Butterfly Names

[Chris J. Durden]

Hank,
    I think the main reason for gender confusion today is the hormone 
supplements added to chicken and hog feed............
                                      Seriously though -
   Scientists in their education (in the United States) are no longer 
required to learn Latin. Thus they are not expected to know the rules, and 
do not recognize mismatched genders in scientific names. Even the people 
who publish the lists have little or no training in Latin, hence their 
desire to drop Latin names and use English names. Even those of us who were 
taught Latin once are now more than a little rusty.
   This lack of knowledge of Latin presents other problems in everyday life 
- principally the decline of spelling in English which is based on far more 
Latin than we like to realize.
   So - have your reference list checked out by a Latin scholar if you can 
find one and for heavens sake question authority!
............Chris Durden

At 10:08 AM 3/31/2001 -0700, you wrote:
>Richard -
>You and Michael had several questions regarding gender differences
>between generic and specific names, for example Papilio multicaudata,
>which you thought - and on some lists might indeed be - Papilio
>multicaudatus.
>Perhaps some of you might enlighten us as to why gender is not followed
>in some instances - and in particular NABA, whose list we follow.
>Thanks!
>--
>                      Hank & Priscilla Brodkin
>                   Carr Canyon, Cochise County, AZ



 
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