Order LEPIDOPTERA. 



Fig. 171. Wing scales of 

 Lepidoptera. 



This order contains the butterflfes and moths or "millers," characterized 

 by the scaly covering or clothing which, except in rare instances, covers 



both body and wings. The wings are usu- 

 ally of good size, and both pairs are used in 

 flight. In the butterflies the primaries or 

 forewings are as large or larger in area 

 than the secondaries, in the moths the 

 opposite is the case; but there are excep- 

 tions to both rules, and in some groups the 

 females tend to lose the wings altogether. 

 The head is connected with the thorax by 

 a distinct neck, and the mouth parts are 

 developed into a long, tube-like tongue 

 coiled between the p%lpi when at rest and 

 used only for sucking up liquid food. In 

 the adult stage the insects are therefore 



harmless, and the day fliers or butterflies add much to the beauty of the 

 fields and roads by their bright coloring, when flitting from flower to 

 flower in the sunshine. 



In the early or larval stages the insects are caterpillars, with mouth 

 parts formed for chewing, feeding mostly upon foliage or growing vegeta- 

 tion, and therefore injurious. Whenever they feed openly, arsenical or 

 other stomach poisons are available against them, and indeed only in 

 exceptional cases can any others be satisfactorily used. 



Little has been added to the list in the "Macrolepidoptera" since the 

 previous edition was published. A comparatively few species have been 

 found whose presence was previously suspected or whose range has been 

 somewhat extended by col- 

 lections, but in the "micro- 

 lepidoptera" there have 

 been great changes. Since 

 1899 Dietz, Busck. Kear- 

 fott and others have de- 

 scribed numerous species 

 and have written revisions 

 of genera that have 

 changed the appearance of 

 our lists. The work of 

 these students has been 

 incorporated and used, as 

 appears under the special 



families to which they have contributed. While there will probably be 

 many more species added in some of these families, they are in very 

 much better shape than they were in the previous list, and include the 

 species more likely to be found by the ordinary collector. 



(407) 



Fig. 172. Section through a butterfly tongue, show- 

 ing how it is made up and how the 

 two halves are locked. 



