THE BUTTERFLY'S PLACE IN NATURE. 3 



that we are using the word " insect " in its strictly 

 scientific sense. The term is often employed in common 

 parlance in a very loose way, such animals as worms 

 and spiders being not seldom spoken of as insects. A 

 glance will shew that they do not comply with the 

 description of an insect given above. The busy little 

 creature that elaborates the coral is another favourite 

 subject for the same misnomer. 



Thirteen natural orders comprise the class Insecta. 

 The members of the highest order but two have received 

 the scientific name of Lepidoptera* or scale-winged insects, 

 and are characterised by having four large wings covered 

 with small coloured scales overlapping like the tiles on 

 the roof of a house. Further, the pupaef are inactive, 

 that is, do not move about or feed, or indeed shew 

 signs of what is called active life, except sometimes an 

 impatient wriggling of the anal extremity under irritation. 



The lepidopterous order of insects is divided into two 

 sections, the Rhopalocera^ and the Heterocera. The 

 former section contains the butterflies, || with "horns" 

 (antennae) more or less club-shaped ; the latter, the moths, 

 whose "horns" of whatever shape they may be are 

 never clubbed. 



It is not always easy at a glance to distinguish between 

 butterflies and moths, but it is satisfactory to know that 

 butterflies cannot possibly be confused with any other 

 class of animals except moths, and to prevent confusion 

 with them the following points of difference should be 



* \ciris (lepis), \firiSos (lepidos), a scale, and Trrepa (ptera), wings. 



t Pupa, an undeveloped being. 



t f>6ira\ov (rhopalon), a club, and Ktpas (keras), a horn. 



erepos (heteros), other, different. 



I! From the Anglo-Saxon buttor-fleoge = butterfly. So named probably from 

 the excreta of some species resembling butter, or may be in reference to the 

 colour of some of the commoner kinds. 



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