viii PREFACE 



ferent from that with another brood of the same 

 species, and that even individuals of the same brood, 

 reared under the same conditions, may vary in size, 

 coloring, marks, habits, and length of the larval stage 

 of life, and therefore general statements about one 

 might not be true of another. 



It is the tendency to generalize from a small experi- 

 ence which makes many of the popular books on this 

 subject, as on other branches of nature work, un- 

 trustworthy and thus of little value. 



For details of structure and function we have sup- 

 plemented our own knowledge by consulting Dr. 

 Packard's "Text-book of Entomology," a book to 

 which we owe much. 



The names of the moths are those given in Dr. John 

 B. Smith's " List of Lepidoptera of Boreal America," 

 which is standard now, and their meanings are given 

 when they could be found. All names do not have 

 meanings, For instance, there is no appropriateness in 

 cecropia, hylceus, asfijlus, and many others. Some names 

 are made up from Greek or Latin roots and termina- 

 tions, and some moths are simply "named for" ento- 

 mologists, historical or mythological characters, or 

 called by Indian names. One English entomologist is 

 credited with mixing a lot of letters in a hat, drawing 

 out a certain number, and then combining them to 

 form names, Datana, Nadata, and Tanada being some 

 of the names so formed. The nomenclature of moths 

 may be considered purely arbitrary. We have accented 

 the syllables according to the best authorities. 



We have not attempted to give full details of internal 

 structure or function, but only such as affect the rear- 



