HOW TO KNOW THE BUTTERFLIES 



PART I 



GENERAL ACCOUNT OF BUTTERFLIES 



I. THE RELATION OF BUTTERFLIES TO OTHER 

 INSECTS 



Butterflies belong to a class of animals, the 

 Insects, that far outnumbers in species all other 

 classes of animals taken together. The members 

 of this vast assemblage of species agree, however, 

 in the more general features of the structure of 

 their bodies. 



In all insects the body is composed of a series 

 of segments or rings ; these segments are most 

 easily seen in the hind part of the body (Fig. i). 

 The segmented condition of the body is also 

 characteristic of certain other animals, as the mil- 

 lipedes, centipedes, lobsters, and others ; but in- 

 sects can be distinguished from all of these by the 

 following combination of characteristics : they 

 breathe by means of a system of air tubes or 



i 



