142 



THE BRITISH NATURALIST. 



[July 



It is evident that if Mr. Dale wishes to become an authority on 

 the subject of nomenclature, he must study his authorities much more 

 carefully than he has done hitherto. 



Canonbuvy, London. 



ENTOMOLOGICAL NOMEMCLATURE. 



BY C. W. DALE. 



( Continued from page 53. ) 



Coming just after the genus Colias in Staudinger and Wocke's 

 catalogue we find Rhodocem, B., as the genus of Rharnni, L. Here is 

 a direct violation again of the law of priority. The correct synonymy 

 is : — 



Gonoptevex, Leach, 181 5. 

 Rhodocem, Boisduval, 1836. 

 Gonoptevex, Westwood, 1839. 



Another error committed by Staudinger and others,- another is to 

 give Papilio, L. as the generic name of the Swallow-tailed Butterflies. 

 Linnaeus idea of genera were very different from our own. His genera 

 corresponds more to our families, and it would be just as correct to 

 give Papilio, L. as the genus of Io as of Machaon. Our modern idea of 

 genera did not originate till after the year 1800. The synonymy 

 therefore ought to be : — 



Papilio, Fabricius, 1807. 

 Amamyssus, Dalman, 1806. 



Now we come to the family Lyccenidce, which Fabricius (in Illiger's 

 Magazine, 1807,) divided into two genera^Thecla for" the Hair-streaks 

 and Lyccena for the Coppers and Blues. Schrank in 1801, bestowed 

 the name of Cupido on the Lyccenidce, but it cannot be retained, as it 

 would apply equally to the Hair-streaks and Blues. Fabricius' genus 

 Lyccena has been cut up into two genera, or rather sub-genera — 

 Chvysophanus, Hiibner, 181 6, for the Coppers ; and Polyommatus, 

 Latreille, 181 7, for the Blues. Polyommatus, meaning many eyed, is 

 more typical of the Blues than Coppers ; therefore there seems no 

 reason for modern authors restricting Polyommatus, to the Coppers and 

 Lyccena to the Blues. Another reason why Cupido should not be 

 employed as a generic name is because it is employed already by 

 Linnaeus as a specific name for one of the Hair-streaks. 



In the " Systema Naturae " Linnaeus described a species of Papilio 

 thus: — "Argus, 232, P-P. alis ecaudatis cceruleis ; posticis subtus 

 limbo ferrugineo : ocellis cceruleo-argenteis, Fn. Suec. 1074. Geer 

 ins. t. 4. f. 14. 15. Wilk. pap. 63. t. 1. Roess. ins. app. 1. t. 37. f. 3. 4. 



