THE YOUNG NATUKAXIST. 



257 



have been first used in our pages. We 

 suppose that the proprietors of the 

 Entomologist were unwilling to advertise a 

 rival magazine. To this omission there is 

 one exception ; he gives the name fuscata 

 as a variety of progemmaria {margina/ria) , but 

 the reference to Mr. Mosley who first used 

 the name is omitted. Whether the names 

 that have been given in our columns were 

 wisely given or not, they are certainly more 

 worthy of recognition than Ctiariclea or 

 Charlotta. There are many other errors of 

 omission in the list, besides those of forms 

 named in our pages. The local race M. 

 artemis (aurinea) v. Scotica is omitted, 

 though it is a name in ordinary use, and the 

 form is as distinct as v. Hibernica which he 

 does give. V. antiqpa v. Hygicea is also 

 omitted, though it is the common form in 

 this country. 



On synonymy we do not profess to be 

 " well up," but we notice a few errors that 

 should have been avoided. Thus Colzas 

 edusa was so called by Fabricius in 1787, 

 but it had been called, Croceus by Fourcroy 

 in his Entomology of Paris, two years earlier, 

 (1785.) Fourcroy's work does not appear to 

 have been consulted by Dr. Standinger, 

 whom Mr. South has chiefly followed, but 

 he would have found the correction in 

 Kirby's "Synonymic Catalogue of Diurnal 

 Lepidoptera. " Nor do we see why he 

 should say Alveolus (Malvce) v. tarns, Meig., 

 when our own Haworth called the form 

 with confluent spots Lavatercs in 1803, 

 while Meigens work was only published in 

 1829-32, If we are to change the name let 

 us do so correctly and call it Taras, Bergs 

 (1780;. But why not call it FritiUum, W.V. 

 (1776), Fabr. (1789) ? Not that we advocate 

 the sudden adoption of such names as 

 Croccus for the familiar Edusa. It will be 

 a long time before Agestis is called Astrarche, 

 Adonis — Bellargus, or Acis — Semiargus. But 

 if a list purports to be compiled in strict 

 conformity with the law of priority it should 



either be so, or if deviates from the rule it 

 should explain where and why. 



While Mr. South has rendered good ser- 

 vice by excluding from his list a few species 

 that on the strength of the capture of a 

 stray or imported specimen had been re- 

 corded as British, he has been much too 

 eager to admit others. Lyccsna boetica, for 

 instance, is given as a British butterfly. 

 That three or four specimens have occurred 

 on the South coast is not disputed, but that 

 the capture of such stray specimens gives 

 the species a right to be called British, we 

 decidedly deny. The fact is that the range 

 of Boetica is considerably further south 

 than the British Isles, and its occurrence 

 even in the Channel Islands is only what 

 Mr. South calls "phenomenal." To use 

 his own words "further information is 

 necessary before it can be considered in- 

 digenous." He excludes C. nerii with per- 

 fect propriety, but on what grounds Nerii 

 can be excluded and Boetica admitted, we 

 cannot understand. The recognition of 

 accidental visitors as British species opens 

 the door to fraud on the ignorant and un- 

 wary, and there are far too many of the 

 shady sort in Mr. South's list. 



Polyommatus dispar is included in the list 

 as if it were on an equality with the others. 

 We think extinct species that have been 

 indigenous, should have some mark to dis- 

 tinguish them. 



Ccenonymplia typhon is given in the list as 

 though there were a typical insect and two 

 varieties. We think this is a mistake. There 

 are three distinct forms named, all occuring 

 in Britain, but they cover the whole range 

 of variation, and the names Typlwn or 

 Davus might, with equal propriety, be 

 applied to any or all of them. The insect 

 varies according to latitude. The southern 

 form has large distinct eyes or ringed spots, 

 and is called philoxenus or Rotliliebi. The 

 more northerly form has indistinct eyed 

 spots, and is called laidoiu The Polar form 



