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Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society
A REVISED SYNONYMIC CATALOGUE WITH TAXONOMIC NOTES ON SOME NEARCTIC LYCAENIDAE
Cyril F. dos Passos
Washington Corners, Mendham, New Jersey
Introduction
The publication by Harry K. Clench ([1961]: 177-220) and John C. Downey ([1961]: 230-242) in Ehrlich & Ehrlich's How to Know the Butterflies of revisions of the Theclini by the former and the Plebejini by the latter rendered another part of the present author's synonymic list (1964), at least obsolete insofar as the Theclini is concerned. This situation is similar to the one explained in a previous paper on the Nearctic Melitaeinae (1969, J. Lepid. Soc, 23: 115-125).
Clench revised the Theclini and in the course of his work proposed eight new generic or subgeneric names, besides introducing into our fauna some names that had heretofore been considered Neotropical and eliminating some that are no longer considered Nearctic. Downey, on the other hand, merely rearranged the order in which the genera and some of the species appear in the synonymic list so that it is not considered necessary to repeat his work, no reasons having been given for such action. Clench also made no vital changes in this author's Lycaeninae which he gives tribal rank (Lycaenini) except that he combines Lycaena cupreus with L. snowi (1961: 222) as one species although recognizing apparently both as good subspecies. Also he does not clearly recognize the subgenus Tharsalea Scudder, 1876, although he may recognize it subgenerically in another faunal area, and arranges the species in Lycaena in somewhat different order. These are subjective matters with which one cannot quarrel, but in neither case is it deemed necessary to rewrite those parts of the synonymic list.
Neither Clench's nor Downey's works give any synonymies and do not list categories lower than species. This was done in accordance with the wish of the authors of Haw to Know the Butterflies, but is unfortunate for the student because he cannot tell what has become of subspecies, lower categories, and synonyms.
The present paper follows the general style and form of the synonymic list, followed by notes giving explanations for the changes made. An effort has been made to fit all names into the list by giving numbers to them starting with 349 where the Lycaenidae start. A similar arrangement of the genera was impossible because of the many changes made by Clench.
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The thorough and badly needed revision of the Theclfni by my colleague Harry K. Clench, Curator of Lepidoptera at the Carnegie Museum, is of such value and importance that it should be made available in catalogue form to purchasers of the synonymic list. My thanks are extended to Mr. Clench for clearing up some points that were uncertain in his work or not easily understood. He has been most liberal in his assistance.
I am indebted also to my colleague, F. Martin Brown, for placing at my disposal a ms on the types of the Lycaenid butterflies described by William Henry Edwards of which he is the senior author with Paul A. Opler. Brown generously gave permission to use any of his ideas.
Family LYCAENIDAE Subfamily THECLINAE
HABRODAIS Scudder, 1876
Type: Thecla grunus Boisduval, 1852
Habrodias McDunnough, 1914 (lapsus calami)
349 grunus (Boisduval), 1852
a g. grunus (Boisduval), 1852 b g. lorquini Field, 1938
form chloris Field, 1938 c g. herri Field, 1938
HYPAUROTIS Scudder, 1876
Type: Thecla chrysalus Edwards, "1872-3" (1873) (= Thecla crysalus Edwards, "1872-3" [1873])
350 crysalus (Edwards), "1872-3" (1873)
chrysalus Auctorum
chryaslus (Edwards), 1884 (lapsus calami) form citima (H. Edwards), 1881
CHLOROSTRYMON Clench, [1961] Type: Thecla telea Hewitson, 1868 *351 simaethis (Drury), "1770" [ 1773] a s. sarita (Skinner), 1895
352 telea (Hewitson), 1868
353 maesites (Herrich-Schaffer), 1864
PHAEOSTRYMON Clench, [1961]
Type: Thecla alcestis Edwards, "1870-1" (1871)
354 alcestis (Edwards), "1870-1" (1871)
a a. alcestis (Edwards), "1870-1" (1871) b a. oslari (Dyar), 1904
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Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society
HARKENCLENUS nom. nov.
pro Chrysophanus Hiibner, 1818 (opinion 541, name 1235) Type: Chrysophanus mopsus Hiibner, 1818 (opinion 541, name 1235) (=Papilio titus Fabricius, 1793) (opinion 541, name 1605)
355 titus (Fabricius), 1793
a t. titus (Fabricius), 1793 b t. mopsus (Hiibner), "1818" [1809-13] c t. watsoni (Barnes & Benjamin), 1926 d t. immaculosus (Comstock), 1913
SATYRIUM Scudder, 1876
Type: Lycaena fuliginosa Edwards, 1861 Callipsyche Scudder, 1876 Strymon Auctorum (partim) Thecla Auctorum (partim)
356 fuliginosum (Edwards), 1861
a f. fuliginosum (Edwards), 1861
suasa (Boisduval), 1869
ab. immaculata Gunder, 1927 b f. semiluna Klots, 1930
357 behrii (Edwards), "1870-1" (1870)
a b. behrii (Edwards), "1870-1" (1870)
kali (Strecker), "1872" [1878]
ab. nigroinita (Gunder), 1924 b b. crossi (Field), 1938 c b. Columbia (McDunnough), 1914
358 auretorum (Boisduval), 1852
a a. auretorum (Boisduval), 1852
tacita (H. Edwards), 1881 b a. spadix (H. Edwards), 1881
359 tetra (Edwards), "1870-1" (1870)
adenostomatis (H. Edwards), 1877
360 saepium (Boisduval), 1852
chalcis Edwards, "1868-9" (1869)
soepium (Boisduval), 1852 (lapsus calami) a s. saepium (Boisduval), 1852
form fulvescens (H. Edwards), 1877
form chlorophora (Watson & Comstock), 1920
form provo (Watson & Comstock), 1920 b s. okanagana (McDunnough), 1944
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361 liparops (Le Conte), [27 July 1833]
a 1. liparops (Le Conte), [27 July 1833] b 1. strigosa (Harris), 1862
ab. pruina (Scudder), 1889 c 1. f letcheri (Michener & dos Passos), 1912
liparops (Fletcher nee Le Conte [27 July 1833])
"1903" [1904] d 1. aliparops (Michener & dos Passos), 1942
362 kingi (Klots & Clench), 1952
363 calanus (Hiibner), "1806" [1809]
loittfeldii (Edwards), 1883 a c. calanus (Hubner), "1806" [1809] b c. falacer (Godart), "1819" [1824]
lorata (Grote & Robinson), 1867
inorata (Grote & Robinson), 1867
ab. heathii (Fletcher), "1903" [1904] c c. godarti (Field), 1938
364 caryaevorus (McDunnough), 1942
365 edwardsii (Saunders), 1869
fabricii (Kirby), 1871
366 sylvinus (Boisduval), 1852
a s. sylvinus (Boisduval), 1852 b s. desertorum (Grinnell), 1917 c s. itys (Edwards), 1882 d s. putnami (H. Edwards), 1877
putmani Brown, Eff, & Rotger, 1955 (lapsus calami)
367 calif ornica (Edwards), 1862
borus (Boisduval), 1869
cygnus (Edwards), "1870-1" (1871)
368 acadica (Edwards), 1862
acadia Brown, Eff, & Rotger, 1955 (lapsus calami) a a. acadica (Edwards), 1862 souhegan (Whitney), 1868
souhegon (McDunnough), 1938 (lapsus calami) ab. muskoka (Watson & Comstock), 1920 ab. swetti (Watson & Comstock), 1920 b a. coolinensis (Watson & Comstock), 1920 c a. montanensis (Watson & Comstock), 1920 d a. watrini (Dufrane), 1939
369 dryope (Edwards), "1870-1" (1871)
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Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society
EUMAEUS Hiibner, "1816" [1819]
Type: Eumaeus minyas Hiibner, "1816" [1819] (= Rusticus adolescens minijas Hiibner, "1806" [1809]) Eumenia Godart, "1819" [1824] *370 atala(Poey),1832
a a. florida Rober, 1926
grayi Comstock & Huntington, 1943
371 minyas (Hiibner), "1816" [1819] (emendatio)
minijas (Hiibner), "1806" [1809] toxea (Godart), "1819" [1824]
OENOMAUS Hiibner, "1816" [1819]
Type: Papilio ortygnus (Cramer), "1782" [1779]
372 ortygnus (Cramer), "1782" [1779]
MINISTRYMON Clench, [1961] Type: Thecla leda Edwards, 1882
373 ines (Edwards), 1882
374 leda (Edwards), 1882
375 clytie (Edwards), 1877
gen. hiem. maevia (Godman & Salvin), (1887)
HETEROSMAITIA Clench, 1964 Type: Thecla bourkei Kaye, 1924
376 spurina Hewitson, "1862" [ 1867]
377 zebina (H. A. Freeman), 1950
CALYCOPIS Scudder, 1876
Type: Rusticus armatus poeas Hiibner, "1806" [1811] (= Hesperia cecrops Fabricius, 1793)
378 beon (Stoll), 1782
379 cecrops (Fabricius), 1793
poeas (Hiibner), "1806" [1811]
ab. gottschalki (Clark & Clark), 1938
TMOLUS Hiibner, "1816" [1819]
Type: Papilio echion Linnaeus, 1767
380 echiolus (Draudt), 1920
echion Auctorum (nee Linnaeus, 1767)
381 azia (Hewitson), 1873
nipona Auctorum (nee Hewitson, 1877)
CALLOPHRYS (INCISALIA) Scudder, 1872 Type: Licus niphon Hiibner, [1819-] 1823 [1823]
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382 polios Cook & Watson, 1907
ab. davisi Watson & Comstock, 1920
383 irus (Godart), "1819" [1824]
a i. irus (Godart), "1819" [1824]
arsace (Boisduval & Le Conte), [1833] ab. baltaeta Scudder, 1889
balteata dos Passos, 1964 (lapsus calami)
b i. hadros Cook & Watson, 1909
384 henrici (Grote & Robinson), 1867
a h. henrici (Grote & Robinson), 1867 b h. turneri Clench, 1943 c h. margaretae dos Passos, 1943 d h. solatus Cook & Watson, 1909
385 fotis (Strecker), "1877" [1878]
a f. mossii (H. Edwards), 1881
b f. schryveri Cross, 1937
c f. bayensis R. M. Brown, 1969
d f. doudoroffi dos Passos, 1946
e f. windi Clench, 1943
f f. fotis (Strecker), "1877" [1878]
386 augustinus (Westwood), "1846-52" [1852]
augustus (Kirby nee Fabricius, 1793), 1837 a a. augustinus (Westwood), "1846-52" [1852] b a. helenae dos Passos, 1943 c a. croesioides Scudder, 1876 d a. iroides (Boisduval), 1852
ab. immaculata (Cockle), 1910 e a. annetteae dos Passos, 1943
387 lanoraieensis Sheppard, 1934
388 niphon (Hiibner), [1819-] 1823 [1823]
nipha (Morris), 1860 (lapsus calami) a n. niphon (Hiibner), [1819-] 1823 [1823]
plautus (Scudder), 1876 b n. clarki Freeman, 1938
389 eryphon (Boisduval), 1852
a e. eryphon (Boisduval), 1852
b e. sheltonensis Chermock & Frechin, "1948" [1949]
CALLOPHRYS (SANDIA) Clench & Ehrlich, 1960
Type: Callophrys (Sandia) mcfarlandi Ehrlich & Clench, 1960
390 macfarlandi Ehrlich & Clench, 1960 (emendatio)
mcfarlandi Ehrlich & Clench, 1960
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10URNAL OF THE LePIDOPTERISTS' SOCIETY
CALLOPHRYS (XAMIA) Clench, [1961] Type: Thecla xami Reakirt, "1866" [1867]
391 xami (Reakirt), "1866" [1867]
blenina (Hewitson), 1868
CALLOPHRYS (MITOURA) Scudder, 1872
Type: Thecla smilacis Boisduval & Le Conte, [1833] (= Papilio damon Stoll, 1782 nee [Denis & Schiffermuller], 1775 = Lycus gryneus Hiibner, "1816" [1819])
392 loki (Skinner), 1907
393 hesseli Rawson & Ziegler, 1950
394 gryneus (Hiibner), "1816" [1819]
a g. gryneus (Hiibner), "1816" [1819] (gen. vern.)
damon (Stoll nee [Denis & Schiffermuller], 1775), 1782
demon (Skinner), 1897 (lapsus calami) damastus (Godart), "1819" [1824] auburniana (Harris), 1862 (partim) ab. octoscripta Ruchholz, 1951 gen. aest. smilacis (Boisduval & Le Conte), [1833] auburniana (Harris), 1862 (partim) pater sonia (Brehme), 1907 b g. sweadneri Chermock, "1944" [1945] c g. castalis (Edwards), "1870-1" (1871) discoidalis (Skinner), 1897 form brehmei Barnes & Benjamin, 1923
395 spinetorum (Hewitson), 1867
ninus (Edwards), "1870-1" (1871) cuyamaca (Wright), 1922
396 siva (Edwards), "1874-6" (1874)
a s. siva (Edwards), "1874-6" (1874)
rhodope (Godman & Salvin), (1887) b s. juniperaria J. A. Comstoek, 1925 c s. mansfieldi Tilden, 1951
397 nelsoni (Boisduval), 1869
a n. nelsoni (Boisduval), 1869
ab. exoleta (H. Edwards), 1881 b n. muiri (H. Edwards), 1881
398 johnsoni (Skinner), 1904
CALLOPHRYS (CALLOPHRYS) Billberg, 1820 Type: Papilio rubi Linnaeus, 1758
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Lycus Hiibner, '1816" [1819] (nee Lycus Fabricius, 1787) Lfcus Hiibner [1819-] 1823 [1823]
399 affinis (Edwards), 1862
a a. washingtonia Clench, 1944 b a. af finis (Edwards), 1862
400 sheridanii (Carpenter), 1877 (emendatio)
sheridanii (Carpenter), 1877 (lapsus calami) a sheridanii (Carpenter), 1877 (emendatio) b s. neoperplexa (Barnes & Benjamin), 1923 c s. newcomeri Clench, 1963
401 dumetorum (Boisduval), 1852
a d. dumetorum (Boisduval), 1852
perplexa Barnes & Benjamin, 1923
402 apama (Edwards), 1882
a a. apama (Edwards), 1882
b a. homoperplexa Barnes & Benjamin, 1923
403 comstocki Henne, 1940
404 lemberti Tilden, 1963
405 viridis (Edwards), 1862
CALLOPHRYS (CYANOPHRYS) Clench, [1961] Type: Strymon agricola Butler & Druce, 1872
406 miserabilis Clench, 1946
pastor Auctorum (nee Butler & Druce, 1872)
407 goodsoni (Clench), 1946
facuna Auctorum (nee Hewitson, 1877)
ATLIDES Hiibner, "1816" [1819]
Type: Papilio halesus Cramer, "1779" [1777] Brangas Hiibner, "1816"' [1819]
408 halesus (Cramer), "1779" [ 1777]
a h. halesus (Cramer), "1779" [1777]
dolichos (Hiibner), 1823
juanita (Scudder), 1868 b h. corcorani Clench, 1942 form estesi Clench, 1942
DOLYMORPHA Holland, 1931
Type: Thecla jada Hewitson, "1862" [ 1867]
409 jada (Hewitson), "1862" [1867]
EURISTRYMON Clench, [1961] Type: Thecla favonius Smith, 1797
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Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society
410 polingi (Barnes & Benjamin), 1926
411 favonius (Smith), 1797
412 Ontario (Edwards), '1868-9" (1868)
a o. Ontario (Edwards), "1868-9" (1868) b o. violae (Stallings & Turner), 1947 c o. autolycus (Edwards), "1870-1" (1871) d o. ilavia (Beutenmiiller), 1899 mirabelle (Barnes), 1900
HYPOSTRYMON Clench, [1961] Type: Thecla critola Hewitson, 1874
413 critola (Hewitson), 1874
PANTHIADES Hiibner, "1816" [1819]
Type: Papilio pelion Cramer, "1779" [1775] Parrhasius Hiibner, "1816" [1819] Eupsyche Scudder, 1876
414 m-album (Boisduval & Le Conte), [June 1833]
$ psyche (Boisduval & Le Conte) [June 1833]
STRYMON Hiibner, 1818 (opinion 541, name 1332)
Type: Strymon melinus Hiibner, 1818 (opinion 541, name 1602) Bithys Hiibner, 1818 (opinion 541, name 1234)
Bythis Geyer, [1827-31] (opinion 541, name 1236) (lapsus calami) Argus Gerhard (nee Bohadsch, 1761, nee Scopoli, 1763, nee
Scopoli, 1777, nee Boisduval, 1832), 1850 Callipareus Scudder, 1872 Callicista Grote, 1873 Uranotes Scudder, 1876
415 martialis (Herrich-Schaffer), 1864 *416 acis (Drury), "1770" [ 1773]
mars (Fabricius), [1777] a a. bartrami (Comstock & Huntington), 1943 417 melinus Hiibner, 1818 (opinion 541, name 1602) a m. melinus Hiibner, 1818
hyperici (Boisduval & Le Conte), [27 July 1833]
ab. youngi Field, 1936 b m. humuli (Harris), 1841
ab. meinersi Gunder, 1927 c m. franki Field, 1938 d m. pudica (H. Edwards), 1877
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e m. atrofasciata McDunnough, 1921 f m. setonia McDunnough, 1927
418 avalona (Wright), 1905
419 rufofusca (Hewitson), "1862" (1877) (emendatio)
rufo-fusca (Hewitson), "1862" (1877)
420 cestri (Reakirt), "1866" [ 1867]
421 yojoa (Reakirt), "1866" [July 1867] *422 columella (Fabricius), 1793
a c. istapa (Reakirt), "1866" [1867] b c. modesta (Maynard), 1873 ocellifera (Grote), 1873
423 bazochii (Godart), "1819" [1824]
thins Geyer, 1832 agra Hewitson, 1871
424 alea (Godman & Salvin), "1879-1901" [1887]
laceyi (Barnes & McDunnough), 1910
425 bebrycia (Hewitson), 1868
buchholzi H. A. Freeman, 1950
ERORA Scudder, 1872
Type: Thecla laeta Edwards, 1862
426 laeta (Edwards), 1862
2 clothilde (Edwards), "1863-4" (1863) *427 quaderna (Hewitson), 1868
a q. sanf ordi dos Passos, 1940
ELECTROSTRYMON Clench, [1961] Type: Papilio endymion Fabricius, 1775 *428 endymion (Fabricius), 1775
a e. cyphara (Hewitson), 1874
Taxonomic Discussion
The following names, arranged in alphabetical order, have been omitted from this revised synonymic catalogue because they are now believed not to occur in the Nearctic region:
?Lycaena erytalus Butler, "1869" [1870] (?lapsus calami for Tmolus eurytulus Hiibner, 1819)
Polyommatus hugon Godart, "1819" [1824]
Strymon eurytulus (Butler), "1869" [1870] is a South American species of which erytalus auctorum is a misspelling and these names are accordingly omitted from the list.
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Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society
Strymon daraba (Hewitson), "1861" [April 1867] is also a South American
species and dropped from the List. Strymon pastor Butler & Druce, "1869-76" [1872] Thecla beroea Hewitson, 1868 Thecla cybira Hewitson, "1862-78" [1874] Thecla facuna Hewitson "1862" [1877] Thecla nipona Hewitson, 1877
The following explanations will help answer questions concerning placement of names, especially where the above list deviates from the treatment of Clench, or where more recent information has been incorporated.
Harkenclenus
The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature by opinion 541 suppressed among other names Chrysophanus Hiibner, 1818, and placed it on the Official Index of Rejected and Invalid Names in Zoology for the purposes of the Law of Priority but not for those of the Law of Homonymy. Consequently, a replacement name is in order. For that purpose Harkenclenus has been chosen, being an arbitrary combination of the first syllables of the name of my friend and colleague, Harry Kendon Clench. The new name is masculine.
Satyrium Satyrium edwardsii has from time to time been ascribed to Saunders or Grote & Robinson. It was a manuscript name of Saunders first published by Grote & Robinson (1867) in the synonymy of S. calanus. Since that is no longer considered a valid publication (Code, Art. 16 [b] [ii]), the name must be credited to Saunders who validly published it in 1869.
Eumaeus
Clench removed Eumaeus from the Thecliti, and placed it in the Strymoniti.
There are differences of opinion concerning the correct spelling of the name of the type species of this genus. When first published, it was written minijas, but when Hiibner later proposed this generic name and included this species in it, he wrote the name minyas, and that spelling has been generally accepted as a justified emendation. It seems better to adhere to the present practice especially since Minyas was a Greek hero and the letter "j" was not included in the classical Latin alphabet.
Heterosmaitia Thecla spurina Hewitson, "1862" [1867] and T. zebina Hewitson, "1862" [1867] were both named from single specimens taken in the
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Amazon and Nicaragua respectively. One specimen of each has been reported from southern Texas by Stallings & Turner and H. A. Freeman. According to Clench in Ehrlich & Ehrlich ([1961]: 198), "Their true identity remains uncertain." The former according to Clench (in litt.) belongs to the genus Heterosmaitia Clench, 1964, and it is probable that the latter belongs to the same genus. He is unable to place them with certainty at present.
Callophrys Clench in Ehrlich & Ehrlich treats Callophrys viridis as a species in his key but omits it from the text. It is here included as a valid species. Further studies, on the biology and larval morphology, by G. A. Gorelick (J. Lepid. Soc., in press) have tended to confirm this separation.
Atlides The correct taxonomic standing of estesi presents a problem of nomenclature. The name was proposed as ''Atlides halesus corcorani, form estesi, new normal form" (Clench, 1942). From a reading of Clench's paper, it is clear that he intended estesi to represent the western population of halesus. On the other hand, Guilder had proposed corcorani as a transitional form (1934: 131). Transitional forms are generally considered aberrations, but Clench by his action gave this one subspecific standing. Accordingly, these names have been left as they stand in the synonymic list, but the authorship of corcorani has been ascribed to Clench, 1942.
Literature Cited
Clench, H. K., 1942. A new race of Atlides halesus Cramer from California
(Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae). Ent. News, 53: 219-221. [1961]. Subfamily Lycaeninae. Blues, coppers, harvesters, and hairstreaks. In:
Ehrlich and Ehrlich. How to know the butterflies. Wm, C. Brown Company,
Dubuque, Iowa, [8] + 262 pp., 525 figs. 1963. A synopsis of the West Indian Lycaenidae with remarks on their zoogeography. J. Res. Lepid., 2: 247-270. dos Passos, C F., 1964, A synonymic list of the Nearctic Rhopalocera. Memoir
No. 1, The Lepidopterists' Society, vi + 145 pp. 1969. A revised synonymic catalogue with taxonomic notes on some Nearctic
Melitaeinae. 1. Lepid. Soc, 23: 115-125. Downey, J. C, [1961]. Tribe Plebejini. The blues. In: Ehrlich and Ehrlich.
How to know the butterflies. Wm. C Brown Company, Dubuque, Iowa, [8] -\-
262 pp., 525 figs. Ehrlich, P. R., and H. K. Clench, 1960. A new subgenus and species of
Callophrys (s.l.) from the southwestern United States (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae).
Ent. News, 71: 137-141, pi. 1. Freeman, H. A., 1950. A new species of hah streak and new records for the
United States (Lepidoptera, Rhopalocera, Lycaenidae). Field and Lab., 18:
12-15. Grote, A. R., and C. T. Robinson, 1867. Descriptions of American Lepidoptera.
—No. 2. Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc, 1: 171-192, pi. 4.
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Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society
Gunder, J. D., 1934. Various new butterflies (Lepid., Rhopalocera). Can. Ent, 66: 125-131.
International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature, 1959. Francis Hemming, ed. Opinion 541. Suppression under the plenary powers of the generic names Chrysophanus Hiibner, 1818, and Bithys Hiibner, 1818 (Class Insecta, Order Lepidoptera) (Opinion supplementary to Opinion 165). Opinions and declarations rendered by the International Commission on Zoological Nomencla- *
ture, 20: 90-101.
Stallings, D. B., and J. R. Turner, 1947. Texas lepidoptera (with description
of a new subspecies). Ent. News, 58: 36-41. i
ON THE NATURE AND USE OF THE SUFFIX -ELLUS, -ELLA, -ELLUM IN SPECIES-GROUP NAMES
George C. Steyskal
Systematic Entomology Laboratory, Entomology Research Division, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture1
The use of the suffix -ellus (-ella, -ellum) to form species-group names, especially in Microlepidoptera in the form of -ella, has been common for a long time, but fortunately it now seems to be waning. There is nothing to be gained by adding this suffix to specific names, except a few letters to the length of the name. Of the approximately 950 names cited in Hein-rich's revision of the American Phycitinae (1956), for example, more than 500 are formed with this suffix, starting with Tinea abietella Denis and Schiffermueller, 1776,2 Tinea convolutella Hiibner, 1796, Tinea decuriella Hiibner, 1796, and Tinea elutella Hiibner, 1796, and continuing to Ambesa columhiella McDunnough, 1935, and Epischnia vividella McDunnough 1935. None of the 89 new names proposed by Heinrich in this work are formed in this wise.
Latin grammars deal with -ellus, -a, -um as follows:
a) . . . "diminutives (with endings for gender), forming nouns or adjectives, meaning little or tender: as . . . puella, asellus, misellus." (Allen and Greenough, 1872).
b) "There is a class of derivatives called diminutives, which express smallness: hence also sometimes endearment, contempt, pity, or depreciation. Such are of the
1 Mail address: c/o U.S. National Museum, Washington, D. C. 20560.
2 I am indebted to R. W. Hodges for pointing out that the ending dates back at least to the 10th edition of Linnaeus' Systema Naturae, where the genus Phalaena is divided into 7 sections, in some of which the specific names regularly bore characteristic endings: Bombyces, Noctuae, Geometrae
(-aria and -ata), Tortrices (-ana), Pyralides (-alis), Tineae (-ella), Alucitae (six species: mon- r
odactyla, didactyla, tridactyla, tetradactyla, pentadactyla, hexadactyla). These sections were distinguished in a manner similar to that in which we now designate subgenera, e.g., Phalaena (Tortrix) ameriana, P. (Tinea) bella, P. (Tinea) euonymella. The Linnean sections now correspond roughly \
to families. The endings were used by later authors in various families. The endings -ana and -alis form adjectives; -aria and -ata are used with both nouns and adjectives; and -dactyla is the second member of compounds, which with the numerical 1st members form adjectives.