100 INTRODUCTION. 



life and enjoyment. But with far the larger propor- 

 tion, night is the chosen and appropriate season of 

 activity. During the day they conceal themselves 

 in clefts of trees, among tangled vegetation and 

 under leaves, and seldom issue from their retreats 

 till the light is beginning to fail. Some are on the 

 wing only in the earlier part of the night, others 

 are later in appearing, and continue their flight till 

 the morning is far advanced. During these ex- 

 cursions, many fall a prey to bats and night-birds 

 of various kinds, which delight to capture their 

 insect food when on the wing, seldom searching for 

 it when at rest, according to the general practice of 

 their day-feeding companions. 



The great beauty of many of these insects, the 

 almost infinite variety of their colours and markings, 

 as well as their curious habits and economy, have 

 long rendered this a favourite branch of study with 

 the generality of Entomologists. A large proportion 

 of the works relating to insects, especially works 

 of the illustrated class, are devoted to the elucida- 

 tion of this tribe ; and in almost every collection of 

 indigenous specimens, they occupy a prominent 

 place. The zeal with which the rarer and more 

 beautiful kinds have been sought after, and the 

 estimation in which they have been held when 

 obtained, is sufficiently evinced by the high-sound- 

 ing names, by means of which collectors have 

 attempted to express their admiration. Such de- 

 signations as the Emperor, Nonpareil, Kentish 

 Glory, Richmond Beauty, c. have been applied to 



