Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 2 (1898).djvu/321



no group of animals has suffered so much at the hands of unscientific systematists as the Lepidoptera, and the reason of this is not far to seek. It is directly attributable to the great range of colour and variety of marking which are so striking a characteristic of the group, instantly attracting the attention of the superficial student, and causing him to neglect structural details as unnecessary, or even to intentionally reject them as contradicting the testimony of colour, and therefore untrustworthy. Allied species, he argues, are usually similar in colouring; therefore similar species are allied; which, however, does not follow.

It is true that this theory is now seldom put forward in a simple and unadulterated form. Dr. von Gumppenberg, indeed, has lately issued an elaborate monograph of Geometers, in which all structural investigations are cast to the winds, and the genera defined solely by colour and marking, but it does not seem to have been warmly received. But in a modified form the theory is still so extremely popular that it exercises considerable influence over the views of almost all lepidopterists. This modification consists in classifying species by superficial appearance in the first instance, and then trying to find structural excuses for it afterwards. No better example of the consistent working of this method can be found than in the works of Guenée. In the six Zool. 4th ser. vol II., July, 1898.