303 A REVIEW OF THE PHYLOGENY AND CLASSIFICATION OF THE LEPIDOPTERA. By A. Jefferis Turner, M.D., F.R.E.S. (Ninety-six Text-figures.) [Read 30th October, 1946.] Introduction. It would be impossible for one who has not access to the necessary documents to give a history of the classification of the Lepidoptera. Fortunately a brief reference to three well-known works will give suflBlcient historical background to this essay. The first is "A Manual of British Butterflies and Moths", in two volumes, the first published in 1857, the second in 1859, by H. T. Stainton. From this old work, which breathes a charm unknown to modern writings, I extract the following classification. To facilitate its understanding I have added a few words in parentheses. Rhopalocera. Papilionidae (including Pieridae). Nymphalidae. Erycinidae. Lycaenidae. Hesperidae. Heterocera. Sphingina. Zygaenidae. Sphingidae. Sesiadae (clear-winged Sphingidae), Aegeriadae. Bombycina. Hepialidae. Zeuzeridae. Notodontidae. Liparidae ( Lymantriadae ) . Lithosiadae ( Arctiadae ) . Chelonidae (Arctiadae). Bombycidae ( Lasiocampidae ) . Saturnidae. Platypterygidae (Drepanidae). Psychidae. Cochliopodidae (Limacodidae). Noctuina. Trifidae. 15 families (including the Cymato phoridae). Quadrifldae. 9 families. Geometrina. 17 families. Pyralidina. 17 families (including Hypenidae, genera Earias and Nolidae, and glyphi-genera Choreutis and noctuid Halias, pterygid Simaethis ) . Tortricina. 9 families. Tineina. Exapatidae ( Oecophoridae ) . Tineidae. Micropterygidae. Hyponomeutidae. Plutellidae. Gelechidae. Oecophoridae. Glyphipterygidae. Argyresthidae. Gracilariidae. Coleophoridae. Elachistidae. Lithocolletidae (Gracilariadae) . Lyonetidae. Nepticulidae. Pterophorina. Pterophoridae. Alucitina. Alucitidae ( Orneodidae ) . Just as the lineaments and character of a future adult are already apparent in a young child, so we may see here the early stage of our modern classification. Looked at with scientific impartiality its excellencies outweigh its evident defects. Especially in the Tineina, for which Stainton was most directly responsible, while in other groups
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