112 CLASSIFICATION OF 



Of this order Linnaeus forms three genera, namely, 

 Papilio, Sphinx, and Phalcena ; which are called in 

 English, Butterflies, Hawk Moths, and Moths. 



The French authors have sub-divided this order 

 into a variety of families, tribes, and genera ; but to 

 enter into these would occupy a space far beyond 

 our limits. I therefore confine myself to the Lin- 

 naean arrangement. 



The first genus to be considered is that of Papilio, 

 or what, in our language, is termed Butterfly ; which 

 Dr Johnson says is so named because it first appears 

 in the beginning of the season of butter. According 

 to Dr Webster, it is much more probably derived 

 from the colour of a yellow species, which is the most 

 common. 



The varied and splendid tints of Butterflies, and 

 their generally elegant and graceful forms, afford 

 ample means for contemplation and admiration. Miss 

 Jarmyn has justly observed, that the tribes of 

 these animals, which inhabit the tropics, are at least 

 equal in the brilliancy of their general colour to 

 those of the birds of the same countries. Linnaeus, 

 alive to all the dazzling splendour of Butterflies, 

 emphatically says " See! the large, elegant, painted 

 wings of the butterfly, four in number, covered with 

 delicate feathery scales! With these, it sustains 

 itself in the air a whole day, rivaling the flight of 

 birds, and the brilliancy of the peacock. Consider 

 this insect through the wonderful progress of its 

 life, how different is the first period of its being 

 from the second, and both from the parent insect ! 



