THE BUTTERFLX. 449 



<9, 



Genus I. — Fapilio, the Butterfly, 



X HE antennae of this genus grow thicker, and are ge- 

 nerally terminated with a knob or capita! um. Wheit 

 fitting, the wings are not folded down, but erected fo 

 that th'eir extremities nearly touch each other above the 

 body. They are diftinguiiiied from the moths, by fly- 

 ing in the day time. 



Of this genus there are 273 different fpecies, already 

 known and defcribed : To prevent confufion, they have 

 been arranged by Linnaus into five diftin£l clafies, viz. 

 the equites, the heliconii, the d.tnai, the nymphales and 

 the plebeii* . Each of thefe clail'es is charadlerized by 

 feme particular part ; fo that every fpecies when examined, 

 difcovers immediately to what clafs it ought to be refer- 

 red. 



There is no clafs of infers which hath been more ac- 

 curately examined, or whofe hiilory hath been fo fully 

 detailed, as that of tlie butterfly and moth. Two large 

 \'olumes have been dedicated folely to .his tribe by the 

 indefatigable Reaumur. Trie metamorphofis of infefls is 

 better illuflrated by their hiilory, becaufe in them thefe 

 changes are more frequent, and more perceptible. 



Some of thefe animals frequently cafe their ikin, be- 

 lides undergoing thole moTe ccnfiderable transformations 

 V^hich introduce them into a new fphere of action ; be- 



VoL. III. 3 L ^ore 



• Syllema Natura, Ord, III, Gen. 4. 



