66 



THE YOUNG NATUEALIST. 



the insect dealers change the names of species in the interests of their trade, 

 not of science. In this instance the change and the absence of synonymy 

 in Doubleday's list has led to an amusing blunder. Those who read my 

 article on Cattimorpha Eera in the Young Naturalist for January (p. 6) will 

 remember a story told there of a very beautiful insect bred some years ago 

 by my friend Mr. Gardner, from a pupa sent him as C. gnaphaUL The in- 

 sect in question, new to both of us then, was the C. artemisice of Stephen's 

 Illustrations and Doubleday's List. No doubt it had been imported with 

 fraudulent design, but when sent as GnaphaUi it had evidently " got mixed." 

 It was the Argentea of Hufnagle and the Germans, the name Artemisice, 

 being appropriated there to another of the genus known elsewhere as Abro- 

 tani, W.V. Fab., &c. In that article I suggested that pupa of Hera had 

 been introduced to Starcross, which, of course, might be done without any 

 other design but to establish the species in England. I also suggested that 

 they might have been imported from France. It seems now more likely that 

 they were obtained in Germany, for I assume the pupse of this Cucullia had 

 come with them from the same place. Had the importer applied in France 

 for pupse of C. artemisice, it is quite likely he would have obtained what was 

 wanted — the species that had been reputed to be British. Getting them from 

 Germany he was naturally supplied with the insect called Artemisice there. 

 Mr. Brooks, in hunting for C. Hera where he had taken them before, found 

 a pair of the Cucullia as recorded, applied through his unnamed friend to Mr. 

 Butler of the British Museum, (by the way how could his friend know it 

 to be a rare Cucullia when he could not name it), Mr. Butler knew the 

 species, if neither Mr. Brooks nor his friend did, and told them it was Cucul- 

 lia artemisice, but evidently to guard against error, he added abrotani as a 

 synonym. Mr. Brooks then sent the record to the Entomologist, where it 

 was printed with an Editorial foot-note announcing that " Cucullia artemisice 

 has long been in the list of reputed British species, and now enters our fauna 

 upon the identification of Mr. Butler, of the British Museum," The foot- 

 note ends with a " description of (7. artemisice : — Expanse, one inch and three- 

 quarters. The anterior wings are narrower than those of C. absinthii ; 

 ground colour dark gray, varied with paler; transverse lines somewhat dis- 

 tinct ; inner margin less dark than in C. gnaphalii ; inner line with deep in- 

 dentations, the elbowed line being sharply broken over the inner margin ; the 

 stigmata are both light, with darker centres and borders. Posterior wings 

 are like those of Cucullia absinthii." If readers will refer again to Stephens' 

 description of his artemisice, they will see what a very different insect it was 

 to that now proposed to be introduced. I am taking it for granted that the 

 specimens were really captured as stated, notwithstanding the doubt the 



