66 INTRODUCTION. 



The remarkable superiority in size and beauty of 

 most tropical productions over those of temperate 

 regions, is scarcely more strikingly exemplified in 

 any department of nature than in this. The most 

 richly ornamented of our native species, and we 

 possess many of great beauty, appear insignificant 

 when contrasted with those of Brazil and Eastern 

 Asia. Various as are the modifications of form 

 which they present in this country, we find nothing 

 to prepare us for the peculiar outline and aspect 

 which many kinds assume in the warmer regions of 

 the earth. Here we seldom find any having the 

 hinder wings prolonged into a tail, but among fo- 

 reign species this is a common appendage, some- 

 times long and linear, at other times broad and 

 spatulate ; and occasionally there are not fewer than 

 three or four on each of the hinder wings. Along 

 with this variety of outline, they exhibit almost 

 every possible shade of colour, from the most bril- 

 liant to the most obscure, combined and blended in 

 the most elegant and harmonious designs, rendering 

 this tribe of creatures one of the most ornamental 

 to be found in nature. 



Although such endless diversity of colouring is ob- 

 servable in this class as a whole, it is, at the same time, 

 worthy of remark, that most of the principal groups 

 are characterized by the prevalence of particular 

 hues, as well as considerable uniformity in their mode 

 of distribution ; that is to say, certain modifications 

 of structure are generally accompanied with a cer- 

 tain pictorial design. Thus, the greater proportion 



