PREFACE. 
Screntiric works on butterflies are not rare in most libraries; but to the 
enthusiast who loves these creatures for their beauty and variety there is 
usually very little of interest in scientific details. 
It is the aim of the present work to represent our native butterflies and 
moths not as dried and mutilated specimens in a cabinet, with pins stuck 
through them, nor as dissected fragments for scientific classification, but as 
one sees them in our woods and fields, fresh and lovely. 
From the standpoint of the artist and the decorator, the study of the de- 
signs and color patterns on the wings of butterflies may be of valuable assist- 
ance. Such combinations of pleasing tints are rarely found in the handiworks 
of man. What better school could be found for the colorist than is within 
the reach of the humblest aspirant for fame as artist or decorator? Think of 
students copying the dingy works of the old masters year after year, when at 
their own doors the grandest combinations of colors that Nature can produce 
are passed by without a thought! We have close about us the best that 
Nature is capable of producing, if we but use our eyes to see it. 
The life histories of many of the lepidoptera are replete with interest, and 
the knowledge of not a few is essential to man’s welfare. To the gardener or 
the florist the study of entomology is a necessity, and the recognition of his 
enemies and friends in the insect world is of first importance. 
To those who have, or desire to have, a cabinet of specimens, this study 
will be found of never-failing interest, as one may pursue his researches 
through all seasons of the year. Improved methods of mounting and keeping 
such specimens render their preservation and care a simple matter; and the 
collections made in one’s childhood may be kept to delight one’s old age. 
The practical hints on collecting and rearing specimens, the result of many 
years’ experience, will be appreciated by beginners and the new methods of 
illustration herein used will greatly help the student in identifying and naming 
his specimens. 
