PAET lY 

 COMMON BRITISH MOTHS 



CHArTEK XYII 



SPHINGES 



We have already obser\ed the chief I'eatures by which we are able 

 to distinguish between buttertlies and moths (page 56), so we shall 

 devote the present division to a description of the characteristics 

 and life histories of some of the latter insects. 



The number of British butterflies is so limited that space could 

 be found for a brief description of every species, but with moths 

 the case is very different. There are about two thousand known 

 British species of this division of the Lepidoptera, and e\ery year 

 adds some newly discovered insects to this long list ; we shall 

 therefore have to content ourselves with making a selection of these 

 for individual mention. 



In doing this I shall endeavour to provide the young entomo- 

 logist with a fairly representative list — one that will enable him to 

 become more or less intimately acquainted with all the principal 

 divisions of the Heterocera ; and his attention will be drawn 

 especially to many which may be described as ' connuon ' or 

 ' generally distributed,' so that during his first few seasons at 

 collecting he inajr be enabled to identify and study a i'air 

 proportion of his captures. Occasionally, however, one of the 

 rarer species will be described in order to illustrate some striking 

 characteristic. 



We shall connnencc with the tribe of Sj^jhingcis or Hawh 

 Moths. 



