Peeps at Nature, Book V

British Butterflies

References in the book to its illustrations are by Plate with Roman numerals. The illustrations themselves are labelled Plate with Arabic numerals. A plates number in Roman numerals is equal to a plates number in Arabic numerals. In several instances the author has spelled words differently to the accepted way. That spelling is retained in this transcription. The illustration on the books cover is referred to in the text as Plate 16. The author is a practical entomologist of many years standing. He writes from the fulness of a rich experience in the fields. He justly advocates the Paisley method of setting insects. I know it to be the more expeditious, and less calculated to damage specimens, than the ordinary process. His notes on the preservation of larv will be welcome in many quarters. Butterflies and moths both belong to the Natural Order, Lepidoptera, or scale-winged insects. Butterflies may be distinguished as day flyers, and the moths fly by night. The main physical difference between them appears in the forms of the antenn, or horns; in the butterflies these organs are club-shaped at the extreme ends. But the antenn of the various species do not all follow a common pattern. In some the knob is abrupt and much smaller, after the manner of a drum-stick; in others, the thickening commences well down the shaft, and is gradually increased until it very much resembles an Indian club. The antenn of the moths, on the other hand, show much diversity of form, and in a great many species they are totally different in the male and female. A very common and beautiful form[Pg 2] is the feathered, or comblike, antenna; another is long and threadlike, and some show a combination of these two forms; others, again, seem to be striving after the butterfly type, and approach the club shape. It should be noted that not a few moths fly during the day, but it is rare, exceedingly rare, to find a butterfly abroad after sundown. With a little practice in observation, the novice soon learns to distinguish between the two. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 61981
Author: Stewart, Alexander Morrison
Release Date: Apr 30, 2020
Format: eBook
Language: English

Contributors

Editor: Hall, Charles A. (Charles Albert), 1872-1965