VI PREFACE. 



Of the earlier life-history of many species we have 

 very indefinite and unsatisfactory knowledge of some, 

 indeed, we know scarcely anything, even of the best known 

 our knowledge is none too perfect. In this department 

 then, the aspiring naturalist has a wide field before him 

 a fact which he indeed might perceive from the gaps 

 that occur in the present volume. 



A great feature of this book is the number of illus- 

 trations. Most of the figures of the imagines, both 

 upper and under-surface, were made from the author's 

 drawings of the insects, but in some cases they were 

 prepared from photographs taken direct from nature, the 

 insects in the latter case being kindly lent by Messrs. 

 Watkins and Doncaster of 36, Strand. As often as 

 possible the figures of larvae and pupae were drawn from 

 actual specimens; but where these could not be procured 

 assistance was obtained from Buckler's " Larvae of the 

 British Butterflies," published by the Ray Society; the 

 larva of Danais erifpus was taken from a cut that 

 appeared a few years since in The Entomologist. 



Descriptions of the larvae and pupae have been com- 

 pared with those of Buckler, Newman, and others, and 

 assistance sometimes was obtained from the same sources. 

 The periodicals on the subject have frequently been laid 

 under contribution, and the last twenty-one years of The 

 Entomologist carefully searched to see how far the records 

 there agreed with the usually given lists of localities. 

 The order, nomenclature, and synonymy of genera and 

 species are those of South's new " Entomologist Synonymic 

 List." 



W. J. LUCAS. 



KINGSTON-ON-THAMES, 

 June, 1893. 



