainer, I take it that in the 

 British Museum collection, Canada, the United States, Brazil, Chili, 

 England, Germany, Russia, Siberia, India, New South Wales, Egypt,' 

 etc., have about the same value on labels, as Pennsylvania, Florida,' 

 Illinois, California, etc., would have in a North American collec- 

 tion. In a world series of this character apparently, the first name 

 published is attached to the "series," and all others are counted as 

 synonyms. 



