The Scientific Names of the Lepidoptera. Their History and Meaning. 1991. 288 p. gr8vo. Cloth.

In this work, as Sir Richard Southwood states in his Foreword, 'withinfinite care and a remarkable blend of entomological and classicalscholarship, Colonel Emmet has provided a thorough guide to the historyand meanings of the names of the British Lepidoptera'. The comprehensiveIntroduction is followed by a History of the Scientific Nomenclature ofLepidoptera. This comprises a detailed exposition of the subject frompre-Linnean times to the present day and explains why and how scientificnames are changed. In the Systematic Section, the meanings of well over3000 names are given, based on the nomenclature of Kloet & Hincks (1972)and of subsequent supplements and emendations. The specific names(preceded by the Bradley & Fletcher Log Book numbers but listed in thelatest systematic order) are explained, together with those of thegenera, families and suborders. Where the names are derived from Greek,a transliteration in Roman letters is given after the Greekcharacters. Appendixes include People commemorated in the ScientificNames of Lepidoptera, Geographical Names, Unresolved Names, and ApparentErrors in R.D. Macleod's Key to the Names of British Butterflies andMoths (1959); the book concludes with References and Indexes.