Diurna, Diurnals or Butterflies. 



As the name implies, the members of this group fl}' almost exclusively in day-time, only the Brassolids, 

 those Brazihan giants, and many Satyrids become lively at dusk, and certain Hesperids tly only at night. 

 Ail Diurnals have well developed mouth - jmrts , suitable for taking food, but the forelegs are frequently 

 reduced. The caterpillars are smooth , spiked , or short-hairy, being sometimes provided with iiorns or anal 

 s] tine-] ike processes. Tlie chrysalids are mostly quite naked or are lying in a very loose cocoon. The 

 Buttertlies dehght in sun-sliine, and suck at flowers, fruit, sap of trees, having also a predilection for moist 

 places on roads and for rivulets, where they gather sometimes in large numbers, especially in hot chmates. 

 They are divisible into two natural groups: the true Buttertlies (Nhopalocern) and the Skippers (Gri/pocein). 



A. Rhopalocera, true Butterflies. 



Differing from the Grypocera in the head being relatively small, the body hardly of medium size, 

 being often very slender, and in the wings being large and broad. About 20000 different forms have been 

 described, the number increasing enormously from year to year. The locality containing the largest 

 number of species on a relatively small area are the southern slopes of the Himalayas , while New Zealand 

 is the country poorest in Diurnals , in comparison with the size of the country , the mild climate and the 

 rich vegetation. In the Palaearctic Region the greatest number and largest forms occur in the South-East 

 (China, Japan), whereas the north-western countries are the poorest (Ireland, Iceland). The Rhopalocera are 

 divided into three large groups: Papilionhia, NijmphaH)ui and Li/cneniiia. 



1. Section; Papilioiiiiia. 



Mostly large Buttertlies with liroad wings, usually of bright or conspicuously variegated colours, 

 having a strong tongue, clubbed antennae, and in both sexes 6 well-developed legs suitaljle for walking. 

 The caterpillars have no horns on the head, nor pointed or branching spines. The chrysalis is never 

 suspended by the tail, but is either fastened by a girth round the body, head upwards, or lies on the ground. 

 The buttertlies are lively day-tliers delighting in sun-shine, and are l)usy visiting tlowers or sucking up the 

 moisture on roads. The grouj) is composed of the two families I'apiHoiiithn- and Picriikie. 



1. Family: Papilionidae, Swallowtails. • 



Mostly large or very large and beautiful Butterflies, of bright and often imposing colours, with broad 

 and entire forewings and rounded or elongate, often dentate or tailed hindwings. The tongue strong: the 

 antennae gradually incrassate or strongly clubbed; the legs rather long and thin; the whole body slender 



