INTRODUCTION. xi 
then rapidly effected, but the wings are as soft as wet paper, and not larger than the indications 
of their outline upon the shell. They attain their full size, however, very rapidly, often within 
an hour, and sometimes in half that time, while in other cases a whole day is required. As the 
wings thus rapidly grow, or dilate, they harden at the same time, and, under the influence of a 
fine sunny day, the insect has only to raise and drop these splendid new additions to his organi- 
sation a few times, before he feels their strength sufficient for their destined purpose, and boldly 
takes to the new exercise of flight, in which he proves himself at once an adept without any 
previous practice. 
Having now traced the Butterfly from the egg to the perfect or imago state, it remains to 
state, in as few words as possible, the nature of the scientific terms by which his stages of 
development have been distinguished, and by which the order to which he belongs is defined. 
The egg state, as we have seen, was succeeded by the Caterpillar stage,—that for which 
Linneus invented the generic term larva, or masked state. This was again succeeded by the 
chrysalis, for which the same celebrated naturalist invented the almost equally felicitous term pupa, 
being the Latin term for an infant, which, bound in its swaddling clothes, after the ancient fashion 
still prevalent on the Continent, suggested to Linnzeus the idea of the larva bound in the chry- 
saline shell during the period which immediately preceded its change to the perfect state. This 
last he termed the imago state, or that of the true image, which had only been as it were, fore- 
shadowed in the previous stages of its existence. The aptness of these definitions is proved by 
their general adoption—no other terms than larva, pupa, and imago, being now employed in 
scientific works to designate the three principal stages of insect life. 
In dividing the vast numbers of the insect tribes into separate and homogeneous ‘orders,’ 
each distinguished by a title of appropriate character, the great family of Moths and Butterflies 
were formed by Linneus into an ‘order’ bearing the title of Lepidoptera, a term formed of the 
Greek words Jepis, a scale, making lepidos in the plural, and pferon, a wing, in allusion to the 
seales, with which the wings of this class of insects are invariably clothed. Aldrovandus, one of 
the old Italian naturalists, a contemporary of Shakespeare, adopted a similar mode of classification 
in reference to this order of insects, calling them Ale furinos, that is, the farinaceous, or floury- 
winged order. This is, however, less strictly descriptive than that of Linneus. But then 
Aldrovandus wrote before the invention of the microscope, which enabled later naturalists to 
define more exactly the nature of the seeming powder which covers the wings of Butterflies. 
A more recent naturalist, differing from Linnzeus, regarded the proboscis, or trunk, as strictly 
peculiar to this order of insects, and thence called them the Glossuta, or tongued tribe, a term 
founded on the Greek name of that organ. The Linnean term has, however, prevailed ; and 
Butterflies and Moths are now finally only known in scientific classification by the term 
Lepidoptera. 
Having settled the principle upon which the order was to be established, and the name by 
which it was to be distinguished, Linneus next attempted a series of subdivisions. Of these he 
made three principal ones. The first he termed Papilio, from the ancient Latin name by which 
the Butterfly was popularly known. This division included all the Butterflies, or day-flyers. 
The second he fancifully termed Sphing—a name which he adopted, because the Caterpillars, 
when in repose, assumed an attitude not unlike that in which the fabled Sphinx is generally 
represented. This division included the first section of the great Moth family—being those 
which generally fly by twilight. To the third class, consisting of all the rest of the Moth tribe 
which generally fly by night, he gave the term Phalene, a term which he may have adopted 
from the Greek word @éAawa, which means either a glow-worm, or any insect giving out light, 
and thus rendered conspicuous by night—the moth being only noticed in flight at that time: or 
he may have adopted another meaning of the word, which refers to such insects as fly towards 
alighted candle. Latreille found the general division thus effected open to little objection ; but 
