Right before Vanessa, Fabricius had introduced another new genus, Cynthia , with cardui as its type-species (cf. also »Cynthia Vane). As much of Cynthia was later conflated with Vanessa, the name coming first would have had priority, that is, Cynthia, and the much better known Vanessa would have had to be dropped. Only in 1944 did the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature rule that an exception should be made and Vanessa could stay. Nabokov remarked on this: "On a strict and in my opinion necessary application of the law of priority the name Cynthia F. (1807) & Westwood (1840; type: Papilio cardui L.) should have taken precedence of Vanessa F. The I.C.Z.N. has decided otherwise (for sentimental reasons)" (Nabokov's Butterflies, p. 596).

Fabricius himself had this to say about his choice of names: "The names of the genera don't really matter. Only they should not be too long, and they should not sound unpleasant to the ear. For the diurnal butterflies I chose different cognomina of Venus and for the moths those of Diana. They seem to be the most fitting. The composite ones from the Greek tend to be harsh, long and unpleasant" (Zeitung für Literatur und Kunst in den Königl. Dänischen Staaten [Kiel], September 11, 1807, p. 83).

Nabokov's favored vernacular name of Vanessa atalanta was not 'Red Admiral' but 'Red Admirable'. He thought the word 'admiral' vulgar and much preferred the eighteenth century form found for instance in Moses Harris' famous butterfly book of 1766 (The Aurelian). Nowadays, however, 'admiral' is the name that is generally used, 'admirable" being remembered only by lepidopterists with an entomohistorical turn of mind.

 

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* Page 33 - "T-Z" - Guide www.dezimmer.net/eGuide/Lep2.1-T-Z.htm