Etymology

[John V. Calhoun]

Michael Gochfeld wrote:
>   Why should some
skippers be named after American Indian chiefs while others (duskywings)
> were named after Classical figures?  Was there an historical conspiracy
> or were taxonomists merely enjoying themselves?
> 
> Mike Gochfeld

I think I may be able to shed some light on this.  If you check out the 
periods during which these skippers were described, you will see that 
the species named for classical figures were largely decribed much 
earlier than those named in honor of Native Americans (late 18th - early 
19th centuries).  Moreover, the classical names were coined by European 
researchers (eg. Boisduval, Fabricius, Linnaeus, and J. E. Smith) while 
the Native American names were utilized by American lepidopterists (eg. 
W. H. Edwards, Scudder, Harris, and Skinner) during the late 19th 
century when much of North America was being opened up to expansion and 
colonization.  Many of the Native American chiefs now recognized in the 
names of various North American skippers were spashed across US 
newspapers during this period and stories of these chiefs were 
undoubtedly very popular.  Imparting the names of chiefs on new species 
was probably a way in which lepidopterists chose to honor those 
courageous leaders during a time when they faced a doomed future.  

Best,
John