36 SPOLTA ZEYLANICA. 



SOME NOTES ON BUTTERFLIES AND THEIR 

 DISTRIBUTION. 



By F. M. Mackwood.* 



OCCASIONALLY I am asked to name an amateur's 

 collection, and when I set aside some as moths, the 

 question is put : What is the difference between a moth and a 

 butterfly '? These two form the group of insects known as 

 " Lepidoptera," divided as Ehopalocera and Heterocera. 



Rhopalocera (butterflies) means club horned, viz., that the 

 end of the antennae is club-shaped. Heterocera (moths) 

 various horned or antennae of various shapes. Moths have a 

 thicker body, at its junction with the thorax of same diameter ; 

 that of the butterfly is slender and wasp-shaped. 



They vary in habits. The butterfly is a day-flier and at 

 rest folds its wings vertically over its body. Moths fly after 

 sunset and expand their wings horizontally when resting. 



The origin of the word butterfly is unknown. Derived 

 apparently from an Anglo-Saxon root, it is thought to have 

 been given to a species of yellowish colour. 



Soon after beginning to collect, the need of works of reference 

 will be felt by the student, so that the captures can be classified 

 and named ; later on, most collectors will want to know how 

 the insects of their locality and country compare with neigh- 

 bouring ones. 



Rhopalocera (butterflies) are divided into six groups or 

 families, viz., Nymphalidse , Nemeohidas, Papilionidse , Pieridae, 

 Lycoenidae, and Hesperidae. The first named is the largest 

 group ; all of them have sub-families. 



In entomology, as with all other branches of natural history, 

 there are two sets of writers, the one a species-maker or 

 "splitter" giving specific rank for every variation often 

 inconstant. The other, known as a "slumper," grouping as 

 many as possible under one name. 



* Read before the Ceylon Natural History Society, February 28, 1913. 



