542 
Annual Report of New York 
of Linnaeus being divided into two genera, namely, Pontia contain¬ 
ing the white and Colias the yellow butterflies. Naturalists have 
since been greatly at variance as to whether Pier is or Pontia should 
be the name of the genus containing these white butterflies; and 
since they have more recently come to be further divided into smaller 
genera, the utmost confusion has arisen, as to the groups to which 
these names have been applied. Thus Stephens, Curtis and other 
British authors have given the name Pier is to what are termed the 
black-veined whites and Pontia to the garden whites. Boisduval, 
following French precedents, unites these and other genera of the 
British writers into an extensive genus containing 170 species bearing 
the name Pieris , whilst some half dozen species from countries bor¬ 
dering upon the Indian Ocean constitute his genus Pontia. Ochsen- 
heirnei, a leading German authority, includes these garden whites in 
quite an extensive genus to which he gives the name Pontia, thus 
differing diametrically from the French authors iii the insects to 
which this name is to be applied. We thus have in this as in a num¬ 
ber of other instances, some even of the most common and best 
known insects, presented to us under two or three different generic 
names, by our best authorities in the British, the French and the 
German schools. Under such embarrassing circumstances how are 
we to determine which name should be employed ? In many of these 
cases our rules for regulating these names are not so fully agreed 
upon and established as to make our way clear. Upon one point, 
however, there is a general concurrence, to wit, that the name which 
is first proposed and published for a S 2 iecies or genus must be adopted, 
and all names which are subsequently given to the same species or 
genus must be rejected as spurious and mere synonyms. This rule 
is our only release from the embarrassment of the present case. The 
name Pieris having been proposed anterior to that of Pontia, it is 
entitled to be retained. Originally both the white and yellow but¬ 
terflies were included under this name. But entomologists have all 
concurred in giving the name Colias to the latter, as proposed by 
Fabricius. The white butterflies, moreover, were the typical species 
of the original group. Thus the name Pieris rightfully belongs to 
them. And it would obviously be unfair to Schrank to supersede the 
name he presented, by one which was subsequently proposed. We 
thus find the name Pieris presenting stronger claims for being 
retained than the name Pontia. And authors are now coming to 
concur pretty generally in adopting this name. 
