IXTRODI'CTIOX. XXvii 



The main groups are frequently called Sphingina, Bombycina, Nochiina, Gcomctrina, 

 Pyralidina, Tortyicina, Tineina, Pterop/wriiia, and Alucitina. 



Number of Species. — It is almost impossible to give an exact estimate of the number of species 

 of Lcpidoptcra existing in the world : 100,000 has been suggested, and may ultimately prove to 

 be below rather than above the mark ; but at present there are probably about 40,000 species 

 of Lepidoptera described in various works from different parts of the world. The following 

 table gives the number of species known to inhabit Europe, Great Britain, and Germany and 

 Switzerland respectively, according to the catalogues of Staudinger and Wocke (1871), Stainton 

 (1859), and Herrich-Schaffer (1862). To make these lists quite accurate, the additional species 

 since discovered should be added ; but the numbers given are sufficiently close for the present 

 purpose : — 



Groups. 

 Rhopalocera 

 Sphingina ... 

 Bombycina ... 

 Noctuina 

 Geometrina... 

 Pyralidina ... 

 Tortricina ... 

 Tineina 

 Pterophorina 

 Alucitina 



5,284 1,904 3,234 



ON COLLECTING BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS IN THE PERFECT STATE. 



Nets are indispensable for capturing insects on the wing. There are several different kinds, but 

 those most commonly used in England are the ring-net and the umbrella-net. The former consists 

 of a light iron ring, jointed so that it can be folded up and put into the pocket. It may be 

 constructed to screw on the top of a common walking-stick, to which a cap is fitted, which can be 

 screwed on in its place whenever the net is not mounted, to keep out the dirt. The ring itself 

 should be nearly a foot in diameter, and may, of course, be fitted to a stick of any length as well as 

 to a walking-stick ; but a very long stick is both inconvenient and unwieldy, and is rarely required, 

 for there are not very many species which habitually fly at a great distance from the ground. The 

 net should be made of green gauze, and should not be attached to the ring, but sewn on to a strip 

 of some stronger miaterial less liable to tear, which should be sewn loosely round the ring, so that it 

 can be slipped off and on. The gauze itself is liable to wear out too soon if sewn upon the ring. 

 The net should be made gradually tapering, but the end must be rounded, so that there are no 

 corners into which the insect can creep and damage its wings. It should be about three times as 

 long as the breadth of the ring ; or, more definitely, it must be long enough to lap round the ring 

 or stick when an insect is captured, so as to enclose it till the collector can take the net in his hand, 

 and yet not long enough to be inconvenient in use. 



The umbrella-net is similar to the ring-net, but is much larger — generally about two feet in 

 diameter. The framework is made of whalebone, or of some equally flexible material, and the 

 stick runs through the centre, upon which the rim is constructed to slide up and down, exactly on 

 the principle of an umbrella. When the net is not in use, it is rolled round the closed frame and 

 slipped into an ordinary umbrella-case. This is an exceedingly portable form of net, but it is 

 considerably more expensive than the other. Besides, it is much shorter, and will often be 



